Winter Survival

About

"Winter Survival" is a first-person survival game set in the snowy Mount Washington State Park. After being separated from your group during a hike, you must fight against harsh winter conditions, hunger, thirst, wildlife, and your own mind to reach an abandoned ranger station for help. The game offers dynamic combat, stealth, base building, and a unique sanity system, with multiple game modes and difficulties for varied experiences. Explore snow-covered forests, mountains, and frozen lakes while grappling with treacherous terrain and dangerous wildlife.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 140 reviews

story11 positive mentions

stability15 negative mentions

The game has great potential with a rich survival gameplay experience, featuring a unique sanity system and atmospheric environments.
Players appreciate the challenging mechanics and the variety of game modes, including story mode and endless mode, which offer different experiences.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and are actively working on updates to improve the game.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and crashes, making it frustrating and sometimes unplayable, especially in its current early access state.
Many players find the controls and combat mechanics clunky and unresponsive, leading to a poor gameplay experience.
The game lacks essential features like a proper save system and crafting options, which detracts from the overall survival experience.

story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
72%
6%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its solid narrative and atmosphere but expressing disappointment over its brevity and linearity, often feeling constrained by the quest-driven structure. Many noted bugs that hindered progression, and while some enjoyed the survival elements, others felt they overshadowed the storytelling. Overall, players are hopeful for future updates to expand the story and improve gameplay mechanics.
- “I like the story so far and am excited to see what the future contains.”
- “The story mode is good, the introduction is not too long so you can get into the open world survival aspect real quick and follow the narrative from there at your own pace.”
- “And, finally, third, the game features a simple yet effective voice-acted story mode that does a nice job of tying each gameplay mechanic into the narrative.”
- “Some bugs were expected, but after playing two hours and receiving a message about the end of the story for now was just a disappointing slap in the face.”
- “The game being released in early access is fine and all, but with it only having one act after nearly 4 years of development time, this is what's most disheartening because I was truly expecting... or at least hoping... for a full story game.”
- “The story mode isn't complete; only the prologue and first chapter are available, and it takes you through how Danny and his friends got there, and the dangers that presented your party.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
7%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its unique mechanics like the sanity and weather systems, as well as the rich survival elements that blend combat, stealth, and base building. However, many have noted a steep learning curve and frustrations with clunky building mechanics, bugs, and optimization issues that detract from the overall experience. While some find the gameplay enjoyable and immersive, others criticize it for being overly punishing and convoluted, leading to a lack of engagement.
- “The first handful of months were pretty rocky, but they have a solid game now and are implementing interesting mechanics like the sanity system, the weather system, and exploration of the world.”
- “- Rich survival gameplay: features an intricate blend of combat, stealth, base building, and a unique sanity system, ensuring a multifaceted survival experience.”
- “I love the unique mechanics with the sanity system and how the hunting and combat feels a lot more realistic and challenging than most other games like this.”
- “Very disappointing gameplay.”
- “Building mechanics are very clunky and make it hard to move forward as you progress, frustrating to say the least.”
- “However, in reality—a reality that often resets itself not via gameplay but game-breaking bugs—winter survival becomes a frustrating, unfun, and borderline unplayable mess that earns the channel’s second-ever '1' for playability, and that's before accounting for how tedious it is to interact with and gather resources in this game.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
32%
14%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the top-notch visuals, smooth animations, and immersive environments, particularly after the update to Unreal Engine 5.3. However, some users report graphical issues and performance problems, especially on high settings, leading to a less favorable experience. Overall, while the graphics are often described as beautiful and engaging, there are notable concerns regarding optimization and consistency.
- “Graphics, animations, and environments are top notch.”
- “The graphics are amazing; you really feel the temperature and the weather while playing this game.”
- “The visuals in this game are top-tier, and for the most part, it is decently optimized except around a few assets.”
- “Awful graphics.”
- “I have a 4000 series graphics card, ran all the settings on ultra and the game still looked poor.”
- “The graphics had to be turned down on my PC so it wasn't stuttering, but they aren't bad.”
stability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally considered unstable, with numerous bugs and glitches affecting gameplay, including frustrating controls and issues with item management. While some players find it enjoyable and recognize its potential, many report significant performance problems, such as freezing and loss of progress, making it feel incomplete and unpolished. Overall, the stability issues detract from the experience, even for an early access title.
- “It has some good ideas and they have been working on it, but it's almost unplayable at times from being unclear or buggy.”
- “The game is incomplete, has multiple glitches, no map system, kicks you to load screen whenever and all progress is lost and you cannot rearrange crafting stations once they are set down.”
- “The game at its core is great, but damn, it's buggy, laggy and even for an early access game, way too early and unfinished.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing poor performance even on low settings, while others note that the visuals improve significantly at higher settings, albeit at the cost of performance. Developers are actively listening to community feedback to implement optimizations, and while the game is visually impressive, it still struggles with certain assets. Overall, as an early release, the optimization is considered decent but has room for improvement.
- “The developers are well-rounded and are listening to the community to make tweaks, changes, and optimizations to make the game enjoyable but also stay within the premise of what they visualized the game to be.”
- “Being an early release, the optimization isn't bad at all.”
- “The visuals in this game are top-tier, and for the most part is decently optimized except around a few assets.”
- “I have an Acer Nitro 5 with a GTX 1650, but the textures of the game are horrible. Only if I set them to ultra do they get better, but the performance gets even worse.”
- “Very bad performance even on the lowest settings.”
- “This game looks beautiful, but I cannot fully enjoy it due to the poor optimization.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its chilling environments, impressive lighting, and sound design, which effectively enhance the overall tone and horror elements. Players appreciate the immersive experience, often taking breaks to fully absorb the captivating visuals, despite some critiques of the story. The decision to focus on a single-player experience is seen as beneficial for building tension and atmosphere.
- “Very atmospheric and chilling environments really set the right tone for this one.”
- “The atmosphere, lighting, and sound design are great; I had to take some breaks to just take in the view.”
- “Yooo this game is rad as hell, super atmospheric and almost stifling in its tone.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game excessively tedious and frustrating, often feeling trapped in a cycle of resource gathering and crafting due to constant survival needs. The endless mode exacerbates this issue, with frequent hunger and fatigue mechanics that hinder progress, leading to a negative overall experience. Many reviewers express that the grind detracts significantly from the enjoyment of the game, making it feel unplayable at times.
- “After waiting more than a week for some bug fixes - since I liked the game itself - I decided to give the endless mode a go, but it's all about falling into an endless loop of grinding and dying because there's always something missing from your crafting list for survival needs.”
- “Unlocking things through the adaptation system during endless mode is extremely tedious.”
- “I cannot recommend this game: it is terribly grindy, you can barely go too far from the cabin because the character gets hungry/thirsty almost immediately, he gets tired after minutes of resting, and the combat options are horrible; the character can barely swing the axe.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised for its intense and atmospheric quality, effectively evoking feelings of hopelessness and dread that complement the survival theme. Players note that the phenomenal soundtrack enhances the overall experience, particularly during tense moments in the snowy forest setting.
- “The music in the game is phenomenal; it actually makes you feel hopeless and dreadful, which is exactly what it should do when the player is stuck in a snowy forest trying everything they can to survive.”
- “When playing, it gives me shivers with its intense background music; the graphics are amazing and the storyline is captivating.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever portrayal of mental illness as a skill tree, presenting a humorous twist that reframes a serious topic in a lighthearted manner.
- “On one hand, mental illness being a skill tree, not an impairment, is pretty funny.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players report that the emotional aspect of the game is impactful, as engaging with different scenarios evokes distinct feelings and creates a sense of varied adventure.
- “I dipped my feet into two different scenarios, and both times it made me feel like I was experiencing a completely different adventure.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters left me in tears; I felt their pain and joy as if it were my own.”
- “Every choice I made resonated with me on a personal level, making the story feel incredibly real and impactful.”