Survival games are my jam, so any chance I get to play one is an enjoyable experience. However, while I did have fun with Winter Survival, it needs a little more content and better gameplay for it to become a survival title I will replay.
Gameplay
Winter Survival is a classic survival game with quite a bit of exploration and crafting options. I enjoy the crafting menu and the way categories can separate the recipes; it makes my life easier when I need to craft in a rush. It was also very helpful knowing I could click on the required material for a recipe and see that recipe as well if it was something to craft.
Related: All Symptoms in Winter Survival and how to deal with them
The inventory mechanic was a bit annoying with the weight limit that could break your ankles if you went over it, but that's nothing new in games like this. This can become better when you make additional chests to put your stuff in, but you'll still need to make a lot of them because they also have weight limits.
Another issue I had with the inventory was when you select an item to eat. Instead of letting me click on the food and increase my hunger until I wasn't starving, it would take me out of the inventory menu every time to show an eating cutscene. This wasn't that bad when I was eating canned food, but when I needed to eat 20 berries not to die, it got pretty annoying.
The game's most fun mechanics are the various buffs, debuffs, and symptoms that make your experience in the woods interesting, to say the least. Drinking cold water gave me core coldness, which slowly froze me because I couldn't make tea. It makes the game more challenging as well, that's for sure. I also like that the symptoms can be fixed by completing special challenges, like getting a certain number of steps.
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Visuals
The game looks very beautiful and very realistic. The environment, in general, is very well designed, even if it was sometimes too white due to the snow. But that's how it is in real life, so I can't complain if it hurts my eyes.
The area is empty of humans, only filled with animals and your hallucinations. They used decrepit buildings, hunting towers, abandoned wagons, and campsites to increase your feeling of being absolutely alone. It definitely worked on me; I was scared even in broad daylight. Getting lost and alone in the middle of winter in a forest is one of the top five worst-case scenarios for me, after all.
However, it wasn't just fear. One night, I walked out expecting to be scared of the dark and saw the Northern Lights. It was a beautiful experience in a scary and tragic story. Did I stand staring at it for a while and almost get injured by a wolf? I will neither confirm nor deny it. I can see a lot of effort in how well-crafted the models are and how realistic the game looks. Once new content and new areas get added, I'm sure it will look just as amazing as what we have so far.
Visuals: 4/5
Polish
Winter Survival is an early-access game, so it's no surprise that there are some bugs in it. Luckily, they are few and far between, and I haven't had any game-breaking bugs that would force me to restart my save.
Related: How to stay sane in Winter Survival
I've had a few issues with animal models glitching. A deer has been stuck on the log next to the cabin for a couple of days now, and I have to admit it manages to jumpscare me every single time. I've also had issues with wolf models, particularly when I kill them, and they suddenly come back to life later on. Luckily, they don't move; they just stand there and scare me. Another minor bug I've encountered is some resources floating in the air, like rocks, logs, and garlic.
At times, the story progression glitched because it wouldn't activate a timer properly on a quest (annoyingly). It took me forever to realize something was wrong. It was an easy fix, though (I just had to restart the game). The biggest issue I had was the game crashing, but it only happened once, and it didn't cause me to lose any progress.
While many of the bugs are annoying, they really aren't as bad as they could be. I haven't lost a bicycle that I worked so hard to make, like in some games (looking at you, 7 Days to Die). And it is important to remember that this game is in early access. According to patch notes, the developers are actively working on fixes, which is great to hear.
Polish: 3.5/5
Story
Sadly, there isn't that much story in Winter Survival yet. Often, survival games without stories do extremely well. You just have to look at Palworld and how popular it has become. However, what Palworld has that Winter Survival doesn't is a big open world.
There is a lot to explore, but with how much of the story exists right now, it just isn't enough. You can replay and research for a while, but once you explore the entire map and complete the available story, there isn't much else to do. That's my biggest issue with the game, but with new Acts in the making, I believe we will get more replayability out of it.
Even with the limited story, I have enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm very much interested in where it goes and how all of the insanity effects will impact it. If you don't really care much about the story, the game does offer an Endless mode where you can explore the area freely and it has many crafting options available.
Story: 3.5/5
Verdict - A work in progress
I am a huge fan of survival games, and it's been one of the best years for the genre, with many games standing out. Winter Survival isn't on that level just yet. I have enjoyed my time in it, but I don't see myself playing it for a long time. I'll wait and see if more story content and future updates make it a better experience. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
[Disclosure: A free copy of the game was provided to PGG by the publisher for review purposes.]
If you are interested in where the game is going, check out the Latest Winter Survival Patch Notes on Pro Game Guides.
