As a seasoned survival game enthusiast with countless hours spent huddled over fires and crafting makeshift shelters, I must say that Winter Burrow has managed to capture my heart from the get-go. While it may share similarities with other games of its ilk, such as Don’t Starve, it stands out through its unique tone and approach.
Over time, design and development have honed survival and crafting games into a highly successful model: You find yourself in an environment where you collect twigs, transform them into an axe, which allows you to fell trees, eventually enabling you to build a shelter and progress through a technological evolution, creating increasingly intricate equipment, and ultimately dominating the wilderness.
In the opening 20 minutes, Winter Burrow follows a familiar pattern, bearing a strong resemblance to other survival games like Don’t Starve. However, it distinguishes itself by its unique tone and methodology. Unlike other games, Winter Burrow infuses a comforting ambiance into its survival gameplay, creating an atmosphere where the danger is intertwined with a sense of building not just a shelter for survival, but a home.
At Xbox’s Gamescom event in Los Angeles, I briefly experienced a sneak peek of Winter Burrow. This brief session provided me an initial glimpse into the game, starting with a short introductory scene that laid the foundation for the storyline. The narrative follows the journey of an anthropomorphic mouse seeking a new beginning. He recalls his old home, the burrow, with affection, but due to economic necessity, he and his family were forced to relocate to the city when he was young, leaving it under the care of his aunt. After years of labor in the city’s mines, both his parents passed away, prompting him to return to his old home, only to discover it in a state of disrepair and his aunt missing.
Starting from that point, you begin your task of rehabilitating the den. The initial playthrough of Winter Burrow follows a typical pattern for this genre; you collect twigs and foliage to ignite a fire, mend a workbench for crafting, and refurbish a simple chair. Initially, the game consists of brief expeditions into the surroundings of the den to procure supplies before returning them to manufacture equipment and enhancements. Additionally, as is typical, you’ll also be juggling meters such as hunger, fatigue, and temperature.
Despite its rundown condition, the den exudes a warm and inviting vibe with some tidying, and this feeling is heightened by Winter Burrow’s whimsical art style and adorable mouse character. The game creates an overall laid-back ambiance, especially when you’re in the den, engaging in activities like lounging in your chair. Interestingly, that comfy chair serves as a crafting station for making new garments to keep you warmer and safer. However, the animation of creating these items depicts your mouse sitting by the fireplace knitting, symbolizing Winter Burrow’s emphasis on coziness perfectly.
The term “cozy” doesn’t imply that the game eliminates the typical pressures of a survival game; instead, it’s quite the contrary. Even after playing for merely 20 minutes, I encountered some harsh truths as I wandered, searching for eight bundles of grass to make a rope or enough wood to craft planks. It’s important to note that the name Winter Burrow includes “winter,” and when you revisit your family home, it’s cold and snowy outside. The clothing provided initially won’t keep you warm for long, and even with the sweater, pants, and hat I crafted early on, the cold can rapidly turn life-threatening if not managed carefully.
In Winter Burrow, there’s no map during the initial stages of the game. The entire area is buried under snow, making it hard to identify landmarks. Despite my attempts to stay near the burrow, I found myself getting lost quite easily. The only dependable method to find your way back home is by following your own footprints or simply remembering the layout of the landscape. If you don’t make it back before your temperature gauge runs out, you’ll freeze and perish, leaving all your possessions behind where you collapsed.
The cold is surprisingly dangerous and definitely stressful. I got caught up searching for the supplies I needed and only realized how much the temperature gauge had dropped when frost started creeping in at the edges of the screen, and by that point, I had no idea how to get back to the burrow. While I encountered a couple of large, dangerous beetles roaming that first area, the weather was the real danger, and once I’d succumbed to it, the standard gameplay loop of running out to find the stuff I needed before returning home became a lot more oppressive. Winter Burrow is a cute game, but it’s still a serious one.
My demonstration concluded swiftly upon commencement, as I mended a bridge to traverse an expanse and delve into uncharted territory. I didn’t advance deeply into Winter Burrow, yet I crossed paths with a couple of amiable creatures, hinting at potential side missions in the coming days. Although there were several aggressive insects lurking nearby, it appeared that most confrontations within Winter Burrow would stem from battling the elements, rather than encounters with adversarial characters.
As a gamer diving into Winter Burrow, I’ve found myself grappling with a familiar rhythm that’s quite prevalent in games of its genre. The hunt for that extra log or patch of grass becomes a recurring theme, as I strive to gather just enough resources to craft the necessary item for progression. My pockets fill up swiftly, making it crucial to monitor not only my food and temperature but also my inventory, frequently emptying items into the burrow’s box to keep things tidy.
In most survival games, the fun really begins when you’ve made it past the initial stages and can explore what the game has to offer beyond merely surviving each day. In my initial glance at Winter Burrow, I didn’t get a peek at what comes next, but the charming art style, music, and inviting atmosphere have piqued my curiosity. Winter Burrow keeps the fundamental concepts of the survival genre while presenting a significantly less harsh gameplay experience, and I’m eager to see how that different approach unfolds.
Winter Burrow is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and Game Pass in early 2025.
Read More
- CKB PREDICTION. CKB cryptocurrency
- EUR INR PREDICTION
- PENDLE PREDICTION. PENDLE cryptocurrency
- PBX PREDICTION. PBX cryptocurrency
- USD DKK PREDICTION
- USD VND PREDICTION
- ICP PREDICTION. ICP cryptocurrency
- GEAR PREDICTION. GEAR cryptocurrency
- CSIX PREDICTION. CSIX cryptocurrency
- IMX PREDICTION. IMX cryptocurrency
2024-08-29 00:09