Winter can be rough, especially with the rough state of the world right now combined with the gloomy weather. But it’s also a great time to try some lesser-known games and feel the unique charm of the snow and ice of the season. Here are four indie video games that center around all things winter. Whether it’s a quiet reflective experience or a survival adventure in the snowy landscape, we hope you’ll find what you need among these indie works!
Winter Burrow
Developer: Pine Creek Games
Platforms: Steam (Windows), Switch, Xbox
TW: animal death, implied domestic partner abuse.
After leaving for greater opportunities, disillusionment and tragedy bring you back to your childhood home in the woods. In Winter Burrow, you play a field mouse trying to survive the winter by foraging for supplies, fending off hostile insects, and crafting furniture and clothing to slowly turn your run-down burrow into a proper home. Along the way, you’ll meet and befriend other forest creatures grappling with their own life struggles, whether it be through dealing with grief or strained family relationships. Ultimately you’ll help build a community that supports each other through highs and lows. This cozy survival simulator game strikes a balance between some light survival action (with hunger, health, and warmth meters) and the more relaxing aspects of crafting to keep you engaged during exploration and farming.
Red Lantern
Developer: Timberline Studio
Platforms: Steam (Windows)
This game puts less weight on the cozy and more on the survival aspect, but is still comforting for anyone who loves the snowy scenery and can’t make it up north during midterm season. Traverse the vast wilderness of snowy Alaska with your dog-sledding team in this survival game, making sure to care for your team and yourself as you find your new home. Choose a team of four dogs, each with their own personalities, and upgrade your equipment to keep everyone warm and well-fed on the journey. For those who want a stress-free experience, the game offers an unlockable Zen Mode where you can remain idle and let the dogs run wherever you like.
Röki
Developer: Polygon Treehouse
Platforms: Steam (Windows, macOS), Switch, Xbox, Playstation
Based on Scandinavian folklore and inspired by Studio Ghibli, this coming-of-age narrative adventure set in the mountains comes with a simple but enchanting art style. You play Tove, a young girl who is accompanied by her brother and are both whisked away from home into a fantastical snowy world. This point-and-click game, which was nominated for Best Debut Game at The Game Awards in 2020, weaves puzzles into environmental exploration, rife with trolls and mythical denizens like the Jötnar.
Fireside Feelings
Developer: Team Empreintes
Platforms: Steam (Windows)
This one has admittedly less snow in it, but no less heart than the rest. For those who are feeling isolated and stressed during this cold season, connecting with people over what makes us human can lift us up a little, especially during these difficult times. Made by a two-person team from France, Fireside Feelings gives you the space and the comfort to have heartfelt conversations with a stranger from the Internet, without the stress of leaving someone on read. Choose from one of three randomly selected prompts, ranging from personal ones like “Dreams” to lighthearted ones like “Food.” Your campfire sprite Spark will ask questions for you and another user to answer and guide the back-and-forth. Unlike regular chat apps or software, this conversation doesn’t take place in real time — answers written by the other person are dated at least one day back, so there’s no inherent time pressure to reply or risk dropping the ball like in a live conversation. Users can also choose to not discuss certain topics using 18 different blacklist tags for triggering content, like animal cruelty and self-harm. All conversations are manually moderated by humans and no text is AI-generated.
