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Impact Winter

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre: RPG/Action
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Developer: Mojo Bones
Release Date: May 23, 2017

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'Impact Winter' Announced, Seeks Crowd Funding - Screens & Trailer

by Rainier on Oct. 15, 2014 @ 2:11 a.m. PDT

Impact Winter is a post-apocalyptic survival RPG that deals with the themes of leadership, teamwork, isolation and survival.

Impact Winter is a post-apocalyptic survival adventure set upon the remnants of a buried Earth. You play the role of Jacob Solomon: leader of a group of survivors holed-up in a remote church.

The game is set 8 years after ‘the catastrophe’: an asteroid collision that's decimated Earth’s population and triggered Impact Winter - a form of ice age that's lowered the planet’s temperature and buried it under constant snowfall.

The game begins with Ako-Light - your android companion - intercepting a mysterious broadcast claiming that help will arrive in 30 days.

Your aim is simple...

SURVIVE!

UK based developer Mojo Bones has launched a kickstarter campaign, looking for £95,000, to finish development of the game, with a £150,000 stretch goal to bring Impact Winter to Wii U, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The extra funding will go towards dev-kits, platform specific fees and extra programming.

Key Features:

  • A harsh, winter environment that covers a derelict underworld. Witness open-world gameplay with dynamic weather, haunting interiors and fearsome wildlife.
  • Guide your team through the everyday struggles of survival. Use their skills to craft your base and build upgrades as you take on the ultimate role of leader and provider.
  • Create your own story. From solving team dilemmas, to random encounters and scenarios: your decisions - to these often ambiguous situations - will always affect the outcome.
  • Use Ako-Light's tools to explore and unlock the world. Upgrade its many features to aid new discoveries: from carrying supplies and digging for secrets, to lighting your way and scanning for dangers.
  • Game design that challenges your decision-making. From balancing stats to prioritizing your inventory: every choice carries an element of risk, where danger is never far away.


You play Jacob Solomon: team leader, decision maker and the person responsible for providing the group’s supplies and resources. Your team is comprised of 4 other survivors, brought together through circumstance and each with their own skills and personalities. Your NPC colleagues have automated behavior and will remain inside the Church, guarding it from threats and undertaking the tasks you assign to them.

Each team member will be an asset to the group through use of their unique skills. If the required stats (and supplies) are high enough, these skills can be utilized to help aid your survival. Keeping the group alive will be crucial to your cause. If a team member dies their skills become unavailable. There's no going back!

Impact Winter uses a dynamic stat engine to drive every character’s wants and needs. Statistics will drain - based on the varying situations - so keeping them balanced will be crucial.

Story Events are random, unpredictable scenarios that can occur at any time (or based on specific Stats): think of these like interesting story beats or missions that intersperse the survival gameplay. You are free to deal with events as you see fit (including ignoring them), but your choices will always have consequences.

There will be a large pool of Story Events that range from small, everyday requests to large game-changing choices.

The church is your safe haven: a home base where you can plan, sleep, recoup and stay warm. The church also acts as a place of storage: a home for all the items you collect on your travels. Any items you leave here can/will be used by your team when needed.

The Church can be upgraded in many different ways. From replacing your primitive fire with a furnace, to improved sleeping conditions and defenses. Recreation items can also be built (to boost Morale) and you can even add electricity by building a gas generator or wind turbine (giving you the luxury of power). A 'tech-tree' structure will be used to unlock new items as previous ones are built, expanding your list as the game progresses. These upgrades will allow stats to regain quicker and also make the team more self-sufficient in your absence. Short journeys at the beginning of the game will turn into long expeditions, all thanks to the upgrades you've made and the supplies you leave behind.

Whilst exploring The Void, a cutting-edge piece of military hardware (code-named Ako-Light) will be your trusty sidekick.

Ako-Light has many valuable functions to aid survival and exploration: from discovering buried items on the map (and retrieving them) to storing your provisions. It will also provide some much needed company, reacting to your discoveries and dilemmas. In keeping with the risk-and-reward ethos, Ako-Light has a limited power supply, meaning every action you undertake will drain its battery. If Ako-Light runs out of power it enters 'Power-Save' mode, forcing its features offline and requiring Jacob to carry it back to the Church for recharge. Ako-Light’s features can be upgraded (via Christophe’s Technician skills) to aid your journey across the wasteland.

The apocalyptic landscape of Impact Winter provides a distinct setting for a video game. It depicts a world where survivors have taken to a life underground: inhabiting the very buildings that once towered above them. The Void is a barren unforgiving place with haunting remnants of the old world protruding from its surface. These help to create stand-out moments of discovery and a sense of scale.

Impact Winter is open-planned, but there will be certain times where players can use upgrades to access locked areas. For example: barricaded doors will need to be cleared using explosives (provided by Blane) and areas that are deeper underground will require an upgraded Ako-Light to be reached.

Impact Winter features an in-game clock and full day/night cycle, which plays an important role in your adventuring. You must choose between the tougher daytime weather conditions and the more hostile darkness. Snowstorms can strike at any time (Ako-Light will give a timed warning) and their ferocity will vary – ranging from small storms (that hamper visibility and lower temperatures) to full-blown whiteouts (that need to be sheltered from). Failing to find safety during a whiteout will result in you being separated from Ako-Light and spawned at a random location: alone and struggling to find your whereabouts.

Wildlife is a constant threat when exploring the Void, with enemies including wolves, lynx, coyotes and bears. Their behavior will be unpredictable and varied - but if killed - they can provide a much-needed meal. Other humans can also pose a threat. Although some will offer assistance - like nomad traders - there will be others with more sinister intentions.


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