Winter Survival is a battle against the brutal elements of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Following a lone survivor after the events of an unexpected accident, icy tendrils of winter close in and hallucinations start to manifest. 

What was supposed to be a nice winter hike in the Mount Washington State Park with friends, turned into a dire situation. You are left alone to fight for your survival. With only marginal supplies you have to fight off of the cold, thirst, hunger, wildlife and your own state of mind while finding your way to an abandoned ranger station in hope to be able to call for help.

After a starved bear attacks separating the small group of survivors, it now lurks in the shadows ready to sink its teeth in if found. Explore the wilderness to secure nutrition and supplies. Discover blueprints left behind that will help survivors adapt to the harsh conditions, utilizing them to craft protection against apex predators, nightmare fueled figures, and the ferocious bear that looms in the region longing to track down its prey. Hunting down the forest’s fauna requires knowledge of their behavior and skill.

Venture through snow-covered forests, mountains, and frozen lakes. Grapple with treacherous terrain, deadly animals, and harsh winter conditions. Find shelter, cook meals, and rest, ready to face the next day. Hope it won’t be your last…

You are not the first person to visit this area. There have been many before you. More than a century ago some even lived here. If you explore your surroundings you may find things they left behind that will still be useful to you. Explore various areas and discover their story, like a town built by people who are long gone. Force open doors, avoid traps, and make abandoned structures work again. Find personal belongings as you dive deeper into the town’s past. Will you be able to uncover its secrets?

Originally planned for Feb. 28th, Winter Survival will be coming to Steam Early Access on March 6th in order to accommodate player feedback from Steam Next Fest.

While this prospect will remain unchanged, additional difficulty options will encourage survivalists to dial in the challenge to their liking for better accessibility. Those who prefer the hardcore mechanics can still test themselves in higher difficulty modes.

Wolves’ behavior will see reworks for a more rewarding gameplay experience. These new implementations will require more time, which led to the difficult decision of postponing Winter Survival by one week.

“The Early Access version is a fully playable game where players can experience the first large area of the game. Subsequent areas and additional mechanics will be added in regular updates planned every 8 weeks, with the first massive update to the game’s world just weeks after entering Early Access. Winter Survival certainly isn’t one of those game where there is a bit of this and a bit of that and game is actually just at the start of its development.”

“The full version will contain all the content and features added during Early Access as well as all the suggested changes and additions from the player base.”

Cold, thirst, hunger and physical as well as mental exhaustion are the five major factors you have to worry about. It doesn’t however end there. Injuries and sickness are other factors and then there is the weather. Spending the night in the freezing cold without any shelter is akin to a death sentence and trying to go out in a snow storm isn’t any better either. Don’t forget, weather in the mountains changes quickly and is unpredictable.

Further variety comes in with our event system where random events can save your day unexpectedly or make the nightmare even worse. Things do not have to be that bleak or stay that way all the time. The adaptation system allows you to open up new survival skills and strengthen your abilities. And then there is our unique sanity system to make things really interesting…

The most deviant enemy in a desolate land, is one’s mind. In Winter Survival you will experience an unforgiving world where it’s hard to distinguish reality from madness, due to the unique sanity system.

In reality, your mind becomes a problem way sooner than starvation. It starts with fatigue symptoms, losing your will to continue the struggle up to imagining things and even full blown hallucinations. Fear and the stress associated with it form another layer that can influence your perception and together all these factors make for a highly interesting and different survival experience.

Hunt or be hunted. Use the environment to your advantage. Observe your prey, study its behaviour, make and set traps to capture animals. Craft torches to scare away wolves. Make spears to throw at prey and protect yourself from apex predators that surround the area.

Given limited resources, think twice before starting a fight. A bear is a mighty predator and going against one with a knife or even a spear might not be the brightest idea. Maybe avoiding the danger or sneaking past a potential encounter is the smarter choice given the circumstance?

Gather resources, learn how to craft all sorts of useful things and build shelters and other structures to escape everyday struggles.
Some resources are easy to find, some are only available in certain areas, others have to be gained from hunting and some are left behind by those before you.

The extended crafting system ranges from simple campfires to cook food to building entire shelters and protective structures wherever you please. It is the crafting and building system that will allow you to slowly transition from unbearable danger to a more manageable environment - if you prepare properly.

• Survive an Unforgiving Wilderness - Play as an inexperienced survivalist. Overcome the difficulties of baron isolation or perish. Explore the surrounding terrain and withstand its unrelenting challenges. Become smarter, faster, stronger. Kill to eat, learn to thrive, and master the madness that ensues.
• Fight Against Insanity - The most deviant enemy in a desolate land, is one’s mind. Treat wounds, satisfy needs, or become overwhelmed by fear and horrifying visions. 
• Gather, Build, Survive, Repeat - Venture into the wilderness and uncover hidden secrets and treasures to increase chances of survival. Manage materials to create shelter, stay warm, and hopefully live to see another sunrise. 
• Unearth the Past - Reveal the mysteries of the region, why a local town has been left in shambles, and what happened to the people that used to inhabit this dreary winter land. 
• Hunt and Harvest - Set traps to catch prey, fend off wolves with torches, wield spears, and repel the restless wildlife. 
• Endure in Three Game Modes
  • Story Mode: Learn more about yourself and people long gone while you struggle to survive. Find your friends and get back home.
  • Coldwave: Risk your life in an ultimate survival experience. Brave the elements of an ever-changing weather and see how far you can go before the wilderness claims you.
  • Endless Mode: Take advantage of more resources and crafting options as you try to conquer the world around you. Start and proceed how you want.

Winter Survival is in development for PC (Steam), scheduled for 2024, with console versions planned for the future.