Developer: Pine Creek Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Switch, Xbox Series S|X
Genre: Adventure, Simulation
Publisher: Noodlecake
Winter Burrow is a cosy woodland survival game. The game was developed by Pine Creek Games and published by Noodlecake. This review was done on the PC, but the game is also available for Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.
Winter Burrow tells an emotional little story. After leaving your cosy home burrow for city life, you return to the countryside once your hardworking parents pass away from working in the mine. You decide to rebuild your old burrow, reconnect with your roots, help your animal neighbours and survive the harsh winter that has settled over the land.
The controls for Winter Burrow are simple, and as someone who played on the PC, all controls can be easily played with just the keyboard. The performance of the game was smooth with no noticeable bugs or delays, and the graphics were bright.
The art style really reminds me of Don’t Starve Together, with the top-down perspective and pencil-like sketches. Even though Winter Burrow presents a more cosy aesthetic. Your burrow feels warm and lived-in, and each biome has its own charm and personality. The animal neighbours are all adorable, and their designs make the world feel full of heart. The item and clothing designs are so cute with their vibrant colours that make the tiny mouse protagonist stand out. I would say that the animations are also effortless and adorable. For instance, watching the little mouse sit on a chair and knit by the fireplace was so homey. This game truly captures the cosy, wholesome vibe.
The premise is pretty simple: survive the winter on a day-to-day basis while helping out your neighbours and restoring your home. The pacing of the game is very chill. I instantly got sucked in and ended up playing nonstop. Managing your four main stats (hunger, warmth, health and stamina) is never overwhelming. Survival itself does not get tough, except warmth can drop fast in certain areas. Food is absolutely everywhere, and some meals even help to recover warmth, so hunger is never really a problem. You never find yourself stressing much over stats or quests, which is why this game’s pace is nice and easy-going.
Exploration feels rewarding, too. You can discover lost items, find scrolls that unlock new recipes, and slowly get familiar with the world. There is no map, but surprisingly, it is really manageable to navigate. Sometimes, if I was really lost, I would look for previous prints in the snow to help me back to the burrow. At every point of the different biomes, there were little shortcuts for you to go to another area quickly. The more you play and explore, the familiar the setting becomes.
Helping neighbours and your aunt through quests is pretty fun, and the mechanics are easy to understand. It definitely leans much more ‘cosy craft and collect’ than anything intense or grindy. I loved that crafting pulls items right from your burrow storage, so you do not need to worry about moving craftables into your bag just to use them. And resources respawn every night, so you basically never have to grind.
There were some additions to the game that felt like filler. Decorating the burrow uses a small grid that is kind of awkward to work with, and you can not rotate furniture fully. Even after unlocking the second floor, there just was not much point in decorating it. And the mushroom cave and garden pots were nice for the story, but felt useless gameplay-wise. Gathering mushrooms outside is faster, plus the seed drop rate seemed low.
Winter Burrow does feature combat with your trusty axe, but the enemies are not such a hassle to kill, and even if they are hostile towards you, you can easily defeat them. Even the unexpected big spider that I encountered in the White Pillars was extremely easy to kill, and it had not damaged me once at all, even with me just standing still near it (may have been a bug, but I thought it was gonna be a threat). Winter Burrow seems to appeal more as a cosy collecting items, making recipes and giving back type of game rather than heavy on combat.
I will say that it took me 7 hours to 100% complete the game; on average, it may take a player from 8 to 10 hours. With the current price point, it did feel a bit disappointing as I did not expect the game to finish as quickly as it did, but I am so happy with how the game played out. I do wish there were some sort of replayability, once the story had wrapped up, so that players could invest their time in doing their own tasks.
Winter Burrow captures the heart of cosy survival and warm storytelling, all wrapped up in a snowy adventure. As you gather resources, unlock new recipes, and help your charming animal neighbours, you will slowly rebuild your childhood home and make it your own. If you are looking for a wholesome, survival crafting game with adorable characters and a beautifully frosty world, then this game is just for you. Explore unique biomes, cook delicious meals, and keep yourself warm. Be sure to check out Winter Burrow!
Overall: 8/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
