Even in its earliest stages, Winter Burrow walks a fine line between sweet and serious. After being revealed at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase, the opening 20 minutes are playable for the first time at gamescom 2024 – and for such a cutely presented thing, I was taken aback by quite how quickly it lets you know that this is much more than a typical cozy game.
The opening cutscene sets up a story of equal parts sorrow and hopeful nostalgia – a young mouse is moved from their countryside home (the titular Burrow) as their parents seek employment. After years spent working in the city’s mines, they tragically pass away, and our hero decides to leave, setting off to rebuild their childhood residence.
That sombre set-up gives way to a true survival game – you quickly set about gathering materials to allow you to build a fireplace, an axe, and an armchair (used for knitting new clothing), each of which beget more crafting options. It’s easy to see that while the vibes might conjure up Sylvanian Families, the gameplay itself will feel more familiar to survival game players.
As you’d expect from this genre, you’ll need to be upkeeping hunger, stamina, and warmth bars, each of which can affect your ability to get on with your work – and you’ll also need to protect yourself from wandering, hostile insects who can hamper you while you explore the miniature woodland around your home. One beautiful touch is that, at least in the early game, you have no map – and I quickly found myself following my own footprints in the snow to find my way home.
But if this all sounds a bit stressful, it’s clear that Winter Burrow has more cheerful ideas on its mind, too. Rather than a conflict, or a fight for survival, this is clearly a game about building a home and connecting with others. One of your earliest tasks is to find your long-lost Aunty, and I met a friendly travelling salesman on the way. The game promises the ability to dress your character and decorate the Burrow to your liking. That’s all accented with a picture-book presentation – everything in this world (shrunken to match the perspective of a mouse) is gorgeously hand-drawn.
Think of Winter Burrow as two halves of a whole – outside your home, you’ll battle the elements and scavenge what you can, but it’s all in service of building a better life for yourself, and indulging in the cozier aspects of a life sim. On this early look, it’s walking that line between sweet and serious very well.
Winter Burrow arrives for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC in 2025 – and you can play it day one with Game Pass.
Winter Burrow
Noodlecake
Restore your broken-down childhood burrow to a place you can again call home and relax in front of the fireplace. Play as a mouse who has returned from life in the big city only to find that your childhood home is in ruin. And your Aunt, who was supposed to be looking after it, has gone missing.
Brave the elements and journey out into the frozen wilderness to collect resources for survival and the long journey of restoring your burrow. Beware of the insect wildlife and remember that nobody survives on their own. Find new friends, expand your survival handbook and solve the mystery of what happened to your Aunt.
In this survival game you can play at your own pace, customize your character, decorate you burrow and choose a path that fit your play style. In Winter Burrow it is you who tells the story.
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