Even in the earliest stages Winter construction walks a fine line between cute and serious. After being revealed at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase, the first 20 minutes are playable for the first time at gamescom 2024 – and for something so cutely presented, I was quite surprised by how quickly it makes you realize that this is much more than your typical cozy game.
The opening scene tells a story that is equal parts sadness and hopeful nostalgia – a young mouse is forced out of their rural home (the titular den) as their parents seek work. After years of working in the town’s mines, they tragically die, and our hero decides to leave and rebuild their childhood home.
This grim setting gives way to a true survival game – you quickly set about gathering materials that allow you to build a fire pit, an axe and a chair (for knitting new clothes) that open up further crafting opportunities. It’s easy to see that while the mood is reminiscent of Sylvanian Families, the gameplay itself feels more familiar to players of survival games.
As you’d expect from this genre, you’ll need to keep hunger, stamina and heat levels up, which can impact your ability to get on with your job – and you’ll also need to protect yourself from wandering, hostile insects that can hinder you as you explore the miniature forest surrounding your home. One nice thing is that, at least in the early game, you don’t have a 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 is clear that Winter construction has more cheerful ideas in mind, too. Rather than conflict or a struggle for survival, this game is clearly about building a home and connecting with others. One of your first tasks is to find your long-lost aunt, and along the way I met a friendly traveling salesman. The game promises the ability to dress up your character and decorate the den to your liking. This is all accentuated by a storybook presentation – everything in this world (scaled down to fit a mouse’s perspective) is beautifully hand-drawn.
Think about Winter construction as two halves of a whole – outside of your home, you fight the elements and gather what you can, but it’s all in the service of building a better life for yourself and enjoying the cozier aspects of a life simulation. At this first glance, the balance between sweet and serious is managed very well.
Winter Burrow is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC in 2025—and you can play it from day one with Game Pass.
Winter construction
Pasta cake
Winter Burrow is a cozy forest survival game where you explore, gather resources, craft tools, knit warm sweaters, bake cakes, and meet the locals. Rebuild your dilapidated childhood burrow into a place you can call home again and relax in front of the fireplace. Play as a mouse who has returned from life in the big city to find that her childhood home is in ruins. And your aunt, who was supposed to take care of it, has disappeared. Brave the elements and travel into the frozen wilderness to gather resources to survive and for the long journey of restoring your burrow. Beware of the insects and remember that no one survives alone. Make 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 your burrow, and choose a path that suits your play style. In Winter Burrow, it’s you who tells the story.
