Impact Winter Review

Impact Winter is a survival game that has you attempting to survive in a world covered in a blanket of heavy snow. With the recent influx of survival games, is Impact Winter worth a look, or should you stay out of the cold? Check out our review to find out.

Impact Winter Honest Game Review

The events of Impact Winter take place eight years after an asteroid hits the earth and causes severe weather shifts, resulting in endless snow. During the eight years prior to the game, most of the population has been wiped out for one reason or another. With supplies dangerously low, you and your people receive a call over the radio saying that help is coming in 30 days. With a new lease on life, Jacob, who you play as, is now determined to scavenge for the supplies to survive long enough for help to arrive. Not only do you have to take care of yourself, but you also want to help your four friends as well. The choice is yours as to whether you all live or die.

The gameplay basics are what you expect out of a survival game. You travel the endless wastelands searching for food, meds, crafting supplies, and water. This is impeded by wolves and other dangerous wildlife, along with weather that can change at any moment. Being as most of the world is covered in more than 10 feet of snow, you can only search certain buildings. Unfortunately, not all have what you need. There is also limited inventory space, making it more difficult to bring back what you need to base. Thankfully, you have a friendly robot called Ako who will bring back supplies whenever you sleep at a campsite. Still, you can’t spend to much time away from the base or you risk the fire back home going out, which will lead to your allies freezing to death.

So now the question arises: Why should I care about these people? Outside of the fact that they are other human beings, they also craft for you. One can cook, one can craft base upgrades, one teaches you how to survive and crafts survival materials, and another upgrades your Ako bot. Each of these is important in their own right. Cooked food provides a much bigger bonus to hunger and water meters. Lock picks are used all over the place, and help you access rare loot. The Ako bot has a ton of upgrades from drills to expanded bag space, making it easier for you to carry things. Base upgrades mean longer fires, more defense from raiders, and even electricity if you make it that far. The odds of you crafting everything before the end of the 30 days is very low – I don’t even know if it is possible unless you get really lucky.

You really do have to babysit these people as well. If they get sick, you have to help. Setting rations, that’s on you as well. Keep them happy and they will perform well when crafting. If their hunger, water, or even sleep are low, then they will craft poorly and possibly even hurt themselves. Thankfully, you are rewarded for returning often with little mini quests or options for your allies to scavenge for parts or to hunt for you. You also unlock new roles as you level up which can be useful. Each has a positive and negative effect on a character you assign it to. So you can make them craft quicker, but they have a higher risk of injury. They all have their uses depending on how you want to play and they are unlocked fairly quickly. Leveling up is pretty quick in the game as well.

30 days seems a bit steep at first, but you can quickly cut that down. I made it 20 days my first time without a little effort. Quests, leveling up and random events can take hours of the 30-day mark, so rescue arrives sooner. While traveling the frozen wasteland, you will sometimes come across survivors that will ask for random help, such as food or help to find a missing item. If you complete these you don’t get XP or cash, but you lose time on the 30 days. This makes quests very important because you are also wasting time you would normally be spending looking for supplies. There are also radio towers, power stations, and special vans that will take additional time away if you get they item they require. These items are a bit rarer than average, but they can also cut four hours off the timer.

Outside of you and the other travelers of the wastes, you will encounter Nomads. They will give you quests to collect certain items for bonus RP, or experience points. They also have a store that they will sell you items at in exchange for seeds. On a frozen and dead planet, seeds are rare to find. The Nomads are seeking to make the planet green again so they need your help to collect seeds. They have reasonable prices and you can gain access to items like C4 easily this way. It is also useful for when you are in a pinch and need food or water. Needless to say, keep an eye out for seeds during your travels.

Sadly, the game has quite a few bugs. I will say that none were game breaking, but I did lose progress due to some. The first and most weird bug is the fact that I can’t play the game in full screen. I tick the option, but it doesn’t actually go full screen, this is not something I’ve come across before and it is annoying. Other bugs include things like falling through the earth, or not being able to interact with vans or loot crates. One of my biggest gripes with the game is the stairs, it is way to hard to get up stairs with the mouse. You constantly get stuck on the first step and you have to take a wide angle and hope you make it past the first step. Another bug had to do with crafting. Certain recipes I would have the materials for, but a different one would be lit up like I had materials for that. I could still craft it, but it was a common bug during my playthroughs. They may not be game breaking, but they were noticeable.

Though it is a fairly solid game, it might be worth waiting a couple more weeks until the development team sorts out the rest of the bugs before trying to survive the frozen abyss that is Impact Winter.