There are a few games where you’re billed as not being the hero of the story. One that immediately springs to mind is Kingdom Come: Deliverance. While he kind of becomes the hero he doesn’t start as one per se. I’m sure there are plenty of other examples too. Fun Dog Studios seems to be taking that ‘you aren’t the hero’ trope to an entirely new level in The Forever Winter. It’s easily one of my most anticipated games of this and the release date has just been dropped!
The Forever Winter
The Forever Winter – coming to early access 24th September 2024, is set to immerse players in a dystopian future where relentless war has ravaged the Earth. In this four-player tactical survival horror shooter (No PVP), players take on the role of scavengers in the city of Lost Angels. Their mission is to scavenge for supplies, gear, and weapons while fulfilling contracts for two warring factions, all in the hopes of sustaining their survivor settlement.
The game promises a grimdark atmosphere reminiscent of the Warhammer 40k universe, with a setting that feels like a battlefield for everyone except the Space Marines. Players will constantly be outgunned, undersupplied, and under attack. Where cooperation and cunning to survive even minor enemy encounters is paramount. The city of Los Angeles itself is a character, destroyed by day and rebuilt by machines at night, while Recovery Units harvest organs from the dead. It is constantly full of life and death, with battles raging all over the city.
You’ll not only be scavenging and trying to survive the horrors of the world. Additionally, you will be accepting jobs that range from sabotage to assassination, with each completed mission potentially leading to more challenging and rewarding tasks. Control over city sectors can shift, bringing heavier enemy deployments and increased danger. Discovering valuable items may pit players against formidable bosses, testing the limits of their scavenged gear and makeshift “rigs.”
The Forever Winter is shaping up to be a harrowing experience that will test players’ survival instincts and strategic skills in a world where war never ceases. It looks like a truly unique game where you won’t be the centre of attention. In fact, at times this will be discouraged.
Trust me, you’re not that guy, pal
One of the most interesting aspects of The Forever Winter is how the world is designed to not just react to you. But to also continue despite you. Each NPC will be able to perceive threats and judge how dangerous they might be to them. Meaning the majority of the time you won’t be seen as any kind of threat to them. Squads will engage in firefights with other squads allowing you to pass so close that you could smell them. But as they’re already engaged in a fight they won’t bother paying attention to you. Furthermore, tanks will fight tanks, or should an enemy squad pose some kind of anti-tank threat they will start to target them. The huge mech-like creations will barely register you unless you’re dumb enough to try and take them on.
It’s a food chain and you’re at the bottom of it.
Sleuthing your way past firefights might be your only chance of survival. However, being that you don’t pose much of a threat you will be able to sneak around with success. You will still have to be smart about it. Cause too much of a disturbance and their attention just might switch to you.
A style that goes hard
The world has been strangled by 40 years of industrial-scale violence between two military superpowers, unmerciful mass killing by AI automata, and human-machine hybrids. It’s a bleak picture and you’re thrust into the middle of it on no one’s side just trying to survive. The backdrop of a battered city envelops you and it looks brilliant. The world looks grim, it’s dark and depressing. You have cobbled together bits and bobs to make some kind of kit that will allow you to survive another day.
The giant mechs and AI automata look incredible. Seeing them traverse the battlefield in the distance truly shows you how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of this war. I’ve no doubt it will be terrifying if and when one of them turns their gaze upon you.
The style of the game is what initially caught my attention. It’s oppressive, and I don’t think I’ve seen a game look this foreboding in a long time. There is no respite from the savagery of this world. Even in the ‘safety’ of your home deep in the ‘guts’ of the city, you won’t find any pleasantries.
However, the bleakness of it all is one of the things I love about the game. The developers Fun Dog Studios have a very specific vision for the game and they’re not letting anything stand in the way of that.
Forever Winter is a new kind of co-op tactical shooter where there’s much more emphasis on just trying to get out alive. Whilst you will have guns and this is a shooter game, it sort of feels like using those guns is a last resort.
I can’t wait to check the game out on 24th September. It’s going to be brutal.
-Will
