The Forever Winter - Anyone Heard of This

Fatshark Lounge
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The premise for this game looks really, really, interesting. It gives me 40k feelings of what it would be like for a regular imperial citizen to survive in those big wars.

The basic concept is this: you’re a scav trying to make ends meet while caught in a war between two gigantic hyper advanced military powers. Your job is to go out into this hellscape of a warzone, scavenge, loot, then try to make it out in one peace - there are also missions you can do, such as gathering resources for a mission giver, investigating an area, or killing a specific enemy.

It’s an ‘extraction’ shooter but there is no PvP, instead, it’s a cooperative game with a focus on the PvE elements where you and your team will be dodging bullets, avoiding mechs, whilst trying to scavenge loot. The game also has some interesting enemy AI systems where the warring factions will have different threat values assigned to them which will affect who they focus on; for example if one of the warring enemy units is a danger then it’ll get focused on by stronger units, if you become a threat then you’ll get swarmed by advanced units.

The game does appear to have indie productions as well as some jank but the concept looks really interesting to me.

Here’s a couple of screenies:





Here’s the steam page of the game:

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Looks nice, but is at least another 3 years away. At the very least.

What we’re shown there is a vertical slice, pre-alpha. Guys haven’t even properly started yet me thinks.
The concept is very nice and the idea novel.

A giant war is brewing and you’re a small cockroach in the grand scheme of things, just trying not to get trampled by the warring factions storming the battlefield.

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Yeah. I got my eyes on it ever since I saw a trailer on youtube. Of course, like you said, it looks like it’s years off but still, the trailer had me intrigued.

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I have it wishlisted. I am very, very intrigued by the concept, world and the aesthetics

However I have been burned so many times I don’t have much hope for anything anymore. I’ll wait until we see gameplay before getting too hyped for it.

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I get that feeling. What even matters anymore in this corrupted world?

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The concept is what’s got me really looked. It’s not just a war. It’s almost some sort of Eldritch or 1984 esque concept, of a never ending war between 2 major powers using weird and obscure stuff (air dripping robo zombies) amd having to survive between in that in a This War of Mine way.

However I think as well as the gameplay concept, the story needs to be done well. I want to know almost nothing about the 2 countries at war. Leave it up to the imagination. I doubt there will ever be a good explanation for half the stuff that’s used. Over explaining stuff will kill the mystique and feeling the game gives.

Still excited for it obviously or I wouldn’t be nerd ranting about it, but there’s a lot of stuff that could go wrong.

As well as “less is more” seeming like a lost art these days.

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Hey Dragon there’s an interesting video some youtuber did where he talks about the game as well as share some gameplay, I think you might be interested in it:

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I appreciate you sending me the video.

I loathe this video.

It’s such an over edited self indulgent piece of slop that does almost nothing except waste time. It could’ve been 1/3rd as long and convey exactly the same amount of information and footage.

If my first introduction to this title was that video than I would dismiss the game as the same.

I hate youtube “essayists” for this reason and this just reinforces that.

However what snippets of footage and information you can actually gleam from it do look and sound promising. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for this game. I just hope it doesn’t come from the same source.

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Yeah that’s what thought too when I first saw it, it’s the typical youtube essayists of meandering around and indulging in their own pretentiousness; but he does go through the mechanics as well as showcase some gameplay if you’re willing to put up with it. I personally just skipped around until I got to the parts that seemed pertinent to the game.

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I suffered through it to try and not be rude because you sent it to me lol.

Just needed to vent my anger for youtube essayists somewhere :stuck_out_tongue:.

It sounds like there’s a lot of complicated moving parts for the AI. And for a first time smaller scale dev studio that always starts ringing some alarm bells of biting off more than you can chew.

If it can be pulled off successfully it sounds really, really fun. Ironically one of my main complaints with HD 2 is something that Forever Winter seems to address is enemy knowledge (what the enemy knows) and target prioritization. It sucks in HD 2 when say a couple of fire team members are in an engagement, you flank to set up enfilading fire but the enemies already know where you are because they’re in an “aggroed” state. Would love to see some matched combat animations as well. Hopefully the whole “looting” part of the extraction shooter genre doesn’t take away from the really cool stealth and combat mechanics.

From the guy wearing the USA flag mask and the fact that there’s an entire video about the lore of the game, it seems like my desire for a more mysterious or horror approach to the setting as a whole isn’t going to be a thing which is very dissapointing.

I realize I’m going off pessimistic which isn’t really my intention. Just that the base concept and setting are so engrossing that I really want the title to be good. But the last couple of years have really crushed what faith I have in the games industry.

Basically I can see the game as something I put 100s of hours into and love or something I watch burn from a distance and be depressed at what went wrong.

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Oh don’t do that lol. I didn’t mean for you to suffer. I’m very sorry man.

You’re absolutely on point here. I myself am very careful with trusting unproven studios making big promises; but here’s the thing: we’re not really losing anything by just watching from the sidelines and seeing how this pans out. The concept looks interesting enough that I’d check it out every once in a while to see how the game is progressing.

I personally have not played any ‘Extraction’ shooters because the whole lose your loot that you worked hard for doesn’t exactly entice me.

I wouldn’t put too much stock to the youtuber. Like Mayson said the game is far from release, years at best, so who knows how much of the lore stuff that youtuber was talking about would even be relevant.

Naah. Just do what I do: sit on the sideline and watch from afar without any commitment. There are loads of games that I just watch from a distance, checking back on every once in a year to see how things are going.

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Jesus I just saw how much I wrote. Feel free to skim or skip lol.

You’re making it sound like I had my fingers pulled off! It’s not a big deal at all.

Going to start with this first since I feel it’sthe most important part.

It’s hard for me to do this for certain games, specifically ones with very creative concepts or intriguing stories. I’m a very big sucker for creativity or new ideas, and interesting and thought provoking settings.

The base concepts and ideas behind the game tick a lot of boxes for things I am very interested in and love seeing. A unique base idea (extraction shooter in a war zone). An interesting setting. The idea of “war” as a constant, unending hellish concept. Big cool robots (who doesn’t love big cool robots). A horror shine to finish it off as everything I could want.

So I’m already emotionally invested in it. Because it’s something that I believe could tell some amazing stories, bring some fresh concepts and experiences to interact with, and is something I could see myself wanting to make.

Does this mean I’m going to pre order the mega deluxe collector’s edition (or preorder at all)? Does this mean I’m going to track every single development and comment on everything they do or say? No.

But I am emotionally invested in it. And if it does do bad I will have lost something, in a sense. Just how my brain is wired.

I hate it in PvP games. I find that if done correctly it can be good in PvE games. And I think adding a bit of horror is great.

A traditional horror game stops becoming scary when you get stuck on a point and the same monster gives you the same jumpscare that puts you back to a checkpoint 2 minutes before. Part of that is frustration of repetition, part of it is there is a complete lack of stakes. If there is no real penalty to having the monster jump at you, why be scared?

If you’re trying to leave an area with a valuable piece of loot or whatever, (ideally) you’re already on edge. You want to get out of danger as soon as possible.

Suddenly turning a corner and seeing a scary monster, a Black Ops kill team or a giant mech right in front of you isn’t just a, “oh wow that kind of suprised me that’s cool!” It’s an, “Holy sh*t I really don’t want to die,” moment that can actually be scary, and the fact that you only have 1 chance.

In addition to making any engagements after such a point far more tense and engaging because of it.

However just like normal horror games it’s still a delicate balance between failure having consequences and frustration of losing progress.

Not just the youtuber, that’s a piece of concept art. We’ll see.

Also sounds like the people you play as are characters instead of nameless nobodies which would also kind of pull me out of the setting. As you said it’s a ways out but some things that might make the narrative less interesting to me.

Not that it will make it bad. Just that I think it could lose out on a theme there.

Hopefully I’m not rambling too much. As you can see this (not just this game, but story telling and a bit of game design philosophy) are somethings that I am very passionate about.

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You’re fine, dear.

It’s not weird. I can understand how you can get invested into a unique concept and feel let down when it doesn’t work out; I myself can relate with certain RPGs that were supposed to be breakthroughs in the genre but turned out offensively mediocre. As gaming enthusiasts we’re always looking for new, interesting, experiences that reignite that ‘magic’ we once had as kids when we first experienced the medium. So it’s not completely weird to get invested into this.

Haha, now you’re getting me emotionally invested with how cool you make it sound, haha.

You ever played F.E.A.R - the first one not the awful sequels - that was a game that give me these feelings.

Oh. I though that art was from another game.

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It’s a bit different for me, at least in certain cases. Payday 3 fits perfectly with what yoj said here. However for me in this case and a few others, it’s much more about the story and themes being represented. Tons of potential for engaging and engrossing scenarios, whether as part of predetermined lore or as emergent gameplay. I’m a big fan of narrative games, as long as done correctly (I hate walking sims still). It’s hard for me to put into words what I feel?

Lile for Payday 3 I’m sad that it wasn’t a fun sequel to do heists with friends etc. But it’s hardly unique in it’s narrative and themes. If this game comes out and sucks, than there is some unique potential that will be lost forever, or at least a long time.

That’s why I think PvE “extraction shooters” can be good games. I think part of it comes down to that they are designed to be “won” or overcome. Not easy, but scenarios can be more designed to be “fair” and provide specific challenges to the player rather than the random nature of PvP games. A game dev isn’t going to put a 1 shot kill enemy right next to an extraction point just as you’re leaving. A player might camp an extraction point until you leave.

Additionally having it be PvP can really ruin the immersion of the setting. The best example of that would be Hunt Showdown. The game and the setting look really, really cool and immersive. And than you get into a 2v2 and everyone is running around (and on top of) a house like it’s CoD, that foribly reminds me that, “Hey. This is a PvP game. You are a player playing a game trying to get a reward out of it.” And while there’s nothing wrong with that in certain cases I believe it ruins Hunt’s best aspect.

And there’s still a concern that it can be done incorrectly. For example, I would hate it if Darktide or Vermintide 2 were “extraction” based. Losing Crafting Materials for DT and getti g lower quality chests in VT 2 is enough. Because for example let’s say you get a really bad team and can’t carry them. A trapper shoots a net that goes through a bulwark. You swear you dodged that Hookrat. And now the run is over. As it currently is? Fine. Whatever. Boot up another game and give it another go or be done for a little bit. If you picked up an ultra rare crafting material that you need to either progress a quest or make a weappn you want? That turns into a massively rage inducing moment.

It seems that in Winter the TTK on you is decently high however so I don’t think it woll be a huge problem there. Just that there are pitfalls to having progression being lost with losing.

I have not unfortunately. I very much need to at some point. I have played and very much enjoyed TREPANG which some people consider a spiritual successor: however from what I’ve seen gameplay wise they don’t have much alike, but the setting of tacticool guys in horror situations is similar.

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Nah. F.E.A.R was far more slower and tactical. TREPANG is more fast paced. I don’t think they’re similar at all. On the highest difficulty of F.E.A.R your crawling around, peeking corners, using tactics to outmaneuver the enemy, throwing grenades to flush out the replica soldiers whilst constantly repositioning in order to avoid suppression fire as the enemy flanks you - the shootouts get really stimulating as the enemy AI is no push over. Trying to do fancy movement in F.E.A.R will result in death unless you’re playing on the lowest difficulty.

Case and point: there’s no aim down sight feature in TREPANG.

I think the most modern example to F.E.A.R is Selaco. Selaco captures the essence of those high tactical shootouts. On the highest difficulty of Selaco, just like in F.E.A.R, you can’t just rush in like you can in TREPANG else you’ll get bursted down faster than you can get a full clip off. In Selaco you have to peek corners, play smart, etc.

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Yeah I assumed. Like I said I think people drew the similarities on narrative alone.

I’ve heard Selaco mentioned before. I wasn’t interested in it because I assumed it was just another boomer shooter type of game. If it really is like that I’ll at least give it a look.

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I mean… Yeah… It IS made on the GZDoom Engine which is a fork of OG doom and it does play similar to it.

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I’ll admit that I’m not terribly much into sci-fi but the idea sounds interesting and cool.

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