Near Death

Though certainly rough around the edges, this remains one of the best crafted narrative driven survival games I've played, sitting alongside the likes of Subnautica. The biggest deviation from it's contemporaries is that there are no evil monsters, no zombies, no aliens, not even a single sign of something still alive. Not because of some disaster, or apocalyptic catastrophe. No. It's winter, and you've crash landed in the Antarctic, outside a decommissioned research base. The whole experience instils a unique sense of grounded dread, the feeling of realising that you are not supposed to live here. Nothing is supposed to live here. It lasts just long enough to remain effective throughout, roughly 3 hours per playthrough, and instils a rich sense of atmosphere. There is no other game I can think of where I've repeatedly experienced snow blindness, pushing out into the blizzard, referencing a static map for where I was and where I think I might be, and making a wrong turn. feeling like I should see some sign of my destination, I get reckless and start sprinting. The last thing I see before freezing to death, a glimpse at the start of the path path I'd so brazenly pressed. The reali…

Most similar to a walking sim game with an excellent atmosphere and the ever-present, novel antagonist of the polar storm bearing down on you. The basic resource management and the changing weather makes it feel like you're really battling the wind and cold, and the story propels you through the 3-5 hour experience. It felt like normal difficulty was properly tuned and I really enjoyed this one. I'd highly recommend it to people who enjoy walking sims or that would like a simple survival game that's telling a short tale with no funny business. 9/10, it's a shame it flew under the radar, considering this was the developers' last game I'd assume they've closed up shop.

Short but very enjoyable. Not many games that scratch that long dark itch.

A fun short "adventure" game where you have to collect items to progress the story. Ending could have been a bit more though.

Frozen winds whisper Survival grows through each step Dawn rewards resolve

crazy how small map actually is when it's calm, awesome game