Midvinter

The game description says this is a "cozy little point-and-click game". At first glance, it does look a lot like a classic Point & Click adventure. You can point, you can click, you get comments on everything, you have an inventory for all kinds of items that you're supposed to solve puzzles with. Charming 2D graphics and a fun little character, check. And yet... Cosy in my book means low stakes. Having to prevent [spoiler]a baby from being abducted into slavery[/spoiler] is... something else. It's also indicated that the people your character is supposed to help (with limited means) are poor to the point of starvation. Well, it's folklore after all, so maybe this could be expected. At least this kind of game wouldn't actually let something bad happen, right? But the worst thing is, you [i]can[/i] fail. Here we get back to the Point & Click part, because another typical trait of Point & Click adventures in my book is that you can explore everything to your heart's content, and the worst possible outcome is getting stuck or having to backtrack. In this game, I didn't understand a quirk in the mechanics of a puzzle and a description, so I overlooked something I could do. Usually …

This game probably isn't for people who are in a hurry, aren't familiar with Swedish folklore and/or the language, or who just don't like cozy point-and-click games. I happened to check all three boxes for about an hour and a half tonight and got some sweet, sweet cheevos and a little more Swedish practice. Two thumbs up, would double-click my little friend around a Swedish farm again (three times, in fact. Cheeeeeevos.)

A good game to play if you're looking for a puzzle you can solve in a day. The story is surprisingly good and kept me interested throughout. Art style could use some polish but doesn't affect too much from the overall experience

Midvinter is a short Scandinavian Point & Click fairy tale by a Swedish indie studio. The game is translated into several languages and has voiceovers that can be combined.

The achievements almost provide more content than the game itself, but sometimes I just want to kill some time without investing many hours or days (or weeks, or months) in the experience, and for that, Midvinter delivers.

6/10