As of the time it's written; I cannot recommend Forever Winter for anyone but the die-hard followers and jank extraordinaires in it's current state. The game was released into early access by the decision of not only the devs, but the community itself. Right now, the frame rates are bad and AI is far from perfect - wait for the optimization patches to hit before getting the game - unless any of that doesn't scare you off.

Since it's been mentioned a lot, I am skipping the entire water debate. For me it's hard to really judge it when it's a high possibility of being changed/having higher functions besides avoiding permadeath of your base (upgrades specifically) and your collected loot. As for now; a lot of people are not happy about it - personally don't mind it, but that's just me.

With that out of the way; it's important to state that there is a handful of quests available in the game right now. These quests are given by the 4 available quest givers tied to each faction in the game; Europa, Eurasia, Euruska and Scavs. These quests ranges from fetch quests, assassinations to sabotage even. And from what I have understood - even more quests are coming in the future.

The quests available right now can both be tied in to progression and for (the most beyond starting quests) acquistion of gear, money and water. Important note; these quest doesn't have tied in progression as in Tarkov. This is currently as the review is written 01/10/2024.

The game has currently 2 faction related vendors and 4 SCAV vendors; which all sells equipment in tiers based on standing with factions (Tarkov players would know this concept well). Gear ranks from borderline useless to extremely strong, depending on TIER access (of which, there are 3 TIERS at every vendor). You can raise standing by selling/buying at the vendors - this is arguebly the fastest way.

With all that being said; the game is definitively fun under all it's jank. As for something that is supposedly in a Alpha stage in many ways; the game is really well built in it's concepts and have a lot of rooms for improvements - which I believe will come as the devs are really in touch with the community. It has a unique charm and concept for a game, but all of that can fall pretty short with the current shortcomings of the developement phase. Beyond that; the sheer amount of stress this game has produced onto me is positively been a good ride - I rarely get this stressed out. Made me get that rush of adrenaline again, which has been a really fun experience overall.

To reiterating my starting point - don't buy the game if the jank and lack of optimization is a big turn-off for you. If you can look behind that and the water mechanic requiring you to have water accessible as it runs in real-life time; then go for it. But my recommendation for now is wait for the optimization - as even 4060 cards can barely get 60 FPS in the current state.

Hopefully you'll like it if you do get it. See you around the Innards, and may the Mech God bless your runs.


01/10: Changes to text for readability, typos etc.

[h1]The review will be regularly updated over time to reflect the progression of it's developement.[/h1] [h2]Current State[/h2] As of the time it's written; I cannot recommend Forever Winter for anyone but the die-hard followers and jank extraordinaires in it's current state. The game was released into early access by the decision of not only the devs, but the community itself. Right now, the frame rates are bad and AI is far from perfect - wait for the optimization patches to hit before getting the game - unless any of that doesn't scare you off. Since it's been mentioned a lot, I am skipping the entire water debate. For me it's hard to really judge it when it's a high possibility of being changed/having higher functions besides avoiding permadeath of your base (upgrades specifically) and your collected loot. As for now; a lot of people are not happy about it - personally don't mind it, but that's just me. With that out of the way; it's important to state that there is a handful of quests available in the game right now. These quests are given by the 4 available quest givers tied to each faction in the game; Europa, Eurasia, Euruska and Scavs. These quests ranges from fetch quests, assassinations to sabotage even. And from what I have understood - even more quests are coming in the future. The quests available right now can both be tied in to progression and for (the most beyond starting quests) acquistion of gear, money and water. Important note; these quest doesn't have tied in progression as in Tarkov. This is currently as the review is written 01/10/2024. The game has currently 2 faction related vendors and 4 SCAV vendors; which all sells equipment in tiers based on standing with factions (Tarkov players would know this concept well). Gear ranks from borderline useless to extremely strong, depending on TIER access (of which, there are 3 TIERS at every vendor). You can raise standing by selling/buying at the vendors - this is arguebly the fastest way. [h2]My opinion[/h2] With all that being said; the game is definitively fun under all it's jank. As for something that is supposedly in a Alpha stage in many ways; the game is really well built in it's concepts and have a lot of rooms for improvements - which I believe will come as the devs are really in touch with the community. It has a unique charm and concept for a game, but all of that can fall pretty short with the current shortcomings of the developement phase. Beyond that; the sheer amount of stress this game has produced onto me is positively been a good ride - I rarely get this stressed out. Made me get that rush of adrenaline again, which has been a really fun experience overall. [h2]Conclusion?[/h2] To reiterating my starting point - don't buy the game if the jank and lack of optimization is a big turn-off for you. If you can look behind that and the water mechanic requiring you to have water accessible as it runs in [u][b]real-life time[/b][/u]; then go for it. But my recommendation for now is wait for the optimization - as even 4060 cards can barely get 60 FPS in the current state. Hopefully you'll like it if you do get it. See you around the Innards, and may the Mech God bless your runs. [h3][u][b]UPDATES:[/b][/u][/h3] 01/10: Changes to text for readability, typos etc.