It's a tentative recommend, because there are some things wrong with this game. The interface doesn't always work right or intuitively (mixing different piles of mushrooms with different expiration dates to make a soup from them is something I still haven't managed despite having beaten the game twice, including on the hardest difficulty). The dialogue after a few playthroughs is 80% stuff you already know. The difficulty can change WILDLY due to RNG. The realism of some survival, crafting and cooking is... questionable (for example, unless you play on the hardest difficulty and turn off the indicators about incoming weather in the game options, you'll probably find a minor hand cut is harder to address than the famous Siberian weather that's supposed to be a constant, deathly threat).

And yet, I've spent over 30 hours in HWCT - because, despite those flaws, it's still a good resource management game. It's simple in its principles yet challenging in practice, the gameplay can vary wildly from one playthrough to another (try not finding any clay for a few days...) and at least some of the time there are alternate ways to address particular problems, as well as costs and needs that require careful balancing. What little story and prose there is - is good enough to keep me interested in what's going to happen, and it sometimes manages to convey a glimpse of the tragic situation our characters find themselves in (as well as the petty squabbles they concern themselves with even in the face of death - sadly, one of the most realistic elements of the game). The art is also quite good, I especially love how the eyes of the characters are depicted.

Overall, I wouldn't say it's a great or wonderful game, but it's a very good one. I got it on a great discount and I'm 100% satisfied with the value I got for the money - but even at full price, fans of the genre shouldn't be disappointed.

It's a tentative recommend, because there are some things wrong with this game. The interface doesn't always work right or intuitively (mixing different piles of mushrooms with different expiration dates to make a soup from them is something I still haven't managed despite having beaten the game twice, including on the hardest difficulty). The dialogue after a few playthroughs is 80% stuff you already know. The difficulty can change WILDLY due to RNG. The realism of some survival, crafting and cooking is... questionable (for example, unless you play on the hardest difficulty and turn off the indicators about incoming weather in the game options, you'll probably find a minor hand cut is harder to address than the famous Siberian weather that's supposed to be a constant, deathly threat). And yet, I've spent over 30 hours in HWCT - because, despite those flaws, it's still a good resource management game. It's simple in its principles yet challenging in practice, the gameplay can vary wildly from one playthrough to another (try not finding any clay for a few days...) and at least some of the time there are alternate ways to address particular problems, as well as costs and needs that require careful balancing. What little story and prose there is - is good enough to keep me interested in what's going to happen, and it sometimes manages to convey a glimpse of the tragic situation our characters find themselves in (as well as the petty squabbles they concern themselves with even in the face of death - sadly, one of the most realistic elements of the game). The art is also quite good, I especially love how the eyes of the characters are depicted. Overall, I wouldn't say it's a great or wonderful game, but it's a very good one. I got it on a great discount and I'm 100% satisfied with the value I got for the money - but even at full price, fans of the genre shouldn't be disappointed.