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It is with quiet anticipation (and some nervousness) that I await to be stepped upon by a freaky mech in The Forever Winter. If you missed its announcement in May, The Forever Winter is a co-op extraction shooter set in a grim future where you struggle to survive amid an unending hyperindustrial war. Since that reveal developers Fun Dog Studios have mostly been sending out small “burst transmissions” – essentially footage from the hellfront – like this patriotic beheading and some panicked gunfights. But today they’ve made a longer video revealing an early access release date. And – oh! – it’s quite soon.
It’s hitting early access on September 24th, the developers say, with four maps, a bunch of guns, and five “broken down characters, each with their own baggage and play styles”. That “baggage” may be both metaphorical and literal, as one of the game’s features is having to strap an unwieldy modular backpack, called a “rig”, to your body before venturing out into the killzone. Imagine the courier backpack from Death Stranding, but kitted out with jump jets, or stacked with deployable turrets instead of cold pizzas.
I’ve seen it described as a “PvEvE” looter shooter, in which enemy factions wage war as you scavenge to make ends meet. The whole idea is that you’re a fragile little fleshbag in an overblown mechanistic conflict, and it’s often better to avoid patrols and let opposing machines duke it out than to engage in a fight yourself. There was a recent beta, and YouTuber “Riloe” made a swish hype-inducing video explaining the game’s general principles and inspirations. It was enough to make me lurk into the game’s Discord, where I first witnessed people becoming very horny about the leggy mech they are now calling “harvester mommy”.
Anyway, the video above features creative director Miles Williams addressing us from behind the cyberhelmet of a human scavenger. He sets out some promises for what the game’s early access period is going to look like, much of it addressing common complaints among gamers. The game is set to cost $30, and he’s keen to make sure you understand there won’t be any “pay-to-win” antics following that buy-in.
“You will never be charged for a new character because that’s the way it should be when you buy
a game,” says Williams. “You will not be charged for maps, guns, additional quests, new bosses, and more. That nickel and dime shit is for the birds.”
That said, the game will still sell cosmetics and skin packs for extra cash. So it’s not entirely an old-school approach. Although the studio head has fond memories of a time when you could simply buy a game and have everything it would ever offer, The Forever Winter still exists in 2024. They need to sell some face paint, I guess is what they’re saying. That’s fair.
Williams also sets out a road map for future stuff like new enemy bosses and upcoming levels. The early access will include an extra grey box (essentially a “work in progress” map) on top of its four main maps. This is so willing players can help test the battlefield, says the dev, and is partly inspired by another extraction shooter.
“We really respect what the homies did with Ready Or Not,” says Williams. “Having the balls to release grey box maps into their map lineup was incredible. So we’re taking a page out of their book.”
So yeah, looks neat. I’ve been peeping at The Forever Winter’s progress with hopeful interest the past couple of months. There is something about big robots being awful that appeals to my Animatrix-addled brain. I’ll have more to write about its war torn lootzones some time soon. Until then, please enjoy one hour of ambient harvester mommy.