A Charming Yet Challenging Rodent Adventure
Winter Burrow, a new family-friendly survival game available on Nintendo Switch and Game Pass, presents players with the delicate challenge of surviving a freezing midwinter as a humble mouse. Developed by Danish studio Pine Creek Games and published by Noodlecake, this title offers a gentler take on the typically harsh survival genre.
Unlike darker survival games where characters struggle for basic subsistence, Winter Burrow maintains a cosy atmosphere despite its sombre setup. Your mouse protagonist returns to their dilapidated woodland home after their parents perish in a rodent metropolis, hoping to find Aunt Betulina waiting. Instead, you discover an empty, partially collapsed house requiring immediate repairs.
Gameplay Mechanics: Survival in the Snow
The initial gameplay focuses on fundamental survival tasks. Your first priority involves crafting a tiny makeshift axe to chop down twigs and branches for building a fire. You'll also need to forage for food, ranging from mushrooms to frozen elderberries, all rendered solid by the harsh winter conditions.
Once you've established basic warmth and shelter, reconstruction efforts begin properly. Your cosy tree stump home contains a crafting bench and, after repairs, an armchair where you can sit and knit - producing useful rope and warmer clothing essential for venturing outside.
The temperature management system proves particularly challenging. Whenever you leave your burrow, your body temperature steadily decreases. When it drops halfway, frost appears at the screen edges, gradually encroaching on your vision. If your body heat fully dissipates, your health bar begins dropping, creating urgent pressure to return home before succumbing to hypothermia.
Inventory Management and Exploration Challenges
Winter Burrow presents significant inventory constraints that impact gameplay strategy. Players begin with only nine inventory slots, three of which are permanently occupied by essential tools: axe, shovel, and pickaxe. This leaves limited space for carrying food, kindling, or other survival necessities.
The game features subtle Metroidvania elements, with new forest areas becoming accessible as you acquire better equipment through favours for woodland animals. Smashed boulders and cleared roads open previously unavailable paths, though navigation remains challenging without a map system.
Visual charm abounds, with the game resembling a hand-illustrated children's book. Your mouse leaves footprints in the snow, which helps when retracing steps, though the beautiful visuals sometimes obscure clear pathways. This becomes particularly stressful when freezing or far from home with limited provisions.
Despite its appealing aesthetics, Winter Burrow's balance feels slightly off. Your mouse gets cold and hungry too quickly, and while certain foods provide defensive boosts or slow stamina depletion, their effects remain modest and short-lived. The limited inventory discourages carrying supplementary items, making exploration more fraught than necessary.
Winter Burrow releases on 12th November 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, priced at £17.59. It's available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from launch day, with a age rating of 7.
