CDalePeterson

Wintermute Episode 2. I had changed my difficulty from Episode 1, so I had to start 2 fresh with no supplies and little in the way of clothing to protect me from the elements. I was heading from the Trapper's Cabin to the Camp Office, but slid down a steep hill on the way and sprained my ankle. No way I could make it to the Camp Office before dark now. I made camp in the bones of an old shack in the deadfall area. Blizzard came up. I had no food. No rabbits around to hunt. Barely enough fuel to keep the fire going. Each time it started to die down, I'd venture out into the dark with my lantern, hoping to find some sticks and branches to feed it with. Stumbling along on my sprained ankle. Surprisingly few branches in the area that I could break down without a hatchet or tool of any kind, and hard to see them even with the lantern. Each time I'd struggle to find my base again in the blackness. Hours passed this way. Each time I went out to find more fuel for the fire, I'd return to my base nearly hypothermic. Try to get an hour of sleep by the fire, then head back out for more fuel. I drank tea made from rose hips to stay warm, but it made little difference. I was going to starve. Calories nearly at zero. Then during one fuel excursion, deep in the bowels of the night and the forest, snow whipping around me and chilling my bones, I heard a sound nearby. A low, menacing growl. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I set down my lantern and took out my rifle. Wouldn't have known which way to run even if my ankle was in better shape – too easy to get turned around in the forest at night, especially with a blizzard going. I heard the growl again, closer this time. I took aim down the sights of my rifle and turned slowly towards it, but all I could see was blackness. Then a noise to my right. Paws hitting snow, fast. I swung around just in time to see a pair of glowing green eyes lurching towards me. With barely enough time to think, I took a shot with my rifle just as the wolf entered the circle of light cast by my storm lantern. The beast fell to the snow. Lucky shot. With the last of my strength, my energy and body temperature plummeting rapidly, I carved some meat off its belly and stumbled back to my shack. The meal of cooked wolf gave me just enough energy to stay alive, and as morning came I was able to finally get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep and then make my way to the camp office. On my way, I passed the wolf's frozen corpse, and took a moment to silently thank it for finding me in the night. I left three stones to mark its passing. Half a second difference and it would have been eating my throat. Instead, it saved my life.

I am a brand new player who just started the game on Nintendo Switch (I've put in about 6 hours in Wintermute), and I am absolutely blown away. What an incredibly beautiful and compelling piece of work. This game feels so deep, so lovingly crafted, and so immersive, it really is stunning. I can't wait to dive further in and learn the mysteries and secrets of Great Bear. To me, this game enters the realm of "masterpiece," and it is so cool to see the devs continually working to update and expand it over the years and to this very day. One quick anecdote: when I went to get Grey Mother's key from the farmhouse in Milton, a massive blizzard started up. Suddenly I realized that I was going to have to spend the night in the farmhouse. In its own simple way, that was such an amazing moment, something I've rarely encountered in a game: because of the realistic randomness of the world, my plans were totally upended, and I had to make decisions and adapt to a new situation. It was so simple, and yet made the world feel real and threatening and exciting. Thank you, HInterland, for this amazing work! For anyone else reading: what small moments like that have struck you during your gameplay?