Longvinter was released on February 21st, 2025, and was developed and published by Uuvana Studios. The game focus is to create a new breath of life from combining an existing masterpiece’s with a new twist, think Animal Crossing with guns, Rust with cozy and cute vibes, Palworld but cuter, a game we didn’t know we needed but is already readily available should we want to take the plunge, but can it hold up to the predecessors hype? Let’s dive in and find out.
Solo or online? The Perilous Choice
Upon loading up the game for the first time, we are instantly captivated by the initial vibes of Animal Crossing whilst making our basic character customisation for the first time, with a few obvious cosmetic purchases available at the start, but later learning they could be found in-game, and the currency necessary to buy can also be earned from just basic playtime.
After some minor tinkering with cosmetics, I now find myself faced with a choice, play on a public server? Or make my own temporary server to play solo or with friends? The answer was obvious and that’s to play on public servers, as unfortunately I don’t have friends to play with so why would I play alone?
Loading into the server for the first time you are immediately prompted with some basic tasks of gathering a few materials and fish to get yourself setup to travel to the mainland, fairly mundane gathering and of course fishing, I would be lying at this point if I did not say I took a little too much time enjoying the basic fishing mechanics of the game, especially at night time with the stars twinkling Infront of me in the river, it was a sight to behold for sure. Eventually, we managed to pull away from the fishing and with enough fish and coins in our pockets we were ready for the mainland.
Freedom to Create, within the limits
Upon arriving to the mainland, you realise how large the game world is, whilst most of them are pve there are many unmarked pvp zones across the map which can lead to almost fatal death relatively early, but first we need to make a house, the main challenge with this on public servers is they are everywhere, but eventually you will find your own little spot of land to claim and place a tent and get to work.
The sheer amount of resources, crafting recipes and ways to customise your plot of land are immense and very diverse for your own unique house, with extra security of turrets, fences and security coded gates you have everything you need to make yourself not only a house to admire, but a fortress to protect all your hard earned loot.
The game boasts numerous of things to do from pvp to pve, fishing, gathering and crafting, exploring and of course many events that the devs keep on a rolling schedule over time, there is certainly plenty to keep you entertained regardless of your fancy, its well-executed and for the most part runs fairly smoothly, there are some noticeable bugs be it with UI, general environment or engagement with other players, whilst i would like to say the devs keep on top of this, it does appear especially with some bugs they last for some time before being finally addressed, which is unfortunate to hear.
Immersive Visuals and Audio
After spending enough time on animal crossing over the years, I found myself getting sucked into the immersive charm of the game very quickly, from the cute and cozy visuals to the similarly well executed soundtrack to accommodate the game, I could find myself fishing for many hours until my backpack was full, doing a quick run home and then going again, or sitting at the crafting bench for endless hours, listening to the soundtrack in the background or a subtle hammering of my hammer whilst building aspects of my base.
The difference of weather biome, the day and night cycle and the alteration of music to accommodate, it all just married together so well I just engulfed me during my various daily tasks to the point I couldn’t put the game down. It’s the sheer attention to detail that really stands out, something that I’m finding more with cozy games now as I’m getting older, cute and cozy is certainly more enjoyable over the faster paced action of a lot of the marketed games these days.
If in Doubt, Add Guns
I did thoroughly enjoy my time and playthrough of longvinter, and would be likely to continue playing it for a while going forward, whilst the game does still need some work and love from the devs.
It does still add to the charm even with the odd bug here or there in the game, non the less it’s a wonderful hidden gem in the survival building sandbox game like many others.
Currently Available on Steam for the low cost of £16.75 it’s a more affordable version of its predecessors with just as much if not more content and action available for you to sink your teeth into.
8/10
A cozy crafting sandbox that proves even cute games can pack heat.