If anyone remembers the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow, the world plunges into a ton of catastrophic weather events that culminate in a deep freeze, leaving Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), a climate scientist, to find his son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is trapped in the chaos of the new ice age in the film. Permafrost puts this concept into video game form, where a series of cosmic events (the Moon breaking apart) plunges the world into a new ice age, and you (and a few friends) have to tough it out in this new environment.
The game is set in the (nearer than you think) future of 2035. All nations and systems are gone, replaced with nothing but ice. The game puts you in the hands of Rook, who must rebuild and find your friend Icarus with the help of Robyn Cane, who guides you through this frozen world. As with all post-apocalyptic games, several factions form: the Technocrats, who utilize technology, and the Tribals, who utilize nature. Your opponents include random bandits and the Moon Cult, who have seized the Bunker. Your goal is to manage relationships with various factions while staying alive. Based on your preferences and playstyle, you will ideally want to mix both nature and technology, much like we do in the real world.
Survival games (to me) are a major time sink, and Permafrost is no exception. This can be mitigated with friends. There are several meters: Body Warmth, Health, Hunger, Energy, and Stamina. Like many other survival games, you can hunt for food, cook food, craft, and build. You also have five dog breeds, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The breeds are Border Collie, Golden Retriever, Husky, Rottweiler, and Shepherd. The dogs carry items and help you find items (and yes, you can pet the dog). You can also choose the game difficulty depending on whether you just want to experience the story or tough it out in the frozen world.
As of this writing, the game is in Early Access, so anything can change. I did enjoy the frozen environment, but (again, in Early Access) the game feels unfinished as certain aspects are missing or underdeveloped. One bone of contention is that combat and crafting were done better in other games. Here, you can find recipes in the wild, and the game is overgenerous with recipe drops and resources. That means you can build pretty quickly (even faster if you have friends with you). The annoying task of keeping yourself warm is only made worse by the game controlling your exploration through the cold, which means exploring new areas will require you to build up insanely high resistance to the cold at the expense of making a strong base or arming yourself to the teeth. There are also no official or dedicated servers, meaning that whoever has the best connection might have to be your host if you’re playing with friends. However, we all know that that can change at any time, as the game is still in Early Access.
While there are a lot of things to be ironed out, I would give this a try and rope some friends in to build a base and go exploring—after all, this is a survival game, and the concept is great. The developers are planning a lot for this game, so you might want to get in early and make sure you know what’s what. The game is currently available on PC, with console releases set at a later date. After all, in between fighting the cold and making it in a frozen landscape, the game has upside and could be a sleeper hit down the line.
Developer: SpaceRocket Games
Publisher: Toplitz Productions
Platform(s): PC
Words by Jose Alvarez
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE Volume 27 Issue No. 4