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SHOULD I PLAY WARM SNOW?

Absolutely play it if you enjoy action-packed roguelites with tons of unlockables and a unique setting. Warm Snow takes place in a fictionalized version of seventeenth-century China where the kingdom has fallen into chaos thanks to a strange phenomenon known as “Warm Snow.” I had to slice my way through multiple locations and thousands of mutated enemies to get to the bottom of this bizarre event, equipping myself with different relics and weapons as I did so. This is as tightly designed and fun of a roguelite as I’ve ever played and definitely worth the dozens of hours you can put into it if you want to unlock everything.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve played six hours of Warm Snow so far. I’ve done around ten runs through the game in that time, with only my most recent one being a success wherein I finally defeated the game’s final boss...or at least one of them. The Steam achievement that popped up for this feat helpfully informed me that I had achieved the “Normal” ending, and I unlocked new difficulty options, so there’s definitely more game to uncover here. Most of my runs lasted twenty to thirty minutes, but a complete run to the final boss took me about an hour.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT WARM SNOW?

• Tight action gameplay. Warm Snow mostly sticks with the basics: one melee attack, one ranged attack, dodging, and a special ability to spend accumulated rage on. However, those basics are pulled off perfectly, with responsive button presses that had me always feeling in full control of the action. It helps, as well, that the game does a good job of signposting enemy attacks, so I never felt like I was just guessing at when or which way I should dodge.

• Depth via items. As I progressed through each run, I would inevitably find new primary weapons to equip and new relics, which I could slot into four different spots for different effects. There’s a ton of variety here, from weapons that deal frost damage to relics that gave my flying sword ranged attacks a chance to call down a massive sword from the heavens to crush my enemies. Testing different combinations of weapons and relics in different slots was extremely rewarding, and even six hours in I felt like I was still discovering incredible, overpowered abilities.

• So many unlockables. Like most roguelites, Warm Snow made me start over from the beginning regularly, but thankfully its meta-progression is wonderfully thought out. By defeating bosses on runs, I earned a special currency that could be spent on permanent stat upgrades, while little bits of lore dropped by enemies could be pieced together into full stories that revealed more about the game world and unlocked new items and bonuses. With further progress, I was even able to unlock whole new play styles that I could choose at the beginning of a run by praying to a different ancient spirit. With enough effort, any player should be able to find a way through the game that works for them.

• Awesome setting boosted by a great art style. I don’t know a ton about Chinese mythology or history, but I loved Warm Snow’s dark take on both. Slowly figuring out what was happening in this place felt similar to a Souls game, where each new revelation revealed just how messed up the world is. On top of that, the game uses a bright, almost painterly art style that offers enough contrast that I never felt confused even when a lot of things were happening at once.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT WARM SNOW?

• It can take a bit to get going. I felt deeply underpowered during my first three or four runs through Warm Snow, partially because I was still learning the ropes of the game and partially because I was deeply underpowered. I don’t think the game expects players to make it past the first or maybe second chapter until they’ve leveled up in the meta-progression a bit. That’s fine and pretty normal for roguelites, but playing through the first couple chapters over and over can get a little boring.

• Ranged combat can be finicky. Warm Snow has an extremely cool take on fighting from a distance: The protagonist has a bunch of flying swords following him that he can send zooming out at enemies. It looks cool, and certain play styles—including the one I beat the game with—focus more on using flying swords than melee hits. However, the ranged combat also relies heavily on locking onto enemies, and there were times where the game just would not lock onto an enemy who was clearly in my line of sight or even close by, or where the game would seemingly randomly choose to lock onto a different enemy than would have been beneficial. It’s a minor complaint, seeing as I still beat the game focusing on ranged combat, but it may frustrate some players.

💬 Are you ready to brave the Warm Snow and save the kingdom? Or are mutant pigs and mystical warriors too much for you to handle? Share your thoughts below.

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