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A jam submission

Winter's HowlView game page

A top-down, survival and team management game for Brackeys Game Jam 2026.2
Submitted by GameDevAaron, CoolGirlArts, Maotica, jason0924385, rob — 48 minutes, 37 seconds before the deadline
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Winter's Howl's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Gameplay#543.8423.842
Audio#783.8163.816
Overall#903.7983.798
Enjoyment#1133.8423.842
Visuals#1594.2114.211
Innovation#2893.3953.395
Theme#3843.6843.684

Ranked from 38 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does the game fit the theme?
You are leading a pack of survivors through a frozen wasteland, however mistrust divides the group. It is up to the player to uncover the secrets that each character may be keeping. All the while there are rumors of Hellhounds afoot... surely they aren't real?

What code and assets did you not make from scratch during the jam (if any)?
None! :)

How many people worked on the game?
5

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Comments

Viewing comments 33 to 21 of 33 · Next page · Last page
Submitted(+2)

Really fun experience! you can tell a lot of care went into making this, and it was genuinely enjoyable to play.

Submitted(+2)

Very impressive this was done in just a week. I really like how much there is to explore, and the survival mechanics are very interesting. Great work!

Submitted(+3)

Pros:

  • Very cozy vibes and a nice balance is achieved (like I found myself mining and exploring a lot without feeling either bored or overwhelmed)
  • Art and Music is very good, contributed to the cozy vibe and made the game feel quite well polished
  • There is a clear connection to the theme (if I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t get to play through the whole thing, as in stew was still cooking and so on but from what I gather it does connect to the theme of “Trust No One”)

Cons:

  • The mouse icon when approaching a mineable object was quite jittery, small detail but did decrease immersion
  • Adding more effects based on if the character feels cold (e.g. icey UI), is on low health (e.g. vignette) etc.
  • The fireplace wasn’t relighting after a while?? I believe I had enough wood but for some reason it wasn’t lighting. If it’s not a glitch adding some sort of indicator why (e.g. if I did in fact not have enough wood, some sort of indicator that I need more wood like grayed out ‘E’) would be helpful

Very fun and amazing work - such a polished game in a small time frame is no easy feat =]

Submitted(+2)

A charming casual game. Lovely artwork. :-)

Developer

Thank you!

Submitted(+1)

I cant believe this is done in a week! The music is so soothing,  really enjoyed the lore ! breaking mechanic feels so satisfying, pixel art is gorgeous, one thing i find weird tho was the arrow moving so slow, but i guess thats balancing for hunting? either way good game!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the kind words! We'll work on polishing features after the rating period ends ^^

Submitted(+2)

Extremely well made game, crazy that this was made for a jam. All the mechanics are satisfying and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Great job guys!

Submitted(+2)

cute lil pixel art game. 

Submitted(+2)

good game loop

Submitted(+2)

Wow, I don't even know what to say tbh. Loved the different characters, the story and especially the art and vibe of this game. The only thing I was sad about is that I couldn't banish the kid or fight with the hounds a bit more. But thats probably only me. Good job you guys!

Submitted(+2)

This was a really well made game, congrats! I really like the pixel art.

Submitted(+1)

It's a very good game, all the elements work well together, and the gameplay itself is enjoyable. I liked that food and heat disappear quickly, which added to the tension. It would have been nice if the story had a slightly slower pace and maybe if the game was divided into days, with one story element revealed each day! While the story builds nicely, I didn't develop much connection with the characters in such a short time, and the division into days would probably have helped me feel the betrayal more. Overall, I like everything about this project, collecting resources was enjoyable, the graphics and sound are also good, and the story, although short, is still interesting and complete. It's also nice that the main character takes off his hood at the campfire, a nice detail. Well done! ♥

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much! We plan to expand the story after the rating period ends ^^

Submitted(+2)

This one was a cozy one, even tho i have made several people be banished to a cold death. 

Developer

Thanks for playing! (I'm sure they had it coming) 

Submitted(+2)

The music is, like, very good. It matches the gameplay very well.

The game itself is pretty relaxing; I enjoyed it a lot. I like games where you have to unlock new areas by mining a way yourself. Also, the little story with the morally ambiguous ending adds so much charm to it!

The only thing I didn’t understand was the point of the NPC quests – to bring 5 pieces of meat, 50 wood and 30 stone. I didn’t get anything in return. And the yellow material didn’t seem to be of any use anywhere either. Perhaps I’ve overlooked something?

In any case, it was quite an enjoyable experience

Developer(+1)

Appreciate you playing and sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed these various aspects of the game. 

I agree - given more time we would have loved to flesh out the dialogue and quest system with more content and have more branching paths. 

Thanks again for the great feedback! 

Viewing comments 33 to 21 of 33 · Next page · Last page