New Ice Age

The world is covered in snow and ice, and what’s left of humanity is struggling to survive. A small family was making their way through the snow when they stumbled on an abandoned camp. After the death of the grandfather, the family begins the long process of building his dream of a warm sanctuary. While maintaining a massive furnace in the middle, Whiteout Survival from Century Games tasks you with keeping the settlement functional and safe. People need to be happy, healthy, fed and warm. They also need troops trained to defend them from monstrous beasts and other humans. While a lot of work, the rewards make the process worth it. However, some aspects of Whiteout Survival get old really quickly.

Hunt, Gather, Build

Gathering resources is a big part of the game. Every resource connects to another. Whether it’s meat, wood, coal or iron, all will need to be put into the settlement. There are a few ways to obtain these. First, assign jobs to your citizens. Be it at one of the mines or the sawmill, they will make resources both on and offline. Second, explore the world beyond your city. Send your troops out to abandoned lumberyards and farms or hunt and kill any beasts nearby. Not only do the resources help expand the settlement, they also upgrade the giant furnace, making it hotter. However, each upgrade needs more and more resources, meaning hunting and gathering will be a high priority for a while. The better your buildings are and the more people you have will help with that. Other structures you’ll need to build include an infirmary for your troops and their training camps. The more troops you have, the more powerful monsters you can fight and the more resources you get. A problem I found is that no matter how many troops you have, you can’t send two separate teams out to fight. While not a major issue, it’s still kind of annoying. Gathering resources can be a long process, and some might not have the patience for it.

Only Human

More warmth means less complaints from your people. The villagers’ complaints can get to you though. As their wellbeing is also a high priority, you would be wise to heed their words. Too much negativity and they’ll threaten to riot. Most complaints can be easily remedied. Having a hard time sleeping? Upgrade the shelters and beds. Tools not working in the sawmill? Upgrade the quality. Eventually the villagers will be more than happy with the state of their new home. Sometimes they’ll have special requests for you regarding happenings in their lives. From women fighting over jewelry to resource thieves and a missing dog, how you respond will determine how they see you. There’s two options, one implying you’ll help and the other saying you’re too busy. In keeping with your villager’s approval ratings, I highly recommend helping. Unfortunately, there are some complaints you can’t fix. These usually involve the weather or lost family members. While these complaints are reasonable, it’s annoying when they lower your approval rating. You can’t fix the weather or bring back their families, so what’s the point in wining about it?

Cold As Ice

It’s not that Whiteout Survival isn’t a fun game. There’s plenty of things to see and do for a while. An interesting premise and fair allocation of resources certainly help. However, it does have a few setbacks. This might just be me being nitpicky, but small annoyances really do add up over time. There’s always going to be a need for resources, and they honestly shouldn’t be that hard to get. And people complaining about things you can’t possibly change is pointless. I’m sure with a few updates, this game could run smoother for everyone.