Games that have a good Winter atmosphere

What are some games that you think do a good job creating that winter feeling?

Here are a few of my favorites.

Indigo Prophecy I really like the snowy levels in this game and how the characters complain how cold they are at times.

Silent Hill shattered memories walking around town at night with just your flashlight and hearing the wind.

Max Payne I like how when you turn on a tv in the game the news talk about the winter storm.

GTAV North Yankton although your not in there long I love atmosphere I always wish they did SP DLC for this part of the game.

I was gonna say Max Payne. Been replaying that and I still think it holds up. Uncharted 2? Rise of the Tomb Raider? Haven't played that one. For some reason Virtua Fighter 4 came to mind. Remember the snow level being really impressive. How about Lost Planet? The snow and smoke particle effects 'caused by explosions were mind-blowing.

Skellige Isles from The Witcher 3. I loved this area, though I had to rush through it just to complete the main quests. When I eventually replay Wild Hunt I hope to explore everything on the map.

As was mentioned above, Skellige Isles from The Witcher 3. Also, Skyrim. All of Skyrim. The whole thing is great to play in winter, somewhere between napping and listening to Agalloch's discography.

I hear that I Am Setsuna game has a lot of snow in it, but I haven't played so I don't know how "wintery" that game feels.

Icewind Dale, perhaps, but unfortunately that's not a game I've played much of either.

Kinda surprised you didn't say MGS. It's a long, cold night in Alaska's Fox Islands.

I actually just finished replaying Max Payne again the other day! The snowstorm that acts as the backdrop of that game is used so well; It adds atmosphere to the game, it's a strong metaphor for a lot of what's going on both with Max and also the Norse mythology aspects of the story, like Ragnarok is unfolding as Max brings chaos upon everything. It also does serve as a nice explanation as to why innocent bystanders aren't likely to end up involved in all the carnage, as the blizzard is keeping them off the streets.

World of Warcraft has some pretty amazing snowy zones. I'm a sucker for good snowy footprints and sound effects.

MGS did cold very well! You could even catch one :)

Uncharted 2 had a great snow area I think, and it was buoyed by a nice winter jacket. Definitely, I am sucker for winter gear.

Assassin's Creed 3 has among the best snow implementation ever, with Connor realistically trudging through deep snow. Very cool stuff!

Say what you will about the game, but The Division really nailed the urban winter atmosphere.

Skyrim and The Banner Saga.

I love listening to The Banner Saga soundtrack over the winter.

Mafia II has a nice opening.

I'm kind of surprised The Long Dark hasn't come up yet, but I guess technically it hasn't been fully released (they've been beta-ing for a while while trying to build a proper Story mode).

Agreed. The Times Square horde mode-ish level during a whiteout level blizzard was fantastic.

Yes great points I love Max's Metaphors and just over all the blizzard atmosphere.

I agree I was thinking of adding this one they did a fantastic job with the snow effects and the game looks really nice especially at night with the Christmas lights.

Yeah this a good one and having Dean Martin's Let it Snow song playing in the background was a nice touch.

Rise of the Tomb Raider has some very cold-looking environments in the early going

@jec03: There's a game called Little Inferno that's rather lovely and warm by the fire during winter like feel to the atmosphere. It also has surpisingly captivating yet subtle world building.

Winter =/= a cold part of the planet, else Cryostasis would be my answer.

Road Not Taken

I always like World of Warcraft's snowy areas: Winterspring, Northrend, Dun Morogh etc. I think Skyrim takes the cake, however.

That Forza Horizon 3 Blizzard DLC. Has some of the thickest blizzard I've seen in a game and it lets to drive a Lamborghini on a frozen lake, which goes exactly as well as you would expect it to.

Don't starve. The spring is nice but those first 1-2 winters is the most stressful thing gameplay wise. But the look is great as animals change and there's a blue hue over everything during the snow.

Don't Starve, The Division and that one level in Hitman: Blood Money at the playboy mansion with the jacuzzi and Santa.

The New York levels in Max Payne 3 were pretty great as well.

@baka_shinji17 said:

Skellige Isles from The Witcher 3. I loved this area, though I had to rush through it just to complete the main quests. When I eventually replay Wild Hunt I hope to explore everything on the map.

I agree wholeheartedly here. The winter section is amazing. I also sorta pushed through it a lot faster than I did the first 1/3 of the game as I had been sitting on it so long. But I'm hoping to go back through it and do more of the side events.

Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves

It's set in the remote woods of 1858 Canada, and the entire game takes place in the 3 weeks leading to Christmas. Naturally, it's snowy and isolated as hell.

Animal Crossing. In winter.

Persona 4: Golden, after new years.

Parasite eve. Really enjoyed the new york-christmas backdrop for that game.

The intro of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is pretty lean compared to these others, but it very quickly sketches what winter is like to a kid.

Also, tactical snowball fight as a tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s1DDt7a9v8

Year Walk on iOS

Also, the winter semester in Bully, I liked that one alot

That Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 ice climbing segment and subsequent snowmobile getaway were pretty cool.

Yeah, Skyrim and Uncharted 2 are the big ones I go back to. Also the Puzzle Agent games.

Hitman series have had some pretty good winter missions overall. The one with the ninja snipers in Hitman 2 or the St Petersburg mission also from 2, the one with the snow blizzard from Contracts, the christmas party from Blood Money, and Hokkaido from 2016.

Otherwise I would probably say Tomb Raider 2013/Rise of the Tomb Raider, or the winter mission from Uncharted 2 and The Last Of Us.

The Last of Us has some good winter sections. Extra points for it being set in the woods.

The Hokkaido part of Yakuza 5 does a pretty good job.

Batman: Arkham Origins

I also remember Parasite Eve having great christmas setpieces, the whole game was set in NYC around Christmas to New Year's

and kinda cheating but the SSX series

Modern Warfare 2's ice climbing sequence is an awesome pick, but I'd lean towards Winter in The Last of Us and the collapsed train scene in Uncharted 2.

@humanity: N-ice Pick! That is all, and yes, this came to me after I submitted my post above. And now, I make my leave

@cornrpeople2: Well at least you didn't leave us hanging.

First that came to mind is I Am Setsuna. The winter and snow is more than just the games setting and look. It's the games entire mood, atmosphere and focus. It seems almost cliche to say this, but it is basically another character. I liked it a lot and the way it looked.

The other that came to mine is The Painted World in Dark Souls. The entire games feel just instantly changes the second you go in and heck if it isn't beautiful.

Freedom Fighters is one the games that comes to mind for me. The seasons pass as the story progresses, and winter shows up in full force.

Until Dawn does a great job of capturing a winter night in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

The Division

Batman Arkham origins, stardew valley (when the seasons change to winter), and Skyrim come to mind for me.

I Am Setsuna definitely comes to mind first for me.

The OST is very beautiful as well and well worth checking out.

The last part of Journey is cold as anything

Whoa, jinx. The first thing I thought of was also Indigo Prophecy / Fahrenheit. Two games I thought of afterwards is the winter section in Undertale, and Lost Constellation. You even build snowmen in Lost Constellation!

The Last of Us does this very well at some point.

The Last of Us did the cold aspect of winter really well and that game overall has really great sound design. I remember the footprints being really crisp when you walked through the woods or on the snow. All of that stuff really added to the atmosphere of that chapter.

Ice Climbers!

@justin258: I do this every year, for a weekend in December.

When I think of good Winter atmospheres I think of Uncharted 2, The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Origins and King's ending in Tekken 2!

The Last of Us for sure. The deer hunting sequence specifically that kicks off winter is burned into my memory.

I enjoyed winter in Bully as well.