Arctic Awakening Review (PC) – Frosty Wake Up Call

When I covered Arctic Awakening back in June 2024, I compared to it to the lofty heights of the indie darling Firewatch. In terms of visuals, atmosphere and emphasis on person-to-person storytelling, it had me reliving Campo Santo’s magnum opus, only this time in the icy tundra of Alaska. A 30-minute demo can tell you much about a game, but Arctic Awakening was keeping plenty of its cards close to its fluffy jacket.

Developed by a team of just five people, it’s punching well above its weight amongst the snow-capped mountains and mysterious architecture. The real question for me, was whether the game could deliver on such an intriguing premise. Can Arctic Awakening deliver the kind of emotive storm its influences delivered so pungently? Firewatch, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, SOMA, What Remains of Edith Finch are its competition, so how does Arctic Awakening compare?

Complete Your Arc(tic)

Arctic Awakening opens on a plane cruising over the icy landmass of Alaska. Our three central characters, Kai, Donovan and Alfie, are introduced immediately with a typical bit of banter about what else but food. Almost as sharply as we meet them, danger strikes. A mysterious interference causes the plane to freefall, with Donovan making a jump for it, Kai and Alfie remaining to go down with their ship (or plane, but the Dido reference stands).

So begins your journey as Kai to recover Donovan and escape, with Alfie alongside you to provide assistance and provide a moral sounding board. Alfie, as it turns out, is a robotic companion programmed by the courts to accompany Kai and offer therapeutic assistance to him. I’ll leave you to find out the reasons for yourself, but rest assured there’s more to this Alaskan wilderness, Kai and Donovan than initially meets the eye.

Fundamentally, Arctic Awakening realises it’s central mysteries succinctly and deftly. Who is Kai and why is he so reluctant to discuss his past? Where is Donovan and why is he such an obnoxious idiot all too frequently over the radio? What is this place and why is the weather here so dire? It’s no Firewatch opening (if you know, you know), but it’s a very good start.

Awakening Hour

I wish I could tell you that Arctic Awakening not only realises this opening potential, but surpasses it. With regret, I have to admit it doesn’t. Over the five episodes, you’ll come to learn more about the reason for your crash and the strange goings on in this locale. However, the final revelations and pay-off just didn’t feel all that satisfying to me (aside from the choice-based outcome). By episode two, you’ll more than likely have guessed where the story is going, owing to the on-the-nose signposting.

By no means does this mean it’s a poorly told story, quite the opposite. It’s just lacking the personal dynamic between Henry and Delilah in Firewatch, or the terrifying thematic impact of SOMA, or the somber emotional stakes in Edith Finch. Each of its contemporaries have a central pillar which elevate their walking simulator experiences, and while Arctic Awakening does much of the basics very well, it never really excels with any of them.

The performances were a little inconsistent for my taste throughout, which doesn’t help. Kai can swing from emotionally convincing to sounding downright bored. Holly and Naomi however, are fantastic and their story arc is my favourite segment of the entire game. The tension between Kai and both Donovan and Alfie also really works in places, but Alfie’s droning on (pun intended) can at times become wearisome.

For Kai’s Sake

As you navigate through the chapters and the story, you’ll make various choices that swing from the mundane to the morally resonant. Is your lost Kai open to change or stubborn in his resolve? Are you willing to engage with Alfie or treat him as nothing more than a tool to use and dispose of? Arctic Awakening couples dialogue decisions with gameplay orientated choices too.

The dangerous but quicker route or the slower but safer avenue? Continue on through nightfall or make camp for the night? The choices are yours, and they’re used organically throughout the entire runtime. I didn’t have the inclination to replay through Arctic Awakening making opposite decisions, owing to the aforementioned story gripes and pacing issues I’ll come onto shortly.

Despite this, your choices do appear to matter quite significantly. Alfie and Donovan will often reflect on your decisions through dialogue, commenting or critiquing in equal measure. It gives a real sense of consequence and weight when you’re continually getting feedback on your decisions. They’ll additionally influence your ending, so you better make your choices with conviction.

Snow Angel On Your Shoulder

On the gameplay front, Arctic Awakening is very basic. This is a walking simulator through-and-through, with no apologies made. Your objectives will have you moving across pretty large expanses, often will little else to do but take in your surroundings or wax lyrical with Alfie. There’s the odd “puzzle” which’ll involve finding X amount of whatever thing to open a door/barrier/entry point, but other than that, it’s just you and your two feet.

For the most part, I’m good with walking sims and the slowed down pace. Unfortunately, my tolerance was pushed a bit more than I’d like here. There are no waypoint or objective markers, which is actually fine, provided the environmental signposting is consistent. For 80% of Arctic Awakening, it is. For the other 20% though, don’t be surprised to find yourself trudging endlessly through the snow without the certainty of knowing whether it’s the main path or a long dead end.

At times, it felt like I was navigating Antarctica, only with just flip flops and a JD Sports coat. One puzzle section involving a power plant was obscenely frustrating, though this was partially my own blindness and partially the game’s obtuse visual design. On the whole, the walking sim gameplay works fine (though I still don’t know why the hunger and sanity meters are in here at all), but it’s not as engrossing as the previously mentioned entries into the genre.

Peak of Performance

I’ve certainly been conflicted with regards to Arctic Awakening in my review thus far. I want to be clear on one thing though – it looks absolutely gorgeous. The art style is incredibly reminiscent of Firewatch, only you know, with a lot more snowstorms in place of wildfires. I took every opportunity to sit by a fire or cairn for no other reason but to breathe in the stunning snowy views and icy cold atmosphere.

It’s hard to describe quite what makes the visuals so captivating, but there’s an aura about these woods and hills that unsettled and calmed me in equal measure. Sure, there’s the odd visual quirk with Kai’s limbs going wonky or Alfie getting comedically stuck on a beam, but they really don’t matter. This Alaskan wilderness is brimming with lovingly crafted, painstakingly realised beauty, and you’d be remiss to miss out on witnessing it.

For a development team of five, they’ve also done a supreme job in how well Arctic Awakening runs across the board. The framerate was mostly solid in the high 60-80s for me, I had no crashes and only the infrequent visual glitch, many of which had no impact on my experience whatsoever. It’s very impressive for a game of this quality to release in such a polished state already.

Find Yourself In The Snow

Oh, before I begin summing up my final thoughts – that soundtrack. Goddamn, these tracks are stunning. Every single one of the ambient tunes is emotionally evocative and deeply introspective. I adored the music at every turn and the very second it hits the internet, I’ll be listening to it with the Zen of a master monk living atop an isolated mountain. Unbelievably great stuff.

Such is Arctic Awakening, a relatively decent but underwhelming narrative and gameplay experience that’s elevated massively by the beautiful visuals and stunning score. I really do want to contextualise my feelings about this one because I hugely support the tiny development team and there are elements of their title that are wondrous.

This is one of those times where I still recommend you play the game for yourself if you’re a fan of the walking simulator genre, even if my score isn’t the significant endorsement I wish it could be.

Arctic Awakening is available September 18th on PC via Steam (review platform), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Developer: GoldFire Studios
Publisher: GoldFire Studios

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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