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With spring rolling in and chasing away the bitter cold of winter, there’s no better time than now for cozy games such as Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth. Clocking in at around five and a half hours, it’s a charming adventure (with some surprisingly dark turns) for a weekend or a few weeknights.
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is heavily based on Moominland Midwinter, taking familiar beats from and following the plot of the book while putting its own spin on things. As you may or may not know, the Moomin species hibernates. Unfortunately for our dear Moomintroll, he wakes up in the dead of winter. He’s cold, confused, and scared, and his parents are deep asleep. While exploring the wintry wasteland of Moominvalley, he runs into Too-Ticky and some weird creatures called Winter Beings. If the latter dance around a great bonfire, they can usher in spring. To end the dreadful winter, Moomintroll has to help the Winter Beings with their problems and round up the non-hibernating residents of Moominvalley so they can participate in the bonfire together.
When I played Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, I mentioned that I’m wasn’t familiar with the source material. For Winter’s Warmth, I went and read Moominland Midwinter. I’m really glad I did! You can definitely enjoy the game without reading the original work, but I found it nice to see where the game differs. The Sorry-oo sequences in the game were my favorite. Half of his scenes were upsetting in the book, so it was a relief to see him jolly here.
The story of Winter’s Warmth is much sweeter than the book, as it emphasizes Moomintroll’s character growth and friendships. It also cuts out bit characters like Salome the Little Creep in favor of Misabel. Oddly enough, the Groke doesn’t appear here, even though she did in Snufkin. But that might be why, since she already played an important role. Hyper Games adapted a few scenes where Moomintroll was absent and casts him as the hero. It also involved more characterization and development for characters who disappeared after their stories concluded.
However, one thing I wish the game included was the funeral scene from the beginning of the book. I know Little My is popular, but I am not a fan of her archetype. This scene is when I finally came around on her and was fantastic at giving her more depth. She’s more action-oriented compared to the philosophical Too-Ticky and the childlike Moomintroll. She also has enough sense to be mad at the squirrel’s death. Maybe they had to cut that because it’s a bit too dark? While Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth surprised me with its dangerous scenes, my first thought when playing was, “Why is this Moomintroll: Resident Evil?” It’s obviously for all ages and feels a lot lighter in tone than the book, so I suppose a funeral might be out of place.
As for the gameplay loop, it mostly consists of completing quest after quest. There’s fantastic design, as places you naturally end up in take you to the next mission or tool. Moomintroll can explore with mittens (to make snowballs), an axe, a snow shovel, and matches. The more upgrades you unlock, the more of the valley you can access. Backtracking doesn’t feel too bad, because when you have to return, you can usually explore the area more, so it feels like you need to be there.
The paths that Moomintroll leaves in the snow stay too, making traversing less painful. I noticed that when sliding downhill, he can get caught and slow down to an excruciating crawl. It’s a little ironic that a method of transportation meant to make your life easier can end up slowing you down more than if you just walked normally.
Hyper Games’ depiction of Moominvalley in the cozy Snufkin game was already so picturesque, but the aesthetics in Moomintroll are even better. It helps that the valley is covered in snow, not suffering from the effects of capitalism and human arrogance. I loved the way the rocks and snow sparkled. It being so thick that getting to make tracks or shovel it felt exactly like walking on freshly fallen, untouched snow in real life.
Whereas Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley felt like you got to experience a new story in Moomin lore, Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is closer to an interactive storybook game. It puts its own spin on a beloved story while maintaining the original spirit of Tove Jansson’s work, making it a delight for fans regardless of familiarity. I’m not sure if Hyper Games will continue the series, but I would be interested to see what it comes up with next.
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is available on the Switch and PC via Steam.
