Winter Windows

It takes a simple idea to make an enjoyable video game, regardless of whether it’s a platformer, a shooter or a racing game. As long as there’s some kind of clever gimmick that makes the gameplay more fun, then people are going to flock to it. Obviously, it’s not always enough to flaunt a neat little trick, since the rest of the game is pretty important as well.

Winter Windows is a jam game with a basic concept at its core: you play the role of a man trying to lock all the windows in his house before the temperature reaches zero. On top of that, you must also avoid the snowmen that follow you, because they have the power to freeze you as well. It’s quite simple in theory, but your blood pressure increases steadily with every level you manage to pass.

Each level features more windows you have to take care of, and they all start open. The more open windows there are, the faster it gets colder, so you have to close them if you want extra time. However, the goal is to use the padlock to close them for good, because snowmen can open closed windows by simply walking past them.

On the other hand, you can use this gimmick in order to get away with a few hit and runs, because some of the areas you have to reach can be quite inaccessible without risking an encounter. Hence, the AI is designed to prioritize closed windows above the player, which means that you can lure snowmen away by simply closing a window on the opposite side of the map. Obviously, you lose precious time by doing so, but it’s usually pretty safe.

There are a few bugs to watch out for as well, some of which are quite helpful, thankfully. Hence, it can happen that the snowmen get stuck in a loop and forget how to walk. It’s understandable, on the other hand, given the fact that the game was created for a jam session. The graphics are pretty nice, however, especially if you are a fan of the 8-bit era.

In the end, Winter Windows is obviously quite basic in most regards, but the gameplay is very clever and well designed. Moreover, the levels provide you with a decent challenge, which is always nice in a video game.