Frigid survival game Impact Winter is coming in April

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So a giant asteroid smashes into the Earth, throws a hojillion tons of crapola up into the air, blocks out the sun, and blam, it's winter, all the time and everywhere. That's the unhappy state of the world in Impact Winter, an end-of-everything (or is it?) survival game, originally announced in 2015, that publisher Bandai Namco said today will be released on April 12.

As Jacob Solomon, players must rally together with four fellow survivors to build a haven in the snow and survive until help, promised by a mysterious radio transmission, finally arrives. That means keeping up morale, venturing into the frozen waste to scavenge for supplies, and fighting off potential threats. On the upside, you're not alone out there: Each member of your team has a unique area of expertise, and the multi-function, upgradeable robot Ako-Light will prove invaluable when exploring the devastated world.

Impact Winter appears to bear more than a passing resemblance to The Wild Eight, another group-survival-in-the-snow game that promises an unexpected narrative twist. But The Wild Eight, at least in its current Early Access state, sounds like a fairly straightforward "wood/rocks/fire/die" survival experience, while Impact Winter comes off—to me, at least—as a bit more narrative focused. The need to survive 30 days may also suggest an element of adventure to the game, or at the very least a mystery: The asteroid strike resulted in an extinction-level event, so where is this rescue coming from?

Impact Winter is listed on Steam, but isn't yet available for pre-purchase. When it is, laying down your money in advance will net you a copy of the soundtrack composed by Mitch Murder.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.