Snowman Story review

“I doubt we’ll ever see each other again, but take care of yourself.”

Across games such as Bear’s Restaurant, Fishing Paradiso and Meg’s Monster, Minato, Tokyo-based Odencat has crafted a series of indispensable titles. Each combined Game Boy Advance-style visuals with a script that’s remarkably meditative, resulting in one of those beguilingly low-fi, yet heartfelt experiences that most major publishers abandoned decades ago. Unsurprisingly, their latest effort doesn’t veer far from tradition, with pixelated visuals, diverting puzzles, and a plot that will tug at the heartstrings.

Snowman Story opens with a young boy building a snowman he’s made in the front yard of his rustic home. Much like Frosty, he’s built with everyday objects like a carrot for a nose and twisted tree branches for arms. And like the 1969 Rankin/Bass and Mushi Production collaboration, the game’s lead is sentient. Once the young boy laments how spring weather will bring an end to the creation he calls Chris, the snowman confronts his own mortality.

“I can’t help but be humbled by the strength and tenacity of the human race as a whole.”

To delay the inevitable, Chris decides to head north, hearing that cooler temperatures might keep him from melting. This journey forms the bulk of Snowman Story’s succinct, two-hour playtime. Across this trek you’ll interact with wild animals and other snow-folk. Despite the game’s comparatively concise script, you’ll meet a range of colorful personalities, who all seem to be going on their own weighty life journeys. You won’t spend too much time with any of them, but emotional connections will likely be made.

Without giving anything away, Snowman offers an inventory of ruminations. There’s a father lamenting about the moments he didn’t spend with his son and there are more than a few personalities struggling with other forms of regret. Odencat’s stories repeatedly return to the concept of acceptance, and Chris’ struggle with impermanence is just as poignant as any of the studio’s previous works. Most of the exposition stems from Chris finding objects, which communicate anecdotes about their owners. Often tragic, these cautionary tales frequently touch on salient topics, demonstrating that empathy isn’t

“If it’s the coming warmth you fear…”

For some, the sole shortcoming might be found in the game’s brainteasers. Chris will be asked to navigate across sections of ice, which function like a sliding puzzle. Here, the audacious snowman glides along until he meets a solid object, requiring a bit of logic as you uncover the correct sequence of moves.

If you get stuck, Snowman Story offers assistance, ensuring the game won’t come to a standstill. But given the similarity to older dedicated puzzlers, I found these sequences to be the title’s weakest component. I just wanted to get back to interacting with the game’s cast, selecting dialog responses in conventional RPG form, as experience something like Meg’s Monster playful skewering of turn-based combat.

Conclusion

In an era where $70 blockbusters with padded playtimes dominate, Snowman Story feels like a breath of fresh, winter air. With a sub five-dollar price and a playtime of around two hours, the game’s demands are wonderfully subdued while its dividends are abundant. Factor in some delightful cameos and an ample set of rewards and Snowman Story is poised to become a perennial holiday favorite.