A Winter Haunting

A Winter Haunting is a short point & click game with some tricky puzzles and an interesting artstyle. Whilst the blank faces and narrative didn’t resonate that well with me, the attention to detail in this game is clear, and it's sure to leave you scratching your head at least once! [b] [u]Pros[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Challenging & diverse escape-room style puzzles [*] A few choices that impact the ending of the game [*] Simple interface [/list] [b] [u]Cons[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Story is much more wholesome than it is “haunting” [*] Blank faces is an artistic choice, but not one that resonated with me [/list] [quote] I tend to review wholesome, puzzle, horror and narrative-driven games. If that sounds up your alley, please feel free to check out my curator page [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724/] Cookie Reviews[/url]. [/quote] [h1]Story[/h1] You play as Everlyn, a young woman who is struggling to find a job, but with the help of her grandmother, she’s placed as a temporary caretaker in a seemingly abandoned (and dusty) mansion. Everlyn begins to find odd things around the place and is lead to some sort of spirit who seems to want to communicate with her. But who are they? What do they want? And why is it only appearing for her? Without reaching spoiler territory, I was expecting something a bit more spooky, but being on the lighter side of the scale. However, this has a much more wholesome, kid-friendly atmosphere (but with kid-unfriendly puzzles). [h1]Gameplay[/h1] There are only a handful of explorable areas which you can click to go to (there’s no map/fast travel). Most of the game is divided into escape-style rooms where you have a room you need to solve a bunch of puzzles in before moving to the next. The game is also very well polished and I never encountered any bugs or issues while playing. Solve inventory based puzzles, maths equations (yes, that’s right), riddles etc etc. The puzzles really are quite well done and I did have to refer to a walkthrough sometimes. Sometimes you could ask a character for a hint but I found these very vague and not useful at all, usually only telling me something I already know, but I just don’t know how actually to perform the action. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3407846804&tscn=1736928358 The choices in the game are nice, although there is only a few of them but they do impact the ending which is good for replayability. Navigation is a bit odd, you click to walk which is fine, but if you double click, you don’t run. You teleport? This was so immersion breaking and just plain strange to me. It was also quite jarring to pop out all the time. [h1]Visuals & Sound[/h1] I liked the colours and backgrounds, although I must admit I am not a fan of the character art. The block legs and blank face (no eyes, mouth etc) was not great for storytelling. I know it’s an artistic choice and also actually relates to the story in a way I suppose, but to me it makes the game feel quite cheap. This is a personal preference for me and I am sure many others disagree, but it’s something that stood out, just not in a good way. There's no voice acting (except for one puzzle) and the audio is very much just ambient noise in the background, page turn sounds, wind whooshing etc. [h1]Technical & Stats [/h1] [quote][b]This game was played using a mouse and keyboard, and with the following PC specs.:[/b] AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz 32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM Radeon RX 6800 XT 2560x1440 resolution NVMe 3.0 SSD Windows 10[/quote] [h1]Conclusion[/h1] A Winter Haunting is a short point & click puzzler that is more on the challenging side, despite its cutesy appearance. It’s not scary nor spooky, but instead gravitates to a more feel-good theme. I recommend this for those looking for a light story to go with their puzzle solving, and to wait for a sale. [quote] Follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] [b]IndieGems[/b][/url] if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it[/quote]

I saw this game during a Next Fest or something and was drawn to the art style, then scared off by the trailer which I assumed showed just the beginning of a darker turn. I'm glad I got a review copy that proved me wrong. Maybe it's because I'm weird, but I definitely found this game more on the "cozy" than "horror" side. I'd call it a mildly spooky untraditional Point & Click adventure. The art is pleasant, the music eerie but not too dramatic, there's no time pressure or anything, and apparently you can prevent a scarier course of events by [spoiler]just being kind[/spoiler]. You uncover a tragic story, but nothing I'd personally categorise as "horror" and [spoiler]it can even get a happy-ish ending[/spoiler]. The only scary and off-putting part for me was a serious maths puzzle - this game should have a content warning for mathematics in general! :P There was a hint to be found for that complicated one, but it honestly did not help me (I guessed my way through, helped by an elderly brain cell that remembered a few school lessons). Other than that, this was mostly a good and interesting experience. It can conveniently be played with mouse only, although you'd miss out on the helpful key to highlight hotspots. I was really impressed with how nice and polished everything felt, a rare breath of fresh air these days. I only found one very minor bug (mouse cursor disappeared for one object). When it comes to Point & Click logic, this game occupies a pleasant spot between wildly nonsensical item combinations and not being allowed to do something that *would* make sense because it's not the exact thing the devs had in mind. I was so happy when improvising with a tool actually worked the way I'd expect it to! I did get stuck a few times, so my play time would have been longer if the dev hadn't provided a walkthrough for review purposes (what a great idea!). According to a news post, a walkthrough will be available for everyone soon(ish). The story was engaging and seemed well thought out, though I probably should have spent more time reading all the info bits and thinking things through to connect all those dots. I liked discovering little details like "Oh, this must be the person from that picture/letter". Unlike traditional P&C's that I can think of, your actions actually have consequences in this game, which in my case was a very nice touch. AFAIK there are two endings depending on a last choice (with minor modifications for at least one other choice). The consequences of that choice weren't clear to me, but made sense in retrospect and in one case were really satisfying. You can reload the last save to change your choice. In summary, a really impressive first game. Looking forward to the next ones! * * * If you like chill and story-driven games, check out my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35872486]Peaceful Adventures and Stories[/url]. You're also welcome to join the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/chilladventures]group[/url].

A Winter Haunting is a charming point-and-click ghost story with a mystery to solve. You control Everlyn who has arrived at the Lunabelle mansion to do some maintenance for her grandmother. She begins with a simple task list that sets off an unexpected series of events. Evidently, there have been other caretakers maintaining the mansion and Everylyn encounters two of them. She also learns a bit about family history and solves puzzles to gain access to all rooms. The story opens with a tutorial to teach you how to play and I would encourage its use. The art is whimsical, and I loved the simple style. You play primarily with the mouse but occasionally need to use your keyboard to enter some letters and numbers. Controllers are not supported. There are no voice overs so speed readers can click through dialog. A good bit of backtracking through the mansion and its grounds is required. This is somewhat mitigated by using a double click to quickly move across individual scenes. The audio consists of environmental noise and some mood-setting instrumental tracks. I enjoyed the puzzles. Some require extensive ‘find and use’ with inventory and others use clues in the environment. There is some math required but the game has a book to assist you. These made me reach back into a part of my memory that is not often accessed. Once I dusted off the mental cobwebs, the puzzles were not hard. The game has an autosave plus 14 slots for manual saves. Since there are different endings to experience, the extra save slots came in handy to avoid some replay. Completionists will need to play through a minimum of 2 ½ times (if you are slick). I did not plan well and circled through 4 times before I reached the 100% mark. Subsequent games go much faster than the first because you can bypass some details and solve puzzles with the information you’ve already gathered. While most achievements are story related, some are mutually exclusive and based on specific choices in the game. Your actions may also open (or bypass) dialog options that are required for other achievements. I really enjoyed A Winter Haunting. It moves at whatever pace you set and gave me a warm feeling. My only criticism is that inventory is accessed by clicking on a knapsack and is presented on a display that covers the screen. You then left-click to grab an item and must click again to close the inventory screen and get back to the game. The icon showing what you are holding is very small and it is easy to forget that you are carrying something. A minor detail in a great game… I highly recommend this game to adventurers who enjoy a wholesome story, creative puzzles, and a mystery to unravel. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it.[/url][/quote]

This is not just a puzzle game - it is a charming and magical adventure! Among the puzzle games I've played, I'd rate this amongst my favorites. It feels like a game and story that has soul to it; even when all you're doing is fulfilling a fetch quest, it never starts to feel tedious or uninspired. Exploration, thoroughness and experimentation feel rewarding, which is GREAT, because that's basically all I want to do in games, explore and experiment thoroughly! The spooky undertones are really just that, undertones. I enjoyed that, not being a big fan of horror. Describing this game as "cozy" works. The puzzles did stump me in some parts (I swear my math lessons did not prepare me adequately, hah, and sometimes I just couldn't figure out where to find a missing piece), but in other parts I nearly stumbled into the solution. I enjoy the fact that pressing H shows you everything you can interact with, so I do not feel like I am missing out while exploring! In the end, the game took me by surprise, revealing that I've made choices [spoiler]that I have been judged on![/spoiler] More than that, the player [spoiler]chooses the ending![/spoiler] A pleasant surprise in my mind. I also think it's great that the dev is planning to provide a walkthrough, because when I got stuck I would pull up a walkthrough video - having a walkthrough written out will be very useful for another playthrough. And with multiple endings, I do believe this game has replayability. A sidenote, while Everlyn's outfit is adorable... she must be freezing cold! I sympathy shudder, watching her trudge through snow in that outfit!

A Winter Haunting!!! I really loved it. I will preface this by saying that AB (the game designer and developer) is a dear friend of mine, because I don't want my review to seem skewed, but let me make it clear--if I didn't enjoy the game, I'd just avoid reviewing it. The game is wonderful. It's so evident that AB put her heart and soul into this project. You can see it in the details. The art, the audio design, the clever dialogue, and the thought-provoking story all come together to form a game that is unique, fun to play, and rewarding to beat. The puzzles are HARD. Well, most of them. As in, I had to get help to complete some of them hard. If you enjoy a challenge, this game is definitely for you. It took me two Twitch streams to get through the entire thing, and only a minor amount of yelling about math. (Just kidding, I yelled about the math a lot.) My video here on YouTube (Spoiler free!) sums it up pretty well, and will give you some visuals so you know what you're in for. https://youtu.be/ahG-l2cViFE?si=0s-GmunQulYN5Q-F Great work, AB! Players, beware!! You'll fall in love with this one.

A Winter Haunting is a narrative-driven point-and-click adventure that leans heavily on atmosphere, emotional storytelling, and slow-burning mystery rather than traditional horror scares. Developed by AB and published by Eccentric Stylist, the game places players in the role of Everlyn Sterling, a young woman tasked with watching over her family’s old mansion during the depths of winter. What initially feels like a quiet caretaking job gradually transforms into a deeply personal investigation, as strange occurrences and lingering spirits begin to surface, drawing Everlyn into a long-buried story tied to the house and its past inhabitants. The game’s setting is one of its greatest strengths. The snow-covered town and the creaking, timeworn mansion create a sense of isolation that permeates every scene. Winter is not just a backdrop here, but a core part of the atmosphere, reinforcing themes of stillness, memory, and emotional coldness. Rather than relying on jump scares or overt horror tropes, the game builds tension through subtle environmental details, subdued lighting, and carefully paced discoveries. The haunting elements feel melancholic and reflective, making the supernatural presence feel tragic rather than threatening. Gameplay follows classic point-and-click adventure conventions, focusing on exploration, item interaction, and puzzle-solving. Players move between rooms and locations, examining objects, collecting clues, and piecing together fragments of the mansion’s history. Puzzles are integrated naturally into the environment, often requiring observation, logical thinking, and attention to narrative context rather than arbitrary solutions. While most puzzles are intuitive and rewarding, a few demand more abstract reasoning, encouraging players to slow down and truly engage with the information they’ve gathered. Helpful interface features, such as the ability to highlight interactive elements, reduce unnecessary frustration and keep the experience flowing smoothly. Narrative choice plays a meaningful role in shaping the overall experience. Dialogue options and player decisions subtly influence how Everlyn interacts with both the living and the dead, and these choices ultimately affect how the story resolves. Multiple endings provide genuine variation, offering different emotional conclusions depending on how players approach the mystery and treat the spirits they encounter. This branching structure adds replay value and reinforces the idea that the haunting is not simply something to be solved, but something to be understood. Visually, A Winter Haunting adopts a stylized, hand-drawn aesthetic that feels both gentle and unsettling. Characters and environments are depicted with simplicity and clarity, allowing expressions, posture, and composition to carry emotional weight. The art direction avoids excessive detail, which helps maintain focus on storytelling and mood rather than visual spectacle. Complementing the visuals is a restrained sound design, featuring soft ambient noises, distant winds, and subtle musical cues that enhance immersion without overpowering the quiet tone of the game. One of the most notable aspects of the experience is how approachable it is despite its supernatural subject matter. The game avoids graphic content and intense fear, instead offering a “cozy haunting” that can be enjoyed by players who may shy away from traditional horror games. This balance makes the story feel intimate and thoughtful, emphasizing empathy and reflection over shock or danger. The pacing supports this approach, allowing players to absorb the narrative at their own speed without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Overall, A Winter Haunting is a carefully crafted adventure that succeeds through atmosphere, storytelling, and emotional resonance. It may not appeal to players seeking fast-paced gameplay or overt horror thrills, but for fans of classic point-and-click adventures, narrative mysteries, and subtle supernatural themes, it offers a deeply satisfying experience. Its strong sense of place, meaningful choices, and hauntingly quiet tone come together to create a story that lingers long after the final scene, making it a memorable addition to the modern indie adventure genre. Rating: 7/10

A winter haunting was a great and excellent game! The story line was very interesting with some challenging puzzles. The puzzles were very unique which required brain power in the best way possible. The plot twist was unexpected and everything tied in well at the end. The graphics were beautifully designed and stylistic. The characters and dialogue were engaging with humor in between the serious game play. As a fanatic of puzzle room/escape type games, this was a treat.

I had the incredible opportunity to test the game and find out more about the development process. It was a great experience in an equally great game! I was surprised by the variety of the puzzles, covering mathematical concepts, observation, background story and deduction. Solving each time a puzzle with a different logic was my favorite part. In addition, the game's story, sound and art are captivating and bring that spooky feeling just right. For those who like point & click puzzles, this game is perfect for you!

pros ✅ A nice little ghost story about a teenager whose name is Everlyn Sterling, tasked by her grandmother to take care of a historic haunted mansion, who finds herself entangled in a mystery involving supernatural forces. ✅ spooky environments and atmosphere ✅ when you press the H button, hotspots are highlighted, so there is no need to pixelhunt ✅ simplistic but nice looking graphics and character models ✅ well integrated, nice variety, brain-bursting, and fun to solve logic puzzles ✅ there are steam achievements ✅ there is a tutorial ✅ there is a auto save cons ❌ It's not a lengthy game ❌ there are no voiceovers ❌ there are no cards Overall, this is a decent puzzle-heavy point-and-click escape room game with a little story.

I was given a review copy of this game and my first thought was maybe it's a sequel or prequel to An English Haunting, but apart from the ghostly aspect they're very different. As others have mentioned it's not so much a horror game as a cosy puzzler, with a story that unfolds as you progress through the rooms of a mansion. And no this isn't Maniac Mansion and you don't put a hamster in the microwave! Each room has puzzles to solve that range from traditional inventory based ones to solving math equations and deciphering cryptic clues. There's a nice balance between solving puzzles and learning more about the story, which evolves to an enigmatic conclusion that changes depending on whether you've been naughty or nice - I'm writing this around Xmas ;) In other words your dialogue choices make a difference later on, and it's a good reason to replay the game and try a different approach, if you can bring yourself to use a foul smelling repellent to get rid of a fox...A lot of love and care obviously went into this and I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for a game that's slightly haunting but totally charming :)