The indie developers at Chilla’s Art are shifting their focus from the fishing mechanics of their previous game, Umigari, to the excavation tools of Snowed Under. This new first-person horror adventure tasks players with navigating a vast, snow-covered terrain en route to a puzzling steel tower.
As players carve through the snowdrifts, they’ll encounter various points of interest and salvageable materials. These items can be used to enhance digging power, endurance, and carrying capacity. True to Chilla’s Art’s signature style, the game grows increasingly bizarre as you delve deeper, with early visuals hinting at a derelict train depot or gas station, alongside a unsettling humanoid figure with a fixed, eerie grin.
Accompanying players is Kai, a steadfast companion and NPC available for conversation. The bond between the player and Kai appears central to the narrative, with dialogues shedding light on their individual backstories and the game’s world.
Snowed Under is designed for a 2-4 hour playthrough. The development team revealed their use of AI during pre-production to brainstorm art concepts, lay down textures, and construct 3D model placeholders. Nevertheless, all final assets and promotional visuals were crafted manually by the team.
Snowed Under is currently in development for Windows (Steam).