Here’s how Akira, District 9, and British police hats inspired the look of this apocalyptic extraction shooter

The Forever Winter is far and away one of my favorite games I’ve played in 2025. Since publishing my review in March, Fun Dog Studios has continued to roll out several quality of life improvements and content additions. A recent update includes several new character animations, map variants, and a new unlockable questline designed around a powerful weapon.

But when I think back on the hundreds of hours I’ve put into playing The Forever Winter so far, it’s the core visual elements that continue to draw me back in. I love the game’s overall look and character design. It’s all a byproduct of an exquisite mash-up of influences, drawing from Japanese anime, kitbashed model kits, military sci-fi novels, and apocalyptic landscape portraiture. The result is an aesthetic that at once pays homage to its forebearers while looking unlike anything else in gaming.

Riloe, a YouTuber and video essayist who specializes in breaking down the mechanics of extraction shooters (and whose videos first put The Forever Winter on my radar), recently released a new video dedicated to analyzing the game’s character design. Even if you’re not an ardent convert to The Forever Winter’s macabre universe or a seasoned scav, you’ll undoubtedly get something out of watching Riloe’s discussion. They dig into the aesthetics and history behind the game, giving fans of worldbuilding, speculative design, holistic art direction, and creative craftsmanship a lot to enjoy.

Throughout the near half-hour video, Riloe does a fantastic job of drawing connections between the disparate influences behind The Forever Winter’s design, from the stylized works of Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!) to the gritty, rough ’n tumble aesthetic of Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 and Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men. It’s difficult to hone in on just one favorite section of Riloe’s breakdown, but I personally was particularly fascinated with the story of how Fun Dog Studios found the right tonal balance for the game’s dark yet grimly hilarious worldbuilding. That, and hearing about the sheer amount of care put into the industrial design of the helmets of Europa, one of the three major factions of The Forever Winter’s universe.

The Forever Winter’s 0.4 update, released in April, introduced a slew of new systems and improvements, including a new cooperative weapon system in the form of a powerful railgun capable of taking down enemies that were previously invincible. That builds on a “night mode” variant for the Stairway region added back in March, as well as paid cosmetics for the Scav Girl, Shaman, and Bag Man characters. 

Something that hasn’t changed is Fun Dog Studios CEO Miles Williams commitment (made back in August 2024) to feature no pay to win solutions in the game; new map regions, weapons, and missions will be added to the game free of charge during its early access period. New characters are also included in this, but optional skin packs will be sold, with all proceeds going directly to the game’s character team to create additional skin packs in the future.