What to know
- The game focuses on fully manual car building, maintenance, and survival systems
- Performance and stability on release day exceeded most expectations
- Core mechanics reward patience, planning, and mechanical understanding
- It appeals strongly to players who enjoy unforgiving, realistic simulators
On release day, My Winter Car surprised many players by feeling far more complete and polished than anticipated. Instead of a shallow driving sandbox, you’re dropped into a demanding Finnish countryside life sim where every bolt, wire, and mistake matters. If you enjoy learning through failure, the game immediately hooks you.
Get My Winter Car on Steam at 14.99$
About My Winter Car game
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Game type | First-person survival automobile simulation |
| Series | Sequel to My Summer Car |
| Core premise | Own, assemble, maintain, and survive with an old project car during a Finnish winter |
| Car building | Full car and engine assembly with ~200 unique parts |
| Vehicle paths | Daily driver, rally car, circuit racer, tuning build, or historical restoration |
| Survival systems | Permanent death, player body temperature, money management |
| Driving & physics | Detailed driving model, vehicle condition, and engine simulation |
| World & setting | Snowy Finnish forests, icy highways, frozen lake roads |
| Other vehicles | Cars from the 1960s–1990s, plus truck and tractor |
| Activities | Jobs, rallying, circuit racing, spectating events |
| Weather | Harsh mid-winter Finnish climate, dark and extremely cold |
| Law enforcement | Realistic police behavior reacting to reckless actions |
| Controller support | Limited steering wheel and shifter support |
| Target audience | Players experienced with My Summer Car |
| Tone | Harsh, punishing, bleak survival experience |
| AI-generated content | Some textures, in-game TV imagery/audio, and radio music |
| Mature content | Alcohol use, smoking, vehicular accidents, injuries/fatalities |
| Genre | Indie, Racing, Simulation |
| Developer | Amistech Games |
| Publisher | Amistech Games |
| Release status | Early Access |
| Release date | 29 Dec 2025 |
| Platforms | PC (64-bit systems only) |
Why the release day impressed players
From the first boot, My Winter Car stood out for how confidently it committed to its vision. You’re not guided by tutorials or safety nets. Instead, you learn by doing—and often by breaking things. On release day, core systems like vehicle assembly, engine tuning, hunger, fatigue, and finances all worked together smoothly, creating a cohesive experience rather than disconnected mechanics.
The physics-driven car assembly was especially notable. Every part has weight, orientation, and consequences. Forget to tighten a bolt or misroute a hose, and the engine will fail later. That level of cause-and-effect depth was rare even among simulators at launch.
Indie game My Winter Car reached a peak of over 21,000 players just hours after its release earlier today
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 29, 2025
It's a first-person survival game about maintaining an old project car pic.twitter.com/xSiISIXY2U
Systems depth that sets it apart
What truly exceeded expectations on release day was how interconnected everything felt. Weather affects driving. Alcohol affects control. Engine wear reflects how you drive and maintain the car. There’s no separation between “simulation” and “life”—it’s all one continuous system.
The game also trusts you to figure things out. There are no glowing markers or simplified menus. That design choice made the experience polarizing, but for its target audience, it was exactly what they wanted.
This isn’t a casual driving game. If you enjoy experimentation, mechanical problem-solving, and slow but meaningful progress, it delivers immediately. If you prefer fast rewards or guided objectives, the release-day experience may feel harsh.
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