Let it snow
Let it snow
Get warm and cozy before playing this pair of games about trolls, frogs, and the joys and fears of winter. 在游玩这两款关于巨魔、青蛙以及冬日喜悦与恐惧的游戏之前，先让自己暖和起来，享受一段惬意的时光吧。
Water gets all the credit. When gaming companies want to show off new graphics technology, things tend to get wet; splashing waves that are only possible with the latest physics engine, or puddles that can reflect the world around them thanks to ray tracing. But there’s something special about snow. It might not be as technically impressive as water, but when it comes to creating a mood in a game, snow can be very powerful. And two recent releases — Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth and Froggy Hates Snow — really capture just what snow is capable of. 水总是备受赞誉。当游戏公司想要展示新的图形技术时，往往会选择表现“湿润”的场景：比如只有在最新物理引擎下才能实现的飞溅波浪，或是通过光线追踪技术反射周围世界的积水。但雪有着某种特殊之处。它在技术表现上或许不如水那样令人惊叹，但在营造游戏氛围方面，雪却有着强大的感染力。最近发行的两款游戏——《姆明：冬日暖阳》（Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth）和《青蛙讨厌雪》（Froggy Hates Snow）——真正捕捉到了雪的独特魅力。
Let’s start with the Moomins. Winter’s Warmth is the second game based on the iconic Finnish fairy tale creatures, but, as the title suggests, this one is set during the frigid Scandinavian winter. You play as Moomintroll, the only child in a family of rotund trolls that more closely resemble upright hippos. Usually at this time of the year, the family are all asleep, hibernating through the bleak winter. But something has woken him up early, and the game follows his adventures as he learns just what the world is like during this time when he’s normally asleep. 先从姆明说起。《冬日暖阳》是第二款基于这一芬兰经典童话生物改编的游戏。正如标题所示，本作的背景设定在严寒的斯堪的纳维亚之冬。你将扮演姆明，他是这个圆滚滚的巨魔家庭中唯一的孩子，这些巨魔看起来更像是直立行走的河马。通常在这个季节，全家人都在冬眠，度过萧瑟的寒冬。但某种原因让他提前醒来，游戏讲述了他在这段本该沉睡的时光里，探索世界并了解冬日景象的冒险故事。
As a game, Winter’s Warmth is fairly straightforward. In order to bring back spring, and keep busy while his parents slumber, Moomintroll basically becomes an errand boy for everyone in the valley. That means you’ll explore in search of anyone in need of a hand, whether it’s a pup that found itself stranded in the mountains, or mysterious creatures that need a hand with a bonfire. You’ll gather wood, chase down birds, and even rescue an adorable talking dog. The game is extremely easy to pick up, making it work well for all ages; my 10-year-old daughter and I have been playing it together, passing the controller back and forth as if we were sharing a storybook. 作为一款游戏，《冬日暖阳》非常直观。为了唤回春天，并在父母沉睡时打发时间，姆明基本上成了山谷里大家的“跑腿小弟”。这意味着你需要四处探索，寻找需要帮助的人，无论是被困在山上的小狗，还是需要帮忙生火的神秘生物。你会收集木柴、追逐小鸟，甚至拯救一只可爱的会说话的狗。这款游戏极易上手，适合所有年龄段的玩家；我和我10岁的女儿一直在共同游玩，我们轮流传递手柄，就像在共同阅读一本故事书一样。
What makes Winter’s Warmth really stand out is the vibe. It has a hand-drawn look to it, like one of the Moomins books come to life, but a lot of the mood comes down to the weather. This game feels cold. It’s sunny spring where I am in southern Ontario, and yet when I play Winter’s Warmth I feel the need to bundle up with a blanket and a mug of something hot because of its snow. 《冬日暖阳》真正出众的地方在于它的氛围。它采用了手绘风格，就像姆明绘本活过来了一样，而这种氛围很大程度上归功于天气表现。这款游戏让人感觉真的很冷。虽然我所在的安大略省南部正值阳光明媚的春天，但每当我玩《冬日暖阳》时，看着游戏里的雪景，我总忍不住想裹上毯子，再来一杯热饮。
The snow factors into the game in many ways. You’ll need to shovel out pathways, dig up missing objects (and, in one case, a bunch of kids), roll giant balls to create bridges, and even get into actual snowball fights. During one of the more intense sequences, you have to carry the aforementioned dog to safety while avoiding the winds of a blistering snowstorm. Snow even serves as a navigation tool; your footsteps are persistent, making it easy to see where you’re already been and where you still need to explore. All of the combined gives the game its distinctly wintery feel. 雪在游戏中以多种方式发挥作用。你需要铲开道路、挖掘丢失的物品（有一次甚至还要挖出一群孩子）、滚动巨大的雪球来搭建桥梁，甚至还能进行真正的打雪仗。在一段较为紧张的剧情中，你必须抱着那只小狗前往安全地带，同时还要躲避暴风雪的侵袭。雪甚至成为了导航工具；你的脚印会留在雪地上，让你很容易辨认出哪些地方已经去过，哪些地方还需要探索。所有这些元素结合在一起，赋予了游戏独特的冬日质感。
Froggy Hates Snow, on the other hand, isn’t quite as relaxed. This is a roguelike where you play as a frog who perhaps hates snow because he is completely surrounded by it. At the beginning of each run you find yourself in a warm bubble, which serves as an oasis in an otherwise frigid landscape. The goal is to get out and explore and to survive long enough to find a hidden door that opens up the next area. Exploring means dealing with the perils of snow. You have to dig your way through the huge walls of the stuff that surround Froggy, and periodically return to your base to warm up, or else die of exposure. 另一方面，《青蛙讨厌雪》则没那么轻松。这是一款Roguelike游戏，你扮演一只青蛙，它之所以讨厌雪，可能是因为它完全被雪包围了。在每一轮游戏的开始，你都会身处一个温暖的气泡中，这在寒冷的地貌中就像是一片绿洲。游戏的目标是走出去探索，并存活足够长的时间，找到通往下一区域的隐藏之门。探索意味着要应对雪带来的危险。你必须在包围青蛙的巨大雪墙中挖掘出一条路，并定期回到基地取暖，否则就会因失温而死亡。
As you explore, you’ll find gold that you can use to upgrade your skills, as well as new gear to help you progress further. While you start out digging with your little frog hands, eventually you can get a shovel, as well as a scarf to keep you warmer longer and skis to help you move faster. Everything is randomized, but there’s a surprisingly large skill tree that can really allow you to tailor the frog to your needs. Soon enough you’ll have a devastating flamethrower and a comforting mug of tea. 在探索过程中，你会发现金币，可以用它来升级技能，以及获取帮助你进一步推进的新装备。虽然起初你只能用青蛙的小手挖掘，但最终你可以获得铲子，以及能让你保持更久温暖的围巾和能让你移动更快的滑雪板。虽然一切都是随机生成的，但游戏拥有一个令人惊讶的庞大技能树，让你能够根据需求定制你的青蛙。很快，你就能拥有威力强大的火焰喷射器和一杯暖心的热茶。
Froggy Hates Snow has two main modes. The first is a more traditional roguelike structure, where enemies show up in waves and you have to use various weapons like the shovel and, uh, your tongue to fight them off. But I’ve mostly been spending my time in the more adventure-focused mode that has no combat whatsoever. That doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. It’s easy to lose yourself digging through the endless fields of snow, so that you can’t make it back to warm up on time. But even without combat, there’s a real satisfaction to successfully braving the elements and seeing your frog steadily level up so that you can explore more freely and see more of the strange, hidden world beneath the snow. The game also has plenty of unlockable characters and levels as you progress, so that it doesn’t feel too repetitive each time you start a run. 《青蛙讨厌雪》有两种主要模式。第一种是更传统的Roguelike结构，敌人会一波波出现，你必须使用铲子，呃，还有你的舌头来击退它们。但我大部分时间都花在更偏向冒险的模式上，那里完全没有战斗。但这并不意味着它不危险。在无尽的雪原中挖掘时很容易迷失方向，导致无法及时赶回基地取暖。但即使没有战斗，成功抵御严寒并看着你的青蛙稳步升级，从而能更自由地探索并发现雪下隐藏的奇异世界，这种成就感是实实在在的。随着游戏的推进，你还可以解锁许多角色和关卡，因此每一轮开始时都不会让人感到过于重复。
These two games are very different, but they each manage to capture the duality of snow: it can be fun and playful, or deadly and terrifying. It’s a combination very particular to the winter months, and Froggy Hates Snow and Winter’s Warmth give you a taste of it without fear of frostbite. 这两款游戏风格迥异，但它们都成功捕捉到了雪的双重性：它既可以是充满乐趣和顽皮的，也可以是致命且恐怖的。这是冬日里非常独特的一种组合，而《青蛙讨厌雪》和《冬日暖阳》让你在无需担心冻伤的情况下，就能体验到这种感觉。
Froggy Hates Snow is available now on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch; Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is available now on PC and the Switch. 《青蛙讨厌雪》现已登陆PC、PS5、Xbox和Switch平台；《姆明：冬日暖阳》现已登陆PC和Switch平台。