Permafrost Review Roundup

Scores at a glance

Few outlets had published full scored reviews in the first days. The clearest critic verdict comes from Fix Gaming Channel, which reviewed the Early Access build on PC. Steam user reviews give the best picture of how the wider audience reacted.

Steam percentages move quickly during launch week. Check the store page for the live number before you buy. We update this page as more outlets publish full reviews.

What reviewers praise

The survival foundation gets the most praise. Fix Gaming Channel called it one of the game's biggest strengths, with constant pressure around warmth, food, water and shelter. Scarce heat sources mean a cold snap during a fight can quickly become fatal.

Crafting and progression also improved compared with the earlier preview build. The skill system, upgraded recipes and blueprint hunting give a clear sense of growth. Winchester Gaming and Tech liked that crafting avoids heavy menu work while still making you scavenge for parts.

The frozen landscapes and ruined city look striking, especially with dynamic weather and good lighting. Hunting feels useful because skinning and cooking feed directly into survival. Several Steam reviewers also praised co-op building with friends.

The most common complaints

Stability was the loudest issue at launch. The developers shipped two hotfixes on October 9 that turned off FSR on NVIDIA RTX 20, 30, 40 and 50 series cards to reduce crashes. An earlier preview post said GPU crashes made up roughly two thirds of crash reports.

• Sleep — sleeping always wakes you the next morning, even if you lie down at dawn.
• Terrain seam — a visible gap splits some terrain sections.
• Old bugs — some issues from the preview two years earlier are still present.
• Animations — combat and some door animations feel janky.
• Controls — some players report mouse control problems.
• Onboarding — it can take a long time to work out what to do early on.

The 30-hour review found these issues harder to excuse when they had appeared before. Still, the same reviewer said they kept wanting to come back. Most negative Steam reviews mention crashes rather than the design itself.

How fast the developers are patching

Response speed has been a bright spot. Within the first days, an update titled Crash Fixes and Co-op Improvements fixed several crashes, updated DLSS and FSR and made fast travel points easier to spot. It also improved the friends server list and kept quest items in the world to prevent stuck quests.

One Steam reviewer noted that the developers reply to almost every negative review and patch quickly. Quest blockers and co-op disconnections were still listed as work in progress. If you crash, the official advice from the preview was to try the -dx11 launch option.

Our best settings guide collects the current performance fixes. If your PC is close to the minimum specs, read can my laptop run Permafrost first. Both pages are updated as new patches land.

How much game is there right now?

The Early Access build already covers a long story path from Horizon through the Woods, House Camp and the Solar Fields. The 30-hour reviewer was still playing and unsure whether the current content has a real endpoint. Expect dozens of hours if you explore and build at your own pace.

The developers plan to stay in Early Access for at least 12 months. The roadmap lists four updates, including combat polish, weapon parts in crafting, a sledgehammer and the White Hell biome. The full release is meant to add more biomes, quests, NPCs, enemies, equipment and vehicles.

Solo and co-op impressions

Most critic time so far has been solo. The 30-hour review was played alone, with the dog as the main companion. Its most useful job was carrying extra loot, since inventory space runs out quickly.

Co-op impressions come mainly from Steam reviews. Players enjoy splitting jobs and building a shared base, and the studio says co-op does not make the game easier. Launch-week disconnects and join crashes were the main co-op complaints, and the first update targeted several of them.

If you plan to play with friends, have the host update first and join from the friends server list. Our co-op guide covers hosting and joining step by step. Solo players should read the solo guide for dog tips.

How it compares with other cold survival games

Reviewers often reach for The Long Dark as a reference, because both games make temperature the main threat. Permafrost adds a stronger story push, base building, faction camps and four-player co-op. It feels less lonely and more like a crafting sandbox.

Compared with survival games built around combat, it is slower and more methodical. There is no constant gunfire, and hunting serves survival rather than the other way round. Players who like planning trips and managing warmth will feel at home.

The trade-off is polish. Older survival games have had years of updates, while Permafrost is days into Early Access. Judge it on its foundations and on how quickly the patches arrive.

Price and value

The base price is $24.99, and a 20% launch discount brings it to $19.99 until October 23. The Steam FAQ says the price will likely rise before 1.0. Buying early is cheaper, but you also pay with your patience for bugs.

Steam refunds are usually possible within two weeks and two hours of playtime. That window is enough to test performance on your own PC. See the price guide for editions and regional pricing.

Should you buy it now?

The overall picture matches the 7 out of 10 verdict. There is a strong survival game under the ice, but it still needs technical work. Start with our gameplay overview and beginner guide if you jump in.