New experiences with Moomin coming April 27th
Moomintroll looking up at the beautfull Aurora Borealis. / Credit Hyper Games
We don’t have too many notable game developers in Norway, but we have some, and Hyper Games is indeed one of them.
This team of 13 people, and one good doggo, have released some very impressive games through the years.
Mørkredd (released December 2020), a tense co-op puzzle game about ferrying a glowing orb through pitch-black darkness. It won Nordic Game of the Year in 2021. Not bad for a studio of 13 people from Oslo.
And then Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley in 2024 put them firmly on the map internationally. It too won a award a the Nordic Game Awards 2025, Best fun for everyone award.
Snufkin currently sits at Overwhelmingly Positive overall, and 97% positive in recent reviews. Those are impressive numbers, and Hyper Games has earned them with a fun game rooted in Tove Jansson’s Moomin universe that managed to feel faithful to the source material.
Now, Hyper Games are on the cusp of releasing their next game in the Moomin universe: Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth launches April 27th.
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth Date announcement trailer on YouTube / Credit Hyper Games
Who is Moomin?
Here in Scandinavia, the Finnish Moomin is a very well known character. It is something we grow up with.
From books to cups, Moomin is a well known universe over here. I grew up with it in the 90s, and my kids still get to experience Moomin today. I actually have a Moomin book with the Winter’s Warmth story in it.
Winter’s Warmth, a spiritual successor
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is described as a spiritual successor rather than a direct sequel. Both games stand on their own, and you can play them in any order.
This time around you play as Moomintroll himself, the main character of the Moomin universe, rather than the wandering Snufkin.
The story is inspired by Tove Jansson’s novel Moominland Midwinter, where Moomintroll wakes early from hibernation and finds Moominvalley unrecognizable, cloaked in strange, cold and white stuff (snow) and everything is strangely quiet.
He sets out on a journey to understand winter, make new friends, and help those worse off than himself.
It’s a story-driven cozy puzzle adventure. Third-person, top-down, with the same hand-painterly visual art style that made Snufkin so striking.
The team at Hyper Games has clearly put a lot of care into capturing the atmosphere of Jansson’s world, and by the looks of it, that holds up in Winter’s Warmth too.
Tove Jansson, the artist behind Moomin
Tove Jansson, for those who don’t know, is both the author and illustrator behind Moomin.
Her visual universe is something Hyper Games has managed to stay remarkably true to, even in a modern medium like a game. And that doesn’t happen by accident.
The official rights to the Moomin characters are held by Moomin Characters Oy Ltd, a company that I bet takes the legacy of Tove Jansson’s work seriously and doesn’t hand out licenses lightly.
The fact that they’ve trusted Hyper Games not once, but twice, says a lot about how this Oslo studio has handled that responsibility.
The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My, 1952 / Credit Tove Jansson (tovejansson.com)
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth demo out now
The new demo runs about 60 minutes and includes never-before-seen gameplay from early in the story. The full game is estimated to last around 7 hours.
This studio been on my radar for a while. Both Moomin games are games I will want to show my kids in a few years. If Hyper Games manages to replicate Snufkin’s success with Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth, this is gonna do them good.
The Winter’s Warmth demo is available on Steam right now during Steam Next Fest, running until March 2nd.
Worth 60 minutes of your time if you have any interest in cozy, well-crafted adventures. Or if you just want to see what a Norwegian indie studio can do with one of Scandinavia’s most beloved fictional universes.
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is a single player game, launching April 27th for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. If you want a taste before then, the demo is waiting for you on Steam.
