indiegame.fan
Venture Arctic header art

Venture Arctic

The second entry in the Pocketwatch Games back-catalog, Venture Arctic is an “Interactive Nature Documentary”. Caribou and Wolves roam the tundra while Polar Bears and Orcas patrol the icy seas. The player must harness the forces of sun, snow, and wind to create balance in these fragile ecosystems.

Steam Page
Release
May 1, 2018
8 years and 94 days ago
Steam Reviews
9 user reviews9 reviews55.6%

Does this feel indie?

Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.
No votes yet
Vote on More Games
Game contextLatest: IGF Team
ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan.Status
Notes
Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
Search Google: How is Venture Arctic and Pocketwatch Games funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Creative controlWho appears to retain creative control of the game.
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.

Media

6 items

About the Game

Extreme seasonal change defines the cycle of life in the northernmost reaches of the globe. In Venture Arctic, the player controls the forces of earth, sun, wind, and water to bring summer and winter to polar bears, orcas, and more.



Venture Arctic is an ecosystem simulator with a twist: the player is rewarded for both life and death. For every animal that passes on, the player collects a “spirit”, which they can then use to bring change to the environment. Players might spend this spirit to create winds, blowing the smells of a beached whale to a starving wolverine, or they might blanket the tundra in snow and ice to weed out the weak musk ox from the strong.


While the controls are simple, the systems are complex: players must understand the mating behaviors of the caribou, the feeding patterns of Arctic cod, and the social structures of Arctic wolves in order to succeed. Most of all, players will learn that an ecosystem’s survival depends upon seasons of plenty and of hardship, of life and of death.