Frozen Winter

Frozen Winter (Itetsuku Fuyu 凍てつく冬) is a Garry's Mod horror duology created by ALX. The series centrally primarily focuses on a mysterious man that miraculously wandered into a suspiciously abandoned town appearing in and out of a daze. Forced to survive the harsh winter of Siberia and evade the hallucinations cast by a group of malevolent beings known as the Bauermeisters.
Similarly depicted in scope as a collaborative project between horror content developers Emnu and ATX, Frozen Winter is the sister series of Nyctophobia with major survival and psychological horror inspirations from Silent Hill, as well as a soundtrack developed by Grey Reality Studios. Combining the darkened, claustrophobic environments and the twisted hallucinations caused by the Bauermeisters, the mystery is intentionally left to interpretation around the enigmatic protagonist and the blurred line between reality and nightmare.
== Gameplay ==
While vague in nature, the primary gameplay of Frozen Winter follows the enigmatic protagonist being haunted by ghastly visages and venturing through dense snowstorms from house to house to gather evidence towards unraveling a twisted mass murder case in an abandoned Siberian town. By combing through each location and gathering information, the protagonist is able to venture deeper into town. 
== Frozen Winter ==
Dreamily coming to in front of a recently dug grave, the protagonist finds themselves in a mysterious town enshrouded by a snow storm. Shaking off their confusion and attempting to investigate for any residents, they take shelter in a large red house. Scavenging about the bloodied, darkened building provides notes and nightmarish visages depicting the gruesome mass murder of the Ermin Family and multiple sightings of a shadowy figure skulking about the forest at night. Exploring the upper floors of the house and being haunted by the strange figure, the protagonist escapes and ventures deeper into town. 
Following the Vilyuy River and happening across a storage shed, the protagonist finds the recently moved in Romanov family car and further note of suspicion that the town mechanic was responsible for the Ermin family murder, intentionally sabotaging the vehicle to prevent escape. Grabbing the keys after a strange vision of a bloodied hallway and the shadowy figure, the protagonist heads up the snowy hill towards the Romanov families old house in hopes of finding more answers.
Catching a glimpse of the shadowy figure on the way to the door, the protagonist enters the seemingly vacant home and manages to opens the attic door by retrieving and returning a childs doll to an entity creeping around the house. Another note details that the Romanov family had been murdered by the same perpetrator responsible for the deaths of the Ermin family, revealing the writer of the notes to be the families surviving father vowing revenge for not being able to protect his family. With nothing else to find, the protagonist finally crosses the bridge towards the gas station and TV station.
Finding no traces of the town residents other than a dilapidated pier and worn news articles, a short investigation of the Gas Station reveals a note depicting a crooked smiley face and paranoid writing on the roof, with a short road leading to the gated off TV station in the distance. Gaining access with relative ease and restoring power to the station, the surviving father can be found mutilated in the recording booth having been found by the killer shortly after locking himself in. Recognizing the danger they are in with no viable way of escape, the protagonist scales the radio tower in an attempt to contact the outside world.
Ascending the rigid tower in shambles, their attempt request for help is cut short as they are told via transmission that the entire area is already under strict quarantine before being cut off. An automated message begins to play before the protagonist is suddenly attacked by a ghoulish monster.
== Frozen Winter 2: Delirium ==
Waking in an abandoned hotel, the protagonist stumbles down a darkened hallway looking for any of the building residents and stumbles across the unsettling sight of a corpse in one of the rooms. Unnerved and doubling back after grabbing a key, the protagonist distances themselves and exits the building. A harsh snowstorm having burst into the following complex forces them back inside, finding several APATP soldiers massacred throughout the lower floor caused by an unseen creature. Finding another exit, the protagonist is thrust into a psychedelic dream filled with soldiers initially invading the complex before subtly attacking.
Barely escaping with their life, the protagonist reappears in the hotel complex as it is infested with strange anomalies, only able to continue searching the building for any signs of life. Grabbing another key and exit, another psychedelic vision prompts another confrontation with the invading soldiers before appearing in a long blackened hallway. Proceeding to the end and solving a strange puzzle reveals a small chest containing a childs drawing of the Romanov family, hinting at one of the childrens survival. Returning to the hotel once more, the protagonist makes a dash for the final exit down a flight of stairs before being captured by an APATP soldier named Sergey Sokolov.
== Trivia ==
* The events that transpire and background story that can be inferred prior to Frozen Winter can be best summarized as:
** The Romanov family (An unnamed Father, mother Vika, daughter Dominika and son Artyom) moves into the home of their recently deceased grandmother, seemingly at ease and ecstatic over the friendly yet isolated Siberian town with so few neighbors.
** Sightings of a shadowy figure had been reported sneaking through the forest at night which inevitably led to the murder of all five members of the Ermin family including Anton, Lucy and Anna Ermin. 
**Rumors spread about the town mechanic being responsible, potentially sabotaging any escape attempts from the town as three of the four members of the Romanov family are murdered shortly after, this includes Vica, Dominika and Artyom. The father escapes and plans on killing the perpetrator. 
* From what can be presumed, the protagonist is the town mechanic long believed to be the killer, influenced by the Bauermeisters and blacking out when he is of use to them. It can also be presumed that Sergey Sokolov is the same childhood bully of Ivan Soloviev having grown up and joined the APATP.
* A completely disconnected map can be found and played dubbed Frozen Winter: Daytime, which allows the player freedom to explore the entire town with well lit interiors and no areas barred from access.
* Originally posted on 2016, Nyctophobia and its successor series Frozen Winter were removed from Steam due to poor reception, (Namely the frustrations with difficulty, the lackadaisical progression and the confusing plot) the game was later reuploaded on 2021 by Soviet Human.
* Under their Youtube account dubbed Serial DR, ALX showed disdain for their work on Frozen Winter 2: Delirium and criticized that its intent was lost, with little to do with the original story other than the Bauermeisters.
* Nyctophobia and Frozen Winter 1-2 would also go on to inspire the horror series The Village Trilogy made by the Garry's Mod horror content creator, Zana, using the same sound ques and setting.