Polyaris is a harsh survival game with a unique spin. Rather than drudging around through a post-nuclear mess, you can ski. That’s just the tip of the procedurally-generated iceberg, though.
Instead of sitting around and waiting for someone else to do it, two gaming industry fans with full-time jobs are making their dream project on the side. Polyaris is a brutally immersive survival sim that has all the crazily intricate systems you’d expect from the genre.
However, separating it from just about everything else, the indie game packs in a full-fledged skiing system. You can zip down procedural mountains on your skis, escaping from a pack of wolves in the process as you look to make it through one more night.
There’s a mystery at the center of it all, of course, as you try to figure out why you’re the only human left in these strange lands. But above any storytelling chops, it looks to offer up a new type of strangely zen survival gameplay.
What is Polyaris?
You’re dropped into the middle of an arctic wasteland after a nuclear blast wipes out seemingly everyone. There’s little in the way of direction as you explore what remains and piece together the mystery. Naturally, the elements are against you.
Polyaris goes deep on the survival mechanics. You need to keep warm or you’ll freeze to death. You need to eat or you’ll die of starvation. Weapons are essential or the terrifying wildlife will make you their next meal. But describing the loop fails to capture the detail in each and every moment.
Damp clothes won’t keep you warm. If you’re drenched, you better find a source of warmth and fast. Food needs to be defrosted near a campfire, but don’t leave it out for too long or it’ll burn. There’s so much to keep in mind at every turn.
Thankfully, you can get around the procedurally-generated map in a few exciting ways. There’s a boat that effectively serves as your base. You can customize it and set sail to new randomized lands – there’s no quite telling what you may stumble across. But then, the real selling point, you’ve got a pair of skis to help as well.
Inspired by a campaign mission in Battlefield 5, devs wanted to bring something new to the survival genre, and skis, of all things, are ticking that box. It’s not exactly serene, as danger lurks in the shadows and one wrong turn could be your last, but there’s something eerily calming about skiing through a snow-covered wasteland.
We caught up with one half of the Magic Pie development team, Fedor Kiselev, to learn more about Polyaris.
What the devs say about it
What inspired the unique survival experience
“The main inspiration for the game is The Long Dark. We wanted to be a great survival game at its core.
“The game is sort of based on a mission from the Battlefield 5 campaign. You ski. That was the main inspiration for the visuals.”
Building a game on the side
“There’s two of us on the team. Both of us have 9-5 jobs. The main programmer has an education in this field. He graduated, then decided to make games as more of a hobby.
“You feel exhausted, it’s really tough at times. But we manage it.
“Our current focus is on the mechanics. It’s all about the coding, testing… The tough work.
“We’re aiming to make the mechanics as deep as we can, but we keep in mind there’s only one programmer working on the game. We don’t want this game to never launch. We need to ship.”
Surviving in a random world
“We have 20 or 30 POIs that will be found randomly. There will be a randomly generated ocean. Just like Sea of Thieves, they’ve got like 15 POI islands.
“The player’s main goal is just to survive. The gameplay and narrative should lead the player to the right places. There is no map. You have a main goal, but at the end of the day, your biggest goal is just to survive.”
Will Polyaris have co-op down the line?
“Co-op is a hell of a lot of work. It would be great, I agree with players who want to share the experience with their friends. It’s natural. But at the same time, we don’t have the resources, unfortunately.”
Polyaris is currently targeting a Q4 2025 release on PC. You can wishlist the game here and keep up with the latest developer updates.
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