In a noisy world where everyone is fighting to be heard, it's easy to forget that quiet and small moments of kindness are the most powerful. Most of the time, it's easy to think that staying in control is the easiest way to deal with things, whether you're struggling with your own pain or trying to find the right way to navigate someone else's pain. It's never easy to know what to do, we're all trying our best – after all, we're becoming human for the first time. But one truth remains: a little kindness goes a long way. Winter Burrow, a fearless game about little mice, shows this more than anything else I've played in 2025.
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Besides the need to survive without freezing your tail to death and searching for your aunt after she's snatched by an owl, most of your actions in the Winter Hole are born out of the kindness of a mouse. From reuniting a repentant Toad with a stubborn Tadpole and getting them both to listen to each other, to helping a nervous Hedgehog cope with his loss, your small, seemingly innate acts of compassion and kindness have a lasting impact.
A little further into the story, you meet Moss, a nervous hedgehog missing his partner Pinesup, whom he hasn't seen in an alarming amount of time. Around them it seems that they already know the truth, but they cannot bring themselves to think about it, otherwise their world will collapse. Before you can begin your search for Pinesup, you spend time completing a variety of small tasks for Moss to try and piece together what happened to his partner. After several devastating clues, the answer becomes abundantly clear – and the steps you just took for Moss end up carrying more weight than before.
These small acts of kindness that help Moss, from finding a missing heavy key to finding Pinesup's wool hood, eventually add up to help Moss process the news no one wants to hear – their loved one is gone. Grief can be all-consuming, whether you're grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of your health, perhaps something that meant a lot to you, no matter what you're grieving, the feeling is the same – it can consume you whole, leaving you with very little strength to get back out again.
After learning the truth about Pineapple, it becomes clear that Moss was close to falling into this all-consuming void, and would have done so if not for you. Caught in a loop between knowing the truth and denying what they know, holding on to what little threads of hope they have left.
“Don’t leave old Moss” is a simple request at first glance, but it has a much deeper meaning after Pinesup’s fate becomes known. Moss does not want to be alone and soon realizes that this is not necessary. Your few minutes of compassion a day give them life back – Moss eventually figures out how to become themselves again.
It's not just Moss though – all the NPCs you meet are so caught up in their lives that they've unintentionally become isolated and trying to figure things out on their own. Bufo is deep in thought about their runaway tadpole Pollywog, Willow is deep in her research, and Aunt is too worried about the outside world to venture outside. Without you, they would all be left separated, trying to cope alone – not knowing that there was another way out.
And that's what Winter Burrow points out so well, when you look at many of the characters you meet, choosing to talk to them and not just listening, but choosing to hear them changes their lives for the better. It's easy to forget that the smallest actions have the biggest impact and that sometimes all someone needs is to be seen.
Whether it's for a day or much longer, Winter Burrow proves that a few small acts of kindness go a long way.
