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Winnie’s Hole: Everything We Know

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Ever since A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain back in 2022, Hundred Acre Wood has somehow managed to transform into this blood and honey-dewed mess that, in the weirdest of ways, has single-handedly ushered even the original author to start rolling in his grave. And if you thought the horror movie Blood & Honey was enough to curdle bones, then wait till you get a load of Winnie’s Hole, a puzzle-based adventure in which you control a rapidly evolving virus from within Pooh’s immune system. Like I said, Hundred Acre Wood isn’t quite as loving as it was back in 1926 — and it’s showing, now more than ever.

So, what is this virus-centric puzzler, and when can we expect to get our hands on it? Will it accommodate Tigger and Piglet? Will Christopher Robin have any influence on the outcome of Pooh’s DNA? Here’s everything you need to know about it.

What Is Winnie’s Hole?

Oh, goodie — another Winnie the Pooh horror based on A.A. Milne’s beloved anthology of family-friendly tales. It isn’t family-friendly at all, just to put it out there, but more disturbingly compelling, and not to mention appealing to a rather niche demographic. Winnie’s Hole is simple, though; it’s a puzzle game in which you control a mutated virus from within the underbelly of all that consumed honey. Your goal? Why, to turn ol’ Pooh Bear back into his primitive form, of course — even if it means abolishing a few friendships along the way. Sorry, Rabbit.

“Join Winnie the Pooh on a new adventure, from within!” the blurb opens in part. “You play a virus in Winnie's body, capture cells to grow mutations and specialise your host. Refine his primitive form, adapt for survival, and do not let his friends contain you. They do not understand our gift… We must share it with them.”

Story

From the looks of it, Winnie’s Hole will begin like any other tale set in the Hundred Acre Wood. That is, until the virus brewing from the gut of the portly bear comes to formulate a plan to exploit the woodland and all its critters, anyway. And that’s exactly where you’ll begin your journey — as a tiny virus trickling in the bloodstream of Pooh, ready to latch onto new cells to evolve into something bigger, nastier, and more powerful than any other disease on the planet. It just so happens that Pooh is the host of this virus, of all people. Why Pooh? No idea. Public domain and all that jazz.

While we can’t say for certain what the outcome of this particular story will be, the general consensus seems to point towards it having to do with Pooh transforming into an acre-renowned “abomination” and consuming Hundred Acre Wood and all its known inhabitants. Or at least, that’s what we’ve taken from the screenshots that have surfaced to date, anyway.

Gameplay

If you’ve ever played Plague Inc., then you’ll already have a good idea of what Winnie’s Hole will be like in terms of gameplay. As an overseer of sorts, you will be tasked with sourcing new samples of DNA and other types of unnatural materials to assist in Pooh’s gradual transformation from a lovable sweetheart to a feared monstrosity, all the while Hundred Acre Wood does all in its power to disrupt your progress and reverse the process.

Winnie’s Hole will be split between two halves, with one half showing the everyday lives of the folk of Hundred Acre Wood and their efforts to sway Pooh back to his sprightly self, and the latter half showing a nexus of DNA, with which you will alter and evolve as time marches forward. In the end, your goal will be to give Pooh unholy abilities that defy the laws of nature, either by giving him tentacles for arms, or four sets of razor-sharp teeth, with which he will use to digest whatever hope Hundred Acre Wood has left.

“Explore randomly generated worlds inside your host's body,” the description adds. “Discover new cells to evolve and direct the adventure. Gather resources and unlock new abilities. Build and specialise your host to survive encounters. Evolve and infect other creatures in search of the Ultimate Vessel. Obtain new hosts and master different play styles as your influence grows.”

Development

Winnie’s Hole is being developed by Twice Different, the same studio that brought roguelite card crawler Ring of Pain to the table back in 2020. So, clearly there’s a theme that the team is sticking to at this point; warped horrors with a pinch of childlike charm, if anything. And if Winnie’s Hole is even the slightest bit as creepy as Ring of Pain, then it’s sure to be a good thing. Just don’t expect it to do any of A.A. Milne’s original works justice, though.

Trailer

Winnie's Hole - Game Announcement Trailer

Has Winnie’s Hole piqued your interest? If so, then you’ll be pleased to know that Twice Different actually released a trailer of the game earlier this year. You can check it out for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Winnie’s Hole will be shaping up for a release on PC via Steam at some point later this year. As for when in 2023 it’ll grace the system has yet to be determined, though a Q4 launch seems most likely at the time of writing.

As far as editions go, Winnie’s Hole will just have the standard version on PC. You can add that to your wishlist over on Steam here.

Are you ready to delve into the warped reality of Hundred Acre Wood? If so, then be sure to check in with the developer over on its official social handle for all the latest pre-launch updates here. If, by chance, anything changes ahead of its release, we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

 

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Winnie’s Hole when it comes to Steam? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.

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Jord is acting Team Leader at gaming.net. If he isn't blabbering on in his daily listicles, then he's probably out writing fantasy novels or scraping Game Pass of all its slept on indies.