Frostpunk 2 review

When the people start to speak, you hear their comments, twisting your thoughts to make you paranoid and make you question every decision you have to make. When hunger kicks in and the cold starts to freeze living bodies, desperation and dissent starts to take hold and threaten everything you’ve built. I did everything I could for my people. Every single choice I made was in their best interests, even the hardest ones. All they did was take, take, take, and all I got in return was lawlessness, mutiny, and the progress turn swiftly into failure. Playing Frostpunk 2 is like trying to put out the flames of hell with a water gun, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The burden of leading a city is a tough one to bare. After the former Steward dies, it is up to you to guide your people through a frozen post-apocalyptic world. Keeping them fed and warm sounds like such a simplistic objective, but the harsh conditions are a cruel mistress. Finding new sources of fuel like oil requires you to explore beyond the confines of New London’s walls. You must build colonies and explore the Frostlands to secure a future for your people, however, dangers await and preparation is vital for your city’s survival.

The generator burns at the heart of New London, and over time you will be able to upgrade and improve to keep wider areas warmer for longer. By exploring the wider reaches of the frozen wastes, you’ll find new food supplies and materials to build basic supplies for warmth and sustenance, and while there will be times when you’re succeeding, there is always something to throw a spanner in the works. The constant demands of factions within the city; reckless among the young; crime rates and civil war: everything threatens the world you’re building.

In an effort to try and keep the peace, you will have to head to city hall and pass certain laws to keep things in line whatever the issue. You’ll see the likelihood of getting a law passed, and if you’re going to fail, you’ll be able to negotiate with the different factions, offering them a promise that will see them sway in favour and vote for rather than against. However, if you don’t fulfil their demands, the faction will start to oppose you, leading to further problems and potential revolt later on. These factions all do well to make you see their point of view, and for a long time you just try to make everyone happy.

The problem with that is you’ll never see your own vision for New London realised. Sometimes, you have to put your foot down and do what is best for the people rather than the faction, and every decision will upset at least one of them. New factions will rise up out of how you lead the city, but it is the way you shape its growth that matters. Something known as the zeitgeist is how you approach the future. Do you favour bending nature to your will over adapting against the machines, or do what is best for everyone instead of catering to the wealthy? Everything you do, be it new laws or research will affect the zeitgeist, leading to peace or high tensions amongst the people.

One of my biggest mistakes was trying to please everyone. The Faithkeepers sounded like the perfect support network for my rule. They want to advance the human race through equality and tradition, but they lack a belief in change outside of what they know. They also forced their religious beliefs on my people, going from home to home and bothering those trying to stay warm. I started to see there were issues with how they saw our future, and while I believed them at first, they were not always the right choice for me.

Aside from keeping a steady supply of food, materials, and goods coming into the city, research plays a huge part in how New London thrives. You can focus on one project at a time, but again, what you choose to research and put in place can upset the balance of the factions and damage relationships. Research goes into how to keep your city heated, the advancement of exploration in the Frostlands, resource harvesting, and more. It’s always important to keep expanding and researching, but balancing what resources they eat into can also pay a price on how your people survive.

Building housing districts near factories can cause pollution and disease, so there’s always the need to plan strategically how your city expands. There are ways to counter these problems, but new ones arise even when you think you’re doing everything correctly. Frostpunk 2 is a tough city-builder. You are constantly being torn between ideals you hold, and the people are always asking for help, craving change or arguing against certain paths of progression. The frost claims the lives of your people, whether living in the city or in one of the colonies you’ve built as a method to transport new fuel, goods, or important items known as Cores that can greatly advance certain research.

The way Frostpunk 2 keeps throwing new problems at you was one of my favourite things about it. Sure, it can be overwhelming and is inherently stressful when you’re trying your best, but among these issues rise new opportunities. There’s also an internal moral compass that will keep changing as societal opinions arise leading you to do things you never thought you would. I started out as a good, honest, and trustworthy Steward, but the cold changed me. I had to do whatever was necessary for the larger world, leaving others to die for the greater good. The personal edge from random civilian conversations or statements is excellent, sporadically popping up and bringing you down to Earth.

The presentation of Frostpunk 2 is done to such a high standard. Not only are the visuals superb, the UI and general organisation of menus and commands are clear, with a helpful tutorial that explains everything well. While Frostpunk 2 is one of the most bleak and arduous games I’ve played recently, famine and poverty have never looked as authentic. Zooming into the city also provides you with a more personal side to proceedings as you can see the people living and working, making your decisions hit home that little bit harder.

Frostpunk 2 demands your attention every second that you’re playing. Decisions are often tough, managing the flow of resources and growth of your city is constant, and dealing with small personal problems and larger, more impactful conundrums are always torturing you mentally. Despite these layers of challenge, I was in awe of the various challenges I encountered, and moving from chapter to chapter knowing your hard work is paying off gave me plenty of motivation to keep on going. You’ll likely fail at first, but it will all click eventually, leading to a rewarding and worthwhile experience in the end.