Defrosting New Mechanics
HIGH New gameplay mechanics
LOW Terrible performance issue in final chapters
WTF Why don’t you talk to me!?
Frostpunk was an ambitious post-apocalyptic city builder. 11 Bit Studios not only told a dark and tragic story in a unique “Hardy Victorians Vs. the Ice Age” setting, but they pushed the boundaries of how intricately challenging the genre could be if focus was placed on survival elements such as heat scarcity in a frozen wasteland.
Even though it was a bold and unproven project at the time, it was a success that led to the release of Frostpunk 2 – a sequel that follows the people of chilly New London in their quest to survive in a never-ending winter under the leadership of the town’s Steward. However, while some developers might have been content to simply crank out more of the same, Frostpunk 2 has completely overhauled the gameplay mechanics.
Rather than following the blueprint of a classic-style city builder in which players create districts by placing similar building types next to each other, Frostpunk 2 provides districts with clearly specified purposes, such as an industrial district which produces goods to be traded for money, an extraction district which handles materials and fuel, a food district which provides sustenance, and a housing district which provides shelter. Players must gather resources, food, materials, and fuel to manage the needs of the people as well as to support the development of the city.
Dispensing heat throughout the city – a massive mechanic in the original – is now simplified compared to the first installment. Players don’t need to build roads or place heaters across the map to make sure everyone is safe from deadly whiteouts. As long as the generator is getting enough fuel, everyone is safe and warm. By taking this approach, 11 Bit Studios took a big risk with the difficulty curve by putting focus on other, newly-introduced mechanics that have a more political bentwhich those with a more classic taste in city builders might not approve of while those who look for a more unique and different experience in the genre might love.
There are four established factions now, the Frostlanders, Stalwarts, New Londoners and Pilgrims, each with their own agenda and aspirations, and each group’s vision of progress is sometimes in contradiction with the others.
As the Steward, players have to balance the needs and wants of each faction by doing research, constructing specific buildings, and negotiating laws in the Council. Managing the expectations of these groups is perhaps the most difficult part of Frostpunk 2 because failing to do so will result in protests and rallies which not only halt economic activities in the city, but also threaten the life of its people and the integrity of the city’s infrastructure. It can be frustrating for sure, and even more so in higher difficulties.
An issue with this new focus on new political mechanics is how they are introduced. Frostpunk 2’s tutorial mission is too simplistic to effectively teach the deep, interconnected mechanisms. The politics and aspects of the Council aren’t covered well when players are given the helm of New London, and might easily be frustrated and confused.
Though there is a written tutorial section always available, it doesn’t convey the specifics like what steps the player needs to take to be able to use things like negotiation tools in the Council – something I found purely by chance when I accidentally clicked on a group’s picture in the UI. This failure of communication to players is not limited to the early stages, as I had issues completing one of the final missions. A search online revealed that hundreds of other people had the exact same question – the mission details were just not clear enough.
On the technical side, Frostpunk 2 has some rough edges. While things start smoothly, as the city expands and settlements are added, the more the performance drops. There are also occasional lag spikes and stutters when the game is automatically saved, and events such as new mission announcements or requests from citizens is displayed – in fact, the frequency of lag spikes in the final chapters when players need to manage three different settlements at the same time with events happening in each of them is quite frustrating, often making the player wait at too-frequent intervals.
Frostpunk 2 is an ambitious sequel to an innovative title. While breaking new ground is surely appreciated in today’s often-too-static gaming scene, it’s sad to see that its new ideas are not introduced to the players properly, and the current performance issues make playing through once a bit of a chore – a second play would be difficult to sit through. Though the challenges in maintaining peace and order in New London while searching for a safe haven are things that stand out in the genre, I wish it could provide a more polished experience. As it stands, Frostpunk 2 is a good second step that fans of the franchise and the genre will enjoy, but there’s plenty of room for improvement here.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed and published by 11 Bit Studios. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via Publisher and 12 hours were dedicated to the single-player campaign. The game was completed. There are no multiplayer options available.
Parents: This game is rated M by the ESRB. It contains Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Sexual Themes, Mild Violence, and Strong Language. The official description reads: This is a strategy simulation game in which players assume the role of a steward in charge of an industrial city in a frozen post-apocalyptic world. From an overhead perspective, players manage the city’s survival and expansion, making decisions on social policies, economic growth, and political standing. Some decisions can reference thematic elements (e.g., suicide, murder) and/or lead to brief depictions of violence and blood: a man stabbed to death; a body lying in a pool of blood. Some still images depict frozen corpses and/or bodies stained with blood. The dialogue/text contains some sexual material (e.g., “I’ve got the clap, but I ain’t spreading that”; “a man convicted of rape and murder”; “creeps and pervs, the whole lot of them”; “Some people are trying to use Pleasure Clubs to climb the social ladder.”). The game also references drugs (e.g., “overdoses with mixing opioids and stimulants”; “people are still overdosing”; “producing both stimulants and opioids”). The word “f**k” appears in the game.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes present.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles, the subtitles can be altered or resized and all the info is delivered through text. Important audio cues have visual representations as well. The game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Controls can be remapped.
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