“Frostpunk 2 scales up the drama with a bigger, more strategic sequel that's easy to get lost in.”
- An expanded sequel
- More approachable
- Highly dynamic campaign
- Lots of democracy options
- Undercuts its hard choices
- UI needs a few tweaks
Conflict. It’s central to Frostpunk 2, the sequel to 11 Bit Studios’ hit city-builder survival game. From disparate factions vying for control to internal turmoil when making crucial decisions, there were moments that kept me enthralled as I attempted to prevent my city from falling into ruin.
Frostpunk 2’s campaign is set 30 years after the events of its predecessor. The Captain, the player’s character from the original title, lies dead. Now, you step into the shoes of the Steward, taking on the unenviable role of guiding a bustling settlement and its people. It’s a tall order, made even more challenging thanks to interconnected mechanics and features. While I love seeing many of these gameplay changes, UI issues and thematic shifts can get in the way of an otherwise strong strategy sequel.
From micro to macro
The first conflict I encountered when playing Frostpunk 2 was internal: that of reconciling the differences between the original game and the sequel. Previously, I had to manage the City, one of humanity’s last bastions in Britain after the apocalyptic event known as the Great Frost blanketed the world in cold and unforgiving ice. Back then, I had to concern myself with constructing individual buildings, as well as reassigning citizens and specialists to various tasks.
I could even draw comparisons to 4X strategy titles like Civilization 6 …
In Frostpunk 2, I have to send Frostbreaker teams to break the ice, before I can construct entire districts that cover multiple hexagonal tiles. I now have to contend with a population numbering in the tens of thousands rather than one topping out in the hundreds previously. Frostpunk 2 is bigger, badder, and bolder than before, a significant change from micro to macro scale.
Districts have an upkeep cost in terms of required heat and material resources. Whether it’s housing for residents, food production facilities to alleviate hunger, or extractors for coal, oil, and steam, I had to be conscious of where to place my districts if I wanted to optimize the bonuses. The systems themselves are both fresh and familiar to a degree, and I could even draw comparisons to 4X strategy titles like Civilization 6 owing to the notions of exploration, expansion, exploitation, and avoiding certain extermination.
That concept is complemented by several improvements, hubs, and extensions, including those that increase yields or add new functions that can be activated. For instance, filtration systems prevented squalor, academies sped up research, prisons allow me to lock up rioters, and excavators acquired near limitless resources deep underground. Because of a wealth of options, I found myself staring in awe as my fledgling crater settlement grew into a bustling metropolis.
Colonizing the Frostlands
Frostpunk 2 emphasizes the need for exploration with numerous regions that comprise the Frostlands. I was able to send scouts on expeditions to harsh environs near and far. Some areas might have noteworthy event chains, such as those involving the wandering Nomads. Others have an abundance of materials, which I could then transport back to my main settlement via interconnected pathways.
More daring endeavors even led me to colonize regions in an inhospitable wasteland. It’s how I found myself managing a couple of smaller settlements after moving some of the City’s population and stockpiled resources. This feature goes hand-in-hand with the 4X strategy approach which, surprisingly, makes the sequel more approachable. Instead of worrying because a hundred citizens died and I lacked the workforce needed to produce resources, I simply funneled in food, fuel, and goods from the regions I discovered.
Progress, however, is not without cost. The most notable conflicts in Frostpunk 2 happen because of factions. Some, like the more moderate New Londoners and Frostlanders, are two sides of the same coin: They may have different belief systems, but they’re easy enough to get along with. Then, there are the radical groups, such as the Stalwarts and Pilgrims, who are diametrically opposed to one another akin to two rival cats angling for the last bag of treats.
In my campaign playthrough, I primarily sided with the Stewards, which caused the Pilgrims to become irate. It came to a point where I unlocked an option to have some of them “disappear” periodically. Eventually, in a later chapter, I had to make a fateful decision on how to settle Winterhome, one of the key locations from the first game. Rather than following the suggestion of the progress-and-merit-championing Stalwarts, I opted to side with the Pilgrims who wanted to settle in Winterhome without damaging the surrounding environment. Naturally, this led to a civil war between the two groups. I had to round up the dissidents and build a separate enclave where my old allies could be kept under guard, before I finally achieved victory when the rest heralded me as the new Captain.
It’s imperative that I strike a balance between sticking to what I truly wanted for the City and addressing demands.
Governing a city in Frostpunk 2 means passing laws via the Council system. This chamber is composed of delegates from existing factions and, more often than not, the majority aren’t easily swayed by my ideas. Instead, I had to negotiate with those who were still hesitant on a proposed law, while promising to construct specific buildings, bribing them with heatstamps (cash), or giving them the privilege of choosing the next proposal that the Council will vote on. Certain actions also allowed me to bolster the ranks of my preferred organization or prevent delegates from voting.
Frostpunk 2’s approach makes for a complex and engrossing process, perhaps simulating how a weakened community beholden to one leader shifts to the social dynamics of fractured groups with their own agendas. I had to adjust to the fact that I was no longer the Captain who could make decisions on a whim. Now, I was but the Steward, and I had to appease multiple cliques. Like walking on a tightrope, it’s imperative that I strike a balance between sticking to what I truly wanted for the City and addressing demands that cropped up from time to time. When I played Utopia Builder, the game’s endless sandbox mode, I could choose the factions at the start of my run, and there were even random emergent groups with their own tenets.
Interface on ice
Similarly, this concept extends to the tech tree, where one bloc might like a particular breakthrough or policy, though it’s antithetical to the beliefs of another. The pursuit of science, therefore, became part of my political maneuvering. I couldn’t just research advanced factories and generator upgrades, nor could I implement a birthing program and forced marriages. I had to ascertain if these techs would affect my standing with a faction or if it’s something I had previously promised to them.
The tech tree needs a bit of work, though, since the effects of locked techs remain hidden. At one point while playing sandbox mode, I had forgotten the tech I needed for a particular building. My only recourse was to load the late stages of the campaign just to see the correct research option.
I found it hard to parse the information when things went wrong …
While Frostpunk 2’s visuals look undeniably gorgeous, from snow-covered landscapes to windswept hills blanketed by deadly whiteouts, its UI still needs a few tweaks. I found it hard to parse the information when things went wrong, such as people dying to the cold even though I had more than enough heating and shelters or looking for the specialized district buildings I had constructed. There were even instances when I was thoroughly focused on managing one colony that I had completely forgotten about my main settlement. I soon realized that districts had to be repaired and riots had to be quelled. Simple tooltips or side panels similar to Civilization 6 or Crusader Kings 3 may have helped, as opposed to double-checking each territory or resource just in case there were problems.
I noticed a few performance hiccups, too. My PC has an Nvidia RTX 3080, Intel i9-10900K, and 32GB of RAM. Even at high settings with DLSS performance enabled, slowdowns still occurred. Thankfully, Frostpunk 2 didn’t freeze (pun intended) or crash even with all the things that were happening.
A thematic dilemma
Frostpunk 2 is undoubtedly an impressive sequel, yet I still had trouble assessing it. I can genuinely state that mechanics such as districts, factions, and the voting system make it bigger and more expansive than its predecessor. Coincidentally, it’s these mechanics that also create the most significant conflict I feel while playing; it’s the disconnect between the original and the sequel, and having to adjust my mindset when making decisions.
In the previous game, there were grave ramifications for each moral or ethical dilemma that I faced, often leading me to think twice about my own choices. The grim reality of postapocalyptic life and various tough choices are still in the sequel, whether it’s letting the elderly fend for themselves or sending children to work in the mines. Even so, there’s a drastic tonal shift — from focusing on a few people who are suffering, to approaching difficult situations with the express intent of satisfying the demands of political groups.
This concept is one that I eventually adjusted to, given that I’m now supposed to lead a burgeoning society that’s ready to reclaim what humanity had lost. Still, this had the adverse effect of lessening the impact of dilemmas on a personal level, and it’s likely to be a contentious change for long-time fans. At the very least, Frostpunk 2’s strategic layers are sure to add greater depth and survival gameplay remains as fascinating as ever.
Frostpunk 2 was tested on PC.
