31.0 hours played
Written 15 days ago
Like many others, I was a huge fan of the first game so color me stoked when the sequel was announced back in 2021. When it finally released back in Sep 2024 I eagerly downloaded it and played it to jump back into the fun. Unfortunately, other games at the time kept my attention away such as Space Marine 2 (Played it more on XBox hence why my hours on it here on Steam is low). But after playing this game a lot recently I can give an honest review on what I think about this game and how it compares to the original.
When it comes to fundamental gameplay, it is similar to the original where you develop and maintain a city to keep it up and running in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by an eternal winter. But when it comes to core mechanics, it is vastly expanded upon as now you are developing and maintaining a potentially vast metropolis in Frostpunk 2. For example, instead of constructing individual buildings to produce harvest/produce resources, you construct entire districts to do so. Instead of managing hundreds of pops at most (My best playthrough in Endless back in the first game reached 800), you are now in charge of maintaining thousands of people in your city. Instead of having the "Book of Laws" to decide how your society goes, you now have a city council that votes and decides what laws are passed and what aren't. In addition to the city council, political factions now form in your city, each one deciding what way how your city develops and how its society adapts or reacts to the unrelenting cold and near endless blizzards of this eternal winter. Basically this is no longer a post-apocalyptic game but a [i]post[/i]-post-apocalyptic one.
The reasons for this are that it has been decades in-universe since the first game, where people were struggling to establish a settlement and survive the first months/years of this new yet unforgiving cold world. But now in Frostpunk 2, people have developed into a new civilization where its society has adapted to the Frostland to a certain degree.
This shows in the story where New London is no longer the humble settlement built from wood and housing a few hundred of people in the first game but is now a sprawling urban center constructed from steel and home to thousands. Its society having developed further since then that instead of having one singular Captain lead the city, it is now led by a Steward who heeds the words and advice from the political factions of New London within the city council to decide on how governance over the city is decided.
Though still dangerous, the world-ending and apocalyptic event known as [b]The Great Storm[/b], the "final boss" of the main story from the first game, it is nothing more but a hazardous weather phenomenon that people need to prepare for when it is detected (Think of tornadoes or hurricanes coming every few or several years). In fact, while Frostpunk 1 had you struggle against the hardships of Mother Nature, you now have to make sure your city survives the intensifying force of human nature.
Yes, you heard that right. The "final boss" encounter for this game's story is your own people themselves, as the factions of New London eventually clash and erupt the city into a civil war that needs to be ended through words or by the sword. Honestly I love this change, it really drives home how far New London and its society has developed in-universe while also struggling to keep its city from collapsing due to politics.
And as usual, the soundtrack is amazing. Piotr really knows how to make the listener feel like he or she is experiencing the world of Frostpunk in-person based off sound along. And the geniuses at 11bit know how to make it work with the audio design. The music really gives off a developed, industrial vibe that fits Frostpunk 2 like how Frostpunk 1's OST conveys trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
[b]My final rating for Frostpunk 2 game is an 8.5 out of 10.[/b]
Its core mechanics is vastly expanded or changed when compared to the first game so don't be expecting something like Frostpunk 1. And for many that is already enough reason not to like it, as you have seen from other reviews or from the general reaction of players when this game released. When Bricky went over this game in his video on Youtube he described Frostpunk 1 as being the signature City Builder no different to other games in the genre while Frostpunk 2 is more of a 4X or Grand Strategy game in comparison. And I would say that description is apt, it probably explains why I like this game compared to others.
So if you are willing to go through the 4X/ Grand Strategy aspects of this game to give it a try then play Frostpunk 2, it is an amazing game IMO. If not then just wait until its on sale.
My only real gripe with this game is that Endless Mode isn't really endless, my current playthrough ended the game by having me, the Captain, die in-universe due to old age. I suppose it makes sense for gameplay, once you develop your city enough everything gets boring because you have achieved nearly everything. My city of Underlight developed a society build off the core principles of Adaptation (Icebloods) and Tradition (Lords) so in-universe my people were ready to face the Frostland without me. But at the end I would at least like to see some kind of scoreboard or see something similar to the main story to see a basic timeline on how my city developed as I progressed.