Frostpunk 2, developed and published by 11 bit studios, is a city builder and society sim set in a frozen world. Priced at $44.99/£37.99, the game offers an immersive experience for players.
The game takes place 30 years after the events of the original Frostpunk, where society is still struggling to survive in freezing conditions. In Frostpunk 2, players start with a population ten times larger than in the previous game. While the increase in scale is impressive, it does make the city feel more abstract and less connected to its physical surroundings.
As a society management simulation, Frostpunk 2 shines. Players are faced with difficult choices that have agonizing consequences and moral implications. The game introduces factions and communities that influence every decision made by players. These factions can splinter off or clash with each other, creating additional challenges for players to navigate.
The gameplay involves expanding borders to harvest resources from the frozen ground outside the city while searching for new resources like oil to sustain life within New London. Players no longer place individual buildings but instead lay out massive districts that can support thousands of people.
While Frostpunk 2 offers some degree of micromanagement and strategy, it lacks the street-level granularity found in other city builders. The focus is primarily on managing factions and making compromises between their conflicting interests.
Visually, Frostpunk 2 impresses with its stunning graphics depicting sprawling cities amidst snow-covered landscapes. However, even at its slowest speed setting, it feels like watching a timelapse rather than experiencing a living environment.
Despite these drawbacks as a city builder, Frostpunk 2 excels as a society sim where even small choices can have significant consequences on gameplay outcomes. With multiple starting locations and modifiers available in sandbox mode, there are plenty of opportunities for replayability.
Frostpunk 2 offers an engrossing experience for fans of society management simulations but falls short as a traditional city builder due to its abstract nature and lack of street-level granularity.
