Frostpunk 2 Review – Snowpiercer

Be me. Lead a group of Wanderers through the frostland, happening upon the wreckage of a dreadnought and seeking coal to reignite its generator. Build housing but fail to do so quickly enough, causing many people to freeze to death. Gather materials at a quicker rate, supply food, and discover a seal colony. Do nothing with that information, leaving them be. Find out that there isn’t enough food to stockpile before the Whiteout arrives (and refuse to let the elderly voluntarily walk out into the frostland to conserve food for everyone). Restart, try again, restart again.

On the third attempt, I mastered the efficiency of making the right decisions, including preventing that seal colony from being slaughtered to supplement our food stockpiles. We survive the Whiteout, but that’s only the Prologue. The real journey – and the mantle of Steward in New London – is only just beginning.

Suffice it to say that Frostpunk 2 wastes no time tossing you in the deep end, with The Captain – the previous game’s leader – recently passing on and leadership passing to you. Coal is becoming dangerously limited, and while exploiting the seams outside of The City is a temporary recourse, an outside source is necessary for long-term survival.

This is where the size and scale of your predicament unfolds. In Frostpunk 1, your word was law – survival was paramount. That’s still the case in the sequel, but the people’s needs have become more complex. Factions have risen, and each has their say in The City’s direction, starting with that first meeting in Council Hall about whether you’re fit to lead.

Leave the vote up to chance and hope that the hesitant lot turns into ayes…or “persuade” a faction to lend you their support in exchange for putting one of their laws to a vote the next time. Maybe even research an Idea they like, or let them propose the next motion to pass.

Of course, these factions also have an opinion on any Idea you want to research. Opt for the Dust Coal Mine, and you please the Frostlanders, but no one else. The Blasting Coal Mine looks more appealing – the New Londoners, who form the majority (Neutral they may be), agree with it along with the Faithkeepers, and the Coal Output is slightly higher.

However, it demands way more materials and increases Squalor. Those opinions can translate into votes on the Council depending on the motion in question and whether they’ll be open to negotiation. One of the more intriguing elements is giving the agenda to a faction with less-than-positive impressions of you to raise their favor, only to convince the others to strike down their motion.

"Beeline to that abandoned waystation to build a Logistics Center near your Extraction District, and you may not have enough tiles for it (which means more time spent on frostbreaking)."

Then again, those backdoor dealings can catch up with you. Failing to meet a promise causes you to fall out of favor with a faction. Make too many promises, and you can’t rely on persuasion to support a law. It’s a lot to deal with, but requiring 51 votes and only slightly crossing that threshold offers some real tension.

Not that the rest of the experience will give you a break. Compared to the original, Frostpunk 2’s scale is another level. Time passes in weeks, and entire districts emerge over time. You must provide housing for the population and help them withstand the cold. Prefabs are required for constructing districts, and while you can find some out in the frostland, creating Extraction Districts and Industrial Districts is a way to earn a fixed amount weekly. The former is also necessary for harvesting Materials, which the latter can turn into Goods – which you want to do to prevent the children’s equivalent of the Peaky Blinders from running around.

However, any expansion requires frostbreaking, which necessitates workers. Beeline to that abandoned waystation to build a Logistics Center near your Extraction District, and you may not have enough tiles for it (which means more time spent on frostbreaking). Adding to this is the option to expand every district into additional tiles while adding a new building slot.

This is how the Research Center first comes into being, and eventually, you’ll need Hospitals to treat the sick, a Gleaming Harvest Hangar in your Food Districts to improve harvesting efficiency, and much more. Few buildings offer no downsides to their construction. The best options can tip the scales of disease, Squalor, Heat requirements, etc.

"Though somewhat like the original in how punishing things can get, the increased scale feels like it leans slightly more towards min-max city-building than social dilemmas."

And if managing one city isn’t enough, you can also explore the frostland with expedition teams to locate more people, fuel, and other necessities. No resource near New London is infinite – finding a stable supply out in the wild is mandatory. However, you must establish supply routes, account for risks when venturing to dangerous locations, and have enough expedition teams (which various laws and Ideas can facilitate). It can be challenging when other Ideas, like deciding how to dispose of the dead or improving heat insulation in houses, must be researched first.

Despite your best efforts, death can come at any time, and when it does, you’ll lose a bit of Trust from the population. It’s easy for things to spiral out of control by ignoring one of many things, even if it’s a faction that seemingly has a low standing in The City. While I appreciate the increased complexity and scale, the intertwining of action and bureaucracy – the song-and-dance in Council Hall required to ensure proper action is taken – can get overwhelming.

It’s not even purely down to the interface, which has multiple tabs for the Idea tree, each with separate nodes. Or the Council Hall, where you navigate several menus to persuade a faction to support your motion (let’s not even start on how packed your default view can eventually get). There’s a constant push to maximize your efforts because every second wasted could have procured something more for your city, which is required when the Whiteout arrives.

Though somewhat like the original in how punishing things can get, the increased scale feels like it leans slightly more towards min-max city-building than social dilemmas. It also makes some deaths feel less important, which is probably intentional. The numbers becoming statistics aren’t lost on me, though.

"Where it succeeds is translating that into an enthralling experience of resource management, survival, and moral quandaries, even if you have to take a “bigger picture” view of it all."

Thankfully, some situations will snap you back to reality, highlighting the daily struggles of your citizenry. Watching little Sue Miller go from roughing up other kids to weaving and finding a better calling as an Apprentice, just because I prioritized Family Apprenticeship, is nice. Similarly, seeing Nell Sinkfield, a 38-year-old housewife, lamenting the sickness of her second child and casting aspersions on the Turners or seeing a neighborhood ostracize a household due to the lack of Contagion Prevention laws can be demoralizing. They add to the experience and remind one of the consequences, good and bad.

Despite the overwhelming stress and dour circumstances, it’s hard to deny Frostpunk 2’s beauty. Lights from the all-important Generator crisscrossing through the districts, the endlessly falling snow, and the detailed landscape that contrasts your bustling city all come to life in extraordinary detail. The music and sound design are similarly enthralling, from the instrumentals during desperate circumstances to the intermittent radio broadcasts.

Outside the campaign is the Utopia City Builder, where you can choose a starting location with randomized resources, varying scales, and different conditions. This is arguably where the true appeal of Frostpunk 2 lies since you have much more free reign to mould a city. Though I haven’t spent much time with it, the emergent gameplay showcases how well all the systems can sing, even if it becomes cacophonous after a point.

While Frostpunk 2 is a sequel in terms of story and setting, the scale and increased complexity set it apart. Where it succeeds is translating that into an enthralling experience of resource management, survival, and moral quandaries, even if you have to take a “bigger picture” view of it all. Some aspects can be refined further (especially the camera when exploring the frostland), but as a whole, it’s as compelling and enjoyable as it is draining and emotionally taxing.

This game was reviewed on PC.