Frostpunk – Review

There are many ideas on how our world will come to an end, ranging from a third world war, to even ludicrous ideas such as a zombie apocalypse. Nonetheless, there’s one theory that’s quite plausible, namely the one where our planet simply freezes over, destroying life as we know it, plunging us in a new ice age. Frostpunk tackles this idea and puts you at the helm of a new city that tries to survive on our now barren and ice-covered planet. Gut-wrenching choices will ensue, and there will certainly be many casualties on the road to survival.

Story

The world as we know it is gone, there’s permafrost covering the entire planet and our race has gone extinct save for a few survivors that band together. You are at the head of one such groups, finding a new place to settle by placing a mighty generator  that could heat up surrounding structures, making the best of what the world still has to offer. Of course, things won’t be easy, as you’ll have to decide on many different laws such as child labor, treating the wounded, make housing for everyone and so on. Every choice has its reaction, raising or depleting the remaining hope and discontent levels. Overall there’s not that much story in Frostpunk, it’s simply all about building a sustainable city in a world that is close to dying.

Graphics

Frostpunk is a very beautiful game. Truth be told, if the world would end in such a fashion, one would at least go out with a beautiful view, albeit while freezing to death. The game has an amazing level of detail, ranging from the impressive looking snow, to the finer details on buildings, the different workers running around and creating tracks in the snow and the diversity of character portraits. It feels like the developers thought of every little thing to make the end of the world very attractive.

The UI takes some time getting used to, but things are depicted in a very clear fashion, making sure everything can be accessed easily and that every tab has its function. There isn’t too much clutter on the main town screen, making sure you have a proper overview on what is going on at all times.

Sound

As this isn’t really a cheerful game, the soundtrack has been made as such. You’ll be treated to a rather classical backdrop, in combination with the howling wind slowly cutting through the stamina of your inhabitants. There will be other sounds such as noises from the different facilities, and the occasional murmur, but everything has been kept rather low key, which suits the minimalistic society the survivors have to work and live in.

Gameplay

Frostpunk is a simulation game in which you’ll have to build a city in the midst of a dying permafrost covered world. Your goal is to survive as long as possible at the helm of the city, but to all good things must come an end, and you can already feel the end coming when your city’s discontent bar starts to fill, and the hope level starts to drop. Nonetheless, the game is a lot more than just idly placing a few buildings hither and thither hoping the general populace stays content and just goes on about their lives as happy worker ants.

Building works like any other city builder, as you’ll need buildings to house your people, you’ll need buildings that produce food, keep your people healthy, create factories and so on. After a while new buildings will be unlocked by research, or by choice of your law system, whether you opt for a society based on law and order or one that dabbles with the healing powers of faith in an unknown entity. Nonetheless, buildings need to be manned, thus you’ll have to distribute your manpower accordingly and sometimes swap them when the situation desires it. Your city will not grow out of itself, thus you’ll have to send scouting parties into the vast world, hoping to come back with resources, or even better, more people to strengthen your workforces and make your city a bustling metropolis.

Frostpunk has its own morale system in place with the law system, which can force your hand into passing laws you really need at the moment, but aren’t always in the best interests of your inhabitants. You can approve child labor laws, make it so that people undergo drastic procedures when they’re hurt, or you can opt to build a somewhat totalitarian regime, or one that’s dominated by faith. You’ll also receive requests to fix items, to make sure people stay warm, to create certain buildings, which can reward you with more hope for your civilians, but if failed, they will punish you severely in terms of rising discontent and the loss of hope.

The current game is pretty much all about the main story and the two extra scenarios, which are basically the same as the story, but with some added objectives and customizable difficulty levels. Overall there isn’t that much content in terms of different modes or scenarios, but it will take you a lot of time to properly try out all the different buildings, research everything, and even try out the different law formulas and the order or faith systems. There is a lot more content hiding in this game than what meets the eye when you first boot up the game.

Conclusion

Frostpunk is a great game in its genre, but be warned, this is not a game for those who simply enjoy casual city builders. Frostpunk will test you at every possible occasion with its law system, as well as the harsh weather conditions which will cause you to use your wits to survive another day. The overall concept of the game has been well thought out, the mechanics prove to be intuitive and the atmosphere is simply to die for. If you like harder city building games, with a morale system hidden underneath, this survival title is certainly a great addition to your Steam library.

Ibuki

View My Other Posts

Aspiring ninja.

Related Items

Unknown 9: Awakening – Review

PC, PS4, PS5, Reviews, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival (PS5) – Review

PC, PS5, Reviews, Switch, Xbox Series X/S

Earl vs. the Mutants – Review

PC, Reviews

Undisputed – Review

PC, PS5, Reviews, Xbox Series X/S