Frostpunk is a tough, cold game to play but one of the most satisfying to complete. The strategy of trying to manage your town and its people during the ever-present frost offered a thrilling challenge, and with Frostpunk 2 on the horizon, I’m excited.
However, in a Frostpunk 2 hands-off demo from 11 Bit Studios, it seems like frost might not play as big a role as it did in the first game.
It seems like 11 Bit Studios has progressed the timeline in the game, where you are no longer just fighting for your city to survive the never-ending cold but rather to thrive and become a much larger entity. In Frostpunk 2, it will be the actual people of the city that will be causing the most trouble for you as the city’s leader.
While the cold and resource management will still play a role in the game, we have progressed to a more political society, where rivalling factions have formed and gaining their support will be one of your highest priorities in order to pass laws.
Gaining the support of these factions will obviously mean making promises that appease their political views. Whether kept or not, these promises will more than likely be opposed by the other factions, which could cause an unwanted uprising in your city. This delicate balance of political chess will be the new frost that keeps players on their feet.
Frostpunk 2 will also feature a new building called “The Council”, where all these political discussions will take place. It’s such a large feature in the game that, for the first time ever, you will actually be able to enter this building, where you will see the people in the opposing factions moving around, debating over the proposed laws.
While this change does move the game from its original, frosty roots, I can easily see it being just as stressful as trying to survive the cold, if not more so.
With Unreal 5 Engine making the whole thing go, the promise of much bigger cities and this new political threat to keep my stress levels at over 9000, I’m even more excited for the release of Frostpunk 2.
What do you think about these changes to the game? Let us know in the comments below.