When I visited 11 bit studios in Warsaw, Poland for a double-billed preview event featuring The Alters and Frostpunk 2, I had never played the first game in the post-apocalyptic strategy series. I’d read about it as part of my pre-event due diligence, but I’d never bought it, let alone spent time with it. I figured that the high difficulty would put me off, or the depth of its mechanics would frustrate me, or paradoxically, that I’d love the complex gameplay so much that I would lock in and never be able to lock out.
Beyond that, I didn’t really have any expectations. I knew the broad strokes from my colleague Matt Arnold’s previous coverage, but I wasn’t sure if I’d love it, hate it, or be completely ambivalent. To my great dismay, within fifteen minutes of starting the main story campaign, I was completely hooked. My full, comprehensive preview is here, but I’m not here to talk about the gameplay – I’m here to talk about how it’s ruined my life.
I Came Out A Frostpunk Zealot
I wasn’t a fan before, but I sure am now. Frostpunk 2’s deep systems are impressive, but many of them already existed in some form in the first game, which the sequel builds on directly. When I got out of the dark room where we played the preview build, I was absolutely ravenous for more, but Frostpunk 2 doesn’t release until July. So despite the fact that I hate sitting at my PC to play games, the very day I got home from my trip, I bought Frostpunk on Steam and started playing. This was at 7pm with oodles of jetlag and far better things to be doing than bingeing a strategy game like this. God help me.
I played through the main scenario, smashing my head against it over and over again until I worked out some semblance of a working strategy. I took a brief break for dinner, because I’d gotten so sucked into the game that I forgot to eat. Then I went straight back to it, playing through the sunset, and then some. Eventually, my partner re-entered the room and started laughing. “What?” I demanded. Still laughing, he showed me the time on his phone.
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PostsGod help me, it was three in the morning, and I had work the next day. I hadn’t even realised I’d been sitting at my PC for an ungodly length of time, much longer than I’ve ever done in one sitting, even for my beloved Baldur’s Gate 3. Fine, I decided, I’d go to bed. I lay in bed for 30 minutes, unable to fall asleep, because I was thinking about Frostpunk.
This continued all week. I’d play Frostpunk till at least two in the morning before coming to my senses and realising that I still had to maintain a social life, work out, and sleep at a reasonable time. My days started later and later, throwing off the circadian rhythm I’d worked for months to maintain – I used to wake up with the sun, and now I wake up after five snoozed alarms, disoriented, and thinking about Frostpunk.
Where Is The Warning Label On This Game?!
I know that eventually I’ll run out of Frostpunk scenarios to replay, but there are wider-ranging consequences than just me getting really fixated on one game. I’ve suddenly developed an interest in an entire genre of games that I never really cared about, precisely because I thought they would be too complex for my dual-celled brain to grok. Suddenly, my Steam library is filling up with city-builders, and my ears begin to prick up at the mention of the genre.
Is this a bad thing? It depends. My sudden interest in the genre means that a lot of cool games that previously never would have fallen on my radar now have my attention, which in turn means that I get to play more cool games. On the other hand, I am playing cool games all the time, and I do not have an infinite amount of time in a week. Something has to give, and I’m not sure yet what that’s going to be. I know for sure, though, that it’s not going to be my Frostpunk habit; not until I finish it.
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Like Follow FollowedFrostpunk 2
Strategy Survival City Builder Systems 4.5/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 85/100 Critics Rec: 96% Released September 20, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) 11 Bit Studios Publisher(s) 11 Bit Studios Engine Unreal Engine 5WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL11 bit studios' Frostpunk 2 blends city-building, survival, and strategy mechanics as it challenges players to survive on a post-apocalyptic Earth with power-hungry humans.
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