Frostpunk

Frostpunk belong to a the "peaceful strategy" games genre, just like the game Banished. There is no combat with hostile nations, the game is about maintaining and expanding your population and satisfying their needs. There are about 100 research topics that you may research and without which, survival may not be possible. Research unlocks new options - from coal mining and better heat production and distribution, through food optimization and better healthcare, to scouting the surrounding world, and many more. Every person in the world has a name and personality, adding to the atmosphere and potentially allowing for tiny variation in outcomes of events. A core gameplay principle is the Book of Laws, where you can permanently sign certain laws. Often, you get a choice of two competing laws, and once you choose one of them, the other is no longer possible - an early, no-spoiler example being "Child Labor" vs. "Daycare center", which significantly affects what children do during day time - work, or play?

To make it as short as possible: If you like the setting and the premise, you are in for a fun ride. Unfortunately, at least for me, the developper failed at one thing I expected... I loved this war of mine and till today I wasn't able to finish it. The moral choices were incredible hard and overall incredible depressing. The problem (like some review medias already mentioned) is, you don't care at all. Sure the people have names and stuff, but all the events are like "some child did...." etc. etc... Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is a problem with the developper or sth., this just seems to be a flaw by design. I won my first match on normal setting by literally being hitler, and I felt no remorse or whatsoever. People are uprising in the cold? Lets execute one random dude, this will work! Second game was even more easy as some kind of religious cult (mainly because I learned from the building mistakes I guess). This is my main issue... the events, as cool as they are, you just tend to ignore any moral thinking. After a few of them they just will become numbers you work with. The difficulty (normal seemed way to easy... but I get it that you need to adress a broad audience) could be adjusted (customizable to your wishes) so this won't be a problem. Overall it was (and is, more scenarios to go) a fun experience. Unfortunatly it fails ironically where the previous game from the developpers got its strength. Nevertheless I am looking forward for future updates.

This is a wonderful city building/resource management game that sits at about 4.5 stars for me, so I rounded up. It's a wonderful premise, and I really like the thematic elements of the game that really bring you into the world and make you think you're trying to run a Steampunk themed frozen wasteland of a town up in the arctic. There's a few different scenarios, to which they've added extra difficulties for those who have already beat them on regular. I do enjoy how each scenario pushes you towards a different city style (for instance, using machines vs human labor) depending on the parameters. However, they are relatively easy once you know what you're doing. for the most part, you'll be able to anticipate needs and plan your city/resources accordingly. The heat mechanics are fun and there's ample opportunity to retweak your city to get every building in the perfect position. Death spirals are possible if you haven't planned ahead, so the game isn't a complete cakewalk. The weaknesses of the game have been mentioned by other reviewers: while the setting and graphics are immersive and the gameplay is good, the game lacks that final punch to really get you to care about your cities/citizens. The "laws" side of the tech tree are very similar and for the most part optional, and not needed to keep your city running smoothly (although they do open up some emergency options should you need them). Every once in a while you'll have citizens complaining about something and some choice to make, but they're usually not consequential. If this game had some kind of multi-scenario campaign with named characters that constantly reappear that actually live in your city and quests/maps (featuring those characters) with actual tough choices, it would be a perfect game. Still, the game is more than enjoyable and a worthy addition to your library if you enjoy other peaceful city builders such as Pharaoh/Banished/Surviving Mars, etc.

Survival. Rarely in a game does it force you to think on the active consequences of how you decide to save a small band of refugees fighting an apocalyptic winter. Do you establish a new world order, where tyranny and rebellion is extinguished through the drone of propaganda and the burning steam of the execution chamber? Or do your citizens establish their fanatical beliefs through religion and faith, rooting out discontent by praying to the gods above? This is FROSTPUNK: a survival, city-management simulator that forces you to adapt to the cold around you and make harsh decisions that will determine the fate of your city. GAMEPLAY: -FROSTPUNK establishes a simplistic, hub section based placement of various buildings and landmarks throughout the course of your game time. Overall, it's simple enough to efficiently organize your various buildings, but gives tricky management on how you decide to place where they go. However, buildings need to be maintained through workers and connections through roads, or streets. Either way, managing building placement and worker production is key to surviving the winters. -There are three main scenarios, with three difficulty levels for you to tackle. Future content is planned, perhaps with the addition of a sandbox or more new scenarios. -Resource management dwindles quickly as the raging blizzard continues on. This is mediated through mining more resources or exploring out into the unknown. Additionally, outposts can be constructed at various places to provide you with valuable materials, -Replayability is very high, as there are many strategies you can test to further challenge your city to survive in different conditions. Overall, FROSTPUNK offers a chilling entry into the simulation genre, with lots of surprises in store. At first, it may not be easy to grasp, but beginners can quickly catch on while veterans can experiment with lots of new strategies to try out in various scenarios. THE CITY MUST SURVIVE.