Frostpunk 2

I wanted to like Frostpunk 2, I really did. But alas, it was not meant to be. When it comes to making a sequel, I don't get the whole idea of doing something different to keep it fresh, but sometimes I just doesn't work, especially for me. And this is a subjective review from my point of view just for the record. Other people's experience's will differ! Instead of being a proper city builder, it's now a Civilisation/City Skylines-esque game. Instead of building individual buildings you now just zone areas and they're filled in which just doesn't inspire me. The whole large world and everything being made bigger doesn't always mean better! That's what made the first Frostpunk brilliant! A micro city survival builder with lots of charm and challenge. And a good story too! But this larger scale managing a big city with little control other than hexagonal zoning paths just doesn't appeal to me. The main aspects of the game seem to revovle more around politics than city building with lots of different factions wanting their own things. I just want to build stuff and survive damn it! Graphically the game is nice but I could only get decent frame rates with FSR and Frame Generation, but admittedly, my gaming system isn't the most high spec. It does seem like it needs optimisation though. And pre-paying for DLC is a bit cheeky to put it mildly. This game will appeal to others, just not me. It looks great, still has that fight of survival aspect of the first, but on a far larger scale and it's more about faction control than building. Personally, I will just stick to Frostpunk 1 and keep my fingers crossed they make DLC for it again! (It will never happen fof course).

Well, maybe it's my own fault for not doing enough research, but I was extremely hyped for the game, expecting something cool like Frostpunk 1 and now I'm honestly just as much disappointed as I was hyped before. The game has lost all of its uniqueness, the feeling and gameplay from the first one. The gameplay is completely generic now, with just some lame "build generic stuff using 300 workers somewhere on the map" elements, instead of the very, very personal feeling of the first one, where you cared for each citizen and put deep thoughts into the placement of your buildings. Related to the above, you now control cities with thousands of people. "Oh, two people are calling in sick? Well, it may hurt me in the long run, but I DON'T CARE" Also the society elements don't seem to be as interesting anymore. "Oh, people are threatening to leave? Well, I don't know them and I don't care about them, so just let them go". Keep playing Frostpunk 1, don't buy 2. Or play any other city builder that isn't as badly optimized as this game and fries your PC.

When a game asks if I allow data collection, I say no. When I say no, Frostpunk 2 closes. Literally unplayable.

Frostpunk 2 is a sequel to one of my favourite games. I had HUGE expectations for it. Unfortunately, as of now Frostpunk 2 falls short. As a sequel, it is bad. As a city-builder, it is mediocre. Everyone's time is limited, so I am going to tell you about Lily May. She is a child, who have been born right after you took office and turned on the generator the first time. The only notable thing about her is that her mother wormed her way into your office to inform your about the birth. She never appears again until the end, when you get told about Lily's fate based on your decisions. After hearing about that from other people I was excited. Can I review her entire life? Will we learn about Lily's young age, adolescence and death? Will I finally get vindicated in my decision to implement that one useless maternity leave law? Nope. We get a single sentence before credits roll. The rest of the game is the same. When you overcome all odds and become lifetime tyrant, that will not open up new plot possibilities or make controlling the city easier — unlike in the first game. All relevant mechanics do close to nothing. Unlike in real life, becoming a dictator in Frostpunk 2 does not give more control over nation, it is just checkbox. There are generated politicians with funny life stories, but no government positions to assign them to. The 4 main factions are led by the same 4 guys with static portraits. There are laws for tight immigrations controls or draconian China-style family planning. but you don't get to set the target population — there is nowhere to enter the number! The former law simply reduces growth multiplier while the later one increases it by fixed amount. Which is hilarious, because natural population growth in Frostpunk 2 is useless. When you need it earlier on, it is too slow, and later on it will bloat up the population and goods consumption. I don't regret the purchase much, but I hoped for more.