Don't mind what people say about difficulty - I was able to finish the main scenario on the first run at its default difficulty (even though it wasn't a walk in the park and, admittedly, there is some experience with other city builders). I got really absorbed by it and the end was one hell of a rollercoaster. The game is well thought and beautifully designed, with multiple options and - tough - decisions to make. It is very pragmatic: any kind-hearted decision can easily backfire, in terms of either economy or social acceptance. For instance, accepting all immigrants - and the sick - quickly creates major needs in terms of housing and hospitals and can lead to turmoil. Moreover, the resources are scarce and limited and you have to be quick in developing buildings, researching technologies and choosing your laws; the game won't wait. However, the gaming experience overall pays off, as frostpunk combines rigid gameplay, good game design and atmospheric graphics. Even though the main story is linear in events, the way you can play it out is not linear at all. Do you want to go absolute totalitarian vs. your nasty citizens? perfectly possible. Do you want to be a humanitarian liberal? that is also possible - but every options comes with game-defining ops and cons. The only one thing I didn't like in the main story was some cheap shots in terms of scripted events - for instance, taking all your hope away in an instant or (even worse) making you promise to warm the citizens and combining it with an ultra-cold weather change in one day or two.
Don't let the negative reviews fool you - this review refers to the latest (as of 2020.10) version, where all game-breaking flaws and bugs have been addressed. This game is simply great for people who love cRPGs derived from pnp rulesets (D&D anyone?) and are ready for something which has added facets of difficulty. It's visually stunning, with the greatest isometric graphics I've seen in such games. Extremely well drawn. The characters are diverse, and some outright funny and evil. You can play it any way you want - there are ample moral choices and decisions to make, even though the main storyline is linear. And the gameplay, attacking and combat system (at least the one based on pausing that I prefer) works wonders. On another note, it comes with flaws (even with the major issues having been addressed). It's certainly not a walk in the park - and is based heavily on the pathfinder ruleset, so the ones with little knowledge will learn it the hard way. It also doesn't take you by the hand. Swarms will render your weapons useless early on. Demons will decimate you - unless you modify your spellbook accordingly. And quite often, you'll find that the entire party is getting beaten and you don't know why. I consider this annoying, but - in a way - part of the game. Read the combat logbook. Find what went wrong. Read the tips - and load and try again. Don't expect to be able to just cut through the game with your basic weapon; many fights need strategy, and quite a bit of luck as well. The major flaw for me is that sometimes it's too RNG-heavy. There are too many dice rolls - and some difficult ones early on. The kingdom minigame is also full of unneeded rolls and waiting times that get frustrating. You'll find yourself loading and retrying perhaps too often. Despite these flaws, though, I consider kingmaker to be one of the best cRPGs I've played recently; it deserves its spot next to major titles, such as NWN2, BG, pillars and Divinity. Well worth getting!
