12 October,2024 08:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Jaison Lewis
Frost Punk 2
Having briefly played the first Frost Punk game, I thought I knew what I was in for, but despite being a sequel, this game is very different from the first one. It is still a strategy game where you have to manage a city while it faces extinction through an ice age, but with the new iteration, it is now so much more.
The campaign/story mode is also the tutorial and tells you how to navigate the Frost Punk 2 world, which contains not only the city of New London but also its surrounding areas. Instead of having to micromanage your city like in the first game, you now have to micromanage a crumbling empire. Gathering resources and ensuring a continuous supply of heat are still key elements of the gameplay, but it is different from the first game in a lot of ways.
You're tact in acquiring these resources, the sacrifices it takes and the politics behind the city are what make FP2 unique. The campaign is made up of five sections or goals that you need to complete, but the story that binds all those sections barely exists in some short cutscenes. Which is a bit disappointing because the story in the prequel was much more imaginative.
However, it is a breath of fresh, frosty air to see a developer essentially create a completely new game that still complements the previous game while managing to stand on its own. With Frost Punk 2, it doesn't matter if you played the first game and mastered it. You have to relearn everything with the new game, which makes it a great buy, even if you have the first version.
We are looking at you EA.
Frost Punk 2 is primarily centred around politics. You have to collude, bribe and bend backwards to get the four factions to like and then trust you. A huge part of the game is getting ordinances and laws passed in the Senate. However, every faction has its own agenda, and you have to promise or do something for them to get things passed with a majority. You also need all the factions in the game to like you: Annoy one faction long enough - and they will start disrupting your game and ultimately putting your city at risk getting you kicked out. It's a complicated yet fun system that I felt was one of the best parts of FP2.
Another thing I really liked was exploring the overall map and setting up a network of smaller cities and supply chains to feed the ever-growing population of New London. On the map, you have to send out teams to explore unknown sections of the map. Some expeditions take a bigger team, and you need this team of explorers also to set supply chains and transfer resources. Managing them is a quiet a task because there always seem to be fewer explorers than needed.
The tech tree - is also pretty unique, and it involves complicated choices and appeasing the factions. It will make you question morality in the face of extinction, forcing you to choose, on occasion, the greater good over what is morally right. Occasionally, there will be a whiteout where nothing can be done, and if you aren't prepared, you will either have a hard time recovering or end up losing the game. Needless to say, ration often.
I also love the look of the game. The way the city expands and the heat and electricity buzzing through the city looks good. You can also take advantage of natural barriers and proximity to factories to help shield your people from the cold and, in turn, save on heating costs. The system is as complicated as it is beautiful.
Frost Punk 2 is an excellent game, a must-have for strategy enthusiasts. It's full of life lessons as every choice has a consequences. These choices range from being morally wrong, like child labour, to taking on immigrants with barely any resources to spare. The game is also infinitely repayable as there are many ways in which you can approach the problems. This changes the gameplay in unique ways. The difficulty settings also ramp up the perils very quickly, so if you ever feel like you are the bee's knees in FP2, just start over one level up and keep a box of tissues around to wipe your tears. Buy it.
