Video Games Encyclopedia

Like its predecessor, Frostpunk 2 is a city-building survival video game. Set in New London in 1916, 30 years after the “Great Storm” of the original game, the game explores the consequences of the advent of the petroleum industry, and players assume the role of the city’s new leader, “the Steward”, who replaces the now-deceased “Captain” (the player character from the first game). The city is struggling with overpopulation, food, and coal shortages, among other issues. Unlike the original game, Frostpunk 2 allows players to build a much larger city. Players can now construct districts instead of individual buildings. Each district serves a particular function, such as providing food, energy, or shelter. Specific buildings can be placed in each district to unlock additional functions. Each district, however, also costs players resources, and players need to plan the design of their cities before expanding.

As the city expands, the player will meet different factions, which often have conflicting ideals. Players can access the Idea Tree to investigate new research options. The Idea Tree allows players to explore different ideas proposed by the game’s various factions to solve a problem. Adopting a faction’s idea may upset other factions and communities. Unlike the first game, the citizens of New London are more involved in the policy-process making. At the Council Hall, 100 members of the community, each representing a certain faction, will cast votes on laws proposed by the player. Players can choose to negotiate with different council members, and they need to reach a certain threshold before a new law can be passed – simple 51-vote majorities for most laws and two-thirds for anything that may grant the Steward more power (such as the possibility of granting the Steward dictatorial authority, becoming the new Captain). Negotiation, however, requires players to make specific promises for the future, and not being able to uphold them may further upset a certain faction. Unlike the previous game, the gameplay is set on a timescale of weeks, rather than hours and days. As players progress in the game, radicals may grow within each faction, and players must work to counter their influence to avoid the city from descending into chaos.

In addition to the main story campaign, the game also features a sandbox mode named “Utopia Builder”. It allows players to choose the starting communities and factions as well as the main objective, which is to build a huge metropolis, create large colonies around the city, or stockpile supplies in large quantities. The team added that the sandbox mode will have more replay value than the one found in the original game. An official mod tool, FrostKit, is available at launch.