The first Frostpunk fully embraced its dystopian themes, putting players in the snow-covered boots of one of the last surviving members of mankind, and putting them in charge of the world’s last human settlement. Naturally, this role saw players restarting civilization, having to pass laws that would determine the type of society they were building. But things can get very dark, very quickly in Frostpunk, and the same is true for its recently released sequel.
Though it expands on the formula in significant ways, Frostpunk 2‘s gameplay loop is very similar to the first game’s. Players are once again tasked with keeping the citizens of New London alive through this new ice age. Though New London’s population in Frostpunk 2 is much more established than in the original 2018 game, players still need to make some tough decisions, and when those decisions go south, Frostpunk 2 isn’t afraid of letting players feel the consequences of their actions.
Frostpunk 2 Is Better For Embracing Failure
Frostpunk 2 Is a Hard Game
Before the player even sees the game’s opening cinematic or chooses their difficulty options, Frostpunk 2 presents them with a clear warning message. This message briefly states that Frostpunk 2 is a “challenging game in which planning ahead is crucial and failure is a natural part of the experience.” From the get-go, developer 11 Bit Studios makes it clear that Frostpunk 2 is a hard game, that will see the player lose time and time again, and that promise is fulfilled within just a few minutes.
Players are thrown into the deep end with Frostpunk 2‘s prologue, mirroring the mindset and emotions of the small band of survivors they’ve just been given command over. Lost in the icy Frostlands, players need to quickly scout their surroundings, gather resources, and stockpile food before a whiteout reaches the settlement. Along the way, players will be given several difficult decisions that will affect the group’s chance of survival, all of them tempting the player to risk their humanity for the greater good.
If players don’t gather enough food in time, it’s game over. Despite being the prologue, the player’s journey in Frostpunk 2 can end right there and then. But if they choose to learn from their mistakes and jump back in, they’ll likely weather the storm with ease, putting into practice 11 Bit Studios’ message of failure and the need to plan ahead.
Frostpunk 2 Shows How Good Survival Can Feel
Failure isn’t a bad thing in Frostpunk 2. It can be incredibly frustrating to lose progress, and deflating to think about doing it all again, but without that higher level of difficulty, Frostpunk 2 wouldn’t be as engaging as it is. When the player does manage to survive the prologue’s whiteout, or find a new source of fuel days before the generator runs out of power, that edge-of-the-seat success feels earned, especially if they’ve suffered multiple game-over screens to get to that point.
11 Bit Studios’ message at the start of Frostpunk 2 isn’t trying to convince players to quit before they’ve even begun, but the opposite. 11 Bit wants players to trust the process because, without the risk of failure, Frostpunk 2‘s victories wouldn’t feel nearly as triumphant.
