Critics praise “complex, compelling” city-builder ‘Frostpunk 2’

18 September, 2024

Concept art for 'Frostpunk 2'

Frostpunk 2 is set for release later this week (September 20) and the first batch of reviews have praised the “complex, compelling” city-builder sequel.

Developed by 11 Bit Studios, the follow-up to 2018’s Frostpunk had been due for release this summer but was delayed to September to guarantee players “the best possible experience” at launch.

Frostpunk 2 is set 30 years after an apocalyptic blizzard devastated Earth, with players leading a resource-hungry metropolis. “You face not only the perils of never-ending winter, but also the powerful factions that watch your every step inside the Council Hall,” reads the official description.

The game currently has a “generally favourable” score of 85 out of 100 on review aggregate site Metacritic.

TechRadar describes Frostpunk 2 “a post-apocalyptic simulator that’s as beautiful as it is brutal” while in a 4-and-a-half-star review GamesRadar+ writes: “Frostpunk 2 successfully expands on everything that the original brutal city builder had, and its larger scale, great story campaign, and new faction system are as ‘fun’ as a calamity reduction simulator can get.”

GameRant calls Frostpunk 2 “truly special” while PCGamesN describes it as “a better rounded, even harsher follow-up to the original’s concept.”

Other reviews criticise the lack of intimacy due to the scale of the game, while others found aspects of the Frostpunk 2 overwhelming. “The result is a complicated, laborious survival citybuilder that’s two parts compelling, and one part frustrating for the wrong reasons,” wrote RockPaperShotgun. “The problem is that in shifting from survival to realpolitik, Frostpunk 2 becomes a management game about leadership, but it doesn’t give you enough means to actually lead.”

“Very encouraging reading through those reviews. Particularly in regards to polish. It seems the delay really helped 11 bit shine the game up for launch,”  said one fan on Reddit. “Very impressive scores. I have kept myself in the dark on this so far and just want to enjoy it blind. Glad to hear they put out something special,” said another.

Frostpunk 2 launches September 20 for PC and Xbox, with a PlayStation release planned for a later date.

In other news, EA has confirmed that it is not working on a direct sequel to The Sims 4 but the mysterious, multiplayer Project Rene is still in development.

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