The frozen world of “Frostpunk 2” feels heavier, colder, and more politically charged, and I was drawn in from the start to see how 11 bit studios would carry the series forward. The original stood out for its bleak setting and unforgiving choices, so stepping into this sequel, set 30 years after the apocalyptic blizzard that defined the first game, I wanted to see how it balanced familiarity with expansion. Now available on consoles after its PC release last year, I dove in on PS5 to see how well the experience held up.
This time, I took on the role of the Steward, replacing the now-deceased Captain from the first game. Right away, the difference in scale was apparent. Instead of managing individual buildings, I found myself overseeing sprawling city districts. Each district came with a dedicated purpose, providing food, energy, or shelter, and expanding too quickly without proper planning carried immediate consequences. The sense of pressure never let up, because every new district not only required resources like coal, oil, and food, but also came with its own demands from the citizens within. The heart of “Frostpunk 2” lies in the clash of factions, and this is where the sequel feels like it takes the series into new territory. Every faction in the city came with its own ideology, ideas, and thirst for power, all of which played out in the Council Hall. Here, I had to propose laws and negotiate votes from 100 representatives. Passing legislation required majorities, but anything that increased my authority demanded a two-thirds threshold, which forced me to carefully consider who I sided with. Negotiation often meant making promises for the future, but failing to deliver only deepened tension. I found myself constantly walking a tightrope, weighing the risk of upsetting one group while gaining short-term stability with another.
The new Heat Management system also stood out. With an expanded temperature overlay, I had to prioritize which districts got the warmth they needed most. It sounds like a simple mechanic, but in practice, it shaped many of my toughest decisions. Sacrificing one district for another never sat right, but it was often the only way to keep the city alive through the Whiteouts. The addition of heat-oriented laws and research expanded on this further, giving me more tools but also creating more moral dilemmas. The campaign itself is a multi-chapter saga, one that pulled me in with its mix of story-driven events and larger strategic challenges. It was less about the individual survivors that the original focused on and more about long-term sustainability, factional politics, and the survival of society as a whole. The prologue immediately established the stakes, with wanderers finding shelter in a ruined Dreadnought and setting out to New London. Once the Captain’s death passed leadership to the Steward, the struggle to find new fuel sources and keep the Generator running framed the entire narrative. As I progressed, the story escalated naturally, discovering fuel reserves, exploring the ruined Winterhome, and eventually facing outright civil war. At every step, I was forced to choose between negotiation, expulsion, or outright seizing power. The consequences of these choices fed into the Epilogue, which reflected not just the fate of the city, but also the life of Lily May, a symbolic character whose growth paralleled the survival of New London. It was a reminder of how personal and political threads interwove throughout the game’s design. The main campaign took me around a dozen hours or so to complete, but if you’re a completionist there are easily dozens more here to sink your teeth into.
For those who prefer freedom over structured campaigns, the sandbox mode, Utopia Builder, offered a more open-ended way to experiment. I liked being able to choose starting factions and communities, deciding whether I wanted to focus on massive metropolises, satellite colonies, or sheer stockpiles of resources. Technically, “Frostpunk 2” impressed me with its visuals and scale. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the game looked fantastic, though I did run into performance issues and bugs here and there. The optimization wasn’t always consistent, which could be frustrating, especially during intense moments. That said, the overall presentation still delivered an immersive, snowbound world that felt harsh and lived-in. I should also note that while the console version holds up well, the mouse-and-keyboard setup on PC remains the most natural way to experience this kind of strategy gameplay (plus it’s been out for a year and has had plenty of time to smooth out any rough edges). Still, the console adaptation was solid, and it didn’t take long for me to adjust.
What struck me most about “Frostpunk 2” was how it pushed me to think beyond just survival. It wasn’t only about keeping people alive day-to-day but about steering an entire society toward an uncertain future. The sequel trades the intimacy of individuals’ stories for the broader weight of factional politics, economic growth, and the possibility of collapse. It’s a game that constantly pressed me to balance morality with practicality, all while never letting me forget the stakes. Challenging, morally complex, and often overwhelming, “Frostpunk 2” feels like both an evolution of its predecessor and a bold new direction for city-survival games. Even with its technical hiccups, it remains one of the most compelling strategy experiences I’ve played in recent memory.
8/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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