Frostpunk 2 Review - Not what I expected.

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[@spero360]

Frostpunk 1: makes you feel the pain of loss of a small comunity Frostpunk 2: makes you understand the apathy of turning people into numbers

[@PuellaMagiHomuraAkemi]

Sounds perfect, the first one was boring me alot

[@Vajrubaj]

One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic.

[@bojcio]

@@Vajrubaj I wonder if it will be raining.

[@tboneisgaming]

@@spero360 I love the first game. It's very challenging and It does make you care about the city.

[@drunkenbegger3143]

Not a bad thing if you ask me. Both bring an understanding to human nature. a city builder with lessons that can help you understand something things in todays world other than just produce more food n lecky nd a 3rd recourse

[@punk_noodles]

the real deal is that frost punk is $3 at the moment

[@waterdose2768]

just grabbed it, thanks for letting me know!

[@Hi11Zones]

O damn

[@Outplayedqt]

How's the base game experience without any DLC?

[@hoowdydave]

@@Outplayedqtvery good. But with the DLC it’s $12. Worth it definitely. All DLC is solid

[@michaeldidikof634]

@@Outplayedqt Base game is definitely the best. Every dlc is harder, shorter than previous one

[@Shou_Fang]

“When I passed laws, I just didn’t give a shit.” - the government, probably

[@NCG92]

Literally every government on the planet 😂

[@Bluepenguin28]

every single one of them

[@j.4354]

And when you prosecute your citizens in front of everyone so they wouldn’t complain.

[@robnoel9306]

Government, guaranteed.

[@thinkingonyx847]

This game should be tagged with "government simulator", a new subgenre of city building

[@bhushanharripersad5716]

In Frostpunk, every death, drop in hope and rise in discontent added tension. You had to keep your stocks of resources and building temperatures high in order for the city to survive. The City Must Survive.

[@UnsaltedCashew38]

Yeah I don't even need to monitor heat anymore, just get coal / oil, that's it. No more worrying about workers getting cold and dying at the factory. Now 100's of people just die at once who knows where.

[@SchubertDipDab]

The first game was profoundly depressing and extremely stressful. Terrible experience. 10/10. Looking forward to giving this a go anyway.

[@Gen_66]

Terrible experience. 10/10🤣

[@Alduizard]

Yeah truly. I was going through some real depressing stuff IRL at the time, and the music and the atmosphere of Frostpunk was just so gripping, I was wondering whether I feel so sombre bcz of life or bcz of the game alone. But it was super immersive and helped me get through.

[@legitbeans9078]

"Worst game ive ever played. 9.5/10 - IGN

[@null643]

Play it in a cold winter with a blanket and heater around you for the immersion.

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Same terrible experience you get playing Darkest Dungeon.

[@WickedScott]

I still remember the guy I sentenced to public execution in FP1.

[@TheGavranatar]

What did he do?

[@saturn580]

It's been years since I played Frostpunk, but I still remember some of the gut-wrenching choices I had to make knowing that it would mean suffering and death for the frostbitten citizens of my city. I also recall the pride I felt in building a prosperous community where even the sick, old and crippled were provided for. Surviving the catastrophic storm in the finale was a huge victory because I actually cared about the citizens of my city. The sequel looks like it was designed by economists and politicians.

[@eldenringer6466]

and they abandoned robots! robots were a crazy end game twist ...and trains...that's what i wanted more of...not a sim of house of commons...and without lettuce its not even accurate lol

[@user-rt9sj2xc5h]

Frostpunk 1: Your city survived, but at what cost... Frostpunk 2: Your game survived, but at what cost...

[@SomeCanine]

Frostpunk without the morality of playing with people's lives and making those hard decisions doesn't work.

[@DayKlight]

i mean FP1 i didnt care for the people too, first thing childs labor and triage makes the game alot easier, in the end its numbers and you have to make the city survive. in FP2 the numbers are larger, and yes we care less, thats how humans work. 100 sick who cares, 100 died who cares, but then 300 missing, and you are 200 short in workforce, but you need the resources and its spiraling

[@austinhan6998]

I'm open to the possibility that the game won't be my cup of tea, but I can't help but respect the developer for doing something very different this go around. It feels distinctly different from the mega studios whose definition of "evolving the gameplay" means exclusively "making it idiot-proof for the profit margins"

[@azathoththe3rd]

Same thing happened with darkest dungeon 2. The community chewed the developers (Red Hook) out hard over the changes. But if you want the sequel to be exactly the same then what's the point of there being a sequel at all.

[@cristi724]

@@azathoththe3rd A good sequel is usually the same game but with some improved visuals and mechanics. Not a whole different game.

[@ilqrd.6608]

It’s not something very different

[@d3f3kt57]

I think people expect a sequel to build off the base game and improve it some way, rather than remake it into something different (which would be a spin off, a game with a different title in the same universe, but not a "sequel").

[@scenes3177]

FP1 is city builder, this one is politics simulator, not neccessary bad but too much of a change, like jumping from SimCity to Civ 6 while saying both are the same

[@mrfrenglitch2172]

For me the thing that made Frostpunk 1 special was the fact that there was a sense of urgency. Like you gotta go fast and heat your homes, make sur your people are warm and healthy or youll freeze and get sick to death. You really felt like it was the end times. This....I dont really feel that. I was especially disappointed byt the end of the prologue. I played on the hardest difficulty, saved everyone. When the whiteout was about to hit, I was like "omg finally its happening, here we go" and then.... it ended before the whiteout. Like.... WHAT. This is the best part man! Anyway, theres essentially no "survival" in Frostpunk 2.

[@RatedMf0rmanly]

The prologue isn't meant to be hard. It's the tutorial...

[@arturturkevych3816]

There's definitely survival and urgency here. The game is upscaled on the higher level. You survived the winter, now you need to build civilization. That's why the time passage is different and so is the scale of everything. A lot better in my opinion than a reskinned frostpunk 1

[@TheSometimeAfter]

Waaa

[@DayKlight]

@@arturturkevych3816 also FP2 can quickly spiral into the abyss, building too fast or wasting resouces on a building you dont desperately need right now, can lead to imbalances and in the end to the downfall, you have to manage everything, sacrifice the few for the greater good. its different than FP1 but i love em both

[@Veneficus99]

Sounds a bit like what happened with Subnautica Below Zero, devs that have no idea why the first game was loved in the first place.

[@hawken796]

Sub Zero was a spinoff though, it wasn't supposed to act as a sequel

[@ancogaming]

Nope, that wasn't it. During early access of Subnautica, the studio introduced a simple feature, a button to press for players if they saw something interesting, or anything that they thought was worth a screenshot, including bug reports. From all the info, they created a heat map, sorted out the bugs and concentrated on figuring out what it was that many players found fascinating at one spot or another. Out came Subnautica, an absolute masterpiece, if I may say so myself. When Below Zero was made, they've just let the community chat them into bringing in this or that feature, so the loudest minorities got their way, of course, and what came out was nothing like the sequel that the silent majority had hoped for. That magic button was dearly missed, and a push to get the MVP out the door made a longer test phase, like it happened during the first game's development, impossible. They damn well knew what people loved in Subnautica, but marketing took over and social media managers mistook the input from a bunch of terminally online egg-heads as community feedback. Those who managed to ruin the second part of the game probably didn't even play it and never had the intention to do so, like always.

[@TheOutlawgb]

i prefer below zero my self but each to there own

[@Daxter250]

dunno what's so bad about below zero compared to the first one. both have their ups and downs. in terms of story i found both to be quite good.

[@takh6806]

Subnautica is a terrible game, everyone loved it because others loved it, pure sheep behavior.

[@marosjerabek1779]

Considering the need for heat and rep with factions and coal in your bank, I think Mack missed a huge opportunity for a song

[@doltBmB]

that meme is older than your grandma at this point, stop running things into the ground

[@gintonic8218]

been silently watching your videos forever - thank you for all the work you put in :)

[@T33K4Y]

hit the nail on the head there for me. it's a completely different game and what made frostpunk 1 so special is pretty much taken out in this game making it a completely different experience. the annoying thing is, frostpunk 1 doesn't have and can't have mod support, whereas this game does. if frostpunk 1 were to have mod support, there'd be no need for a sequel for me. hopefully we see mods that basically allow us to turn frostpunk 2 into a better version of frostpunk 1.

[@MundaneThingsBackwards]

no amount of mods can beat a great developer's crafted content. even the best are hamstrung by their own lack of free time, hard coded barriers to meaningful change and quality control, especially when the scope of the mod is bigger.

[@pozytywniezakrecony151]

Meaning 2 can be modded into 1 lol 😂

[@DeltaDragon79]

Sounds like they turned it into a good generic city builder with survival elements rather than a great atmospheric survival city builder.

[@Caucasian60]

That’s right, let someone else form an opinion for you without forming an opinion for yourself. Atta boy…

[@GamingWimpGW360]

@@Caucasian60 thats why youre on this review right

[@Brandisius]

@@GamingWimpGW360 All of my opinions are 100% formed from my own thoughts and nothing else. There has NEVER been a time where I have been influenced in any shape or form by another being, human or otherwise. Not even my parents when I was an infant! I came into this video for some reason, but it was definitely not to be brainwashed into liking/hating Frostpunk the Second... /s

[@GamingWimpGW360]

@@Brandisius No one is hating anything. You’re just a sensitive manchild

[@Sarnatuile]

So you wanted an identical one? You litearlly have the first for that experience.

[@Spider-Man62]

I love that they took frostpunk 1 and decided to go large for the sequel. I think they did an excellent job of making the sequel an actual sequel where lore wise of makes tons of sense to go large

[@CoffeeCup1346]

Well. What have we learned here? Immersion. Is. Everything.

[@RugoGaming]

Pity we know that but 95% of game devs don't

[@kenserhoofje]

Problem is that immersion is more difficult in a larger-scale strategy game, only a few games hit the nail on the head. E.g. Homeworld.

[@JohnDoe-iv7yu]

Sounds like FrostPunk 2 makes you a CEO. I will name my character Larry Fink.

[@UnsaltedCashew38]

More like a province premier / state governor managing multiple cities. Before it was more like managing a town of people.

[@Calihan]

Einhorn is Finkle?

[@af4396]

Sounds like FP fell for the same trap as all other sequels in the last decade. "Let's make our maps bigger and forget about the nuances that make the games actually fun to play."

[@bruvkek4629]

After playing prologue im like "wtf is even this?" Not sure if I even want to play more. Game has so little in common with 1st frostpunk in terms of gameplay/

[@WorthABuyreviews]

Agreed

[@jinmark9453]

This game is an excel spreadsheet simulator with minimum animations, I work with spreadsheets and this game captured the feel of it perfectly.

[@rexster76]

​​@@jinmark9453 well put, just a management game with extra steps. I dont know wanna if i wanna play it again

[@TheTemplar113]

Damn, that sucks. I would have hoped for the opposite direction, like being able to get inside their home and upgrade them from the inside, getting attached to that particular engineer etc.. oh well not the first disappointment this year.

[@UnsaltedCashew38]

Outside of the few districts, there's not much depth to the game. FP1 had so many buildings! A clinic vs care home vs a hospital. Where is the brothel and fighting arena?

[@glass7923]

"The death of one is a tragedy, the death of million's just a statistic." You know, it would be funny if the scaling and politics were an attempt on social commentary, lol.

[@R4ZORLIGHT]

Exactly what i thought, Frostpunk 2 isn't really a city builder anymore, but a politics simulator. Funny and sad, but the devs from Endzone a World Apart, made the same mistake with their Endzone 2 game. Everything is bigger but not better.

[@LCInfantry]

The politics thing is just flavor. Just picture a tech tree with every positive with added affect.

[@UnsaltedCashew38]

For a political simulator, that's one aspect of the game they didn't improve. Need to wait 10 weeks for some reason to pass a new law and you can't skip any proposals the factions make, making you wait another 10 weeks to pass something you want.

[@TJ-lh7xg]

@@UnsaltedCashew38 Go to the central district and use the emergency council session ability.

[@AwayWithYouVileBeggar]

I can understand why they choose to go with this style for the continuation since it's nice to see that through our actions we created a future where civilization can survive and thrive but I agree with Mac. I can still remember my perfect "no death + no extremes" game where I had to struggle with morale and when that final storm hit I was just looking at the screen hoping that my people will survive. I didn't worry about food or coal since I got plenty but my people had to survive. And as the cold got worse and worse, the mighty furnace was overheating, the mines collapsing and more and more people would get sick I was imagining the lone Captain not in the comfort of his office but outside with his people. Seeing them get sicker and sicker yet still working to keep the mighty furnace running until, finally, after hours of agonizing frost they started to feel the warm embrace of the furnace yet again. The Storm Has Passed and everyone survived. I don't think they can pull something like that with this one but I hope they will for at the end of the day: THE CITY MUST SURVIVE! P.S: I kinda dislike that there is very little continuity with this one. Yes you can choose the "path" that you went for in the last game (duty vs faith) but it's not clear if you canonically went for the extreme (Obedience To The Captain or death) or Moral (Don't go full authorian) side of that path.

[@milliliters930]

In short: Congratulations, you are no longer a mayor. You are a politician. In a way, it thematically makes sense. The city mayor has moved up, and become less concerned about individual lives than political bodies. People become faceless numbers. It's grim, it's dark, and it's what happens.

[@bloodrunsclear]

It’s weird how often beloved intimate and personal stories of games…become EPIC but impersonal and comparatively trivial in the sequels.

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Darkest Dungeon comes to mind

[@kenny3179]

​@@GeraltofRivia22 man it's so sad how it became I literally couldn't play more than 2 hours before getting bored even though I played darkest dungeon so much

[@carbonstar9091]

Seems to be a common theme with pretty much everything. A restaurant, a content creator, a game/movie franchise. Success leads to scale. Which leads to impersonality and lack of soul.

[@Texlow]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one thinking that Frostpunk 1 feels more like a sequel to FP2 in everyway: Frostpunk 1 introduces a circular grid pattern which is very unique compared to a hexagonal grid you'd see in most top-down city-building games. Frostpunk 1 refines its politics into a more streamlined system that makes it clear to understand the consequences. It also combines law and policies into one action Frostpunk 1 makes dealing with the cold an integral and core part of the game I could go on, these things I've listed feels like improvements to Frostpunk2 so it's bizarre that they were in the first game & not in the sequel and not vise-versa.

[@centuzezaim7471]

The new "district" system is awful, and the balancing is way off, given that this game is insanely easy. It almost seems like the devs really tried their hardest to make sure the player isn't immersed, unlike Frostpunk 1, which had a design.

[@the_steamtrain1642]

Just finished the story, about 750 weeks, I've told 1 of my friends that, it isn't really a citybuilder rather a city management game. I do commend the devs for trying this route, another fp1 wouldn't have been much better. The biggest thing I miss is finer control/building, roads just get constructed automatically and all resources are all a pool with districts / buildings in them applying status effects to them, even housing. I think if they made roads buildable and other infra like pipes for oil it would significantly increase the building factor

[@hummingbir6]

Frostpunk’s gripe you cannot zoom in too close into citizens, this one is even further zoomed out. What the fick?

[@alexanderpopov3587]

Great review, thank you for sharing how you felt, this is the most important thing in a game. I loved how personal FP1 was, and how even I felt to be part of this community - we have our ups and downs together and when we finally went through the ultimate cold it was a heartwarming emotion. Damn it, will launch FP1 again! Cheers.

[@tahnadana5435]

they should've made it more personal but with more detail mechanics, let the player be a person living in the city of the frostpunk universe, this war of mine in frostpunk, with conflicts, problem solving, missions, management, assigning tasks, survival, etc

[@symmgod9059]

Frostpunk 2018 : "Oh no, they're gonna die" Frostpunk 2024: "How many died, 100 you say? Meh, yawn." Which is really a true reflection on our real world 2028 vs 2024, so ... good job?

[@jacobhederstrom8198]

a spoiler for both the 1st and second game, the latter will be down below so even if it is a very minor one you probably will not see it. in the first game at the end of the main story and all the other side stories, like the arks for example, you are presented with a summary of what you have done. it is a bit simplified but says the compromises you did or did not make, the harsh desicions you did or did not make, the path you chose, if you crossed the line and how much. but just before that it tells you how many died, or if no one died. no matter the cause they are all listed, they may just be a number but they are there. another nice thing was that when it was not in the form of a list it was mostly presented in the we form, because while you are in charge you are still one man and the survival or grand project you work on is a group effort and everyone else still chooses to stand by your decisions. there is already videos out of the different endings for the main game and i have seen them and personally the summaries at the end do not really give the same feeling as the first ones. if you barely survive the storm in the new london story and you did what i did and mostly just clicked through the idea paths but stopped before going full tyrant since it would harm your workfoce, you are asked if it was worth saving the city because of what you did. at the end of the last autum when you finish building the generator, you are first told how many lives it cost to build it (if any) then you are told not only how many pepole will live here, but also how likely they are to survive, which only increases if you make special effort to upgrade the generator, with the best being mearly... acceptable. in the arks, did you only focus on keeping the seedlings warm or did you do everything you could to also save a city in need. did you struggle through it all never giving in once, did you scrape by, miracolusly keeping everyone alive. yes there is a massive difference in scale and pepole are numbers more than individauls. however fp2 feels like there is only harsh choices and compromies except lacking the harshest of all, not compromising but willingly suffer instead of crossing the line. though maybe it is because i have not experienced the game. also in the fp2 summary is listed just you and your decisions (except includeing the group you chose to favor), despite the fact that unlike the first game you are now an actual elected official, not a de facto dictator with emergency power, with all your laws being approved by the government. the we is so much more fitting it is ridicolus. the first game said we, as all was done for the survival of the group, but the player was very aware it was all their choices. in the second it is all pinned on you despite the group lore wise being even more involved. also by the end of the summary it brings up the different life of one single individual, the same each time and what your choices has done to them. if it were the first one i might have cared but in this one it is just additional information about a number. the only deaths they bring up are those that die in the last chapter, no other deaths are brought up. you are not even given a flat number and then told how many of them were of natural causes. both the living and the dead were "given more respect" in fp1 than in this game and then it tries to make me care about what i have done to one singel person... nah bro.

[@Infernal_Elf]

Yeah frost punk made i really think about decicions and the people and u got reminded of the bad stuff u did from a human rights perspective.

[@RASPUTIN_GB]

But do the pensioners get their heating allowance back?

[@MrJohnthegamerHD]

I honestly think Frostpunk 2 was the natural step up from the first game's mechanics: managing your now-established civilization on a grander scale means that the deaths of a few are beneath your notice. Human psychology and social structure are worked into the mechanics and numbers, and I think that's really cool.

[@ManicEngine]

Still going to be playing this, but I'm glad to have my expectations tempered, great review Mac

[@UnsaltedCashew38]

It's more like playing SimCity than Theme Hospital, that's the difference.

[@askers_]

First time I've hard disagreed with this community. FP2 is the most fun I've had in a while. I love the game.

[@stevensmith688]

“One death is a tragedy, a thousand a statistic.” The game is trying to turn us into Joseph Stalin.

[@Red_IX]

One of the biggest appeals for me in the first Frostpunk was how you were basically a dictator and got to make all the policies yourself. It hammered home the idea that you had to implement policies that people might not like for the sake of survival. This sequel looks like they took all that away for the sake implementing a democracy kind of system which is kind of lame because well... democracy is lame.

[@NoctB]

"it just works" todd howard flashback

[@meh.7640]

i think it's a good progression on the story of frostpunk. in the first game you built the generator, you built your city, you got those infinite resource nodes and the steam cores and it just went on from there. now it's a full fledged city with all the squabble that comes with it. stakes aren't that high for individual people anymore. it's just a different scale. yes, it's a bold move to put a different spin on the franchise, it always is. and of course there are always people who are going to hate it. but i think it's great. if you want more of the first frostpunk, go play that. and honestly, to stray from the path they know gets them the sales numbers and go in a different direction makes me respect them more. it tells me they value their creative vision more than money.

[@wingedfool8392]

I highly agree I like the concept of a Society growing from a few surviving, to a full city thriving. Who knows maybe they’ll even make a frostpunk 3 where you’ll run a nation, trying to unite city’s under on flag once more and rebuilding civilization.

[@T33K4Y]

​@@wingedfool8392 and then in frostpunk 4, they'll turn the game into an fps game. then in frostpunk 5, we'll have a MMO star citizen type of game.

[@wingedfool8392]

@@T33K4Y lowkey yeah that sounds awesome, helldivers did the same with their game changed the perspective and gameplay style. Seems the thing they need to get right is the general theming of frostpunk back. That’s what most miss, the desperation of it all.

[@Tommy-qc4rj]

You sound like Keir starmer. "I passed laws, a thousand people died, and I just didn't give a shit."

[@windyfarmer25]

Frostpunk 2: WEF Edition

[@legitbeans9078]

Dont you mean WTF edition

[@maximvsdread1610]

@@legitbeans9078 I think he means 'World economic forum. edition.

[@Alduizard]

Mack says this, but there is narrative justification for why construction and stuff works like this now, and it was already established by the late game of frostpunk 1.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Exactly. The city is already built and survived. This is that same city

[@Alduizard]

@@silverhawkscape2677 Yes and they started deploying mechanical robots and other forms of automations, that would only expand with time if you notice the designs. Its still a creative choice, they could have added people going at their jobs etc. but it isn't important imo especially when frostpunk 2's setting is clearly established to be a more developed/advanced one + the fact that they chose to expand the scope of city building, narrative and choices, zooming out from many of these elements of FP1. Its indeed a different game than FP1, and I like that. If I want that smaller scale rugged personal experience, I can play the first one.

[@thelordoftime803]

The only thing I dislike about the second game is that you no longer have to group the entire city as close as possible to the generator, that gave it a feeling of community. Grouping up when it's cold is a base evolutionary instinct and fulfilling that in the first game was one of the best feelings.

[@Ouch.]

The good thing about FrostPunk 2 coming out, is that I picked up the original game for a song. It's on sale everywhere.

[@justvid366]

I don't like the new concept. They made a different game, not Frostpunk 2.

[@JM_Traslo]

First thing to me was looking at the districts and going "why aren't you cramped up like sardines to benefit from the heat?" because that's how I would've played Frostpunk 1. I did love FP1 but I'm definitely a bit wary on FP2.

[@fishplayer6320]

You do get less heat demand from placing districts close to each other

[@JM_Traslo]

@@fishplayer6320 Nothing to do with placing the districts nearby, it's the visuals inside individual districts that look so spaced out and defeating the entire building style of FP1

[@stuffandnonsense8528]

Should we be punishing developers who have the courage to do very new things? The big companies all want more of the same, play it safe, give the people what they already like but with a new cost of paint. Even if this game lacks some of the things which made Frostpunk good, it seems to me that we don't want to confirm the strategies of the AAA cookie cutter crowd.

[@justvid366]

They stripped the game from all the things we loved.

[@Madtroll1209]

This feels like a 3X game disguised as a city builder, (4X but minus the exterminate and AI factions). The way you need to exploit and manage resources on the map, juggle different mechanics, as a Civ and endless space player, it feels oddly familiar. Would be interesting to see an actual 4X game, where the culture of New London is determined by your playstyle and you basically play to recreate civilization in the frostlands whilst competing with other factions with their own culture. Yes you lose out on the immersion, especially compared to the more intimate scale the first game, but no one's going to be looking for that in a 4X game. I say the devs succeeded in not rehasing the first game, I can understand why some people might get upset that the "soul" of the first game is now gone. But in my opinion, it's always better to try something new, even if it upsets some people.

[@Alduizard]

The gameplay that I have seen so far, Frostpunk 2 seems to be right up my alley. See the worst thing to me about Frostpunk 1 was the lack of real replayability. The city building would more or less end up the same following the narrative, with not much variation. The expansion of the political and choice aspect(which I loved in 1) in Frostpunk 2, and with expanded city-building, there is actually a reason to come back to this game and do it in a different way.

[@161dimi]

Yeah, after finishing each scenario with the best results, it was done.

[@SpaceMoose69]

The mechanics in this game are far better than the original. The scenarios are much more technically challenging and present the player far more options with which to achieve their objective. While in the first game you couldn't repeal laws, which was a great decision from the standpoint that difficult choices made early should have long term consequences, I really appreciate how in FP2 you can but this is balanced against causing severe internal strife. All of this leads to a mechanically more fun and interesting experience evidenced by the fact that the utopia mode in FP2 is far more fun, challenging and engaging than FP1's endless mode. In this way, I really appreciate how the developers have completely changed the game while making it feel much like the original. However, the main story is nowhere near as interesting, compelling or immersive as in the first game. There is only one scenario out now and the focus is no longer on survival but thriving which was a very intentional choice. I do feel something has been lost, as I am no longer packing a dreadnought to flee a doomed city, sending aid in a last ditch effort to save human lives, or bracing for a ridiculously cold whiteout that feels like it lasts forever as the music swells and I know everyone is huddled up together in my just in time constructed housing. I think one thing that makes the first game much more atmospheric is the day/night cycle where you see your city lit up overnight in the glow of the generator. Anyway, if you just play through the campaign then what Mac said is 100% correct. If you start sinking hours into the utopia builder and trying to optimized your city, you will find this a much more rewarding experience than the fist game.

[@gwoody4003]

"Stoked" is the perfect description for how you felt, considering keeping the furnace running is a major aspect of the game. 😂

[@firstclaw1]

Thanks for your open words as always. I'll check out more info before getting it. I liked Frostpunk and what it made unique. So, as I have more factories to build after Satis 1.0 is released, I'll put this one in the freezer of my wishlist for later possible consumption.

[@andrewsnook7154]

Cheers bud. Great review, answered all my worries after watching the pre-release videos. Saved me a few quid

[@huginnkenningard]

IMO it's the logic evolution over the first one, politicians get to know the people on small towns (FP1), but as the towns get bigger and become little cities then citizens just become a number (FP2). You think the mayor of my 27K people town gives a f*** about everyone around? 😆

[@fattzmcgee6161]

Frostpunk 1 was a different experience as a survival game. The stress to keep your people alive without a real combat threat was different but immersive

[@Jezato]

Thanks Mac, can't say i'm not disappointed in the direction they took with FP2. I feel the same way as you, FP1 had such a sense of urgency and struggle, a feeling of weathering the relentless suffering all around and still being able to progress and grow as a community. Like you said, it has a soul and they really captured Lightning in a bottle with it.

[@modsimal8676]

Hey Mack, are we going to get a release review of 7 Days?

[@WorthABuyreviews]

Yeah at some point but it's not a priority atm

[@Gargatul0th]

remember in spore you played as a little organism struggling to survive and then you evolved into building villages and cities and barely even saw your people anymore? thats what this is like. its not frost punk 1 the sequel, and frost punk phase 2. i think if you play the first one again until youll fully expanded and bored then start 2 it will seem better, but you wanted to recapture what you got from 1 which didnt happen.

[@randomhodgepodge8902]

Bummer!:( The district design reminded me of Civ6 which I still haven't stuck with long enough to enjoy the way I did hundreds of hours of Civ5.

[@kerravon4159]

I actually agree with everything you said about the charm and intimacy of the original being lost but I think I might pick it up anyway because it looks like a pretty decent empire building strategy game in its own right. I'll just have to try and make myself forget that its supposed to be a Frostpunk sequel and in that goal it failed miserably.

[@Vladx35]

Sadly they made this worse, then?

[@WorthABuyreviews]

It's a good game but worse than FP1 by a long way sadly.

[@jimpratt1979]

yep its okay but wayyyyy worse than 1

[@Vladx35]

@@WorthABuyreviews it sucks when the standard gets lowered.

[@SinsGamingChannel]

I suggest watching reviews from the first Frostpunk. People said a lot of the same things back then, in comparison to their previous title, This War of Mine. It's an evolution, not a remake, and that's a good thing.

[@PeterInya]

Currently playing Frostpunk 2. The game is a gem, I highly recommend it. The original Frostpunk focused on tactical survival, Frostpunk 2 is more about strategic survival. I prefer the latter. Frostpunk 2 is also a masterpiece in art and design. Its imagery should be displayed in art museums, like "This War of Mine" (New York's Museum of Modern Art).

[@Chambers36TheEnter]

The fact you can't see all the people going around the land seems like a huge departure.

[@nomadman_84]

“When I passed laws, I just didn’t give a shit.” ; that sounds as immersive as it gets in 2024.

[@Cramblit]

What's disappointing about Frostpunk 2 is that it could of been so much better, with just a few tweaks. They lost the soul of the game, and turned it into a shallow 1995 sim city builder except somehow worse, and lost the hard push and pull of surviving, and helping your people move society and civilization forward. It didn't need to be dumbed down as much as it was, or all the immersion taken away, like those tractors spawning in and out when you're clearing areas, or people phasing in and out of existence.

[@VeganCheeseburger]

Fair enough, but personally I am excited for the higher level strategy. Maybe it’s that I’m an engineer - I like systems and don’t like the messy close-up encounters of being too “zoomed in” on the world.

[@domenicodaserra1046]

Your original Frostpunk review is what made me sub to the channel years ago and I've been watching ever since. Frostpunk 1 is one of my favourite games ever so am tempted not even to give this a go because I know I'll be disappointed.

[@RatedMf0rmanly]

Sounds like Mack didn't 'get' the game. The city survived. You did that in Frostpunk 1. You built it up from scratch, building by building. That phase is done now, we're 50 years into the future. The end of the world happened a long time ago. Humanity survived. The point of Frostpunk 2 now is to manage those survivors and make sure they don't turn it all to shit again. It wouldn't make any fucking sense that suddenly New London disappeared and you'd have to restart building it from scratch on a magical new generator that went undiscovered for 50 years, somehow. That would actually be fucking worse than the 'Somehow Palpatine returned' bantawank plot we got in Star Wars. Sounds like Mack just wanted a Frostpunk 1 DLC instead. And you know what pisses me off? If they would have made Frostpunk 1(version 2), Mack would cry that they changed nothing and it should've been a 10 quid DLC instead of a full priced sequel.

[@cristi724]

Sorry but I think you have no imagination if you think a sequel has to completely change perspective, in order to be worth being called a sequel. A good sequel expands on story and mechanics, with maybe better graphics. But it doesn't change how a game feels and plays to this degree. Yea it's a fine line between a DLC, but people won't complain if it's a good game, that mostly happens when they feel ripped off.

[@carbonstar9091]

Bad take. I could not care less about continuity if the underlying gameplay is completely different and inferior. The reason FP was such a good game is how desperate it was.

[@jeckek9936]

Furnace, Mack. Furnace. You missed an opportunity to make puns about the heating allowance for pensioners.

[@MrJustmeyou]

the first one had actual people you could see you city grow ,and when they died it meant so much more , hoping i enjoy it still

[@Newt211]

I feel like they should have called this Frost Punk World Maker. Basically create a name that has frost punk in it, but don’t call it a sequel. That way we understand that they made a completely different game but using similar assets.

[@TheScarletSeeker]

Hey Mac! Very much agree and had a sadly, similar experience. My biggest takeaway is that the devs might not have realised what made the first game such a hit in the first place.

[@itisriley]

if they made Frostpunk bigger than it was then of course you lose the personal touches just like any scale like that in society. I can't imagine a way that they keep the little per-citizen details in a larger city planning game without it breaking or being a boring chore to take care of. This is why flat-out democracy alone in the real world has never been a success, you can't hear everyone, so you get representatives. But I won't get into that because for some reason you don't like the politics in a game that is about managing a society LOL

[@vahnn0]

Sounds like they took the ideas of the first game and expanded on it. It's not longer a tiny city starting from a tiny core and fighting desperately for survival--you've won that battle, it's a big city on the grow, and now you're expanding. With a bigger city comes new kinds of problems. Sounds like a sequel to me!

[@fearan9406]

This should have been the end game,it should have been build a large town and colonies and connect up an oil rail network

[@joenelson4776]

Bold move from the developers. Looking forward to trying it on console when it's released on gamepass there

[@reecemccullough4829]

Hahaha "firstly id like to thank you very much for the steam key, secondly the game is a soulless piece of shiteee" love the honestly Mac

[@tramapolean]

I tried the FP2 Beta, and I was left underwhelmed by it, and I agree with your assessment about it feeling soulless, well said! I also felt the scale was off, especially with the massive districts you would just zone out like a city builder, but with no control over any of it after that. Feels a lot more like a reskinned Sim City, with none of the Frostpunk theming beyond the snow. Another great review, thank you! I cancelled my pre-order after the FP2 Beta, and you have confirmed nothing has changed with it since then.

[@Sun-Eater616]

Baffled at their choices to make this so different. Absolutely lost myself to the first Frost punk through lockdown. What a shame, I was hyped for this 😫

[@NarcissistAU]

Bloody poets always be weeing on my deathless aspirations.

[@Deapcrash101]

Haven't played it but my impressions from what I've seen are the same as yours. A big part of frostpunk was the feeling of your city expanding and getting past those milestones. Getting your first automaton, finally being able to man a factory. There doesn't seem to be that feeling of scarcity in frostpunk 2, which makes some sense thematically. But it also makes the game look a lot less interesting

[@kurtisf3366]

Wow, I had assumed this would be a no brainer to buy. I’m glad I watched this review, I’ll maybe wishlist it and catch it on a sale in a couple years.

[@VeganCheeseburger]

This review is an outlier. OpenCritic shows most still recommend it

[@JohnFerrara00]

It's the simplest thing Mack you can't play the same game every time bud, says the developer who realizes he should just include a friend in the box.

[@idaziz]

i love the little macks in the glasses

[@littleaussierippa]

I haven't played Frostpunk but I feel your pain Mack. It's a terrible feeling when a game you're excited for doesn't gel with you.

[@informedchoice2249]

It would be good if Mac would say what he would have been happy with, and had a discussion about sequels and what they should offer.

[@Microxz141]

frostpunk 2 should be expedition to another continent. The scientist realize there's a way to revert all of this and it need to be done in key position of the earth, drilling to the ground. imagine they set out to egypt with pyramid covered in snow and we build it next to it. in hope to better the earth. that's 1 map and there's another map going to new york with top of skyscrapers popping from the snow and we build a colony there. each area have their own challenges and benefits... making a colony/building inside a skyscrapers that are burried with snow to the top, etc.

[@JeanParisot]

I think the problem was that they made a near-perfect game the first time around. With a second game, they either do the same thing and improve it a little, which looks bad because what little improvements they make could just be released as a dlc; or they go the route that they did and try to expand the mechanics in a new direction. I completely agree that the humanity in the first game was visceral and never far-away from the gameplay experience, and unfortunately that seems lost here.

[@paulwade4058]

This is exactly how I felt playing the beta. Everyone made me think I was taking crazy pills. I thought it was boring as fuck with no soul.

[@solidboss1000]

this one is immersive if you want to be a survivor in politics, it should be called politicpunk

[@mr.darknight416]

Completely agree, this now feels more like just another city builder with the cold spin off. Like why fox something that wasnt broken? Ur first game worked and everyone loved it and the devs went like “hmmm, let’s completely change the thing that made people love our first game”. The first one felt more like a survival city builder which made it very unique to others. Really disappointed with the direction they went.

[@Trigg3rHippie]

Shame that the company who gave us This War of Mine seems to have lost it's way.

[@haru9709]

They should have titled this "After the Frost" and not as a direct sequel. Good game by itself, horrible follow up imo

[@glass7923]

Let's hope that if they ever make another Frostpunk, it will be a situation similar to Trine, where third installment introduced a badly-received 3d gameplay and Trine 4 returned to its sidescroller roots.

[@kawreecoreyson5470]

the honesty in every one of your reviews is amazing to see, keep up the fantastic work, by far my most trusted reviewer