Cold desperation and the fight for survival were the themes of the original Frostpunk, so what can the sequel do that hasn’t already been seen? Growing up is definitely one thing that everyone looks forward to. Let’s put Frostpunk 2 against Frostpunk 1 to see all the differences.
Frostpunk 2 vs Frostpunk 1 – All changes
Instead of adding more snow and cold, developers approached the creation of Frostpunk 2 with the intention of developing the original game. Simple survival is not enough as we now have an ever expanding city and a pretense of democracy. With that in mind, these are the biggest differences between Frostpunk 2 and Frostpunk 1.
City in Frostpunk 2 is massive
Growing up in Frostpunk 2 is a risk worth taking because it gives you more options and challenges when managing a city. The most obvious difference between the original and the sequel is that in Frostpunk 2, you build entire districts (industry, housing, science buildings, etc.). Planning is important because you don’t want people living next to an industrial complex because it can make their health worse.
While running a town in Frostpunk, it was visibly just a small settlement. You focused on individual buildings essential to the survival of your citizens. It was more of a village than a huge post-apocalyptic metropolis. While we have the scope needed to simulate city-building survival, does it come at the expense of caring for people who are harder to spot? Depends on how much you love politics.
What’s new in city building:
- District Construction – you now build whole districts instead of one building.
Political machinations are even more important
The political aspect of the game is even more important than the previous game. There are more of them, and there are no perfect solutions. Most activities will take place in the Council Hall, which is actually a parliament. Whatever you do, some faction will be dissatisfied. That’s more or less what was available in the first Frostpunk, so the jury is still out on whether this is a big improvement or just a nice update of something that worked well.
What’s new in the political segment:
- Fractions – There are even more groups or factions in the city. How you deal with them will shape the destiny of New London.
- The Council Hall – 30 years have passed since the events in Frostpunk, so now you have a nice building for factions (political parties of the apocalypse) to decide on laws.
Expanded world map
What you do outside the city can decide your fate in Frostpunk 2. Exploring maps is important because it allows you to find new materials and valuable places for colonies. Expanding outside the city walls is crucial, but I want to see how interesting this is from the gaming point of view. Micromanagement is never interesting, so I only get involved if there’s a great way to make it interesting after several hours of gameplay.
Frostpunk 1 had a great balance between map exploration and city building. The real downside was the lack of places to explore, as I often wished for a larger world map. More content on the map and good colony management will be enough.
What’s new in map research:
- Territorial Research – The map is divided into territories.
- Outposts and Colonies – Establish outposts and colonies with separate economies and logistics.
Should I play Frozen?
Overall, Frostpunk 2 builds on the strengths of its predecessor while introducing improvements and new gameplay features. I loved Frostpunk because it was a difficult game where I had to make difficult choices as a steward. But at the same time it had a relatively easy learning curve with just about the right amount of options. I’ve never been overwhelmed by the number of settings, so I hope Frostpunk 2 builds on that.
Now that you know the differences between Frostpunk 1 and 2, find out more about Frostpunk 2 Special Edition at Pro Game Guides.
