Frostpunk 2 looks primed to take the RTS series to even bleaker places
The city must survive (again)
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Frostpunk 2has received a new cinematic trailer, giving us just a taste of the bleak themes and desperation in store for players on release.
Unveiled during thePC Gaming Showas a part ofE3 2023,Frostpunk 2’s latest trailer shows a city rising up to meet the challenge of the game’s wintery apocalypse, only to fall to infighting and protest in response to the draconian measures of the city’s captain.
In aninterview with PC Gamer,Frostpunk 2’s co-director Jakub Stokalski made it clear that despite The City, “growing its potential… someone’s utopia can become a dystopia for others. [Frostpunk 2] takes a lot from the real world, the situations we observe every day, where some people’s ambitions can lead to others' demise.”
In addition to the brutal environmental threats posed by the apocalyptic winter, cities inFrostpunk 2must also contend “this time with inner threats, strictly related to people who are capable of destroying it, and its painful legacy, from within.”
The firstFrostpunkwas one of thebest PC strategy gamesof 2018, offering players the chance at running a city in the frozen wastes of alternate-history Victorian Britain. InFrostpunk, the city is surrounded by a colossal furnace that keeps citizens warm, provided you have enough fuel to keep the engine running.
Calamities and food shortages ensure that the city is always on the brink of collapse. It’s a stressful, challenging but deeply rewarding experience, constantly asking you to scrape the bottom of the moral barrel in the name of survival. Running out of food? Feed the kids sawdust. Need more ore mined? Shoot some laggards as an example.
As you can imagine,Frostpunkplumbs some dark psychological depths; a trend that its sequel seems all too keen to continue. That said, we still have no word on a release date. For the time being, it looks like we fans of sci-fi dystopias will have to keep ourselves busy with the likes ofWarhammer 40,000 Rogue TraderandArmored Core 6.
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An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.
A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.
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