"Frostpunk 2": Icy déjà vu
The dystopian build-up strategy game "Frostpunk 2" from 11 Bit Studios struggles with the high expectations established by its great predecessor.
(Image: 11 bit Studios)
"Frostpunk" was one of the big gaming surprises of 2018. It was a building strategy game like no other: merciless, dark, socially critical. 11 Bits' dystopian adventure turned genre conventions on their head and became a player and critic favorite. The inevitable sequel operates entirely according to the laws of the market and makes the game bigger and more accessible.
The game begins some 30 years after the events of the first installment. The Earth is still covered by a thick layer of ice and a few survivors set off in search of a new home. The threatening climate, overpopulation and hunger are causing problems for the people, until the players in the role of the "Steward" redistribute the roles and start up the reactor.
Unlike in its predecessor, the players build districts instead of individual houses for the extraction of raw materials, which are only built on certain fields. The guidelines and rules for the future are enacted in the town meeting: Child labor? Do we simply send the old and sick into the ice desert to save food? Hardly any decision is clear-cut; everything has sometimes tragic consequences. In addition to this story mode, the game also offers a sandbox mode. Different levels of difficulty make it easier to get started.
More of the same
Visually, hardly anything has changed. An icy wind still blows through the bleak icy landscape. The excavators roll sedately across the land, while the voices of the starving inhabitants can be heard in the background. Like its predecessor, players are presented with a hopeless future scenario in which the shades of gray are only occasionally interrupted by the warming glow of the reactor.
Little has changed in terms of gameplay either. Apart from city building, which no longer takes place in orderly blocks, every political decision constantly revolves around the same dilemma: What am I prepared to sacrifice for the future? Right from the start, players make far-reaching and sometimes fatal decisions. Where an "Anno" happily exploits the workers, players in "Frostpunk 2" are mercilessly confronted with the consequences of their actions. This is all a little more mature than in its predecessor, but offers hardly any variety.
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In the shadow of its predecessor
So why all this? "Frostpunk 2" doesn't tell us anything new and doesn't follow up its groundbreaking predecessor with a sequel on a par with it. Yes, it is depressing, critical and different from other building strategy games. But it's also a market-compliant sequel that wants to make money with the same concept based on a huge success.
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There is no question that "Frostpunk 2" struggles with the overpowering shadow of its predecessor. Back then, 11 Bit revolutionized the genre, as it did with "This War of Mine". It was new, different. Expectations are high after these successes. Creating a risk-free, financially secure sequel is legitimate. But the socio-critical message falls flat at the second attempt. What "Frostpunk 2" lacks is the radical approach of breaking boundaries. It is depressing, merciless, but also tiresome in its mantra-like repetition of the same stories over and over again. An icy déjà vu experience.
"Frostpunk 2" will be released for Windows on September 20. Buyers of the Deluxe Edition can already start on September 17. It is included in the PC Game Pass. USK from 18. It costs approx. 45 €.
(mki)
