We are fast approaching the end of 2018 and honestly, I have no idea where the year went. One of the last games I decided to play this year was Frostpunk. Frostpunk is a city building survival game that was released earlier this year. Playing it was an interesting experience.
I like Ramen, well I think I do. My only real experience eating ramen is at Wagamama, and I really enjoyed it. It's more than soup, but not quite a stew and I always struggled to finish it all as there is so much. It's warming, enjoyable and really great if you're not 100% sure what you want to eat. Playing Frostpunk I found myself asking was this like a tasty never-ending bowl of ramen?
Story
The game is set in an alternative version of 1886, the world has gotten cold, really cold, ice cold in fact. Millions of people are dead and the whole world is like a giant frozen wasteland. The story has you play as the leader/captain of the last city on Earth. It is not an easy task, on top of making sure there are enough resources to keep the city running you also have to keep your people happy.
Overall the story is simple and thought-provoking. The game will have you asking yourself not will humanity survive but should it?
Visuals
The visuals manage to be both amazing and grim. The city you manage looks beaten up but not nearly as much as the people. I remember early on watching people carving a path out through the ice and snow to gather resources, it looked great but was also tough to watch them struggle. There were many moments in the game like this, beautifully but also very somber.
Overall the visuals are impressive and if the world was down to one final city this is what I imagine it might look like.
Music
The score is haunting, filled with somber strings that help ensure you don't forget the struggle and desperation you will face. The score is created by Polish composer Piotr Musial who created the sounds for Witcher 3, This War Of Mine and Anomaly Warzone Earth.
The score runs at just over an hour, at this point I would normally list out my favorites tracks but I can't. In honesty, it is a perfect soundtrack that helps to create a dark, punishing atmosphere that I won't soon forget.
Gameplay
At its core, Frostpunk is a city building game but it was so much more. Initially, you must get your workers to gather resources and help build your city. However, as your city grows people will make requests, some you can ignore but generally, it is not advisable to do so. There are two gauges, discontent and faith/obedience. You need to keep the discontent low and faith/obedience high, failure to do will have your people rally against you and if you're unlucky kill you.
There is a Book of Laws, a new law can be passed every twenty-four hours, all of which have an effect not only on your city as a whole but also discontent and faith/obedience. Initially, the laws will all be focused on adaptation but later they are about order/faith. I found this element interesting and certainly added a challenge. There is the option to use order to keep people in line or use faith, both are good in their own way.
The main resources in the game are coal, steel, and wood, with enough of each there is a good chance of survival. If you gather enough resources you can unlock new building and improvement in the skill tree. It's important to start researching and unlocking building and improvements as quickly as possible.
The generator is probably the most important thing in the game, if you can keep it going and upgrade it there is a chance your people might survive. Heat is a major factor in the game and you can see how bad the cold is by using the temperature overlay. Some buildings like cookhouses and medical building need a constant supply of heat or they will shut down.
There were moments in the game that really got me. Watching the hunters leave in the early hours of the morning unsure if they would make it back alive I always found sad. When workers sacrificed themselves to keep the coal mines open it felt like a real loss and not just another number.
The game offers various scenarios - the main one being 'A New Home' and there is an endless mode. Both are pretty good and offer a large amount replayability.
Over the gameplay was fantastic with few issues. The game is bleak and sometimes gruelling but never really found myself pulling my hair out.
Final Thoughts
So, after twenty plus hours how did I feel? Really good. The story was simple but interesting, the visuals were great, the soundtrack was amazing and the gameplay was something else. I really enjoyed my time playing Frostpunk and glad to know I have so many more hours ahead of me. This is probably my favourite game of 2018 and gets a solid 5 out of 5
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