Frostpunk | Steam

Frostpunk for PC is a construction and survival game set in an alternate reality in the UK in 1886, when two volcanic eruptions (those of Tambora and Krakatoa, which occurred in real life, but in 1815 and 1883 respectively, not simultaneously) decimate the world, ruining crops on the ground, blackening the sun for a time and causing the deaths of millions of people around the world.

About the game

There are a number of scenarios to consider - see below for more information - but the plot of each scenario is similar. The player is part of a small group of survivors working to rebuild aspects of society. There are workers and engineers in the group and you're given a small amount of supplies and resources to get started.

Players must gather food, wood, steel and coal to help the fledgling society get back on its feet, despite the vagaries of an unpredictable weather system that sometimes seems to get in the way of the survivors' success.

A delicate balance

It is possible to implement laws that will cause discontent, for example by forcing workers to work twenty-four hour shifts, or by passing child labour laws that force young people to work alongside adults. Such laws should be used with caution and repealed as soon as possible, perhaps balanced by more positive laws such as better healthcare or more food for those in need.

Systems such as order and faith provide laws and religious beliefs to appease the population, while provisions such as workshops allow artisans to develop, creating useful resources and tools for the good of life in society.

Different scenarios to choose from

A new home: this is the 'main' part of the story and the one most players will choose to play for the first time. An expeditionary party has left London in search of a coal reserve in the north of the country. A splinter group has become separated from the main group of explorers and stumbles across a huge heat source in a crater. As they explore the region, they settle in and discover the deserted town, which takes them back to the place they left behind, and with it their problems...

The Arks: young scientists are preparing a number of arks to preserve specimens of plants and crops for potential future generations in order to regenerate the earth and sustain the human population. They find themselves close to a power station hidden in a glacier, but are faced with the dilemma of choosing between helping a nearby town in trouble or staying on task with their arks.

The refugees: in this scenario, the player is the leader of a group of refugees who have sought authority over a generator originally intended for wealthy groups. The player must balance the population across class divides, with the aim of achieving a truly egalitarian society, but finds that divisions constantly arise. New waves of refugees are constantly arriving, seeking precious resources to keep them alive, including the now dispossessed and once wealthy. The player must decide whether to let them in or turn them away.

The fall of Winterholme: this DLC scenario shows the fall of a town due to mismanagement in the run-up to the eruptions. The player must re-establish control and establish a sustainable flow of resources to the population - but no sooner do they achieve this than they learn that the generator powering the town is doomed to failure and must implement a mass evacuation before it's too late.

Endless mode: this scenario can last minutes or hours! You have to build a city and survive for as long as possible, fight your enemies, harvest and distribute resources sensibly and, in general, keep society running as best you can. The game ends when your civilisation fails