Summary
- Frostpunk 2's major free update adds a new map, improved visuals, and Serenity Mode to cater to a wider player base.
- The update introduces new gameplay features like heat management, additional challenges in Utopia Builder mode, and revamped laws and research.
- Visual upgrades, Unreal Engine 5.4.3 migration, art improvements, and modding tools like Frostkit 1.0 are part of the comprehensive update.
Frostpunk 2 has rolled out a major free update that adds tons of new content, ranging from a new map to improved visuals. It is the first big update for Frostpunk 2 since the game's release on PC on September 20, 2024.
Building upon the success of 2018's Frostpunk, the sequel developed by 11 Bit Studios was met with a positive critical reception, with an average rating of 85 on OpenCritic. Frostpunk 2 also experienced remarkable sales at launch, recouping its total budget within four days. While the city-builder got off to a great start engagement-wise on Steam, roping in a peak concurrent player count of over 35K, this number dwindled steadily to under 1K by February 2025. To put things into context, this drop took the game's Steam player engagement to below that of its predecessor, whose peak concurrent player count still averages above 2K on most days even after seven years. In a bid to remedy this, the devs recently shipped a brand-new update for Frostpunk 2 players.
Frostpunk 2: All Utopia Builder Factions, Ranked
Utopia Builder factions in Frostpunk 2 all bring something to the table. Here's how they stack up.
On May 8, another milestone on the Frostpunk 2 developers' content roadmap was reached, with the arrival of a free update chock-full of fresh content. First off, there's a new map named "The Pit" available in the game's Utopia Builder mode, which the player can either choose as the starting location or can use as a Frostland colonization site. New Tales have also been added, offering the player a chance to unlock the Monument Hub and decorate their city. Moreover, the Generator UI has received a makeover and a new Heatmap View has been incorporated into a new gameplay change that lets the player manage heat locally for each district. The way players manage the heat would lead to unique reactions from the residents, from praise to protests.
Making Frostpunk 2's survival experience suitable for a wider range of players, the new Serenity Mode has been introduced, which dials down the game's difficulty with better weather conditions, plentiful resources, shorter whiteouts, and the omission of Fervour System. The update also brings fresh additions to the game's Idea Tree and laws, with nine new research topics, two new buildings, three rebalanced technologies, and more. Furthermore, a bunch of visual upgrades have been made to areas affecting the game's population density, building visibility, and roadfinding. Finally, Frostkit 1.0, the game's official modding tool, has also been made available to the community.
Although these features should keep players on PC busy for the foreseeable future, fans on other platforms will be eagerly waiting to dive into the game's city-building scenarios soon. As previously confirmed by 11 Bit Studios, Frostpunk 2 is expected to hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Summer 2025.
Frostpunk 2 Update 1.3 Patch Notes
Gameplay
- Updated gameplay feature - Heat management. Heat management has been reworked with a focus on locality. - Districts now have local heat levels, replacing the global heat demand concept - Each district now has several basic heat levels. Freezing, Very Cold, Cold, Chilly, Livable, Warm, each with local effects. - Heat levels can be increased by distributing heat from the generator through Heat Allocation, with multiple levels of allocation available - District proximity effects now apply to one city cell individually; previously, 3 cells were required for the effect to apply - Each Housing District now have the exact number of people it can accommodate - Every Community and Faction can now occupy an individual district - New city overlay related to Heat Management - Revamped Laws and Researches which previously affected Heat demand, now relate to Heat Levels - New Researches are available in Research Institute to support reworked heating mechanics
- New Utopia Builder set of settings - Tales from the frostland. New challenges that expand the Utopia Builder experience, adding depth to both difficulty and narrative. - Beacon of Hope - Provide shelter and resources for all newcomers escaping their fallen city - Apocalyptic Whiteout - Survive a catastrophic and long Whiteout - Depleted Cores - Search the frostland to restore an unfinished IEC Core Factory - Beating each challenge unlocks a buildable Monument
- New Utopia Builder difficulty setting - Serenity mode. Relaxed mode with easier start, mild weather, abundant resources, shorter whiteouts and no faction wars.
- New Utopia Builder map - The Pit. Plan around a failed Generator construction site and try to create a thriving city
- The district area can now be readjusted after its construction, along with the Buildings placement
Balance
- The generator can now produce a limited amount of power. Additional power levels are unlocked via researches
- Adaptation cornerstone now nullifies the consequences of Chilly temperature
- Workers' Shifts and Apex Workers now reduce sickliness produced by non-housing districts
- Waste Heat Conversion now makes extraction districts generate heat proximity and disease
- Heatpipe Watch children's fallback allows activating additional Heatpipe Watch as an ability
- Rebalanced the early stages of Prologue, granting a smoother entry with an opening in the midpoint of the playthrough
- Expanded randomisation of frostland in Utopia Builder
- Frostbreaker cost is now counted per cell instead of per usage
- Housing district rebalance
- Removed 3rd tier upgrade
- Base Housing District now has an available Special Building slot
Interface
- District panels have been refreshed to follow gameplay changes
- Generator panel redesign
- Chapter selection settings menu redesign
- Updated the city needs top widget to reflect heat management changes, and put more emphasis on temperature
- New tutorial modals explaining District Temperature, District Abilities and Community Actions
- Clicking on the empty Building slot on the District Panel now brings up the Building construction panel
- Districts now have their unique names
- Deaths, injuries and absentees notifications are displayed over the affected districts
- Moved economy overlays from bottom right to top left
- Improved visibility of Hostile relations with Factions and Communities
Art
- Improved overall district visuals. Toggleable in settings, so Steward can choose between planned and organic urban layout
- Steward can now select where the Building slot will be placed within the constructed district
- Refreshed some of the Buildings visuals
- Improved visibility of Buildings in the district
- A lot of new artwork for narrative events
- New artwork for district panels to reflect the current heating level in the district
- Updated and expanded artwork for story mode faction/community frontmen
- Improved city life visuals
- Improved roads pathfinding logic
- New visual effect for cells selected for District construction
Other
- Upgraded game engine to Unreal Engine 5.4.3
- Optimized loading and saving times
- Game performance optimizations
- New achievements: - Guiding Light - Apocalypse Nah - Raiders of the Lost Cores - Born Ready - No One Left Behind - Seen Worse - Gotta Go Fast
Mods
- Play in Editor is now available in Frostkit
- Mod Menu visual overhaul
- Added a search bar
- Added Cook Mod button inside the Frostkit
- Significant optimizations to Frostkit loading times
- Added multiple tutorials and sample mods to lower the entry threshold for modding community beginners
Beta feedback fixes and improvements
- Fixed the empty input issue
- Proximity effects coming from previously expanded or rebuilt districts will no longer be displayed on city cells during the next district rebuild
- UI polish and improvements
- Replaced missing artwork for Cold Houses narrative event
- Randomization for finding Core Parts is now seeded
- You can now evade fatalities/injuries when exploring the Core Factory Parts Site by constructing buildings that reduce the Territory Threat Level
- Beacon of Hope upgrade now costs 300 Heatstamps and 250 Prefabs
- Utopia Builder Tales can now be randomized along with other settings
- Fixed no notification sounds for events in districts
- Fixed Serenity mode not using proper fervor setup, so Faction Wars could occur under certain circumstances
- Fixed game freeze caused by faulty modifier in Adaptation Generator
- Fixed crashes which could occur upon establishing the Progress cornerstone
- Fixed a rare Zoom Stories crash
- Fixed a rare crash related to Policies, which could occur on loading a save
- Fixed some other singular crashes
- Some other minor fixes and improvements
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- September 20, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Frostpunk
- PC Release Date
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
The game takes place 30 years after the apocalyptic blizzard that has taken place in Frostpunk. Earth is still overwhelmed by the neverending frost and harsh, icy climate. You play as the leader of a resource-hungry metropolis where expansion and internal conflicts are an unavoidable reality. It’s up to you to make decisions about your City’s future and face their consequences.
In Frostpunk 2 you can build your City on a new scale by creating entire districts with different purposes. Make sure that all parts of the City work well together as well as research technologies that will set the direction for your citizens’ progress.
THE CITY MUST NOT FALL “Frostpunk 2 is still a game about the City and its society,” states Jakub Stokalski, game Co-Director and Design Director at 11 bit studios. “But inner turmoils, sparked by rising social differences, mean that players will be facing new kinds of threats. We use a post-apocalyptic setup to tell a meaningful story about human ambition. Because ultimately, what can end us is not nature itself – it’s human nature.”
NAVIGATE BETWEEN FACTIONS AS A STEWARD As the City grows, creating and passing new laws becomes a more complex matter. The people slowly divide into factions with different, often contradictory visions of the future. The Council is a place where these ideas clash, sometimes violently. It’s your role as a Steward to ensure that the city will not fall because of those conflicts. Manage emerging crises while at the same time steering humanity towards a new destiny.
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
