Frostpunk – Console Edition Review (Xbox One X)
The year is 1886 and thanks to massive volcanic eruptions the world is plunging into anther Ice Age. Man scrambles and builds massive coal powered generators to try and create enough heat to establish areas where humans can continue to live in this harsh new world. But resources are scarce and plenty are needed to ensure people are fed and sheltered. In Frostpunk you need to decide on the priorities and whether it will be order or faith that will see you through.
Console Master Race?
Frostpunk came out on PC early last year to a pretty good reception and now it is the turn of Xbox and PS4 gamers to chill out in 11 Bit Studios city building, survival cross over. My immediate concern was how well will a controller fare in this style of game? Thankfully, while not as good as a mouse and keyboard, it works pretty well. Anyone who has played Age of Empires or Civilization will get into the swing of Frostpunk pretty quickly, with one difference. You need to be prepared for cold snaps. Stockpiling resources and ensuring good heating is a necessity. We can definitely declare a Climate Emergency here.
London’s Freezing!
After traipsing across the frozen ocean it must be pretty daunting looking down into a pit that will soon be your home. Having the generator in a open cast mine makes sense for the coal but also restricts the play area. Not that you need a large area, it is all about managing a small settlement and keeping people happy. Although you can send out scouts to collect other survivors, resources, and even automatons. At some point you will have to choose to police your people and head down the ‘Order’ path, or introduce a new religion with ‘Faith’. Each time you introduce one of these new laws you will have to contend with both positive and negative reactions to your Discontent and Hope meters.
Looks Aren’t Everything.
Frostpunk is one of those games where commenting on the graphics is a bit pointless. It neither needs cutting edge visuals or really allows for anything spectacular to the eye. It is all about functionality. And although once your settlement grows in size things get a bit messy, Frostpunk looks great. There is also the ability to pause game time to find the required building too, so no worries there. To go with the functional visuals is the adequate sounds. Nothing hit me as horrendous but in the same hand, nothing jumped out at me either.
Closing Comments.
Frostpunk, while nothing ground breaking, is one of those titles that just manages to take hours from your life. You may plan on a quick session but inevitably end up doing the ‘just one more’ dance when it comes to building and upgrading. It is good solid fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
