REVIEW : Frostpunk: Complete Collection (XBOX Series X)
Frontpunk created quite an impression when it was first published in 2018. Until now, most city builder games had been lighthearted affairs. Typically, you were given a meagre village and told to assign inhabitants to various tasks to create an ideal society. To keep things fresh, there were managerial hurdles and the occasional setback. But there was nearly always a way to turn bad luck into good.
Frontpunk tossed out the majority of the formula. Its setting envisioned an alternate history in which an ice age transformed a late-nineteenth-century planet into a ruthless dystopia. After millions had died, a small group sought safety around a defunct generator. Survival was fiercely intimidating as you directed labourers to plough their way through deep snow, bringing back enough resources to survive in subzero temperatures. Illness and despair were all around. But you persisted, knowing that the last vestiges of human civilisation were at stake.
More Mercilessness for Your Money with the Complete Collection
Frostpunk – Complete Collection for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One allows you to relive this tough-minded blend of city management and survival simulation. And, to be honest, after witnessing many of the pandemic’s political decisions, where public health was pitted against, for instance, the livelihood of small business owners, the game hits a different note.
Some may be concerned about confronting the game’s plethora of ethical quandaries while still coping with dangerous viral variations in the real world. Frontpunk takes great pleasure in throwing moral curveballs at you. From exploiting child labour to aid with food shortages to adding sawdust to boost the food supply to promptly disposing of the deceased, you’ll confront a slew of unethical options. And you won’t be able to avoid them all. The game also prevents things from becoming too abstract.
You will be expected to interact with people who have suffered as a result of your actions regularly. So it’s perfectly understandable if you’re not ready to confront Frostpunk’s moral calamity.
11-bit studios, I Hate You (But I Also Love You)
Replaying the game was therapeutic for me. While some decisions can make things better, there are no easy fixes. And that is probably the message I need to hear as I strive to find closure amid a worldwide catastrophe. Surprisingly, Frostpunk is assisting me in working through specific issues and moving past some of the actions and behaviours that led to disaster. But it’s still a game, so don’t anticipate anything more than fictitious settings that stimulate introspection. But it’s better than nothing.
When you enter the cold environments of Frontpunk, you’ll be given a tutorial that merely teaches you the basics. While some may want more direction, it is evident that the makers want players to uncover many of the game’s complexities independently. As with other city simulations, you’ll have to cope with allocating limited resources to a variety of diverse requests. However, supplies are always few, the mood is perpetually bleak, and Fronstpunk will frequently have you second-guessing your judgments. It occasionally lines up with the road to become a managerial monster with enticing objectives.
Living with Your Decisions is Persistently Tough
Coal is regularly burned by your generator, steam hubs, and heaters, making it a necessary item to compensate for the subzero temperatures. Building materials include wood crates and frozen trees, while steel is required for the technological structure. Frontpunk’s Collection of steam cores enables automatons that can function without sleep and are resistant to frigid conditions. Even with technological advancements, the disadvantage is that they are never as efficient as humans during the workday. But they work without complaint, unlike the labourers who are upset about the extra hours I just authorised in the game’s Book of Laws.
While other genre entrants demand players to regularly save money for new purchases, it’s never a simple chore in Frostpunk. Sure, you’ll have enough materials to construct a guard tower to keep thieves from stealing from your already meagre food supply. But can you live with yourself after breaking a dietary promise to a bereaved mother? Fascinatingly, the game depicts how fascism can devastate a nation. My initial goal was to safeguard my people. However, a few hours later, I found myself enacting heinous laws and erecting facilities for the public execution of the fiercest voices of protest. As in the final act of most dramas, I pondered how I had strayed so far from my ideals.
An Exceedingly High Dollar to Dilemma Ratio
Unlike other city simulations, Frostpunk’s primary mode contains a tale that concludes after around a month and a half. Although your choices will impact the course of your outpost, you will face the same challenges each time. You’ll probably get better with each replay, ready for what comes next, but many players will appreciate the first time you’re confronted with new truths. For masochists seeking a more traditional gaming experience, the Collection includes an endless mode and various other situations in which you will be forced to deal with a refugee crisis.
However, there is more variety in the Collection’s Collection of downloadable material. The Last Autumn takes place before the game’s events, at the start of the global cooling. You’ve been tasked with building the first generator, which is a monumental task needing vast amounts of materials. While resources are more abundant and the environment is less hostile, you are racing against the clock. As a result, this growth ratchets up the stress wonderfully, and you may even be constantly afraid of getting fired from your employment.
As with most expansions, you’ll get the necessary features, such as docks and a telegraph system. But you’ll also have to cope with a slew of new problems, the most irritating of which will be worker strikes.
Content That Isn’t as Proficient as the Main Game Unfortunately, the Collection’s other DLC did not fare as well. On edge places your generator near a cliffside with a limited supply of resources, encouraging trade with nearby outposts. While composer Piotr Musia’s contribution of six tracks adds another six viola-drenched tunes, the remaining addition accomplishes little more than prolonging the buying and selling of steel and coal. Similarly, The Rifts adds the option to build bridges, but only in a restricted number of predetermined locations.
REVIEW : AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed (PC)
