According to most definitions, a dystopia refers to a society in which there’s great suffering and injustice.Dystopian themes and settingshave been popular for well over 100 years, with some of the first novels credited with pioneering the genre having been published in the early 1900s. Naturally, these dystopian themes have appeared across all kinds of entertainment mediums, and that includes video games likeFrostpunk 2.
2018’sFrostpunkshowed how quickly players could sacrifice their humanity and morals for the sake of the greater good, butFrostpunk 2speeds that process up even faster.Frostpunk 2is a piece of dystopian fiction through and through, and that’s evident pretty much from the moment the game’s intro cinematic plays.
Frostpunk 2 Puts Its Dystopian Themes Front and Center
Frostpunk 2 Is a Post-Apocalyptic Survival City-Builder
Without getting too into the weeds with its lore,Frostpunk 2is set during a post-apocalypse, with its world having just suffered a catastrophic event known asthe Great Frost. This Great Frost has covered the world in a thick layer of ice and snow, and it’s believed that the vast majority of humanity has succumbed to the cold.Frostpunk 2sees players assume the role of the leader of one of humanity’s last known cities, and their primary task is ensuring the survival of its people, whatever the cost.
Frostpunk 2 Puts Players In Charge of Their Own Dystopia
Naturally,Frostpunk 2’s post-apocalyptic settinglays the perfect groundwork for some dystopian fiction, and it doesn’t take long for that to rear its head. When beginningFrostpunk 2’s campaign or its Utopia Builder, players will likely set out to create an ideal society where every citizen is equal, food and resources are abundant, and everyone is free to pursue their own goals and dreams. ButFrostpunk 2has other ideas.
Every few minutes or so,Frostpunk 2will present players with a dilemma, and ask them to make a decision then and there on the matter.Frostpunk 2’s twistis that the vast majority of these dilemmas only have morbid solutions. For instance, some ofFrostpunk 2’s very first moral dilemmas occur in its prologue, when the player needs to stockpile enough food for an oncoming whiteout. It’s made repeatedly clear to the player that failing to stockpile food within the time limit will result in a game over.
With that at the forefront of players' minds,Frostpunk 2delivers a handful of ghoulish prompts. Players are asked if they want to hunt a pack of seals that have just appeared on the settlement’s shores, and if they want to allow the group’s elders to walk off into the Frostlands to lower the amount of food they need to stockpile.
Once players finish the prologue and take charge of New London, they’re given these moral dilemmas at an even more frequent rate, and solutions are often just as macabre.Frostpunk 2requires the player to usethe sequel’s Law system and Idea Treeto try and make life better for New London’s citizens, but there’s only so much the player can achieve at once, essentially requiring the player to prioritize certain groups of people. It doesn’t take long before players can find themselves in control of their very own Orwellian state, complete with government-issued soldiers patrolling the streets in search of citizens they can brutally push back in line.
