Frostpunk for PC is a city building, survival game set in an alternate reality in the UK at around 1886 when twin 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 in the field, darkening the sun for a time, and causing the death of millions of people all over the world.

About the Game

There are a number of scenarios to play through – see below for more information – but the premise in each scenario is similar. The player starts out as one of a small party of survivors, working to rebuild aspects of society. There are workers and engineers in the group and you are given a small amount of supplies and resources to start you off.

Players must harvest extra supplies: food, wood, steel and coal to help the fledgling society get back on their feet, despite the vagaries of an unpredictable weather system which sometimes seems to be set against the survivors’ success.

A Delicate Balance

It is possible to implement laws that will cause discontent, such as forcing workers to work twenty-four hour shifts, or making child labour laws that make youngsters work alongside adults. These laws should be used with caution and stopped as soon as possible, perhaps being balanced with more positive laws such as providing better healthcare, or allowing more food for those who need it.

Systems such as Order and Faith, provide laws and religious beliefs to assuage the population, while provisions such as workshops enable craftsmen to spring up, creating useful resources and tools for the society’s benefit.

Various Scenarios to Choose Between

• A New Home: this is the ‘main’ story arc and the one that most players will opt for the first time they play through. An expeditionary force has left London to look for a rumoured 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. They settle there as they explore the area and find deserted city that drives home just how much trouble they’re in

• The Arks: youthful scientists prepare a number of arks to preserve specimens of plants and crops for potential future generations to use to regenerate the earth and support the human population. They are sited near a generator hidden in a glacier, but are faced with the dilemma of choosing between aiding a nearby town that is struggling 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 the use of wealthy groups. The player must balance the population between class rifts, aiming for a truly equal society, but finding that divides constantly arise. Fresh waves of refugees constantly arrive, in need of precious resources to keep them alive: including the now dispossessed formerly wealthy people. The player must decide to let them in or turn them away

• The Fall of Winterholme: this DLC scenario shows the fall of a city due to mismanagement in the run up to the eruptions. The player needs to restore control and establish a sustainable flow of resources to the population – but no sooner is this achieved than he or she learns the generator powering the city is doomed to failure and must put into place and action a mass evacuation before it is too late

• Endless mode: this scenario can last mere minutes, or it can go on for hours! You have to build a city and survive for as long as possible, fighting off enemies, harvesting and distributing resources sensibly and generally keeping society going as best you can. The game ends when your civilisation fails

Frostpunk for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.
There are currently 2437 players playing this game on Steam