Frostpunk

I thought this was going to be a depressing hard choices simulator, which kept me away for a long time. When I finally gave it a shot I was surprised at how much it's about endurance, hope, and human ingenuity. It's definitely not easy, but you can not just survive but thrive. (It's kind of a shame that once you thrive the game basically plays itself, but you can consider that a reward.)
Can you imagine... living in a society where people are willing to work together to do what is necessary to survive a world-threatening climate disaster?

PREFACE: Do not use any wiki. Do not extensively search gameplay. As soon as you know enough about it to know you want to try it - stop researching and just play it. Don't resort to outside information. Take in-game risks from start to finish. Frostpunk is best experienced with as blank a slate as you can retain. Trust me, you'll thank me.
The most important thing you should know is that Frostpunk isn't really a city builder. It's a story with city-style challenges. But the story is not spoon fed to you separate from the mechanics - it is told through the mechanics themselves. It is a city story, and the only example of its kind. While games like "Cities Skylines" (which is incredible in its own right) ends when you get bored of your city, Frostpunk's main scenario ends when you have overcome it.
If that sounds interesting to you, then you must play Frostpunk. It is one of the most stunning experiences you can have in modern gaming. And it is paced beautifully - it's never too much nor not enough. Very few games can make you feel both powerless and indomitable at the same time, and Frostpunk is high on the list.
If you want to build cities, and aren't interested in new ways of experiencing stories, Frostpunk isn't for you.
If you enjoy city builders, resource management, decision making, and want to see what happens when a narrative is woven into the fabric of the mechanics, Frostpunk is the only place you'll find this blend.
The main scenario is short(ish - about 9hours, including some failures) and sweet, and absolutely worth it.

What a hard, stressful and frustrating game.
Recommended.
On a more serious note, I originally thought this was a city builder, but it felt more like a resource management puzzle game. You have to gather coal, wood, steel and food in order to make sure that your population stays warm and fed. This might sound easy, but before you know it everyone is suddenly starving or ill (or both), and if they get too angry or lose all hope then they'll be coming for your neck (meaning game over).
The reason it feels like a puzzle game is that each scenario starts out being very challenging for the first couple of days/weeks, but once you "crack the code" and get off to a decent start, the game pretty much plays itself.
My only complaint is that in the game it is possible to send out scout expeditions to look for resources or survivors, however some of the locations that you come across have a 50/50 chance to either give you some much needed resources, or kill your scouts (meaning you also lose all the resources they were carrying). You can of course choose to ignore those locations, but on the hardest difficulty they're very much needed, and unless you're willing to risk losing the game on the spot there's really only one solution - save scumming.
Other than that I definitely recommend Frostpunk as long as you're NOT looking for a calm and relaxing game.

Recreate the Industrial era in a world ending scenario, perks include:
-Child Labour laws
-Unions
-Live in Alaska
-Religious rule or Dictatorship
-Quick removal should your Captaincy be...no longer wanted
-Soup (just dont look at it for too long)
Well, thats all the time we have, lets get back to work.

The rage I felt when my rioting countrymen blamed me PERSONALLY for the weather was real.
The ungratefulness!! Listen, I'm SORRY you had to work a double ONCE in 30 days but literally everyone was going to DIE if you didn't!
Terrible game. I've played 22 hours on record in 2 days and I WILL save these stupid people.

Imagine complaining about the lack of prosthetic fingers available on the market after surviving a mass-extinction event where you are only one of a few thousand living organisms left on a now-frozen Earth.
Devs completely understand mankind. 11/10.

This game does deliver on that "survival" feeling, even as a strategy game. I felt like I was living in a very bleak world, like that book, The Road, so the setting here was crafted marvelously. The little choices you can make as far as laws and what direction to "police" your town make the replays all feel different as well. It's exciting to see how much you can get done before a disaster strikes. For additional fun: play with your thermostat off in winter!