Frostpunk

I've played a lot of city builders. I've managed resources, optimized production chains, and built sprawling metropolises. But Frostpunk isn't just a city builder - it's a MORAL RECKONING disguised as a survival game.
The premise is deceptively simple: the world has frozen over, and you're leading the last city on Earth around a massive coal-powered generator. Keep people warm. Keep them fed. Keep them alive. But here's where Frostpunk transcends the genre - it forces you to answer an impossible question: How far will you go to save your people?
Let me paint you a picture of what this actually feels like:
It's 3 AM. My city is dying. Half my population is sick, the other half is starving. The coal mines are almost empty, and the generator is sputtering. I have exactly ONE decision left to make, and both options are absolutely bad. I'm sweating despite the fact that my screen is showing -150°C. I make the choice. Children go to work in the coal mines.
I feel PHYSICALLY ILL. The city survives another day :)
Every single decision feels like you're carving pieces out of your own humanity just to keep that beautiful, terrible generator running one more day. Will you establish a surveillance state to maintain order? Will you let the sick die to save resources? The game doesn't judge you - it just watches, coldly, as you make these choices and live with the consequences.
The atmosphere is unmatched. The Victorian steampunk aesthetic mixed with apocalyptic desperation is perfect. The visual design of watching your city huddle around that glowing generator while the temperature drops is both beautiful and terrifying. And the soundtrack? Good LORD, the soundtrack will haunt your dreams. It is devastating, swelling at exactly the moment you realize you've become the monster to save the man.
I've stared at my screen and laughed at the desperation of the situation. I've felt genuine pride when we survived against impossible odds. But even after finishing multiple scenarios, I still think about the choices I made.
Frostpunk isn't about winning. It's about surviving and discovering what kind of leader you become when hope itself starts to freeze. This game will challenge you, and make you question your own morality. And you'll love every painful second of it.

Bought this on a whim as it was massively discounted! Started playing at 1am, thinking I'll just check out what this game is about quick before bed... It's 7am and oh my lord! That was INTENSE!
I can't believe I survived it all, the drama of this game is surreal! Was totally locked it by the story and the mission! Would buy again, even if it wasn't discounted, would be worth every penny! Will definitely be sinking more hours in. Now... time for bed... Phew.

The Circle of Life
- Children mine coal.
- Coal keeps the generator running.
- Generator keeps children warm.
- Children stay warm enough to keep mining coal.
10/10 Would create an infinite energy source again.

I play games to relax and explore. Every moment of Frostpunk is panic, fear, and desperation.
This is one of those games that will stick to your memory for years.
A great escape from the real world issues, solving a fake worlds issues.
I allowed in waves and waves of refugees in order to protect them from an incoming winter storm. We quickly ran out of food and coal to heat all of the homes. Many starved, many froze.
I was banished for my compassion.
I won't make the same mistake twice.

The only city builder that's really sucked me in, it's certainly punishing and took me a few attempts to complete the first campaign but once I got steady it was such an experience. Within the first campaign, the pacing of the weather was just right to always keep me on edge, and make me feel relieved when it let up, internal conflicts were always almost disastrous and the finale sequence was so immersive. And in the end, even though I won, I still felt like a monster.
I was excited for more after the first win, and while the extra campaigns are fine and I enjoyed them a lot, I feel like it peaked with the first.

Masterpiece. Main story and gameplay keeps you in suspense all the time. Music should be mentioned separately - brilliant work of art.

I established an automated utopia where people are fed well and treated with respect. In another playthrough I created a theocratic hellscape where people are persecuted for not listening to me. This game is wonderful and its DLC intense. I would recommend it to anyone that is interested an an immersive story where you fulfill the role of leader. Moreover, the soundtrack by Piotr Musuat is one of the best videogame soundtracks in history.