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?

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 like to play this game in the winter and open up my window to let the cold in so that i can feel 10% of the discomfort that these people feel everyday. The game is great, it’s a hard, stressful and frustrating. "THE CITY MUST SURVIVE" i tell myself while making the most morally abhorrent decisions. 11/10 will make the children work 24hrs shifts in coal mines again.

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.

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.