If you’ve playedFrostpunk, you’llknow how bleak the presentation of its world is. Humanity is almost wiped out, the remaining survivors regularly die, and children are sent to work in the mines.Frostpunk 2, set to release in July, is “a lot darker,” co-game director Łukasz Juszczyk tells us.
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Adopting an even darker tone is one of the many deviations Frostpunk 2 has compared to the original. I had the opportunity to sit down with Juszczyk to discuss everything about the new game and the franchise’s future.
Darker And Deeper Than Before
A concern of the team has been that the issues in the original game were detached from those that humans face in our real day-to-day life, something which the team has rectified in the sequel, “We make you think about the really shitty stuff happening in real life,” Juszczyk tells me.
“In Frostpunk, you send kids to the mines, and yeah, that’s fucked up, and it happens, but for many of us, it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind.” Juszczyk is all too aware of society’s issues and the fact that as harrowing as they are, the overwhelming majority often overlooks them.
“We make you think about the really shitty stuff happening in real life,”
“Now, we are pulling the strings that will be closer to home,” Juszczyk explains. “Hopefully, an issue that is closer to home will hit you. That’s our creative ambition. From that perspective, it’s darker.”
He’s under no illusion that11bit, based in Warsaw, is building a reputation for making a certain kind of game. “Our most significant games are dark.” But that’s for good reason. “It’s not about us wanting to make depressing games for the sake of making depressing games. We want to make you think about something, and to do that, you have to pick a dark thing.”
Despite his seemingly dour nature, Juszczyk considers himself a realist, “When you talk about human nature, it’s often not about “oh look, that fireman saved that kitty from a tree”, you’re commenting on it in a way different situation to that.”
“Creatively, I’d love to make a game about love, cheerfulness, rainbows, and dolphins that will move you.”
At some point in his career, though, Juszcyk would love to branch out: “Creatively, I’d love to make a game about love, cheerfulness, rainbows, and dolphins that will move you, but it will be difficult. We want to make meaningful games.”
I learned that Frostpunk 2 isn’t only darker than the first game; it’s much, much deeper. When I asked him how much more there was to do in the sequel, he said, “Not to brag, but there’s a lot.”
Juszczyk’s comments were immediately proven true. During my hands-on time with the game, which ran for a couple of hours, I didn’t complete the first chapter. He told me this first chapter is “even longer than some of the scenarios in the original game.” There are six chapters in total. He was eager to clarify that “it doesn’t mean the game will be 6x longer”, just that there is a “really, really deep campaign mode, rather than multiple individual scenarios.”
“…setting up laws and ideas is like creating a deck of cards, there are lots of combinations and possibilities.”
Unlike the original, Frostpunk 2 will allow players to replay individual chapters and redo some of their previous choices, something which Juszczyk says will have “consequences”. Humankind’s morale is fragile. If you make a decision that appeases one faction and then change your mind, things can all come crumbling down. Careful thought is required when making every decision as “…setting up laws and ideas is like creating a deck of cards, there are lots of combinations and possibilities.”
The final thing Juszczyk was keen to share with me on the depth of the upcoming game was the changes to the idea tree. He told me that with a couple of hours of playtime, I’d likely have encountered “less than 25%” of what was on offer.
The Community And The Future
Of all the new features in Frostpunk 2 that Juszczyk liked the most, it wasn’t the idea tree or the length of the game, and although the factions and councils come close, it’s the Twitch integration. “It will be like a sociological experiment,” he told us. “I want to see what the community creates. It’s really interesting. There’s a lot of potential here, so fingers crossed it will work.”
The other feature that Juszczyk loves isn’t quite as deep as the first and certainly won’t be the subject of any philosophical debates—“I really like the visual feature of climbing on the walls.”
Twitch integration brings the community to the heart of Frostpunk 2, something Juszczyk is keen on. “We humbly listen to our fanbase all of the time; it’s not just empty talk from the community team,” he told me. “The beta wasn’t just a promotional kick, we got so much data and a shit tonne of comments.” These comments helped implement and shape the final product that’s due for release soon, “Of course, everyone has their own ideas, but we pulled out a lot of stuff which was annoying players and made sure not to touch other things they enjoy.” He then reiterates, “We listen to the fanbase all the time.”
Although all focus is on the new game, but based onthe success of the original, I’d have been remiss if I hadn’t asked Juszczyk what the future held for the Frostpunk franchise — “We’ve created the Frostpunk lore, we’ve created a vivid society, so there is a base, it’s really interesting, and there’s plenty of space to grow. The canvas is open.”
Juszczyk made it clear that it wasn’t his call to make regarding any future titles in the series; however, when I questioned him about other locations, he added, “We’re in New London, so why not have New New York?”
Frostpunk 2 Launches August 24, 2025.
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