I. Introduction, a frozen world that reflects ours
Frostpunk is a steampunk city-builder that plunges the player into an icy universe where resources are dramatically limited, imposing ruthless management of priorities, every sector is vital but it's impossible to build everything, and this constraint turns urban planning into a constant moral dilemma requiring sacrifices
II. Management under pressure and authoritarian drift
The new ice age sweeping the 19th century pushes the empire to build generators, essential machines whose survival depends on coal, the temperature keeps dropping, storms hit, and the player must vote on harsh laws: child labor, endless workdays, triage of the sick
The law system works as a long decline of freedoms, offering either strength and repression, or religion and comfort, decisions progressively become radical: prisons, propaganda, surveillance or organized cults
The game turns these levers into political decisions full of meaning, placing the player in the shoes of leaders, tempted to sacrifice liberties in the name of the common good, questioning the line between efficiency and ethics
III. Final judgment and moral warning
At the end of the campaign, Frostpunk lists your decisions and asks “did we go too far?”, alternative endings reward either integrity or pure efficiency, reminding us that surviving is not necessarily a moral victory
IV. Conclusion, a city-builder that questions our choices
Frostpunk breaks away from the usual logic of growth and confronts the player with the human cost of every decision, the sacrifices it implies, and the persistent temptation of authoritarianism when it seems to save the most lives, one question remains: is survival worth all sacrifices?
