11 bit studios have been on fire over the past few months, with their recent teaser trailer for Frostpunk 2 and announcing they’re moving all future projects to Unreal Engine. As if that wasn’t enough, the developers recently released the Frostpunk: Complete Collection, a content-packed game port to consoles. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this recent release on my Xbox Series X, and I’m thrilled to report it is absolutely worth your time!

Having initially released on PC in 2018, the game later made its way to consoles in 2019. Since that time, only the base game has been available to play on consoles. The recent release of the Complete Collection finally ports all three expansions to console; The Last Autumn, On the Edge, and The Rifts.

Story

Frostpunk is a city-building steampunk survival game, set in the late 1800s in an alternate universe London. A series of cataclysmic events have occurred, causing a massive global freeze that presumably threatens the survival of the entire planet. Each scenario and expansion brings you to differing moments during (or before) this winter apocalypse, all requiring you to build your city carefully and make difficult decisions for your people’s survival.

You must enact laws, research technologies, harvest scarce resources, and build your city around a massive generator that will keep your inhabitants alive. One thing is certain, many of your people will freeze to death and the key to their survival is in your hands.

Gameplay

Using your console controller, you’ll navigate the game’s map and your city-view with ease. Most of your focus will take place within your city and various menus of assigning tasks, conducting research, and checking the status of worker groups and projects. Occasionally you will switch away from your city-view and send expeditions (or rescue operations) to other outposts, seeking to return with refugees and resources. These expeditions take time, so in between travel you’ll zoom back into your city and resume overseeing, managing, and monitoring your settlement.

An integral part of the game’s experience is making decisions that will have game-altering and far-reaching consequences. Essentially, scenarios will pop up and you’ll have to decide what you are going to do to address the issue(s) at hand. For instance, you may see starving parents stealing food (for their children) from the city’s stockpiles, then decide whether to punish them and to what degree you wish to make an example of their actions. You may also have to deal with hostilities between internal factions or decide between taking in desperate refugees or sending them away to their deaths.

None of the game’s decisions have an easy answer and each will directly impact your survival odds. For instance, a pragmatic decision to stop caring for the ill to conserve resources may lead to a revolt of their family members. Throwing people in jail is certainly an option, but then you have to pull others away from other important tasks in order to guard the prisoners. Every choice has a consequence, and the game successfully makes certain you feel those consequences.

Audio/Visuals

If you hadn’t told me this game was originally a PC game, I never would have guessed. This console version ran beautifully on my Xbox Series X, with stunning visuals that ran entirely without hiccups. Console owners should rejoice, they can finally experience the entire game, DLC and all, and not feel like they’re getting a second-rate version. The game looks and runs smoothly and is absolutely gorgeous, displaying a perfected PC game port.

Adding to the stunning visuals, you can enjoy a wonderful soundtrack and amazing gameplay audio. The howling of the winter’s wind, paired with somber instrumental music and the cries of freezing and starving people, really is an experience in and of itself. The game does a fantastic job of making you feel a part of its frozen apocalyptic world. At no point in my playthrough did I feel like the developers cut any corner or spared any detail. That is a testament to both the original PC version as well as this latest console port.

Replayability

To be quite honest, the game is downright emotional and depressing and every element of music, sound, and visuals make it feel raw and real. I’ve put many hours into this game and find that after a while I need to take a break, back to reality, because it grips you so well. It makes you want to come back over and over because you feel so attached to what is happening.

The fantastic setting, the enjoyable gameplay, the incredible sounds, and the beautiful views make for a game you don’t want to end. Thankfully, you can sink dozens of hours into your initial playthrough of the base game and its three expansions. Since there are virtually countless outcomes and possibilities, impacted by each individual decision you make along the way, you will want to return and try different approaches. Maybe you’ll be more compassionate the second time around, or lead with an iron fist and no mercy? Perhaps you want to focus more resources on a different technology path or adopt different rules and laws for your people. Between the randomness of events and the numerous choices you’ll have to make along the way, you can replay this game repeatedly and never have the same experience twice.

Verdict

The Frostpunk: Complete Collection is a fantastic port, never showing any signs of having first been designed for PC. Everything from the controls to the smoothness in which it plays is done incredibly well. Having all the game’s DLC at your fingertips is an incredible package of virtually endless fun.

The Frostpunk game, and all of its additional content, is a stunning simulation of city management under dire and downright excruciating circumstances. The game offers an incredible experience of immersion, through its music, sounds, and visuals. The story and setting of each of the game’s scenarios are worth playing entirely, each offering a differing moment in time between the catastrophic events and fallout of the global freeze. Whether you are a seasoned player in this genre or a first-timer, this game is absolutely worth your time and attention.

You can now play the Frostpunk Complete Collection on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can enjoy the base game as part of their subscription, adding on individual expansions or the entire season pass at a discount.