Frostpunk 2 rating is 20% worse than the original, but the new release surges ahead in Steam concurrent players

Frostpunk 2 pleased many players, but it didn't come without substantial problems that affected the game's rating.

Frostpunk 2 recently saw its full release. Over the weekend, the peak concurrent player count on Steam for the new title from 11 bit studios reached 35,533, surpassing the first game's record of 29,361.

However, when it comes to reviews, Frostpunk 2 is facing significant issues — there is a 20% gap in favor of the original. The sequel holds “Mostly Positive” reviews with a 72% rating, which is close to the “Mixed” category.

Here are some comments from dissatisfied players:

• “A soulless game about numbers. Nothing in common with the first game except for the lore and setting tie-ins. All of this "globalization" and "scaling up" has led to the game simply not being interesting to play. You get a feeling that the gameplay lacks the depth expected of Frostpunk, feeling more like a generic strategy game loosely based on it instead. It’s a completely different game. You might still play it for the story of this game world, but... it's tough, because throughout the entire game you'll be haunted by the thought: "this isn't Frostpunk!"...”.
• “Frostpunk 2 is an absolute disgrace. Primitive gameplay, terrible ******* balance, an incredibly bad and short story campaign, and abysmal performance...”.
• “The atmosphere of the first game is gone. It feels like I'm playing something like Civilization mixed with Cities: Skylines. But definitely not Frostpunk. Very disappointing. Refunded”.
• “The campaign was completed in 10 hours! Nothing is left of Frostpunk's wonderful atmosphere, beautiful music, the anticipation of catastrophe, and the dread of storms. Moving from local city management to a macro scale with district building and new outposts is something I can still grasp (albeit with difficulty). But why turn a survival game into a very poor "Game of Thrones" simulator with endless politics?...”.

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Cover art author: 11 bit studios. Image source: steamcommunity.com