The Frostpunk 2 limited-access beta is well underway and features a new sandbox mode that players who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition can try out early through Apr. 22, 2024.
The development team behind the highly anticipated game shared their excitement to offer players a chance to go back to the unforgiving Frostlands and experience their ambitious sequel.
The game forces players to figure out how to survive while facing the new deadly threat of human nature and its insatiable thirst for power.
Frostpunk 2 Beta Features Sandbox Mode Preview
(Photo : 11 Bit Studios / Screenshot taken from official website)
The early-access beta of the game includes a part of the sandbox mode known as the Utopia Builder Preview. While the original Frostpunk title launched with no sandbox mode, it immediately became one of the top requests of the community.
This prompted the developer, 11 Bit Studios, to introduce the Endless Mode, which allowed players to endlessly expand their societies. This resulted in players spending more than 500 hours or more in the game, marking its success, according to Xbox News.
With Frostpunk 2, the developers believed from the onset that a variation of the original sandbox mode would be essential for them to add. The sequel also represents a significant step forward for the franchise as each aspect of the game needed expansion.
They also noted that for the sandbox experience, they tried to mix it with a richer narrative and other unique aspects that were specific to Frostpunk 2.
The game is set 30 years after the Great Storm, which concluded the storyline of the first game in the series, and humanity has partially tamed the devastating weather.
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This meant that making a blizzard in a sequel that is even bigger than the first would not feel satisfying, creative, or exciting for players. It would be impossible to tell the story of social change of ambitions without changing the scale of the game.
The Deluxe Edition of Frostpunk 2 also includes three of the game's post-launch DLC, a three-day headstart, an exclusive in-game item, and digital versions of the game's artbook, soundtrack, and "Warm Flesh" novella, said MMORPG.
Frostpunk 2 Beta
The developer also released a new gameplay deep dive video in parallel with the beta test going live. The footage showed game co-directors Jakub Stokalski and Lukasx Juszcyk talking about key differences between the two games in the franchise.
One of these is that players can now build entire districts at a time instead of only putting down single buildings at a time. Second is that Frostpunk 2 will have a deeper focus on societal elements. As players continue to develop their cities, the members of their community may radicalize and form various factions.
Frostpunk 2 is set to release in full on Jul. 25, 2024, and the early-access beta will give players a one-week experience of the highly anticipated sequel. The original game launched in 2018 and brought players into a uniquely post-blizzard world.
It was inhospitable except for the zone surrounding a massive and unwieldy furnace. It allowed players to strategize how and when to grow their city, scavenge for resources, and help their community survive the devastating world, according to Windows Central.
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