I might be slightly biased when i say this, but this game is incredible. (spoiler warning further down, rest is safe to read. :D )

You remember the first game? Pretty much all the faults of that game went out the window here (Except optimisation on release, but that'll get fixed eventually)

Due to how the storyline mechanics work, there are many, many endings to the story scenario, both good and bad, so you get plenty of replayability value (both with self-imposed rules, difficulty, and political choices)

Great stuff from the first game:
-Tough moral choices (also improved upon) It's quite scary if you get self conscious enough to see that you're going mad with power of your own volition..... Like trying to push a radical law even though it isn't necessary.... To see yourself become a monster like all those 'evil politicians in the news'....Yeah, that's good game design, thank you 11bit; I have anxiety about politics now.

-Rewarding the player for strategizing (much more recognizable in this game's building mechanics)

-Good skill floor for new players with plenty of room for error

-Godlike music (Listen to the main theme please, it even has the violin solo from the first game's climax music track, it's amazing)

-Exploring the frostland (much more complex here, but the game doesn't tell you to RUSH LOGISTICS DISTRICTS ASAP... a free tip from me :P )

-British humor in a citizen's speech is so good to see.

-Plenty, plenty more amazing stuff that I don't really have the energy rn to write. I havent eaten lunch yet. :>

There are cameos of places from the first game's DLC's! Yayyyy!



Now, for some of my gripes, but more like suggestions for balance changes or ranting about small issues that could use some polish (pun intended)

-Optimization..... My Pc was almost burning for the 7,5 hours I played this on medium-high settings. (A little over exaggerating here, it's not as bad as with cyberpunk, but y'know...) Working on optimizing the game wouldn't hurt.... even though i think it's already pretty well optimized on lower settings, and ppl playing on ultra are coping their 2006 laptop can't run it smoothly. :P

-Tutorials ain't exactly accurate, or more accurately: they're incomplete. Like with heat surplus. How does it benefit the city??? Also, on a more personal note, please tell people to not sleep on Logistics districts or something, it's a huge lifeline that can provide very efficient supplies with minimal workforce commitment. It'd do this game much good if it became common sense in the community..... and save a game journalist a couple braincells :P

-UI is a little bit clunky at times, and you end up clicking research instead of a hub building you want, or deadlines being very imprecise (it shows how many full weeks you get to do something, but not days, so it might get confusing)

(Scary wall of text ahead D: ) (A tip included)

-Balance change proposal: The Fervour and faction relationship is... very weird. It has no cap, so if you keep antagonizing one of the radical factions for a long time, it is almost impossible to know how many points of fervour a faction has accumulated (and the biggest consequences are at fervor 3...... i got to something like +10 i think)

-(Tip for beginners, use at your own risk) You can easily cheese the political system by repeatedly denouncing and antagonizing one of the radical factions to reduce their size and support, thus weakening them..... Yes, you can turn a political party into a harmless chiuaua this way; and make a 'powerful fanatical guard dog that'll follow you through hell and back' out of the other one. If you manage your city well, you can try out one of the laws under 'Rule' category that requires like 2/3 or 3/4 majority to pass... and having a unflinchingly loyal faction helps a bit. And if you succeed... the council is a cakewalk from then on (not really, you still gotta keep the normies happy enough, so they'll let you get away with everything).

TLDR: Suppressing a faction from the beginning of the game makes it much easier to play, but limits your choices later on. Recommended if you start your first game of frostpunk on officer difficulty.


-Suggested fix: Change the fervor mechanic into something similar to the favorability mechanic, or give larger punishment for maxing out the fervor. Add caps to the favorability and fervor mechanics, so that it doesn't go past the max... give it a bigger bad event, or some other penalty except tension (Fightclub or two can fix that easily.) (on the other hand, favorability is fine as it is, because you can keep raising funds from your loyal fanatics..... yeah keep it cuz heatstamps are very difficult to get in a pinch. :> )


SPOILER AREA AHEAD:



-SPOILER (Stalwarts): it's kinda sad that you don't get to keep using the second colony after the civil war hits if you go with dismantling it for cores and build the last upgrade too early. (ngl, if you can afford that thing, something went very right, and there isn't much left ahead.)
-Also, some of the cores are very hard to access due to elevation or ravines, and sometimes it's simply too late to realize that you can't access that deposit because of elevation shenanigans, even though the district you just built is directly bordering those sweet steam cores.

I might add more stuff as I play through the other endings.

(SPOILERS OVER)

Not much else, this is fun as all hell, politics included!

If you read this entire damn thing, I salute you, and let it be known that Polish people are built different, Polacy górą!