It’s a riot.

It could have been anything.

But it’s not; it’s familiar.

We’re still building a Victorian-style city in the snow, and it still looks very cold out there.

Look more closely, though, and there are some surprisingly profound differences underneath.

Instead, you’ll spend your time preoccupied by a storm of a different kind.

A people-shaped storm, a societal storm.

And if you fail to manage that properly, it will end you.

Would you enact brutal dictatorial powers for what you perceived to be the greater good?

That was the whole premise of the game.

But this time, though, the politics are more detailed and life-like.

The big difference is in Frostpunk 2 you’re able to no longer pass laws on your own.

One believes technology is the answer, whereas the other doesn’t trust it at all.

Convincing one faction to side with you, then, often ends up aggravating the other.

In this way, one deal can easily fan out into several more.

All of this political manoeuvring takes place in a brand new building called the Council.

And it’s here where the real threat and difficulties of Frostpunk 2 come in.

That’s the major thematic difference in the game.

There are, though, other very notable changes too.

Another immediate one is the scope of Frostpunk 2.

And, cities are much quicker to build now.

It’s because in Frostpunk 2, you don’t place buildings individually but in bulk.

In Frostpunk 2, you begin with the ability to mass-excavate resources.

Despite this, the important individual touches are still there.

You won’t be spared the harsh realities because this, after all, is what Frostpunk is about.

There is a more lavish feel to it, though.

The resource tree alone - now the Idea Tree - has expanded massively.

It’s an exciting glimpse of the game, then, but it is still only a glimpse.

More importantly, I have no idea what the main aim of the game is.

I’m not sure what you’re trying to survive.

It’s a cautious reveal, then, but it’s a reassuring one too.

This is Frostpunk, back in abundance, deeper, broader and more nuanced than before.

Just to reiterate:we are currently giving away Frostpunk 1 game keysto yearly supporters of Eurogamer.