frozenheim on pc
The real-time strategy genre has undoubtedly seen more lows than highs lately, with the once-dominant genre on PC now more quirky, relegated to a select group of players who continue to survive it. Is. As one of those dwindling numbers, Frozenheim’s premise of Paranoid Interactive and Hyperstrange was intriguing. Here was a Norse city-builder that boasted real-time strategy elements, where combat and settlement management came together to test your skills as both a ruler and a warrior; What not to like? Unfortunately, like the cold winters faced by your virtual clan, Frozenheim isn’t exactly a casual game.
The game can be broken down into a largely single-player part and a more competitive multiplayer part. Although 21 story missions may seem like a lot of material for a campaign, the concise nature of these missions and the actual gameplay, positioned more as educational ROMs, leave much to be desired.
Repeat this over the course of the campaign, and it can be hard to see how Frozenheim can redeem itself by virtue of its status as a title. There’s an obvious lack of storytelling or world-building, but outside of the lackluster fighting and disappointing campaign, Frozenheim is certainly a lot better on the city-building side of things.
Taking control of four clans as part of its own saga, the game will start out relatively simple, with the food and building materials being taken care of. More complex mechanics such as weather effects and enemy attackers are then added for more layers for players to think about. Fewer resources are required before buildings can be constructed, and more workers allow for more efficient operation.
Will you put everything into creating an economic superpower, or will the comfort of your people be a priority as upgrades become a concern? Those are just questions that a leader will have to face. As things become more complicated with more resources, decision-making becomes more important, given that a long, harsh winter will require more than just a hot fire to get people going. Expansion can be good, but more expansion means certain death if players aren’t ready.
How an economy is balanced is always important, especially for a city-builder, but when it comes to narrative or world-building, there are no obvious stakes involved, and war usually takes place among soldiers. There is a small group of objects that collide with each other. War of Crash, it’s hardly epic.
Even with neutral camps and points of interest scattered around each map, this isn’t a game that requires huge armies or flanking maneuvers that make for spectacular viewing. Instead, it is often a numbers game when it comes to war, so ensuring that a strong economy exists is usually a harbinger of victory. It doesn’t help that the pathfinding of units is often annoying, making micromanagement yet another issue to add to your plate in the form of canyons, mountains, lakes, and more.
Naturally, once you get the hang of most things in Frozenhem, the recommendation is to exit the campaign and start diving into custom scenarios or multiplayer matches online. Raising a thriving Viking village makes for excellent self-made fun, and you can even turn off the battle entirely for the former, while the latter brings a lot more stress than the campaign takes.
In terms of visuals, the game looks good with sharp textures in which the villagers go about their business with a variety of animations. The switch between colder and warmer months also adds to the visual flair, especially in the form of snow formation, which makes up for the fact that you won’t see much environmental diversity in the various maps found in Frozenheim. A map editor would have alleviated this issue somewhat, but it is not part of the package.
As the sounds and music of the Viking people play in the background, it becomes clear that Frozenheim would have benefited more from simply being a city builder and making full use of its source material and inspirations. Instead of offering an underpowered campaign mode and real-time combat, allowing players to experience life as Norse as a whole would have come a long way; Alas, that didn’t have to happen, and it might be best to leave the game out in the cold if real-time strategy is what you’re looking for.
Reviewer: Jake Su | Copy provided by publisher.
professionals
- City building potential.
- Weather effects are nice turning points.
Shortcoming
- Weak campaign and story.
- Combat is subpar with poor pathfinding.
- The environments are not diverse enough.
- No map editor.
release date
16 June 2022
developer
Paranoid Interactive
Publisher
hyperstrange
peace
pc
