The city-building strategy genre has never managed to find a foothold in the console space, but Frostpunk is looking to change that with its provocative storytelling acumen and a custom control scheme which was rebuilt from the ground up to appeal to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users. Initially released for PC in April 2018, Frostpunk added some unique wrinkles to the tried-and-true genre staples, with its focus on the human cost of efficient leadership and the personal toll of hard choices which can mean the difference between survival or extinction.

Set in a snow-covered post-apocalypse, Frostpunk puts players in the shoes of a leader trying to lead their people to survival in the harshest environment. Unlike most city-building strategy games, Frostpunk puts incredible effort into making decisions about more than filling bars and causing numbers to rise. NPC’s aren’t just window dressing, but actual characters whose lives are changed by players’ choices. Managing morale is just as important as making sure everyone has a bed to sleep in and food in their bellies, but keeping everybody happy, healthy, and alive is easier said than done.

The strategy genre isn’t often lauded for its storytelling, but Frostpunk was nominated for a BAFTA Games Award alongside the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Return of the Obra Dinn, and God of War, which ultimately won the prize that year. Later this year, console players on Xbox One and PlayStation will get the chance to learn what all the fuss is about when Frostpunk makes the leap from PC to home console, complete with all previously released DLC.

During an 11 bit studios press event in New York City, Screen Rant got to sit down with project lead Jakub Stokalski, who told of the immense effort they put into this new version of Frostpunk and how it aims to deliver an experience identical to the PC iteration, with no corners cut (including the striking snow deformation effects which were the trademark visual feature of the PC version),  but featuring a brand new control scheme designed specifically for console gamepads.

The version we saw was still a work in progress, but it’s clear that Frostpunk for PS4 and Xbox One is shaping up to be a faithful reproduction of the original experience, but with the user interface completely rebuilt to accommodate console players. As Stokalski explained, it would have been relatively simple to just port the game and utilize a virtual cursor controlled by the right stick or the PS4 touchpad, but they ultimately decided on rebuilding the whole UI from scratch. It was more work, but it’s clearly evident that they made the right call. As Stokalski played through the demo, he noted how the camera snaps onto targeted objects, a bit like a “lock-on auto aim” mode, and he smirked as he reminisced about the massive amounts of iteration and testing it took – and continues to take – to get the snap just right; not too sensitive, but not too subtle, either.

The ultimate goal for Frostpunk is to create the perfect console strategy experience, with controls that feel so intuitive, it will seem like the game was designed for console all along. We’ll find out for sure how Frostpunk fares on consoles when it releases later this year on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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