Mac/Linux (soon), PC (out now) •
When the original Frozen Synapse appeared on the iPad it instantly became one of those “wow” games that you would show off to people who still didn’t grasp what a great game platform the iPad could be. Owen fell in love with its Tron-like graphics and tactical, WEGO turn-based strategy so hard that he finally admitted to sitting on a throne of lies. In other words, it was pretty great. That was 2013, however, and Frozen Synapse has long been relegated to the cloud rather than residing on my tablet. It’s going to stay that way for the foreseeable future, but a new Frozen Synapse is going to be taking up space on my laptop’s hard drive and that’s nearly as good. If you haven’t guessed yet (or not read the headline), Mode 7 has finally released Frozen Synapse 2 for PC.
Frozen Synapse 2 continues the WEGO tradition of the first game, putting you in charge of a security squad tasked with keeping order in a procedurally generated city. The city is where FS2 differentiates itself from its forebear, adding a strategic layer onto the tactical gameplay we know and love. The city is an open world, full of different factions that you can either ally with or compete against in a struggle to control the metropolis. You can undergo missions for different groups, earning cash and new units and more, making the game feel more like a simulation than an exercise in tactical goodness.
The city is a living system, with many AI-controlled factions vying for control and conducting their own nefarious business.
Choose to collaborate or betray, rob banks, assassinate political leaders or establish a delicate diplomatic accord: it’s up to you.
Investigate the mysterious force which is making incursions into the city while trying to establish your own power base in this complex and treacherous futuristic world. Follow the extensive story or abandon it to forge your own path: it’s up to you.
You’ll meet factions like the financial manipulators Diamond Brothers or the hacker collective GUEST as you navigate the political landscape.
This strategic city-mode is only available in solo play, but the game still has a gooey multiplayer center that was the heart and soul of the first game as well. Multiplayer is similar to the original with some added methods of deception as well as One-Turn mode which sounds like you set up a complete plan from start to finish and then see how you compare against players from all around the world.
Frozen Synapse 2 is currently available for PC on Steam and GoG, but a Linux and Mac version should be coming out shortly. As for ever seeing FS2 join FS1 on our iPads, well, that’s still a mystery.
I was really excited to try the first game but was completely baffled by the iOS controls. WEGO is a cool way to play games and may have to give this a chance of it ever comes to iOS.
Is this game as mind-numbingly hard as the first one? I enjoyed FS1 but couldn’t get very far.
This is a must-buy for me.
This is the day I wish I had a Windows Based PC. Instead, I’ll be forced to wait and be patient. FS1 was amazing.