Frostpunk's final expansion On The Edge gets gameplay breakdown in new dev video
No generators! Settlement bartering! More!
11 Bit Studios' glorious post-apocalyptic city builder Frostpunk is poised to receive its third and final expansion, On The Edge, later this month, and its scenario-specific gameplay twists have now been detailed in a new developer video.
In contrast to Frostpunk's The Last Autumn expansion, which showed the world prior to the big freeze seen in the base game, On The Edge is set after the Great Storm that caps its main story.
Once the Great Storm has subsided, a multitude of new landmarks are unearthed across the world. One of these is a previously lost Army Warehouse, which serves as the focal point for this latest expansion. Rather than tasking players with the continued management of New London, On The Edge gives them control of this newly discovered outpost, asking them to establish a civilisation in some very different conditions - with many of Frostpunk's core mechanics turned on their heads to create a distinctive challenge.
For starters, there's no generator at the Army Warehouse, and while the passing of the Great Storm means temperatures aren't as low as in the base game, it's still cold. As such, players will need to find alternative ways to keep their people warm. Additionally, the new map isn't as spacious as those from previous scenarios, meaning your outpost can't really be resource independent - there's no game to hunt and the ground is too unstable to build heavy industry.
Instead, there's a degree of interdependence between your new outpost and New London. Not only does the city decide which laws will be enacted (here, players can't dictate the rules governing their society), the Army Warehouse must rely on New London for food shipments - which will only keep coming for as long as it's able to fulfil the city's resource requests.
Given that your new outpost's restrictive surroundings means resources are not always immediately at hand - wood can run out, for instance - you'll need to go a little further afield. And 11 Bit says it's out in the game's Frostlands map where the heart of the expansion lies.
Here, players will get to see old locations in a new light following the Great Storm, alongside entirely new locations. Crucially, some of the latter will be other settlements, housing fellow survivors, and it'll be possible to forge relationships with these distant pockets of civilisation, which could perhaps provide the resources you're unable to acquire back home.
You might opt to find common ground and help each other out, or you might use them to further your own agenda - but according to 11 Bit, your approach will ultimately determine the fate of your own settlement, those around you, and perhaps even New London itself.
On The Edge will be available to purchase on its own or as part of Frostpunk's three-expansion season pass when it comes to PC on 20th August. 11 Bit says it will share more information regarding expansion content for consoles at a later date.