Frost

About

Frost is a single player survival turn-based strategy game with a drama theme. It was developed by Jérôme Bodin and was released on July 5, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Frost" is a single-player, drama-filled turn-based strategy game with beautiful mechanics and phenomenal visuals. As you navigate through a harsh, lethal storm with a group of survivors, you must gather resources and make strategic decisions to reach the rumored refuge. Throughout your journey, you can acquire 'Idea Cards' with powerful effects to aid in your survival. The question remains: will you be able to find the refuge and escape the Frost?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 81 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Frost is an incredibly engaging and atmospheric deck-building game that combines resource management with survival elements, providing a unique and challenging experience.
The game features a variety of thematic cards and scenarios that enhance replayability, allowing players to experiment with different strategies and character abilities.
The art style and sound design effectively create a sense of urgency and immersion, making each playthrough feel tense and rewarding.

The game suffers from significant RNG elements that can lead to frustrating experiences, where players may feel they lose due to bad luck rather than poor strategy.
Many players find the difficulty curve steep, especially in the later scenarios, which can lead to a sense of helplessness and repeated failures.
The user interface can be clunky and lacks clarity, making it difficult for new players to understand mechanics and track resources effectively.

gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its simple mechanics and resource management, making it accessible yet offering depth through unique scenarios and deck-building elements. While the core mechanics are enjoyable and intuitive, some players find the heavy reliance on randomness and certain frustrating mechanics detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the game's artistic presentation and the variety it brings to casual play, though its longevity may be in question once all content is unlocked.
- “Although it isn't multiplayer and plays very differently than Dominion, the core mechanic is there and it's lovely.”
- “The gameplay is simple enough: you have to gather resources to pass by region cards.”
- “The mechanics are quite unique and lead to interesting decisions.”
- “All of this just hides the fact that core gameplay isn't very deep.”
- “The problem with Frost is that it's heavily, heavily randomized around its most basic mechanic.”
- “On top of that, the limited story of the game unfolds through those scenarios--specific challenges with unique deck mechanics and abilities designed to create a slightly different game feel--and unfortunately that game feel consists of constantly hammering on the restart button.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The game's graphics feature a unique and minimalist art style that evokes an immersive atmosphere reminiscent of the ice age, complemented by a moody soundtrack. While some players appreciate the rough charm and originality of the visuals, others find the simplistic design and lack of resolution options limiting. Overall, the aesthetic is praised for its depth and ability to enhance gameplay, despite not catering to those who prefer high-production values.
- “The visuals and sounds put you back in the ice age.”
- “Its visuals, low-key world-building, atmospheric winter soundtrack, and general design aesthetic are fantastic.”
- “The atmosphere and the art style are quite original.”
- “Let’s just get the production value/graphics/sound out of the way; if you’re someone who likes super-slick graphic design and sound, you’re going to have a hard time getting into it.”
- “There's no resolution or graphics options - full screen as it is or nothing at all and the only thing you can change is the sound which I set to off, since I found the weird groans and clanks a little annoying.”
- “It has a very simplistic art style, UI, and a very minimal soundtrack made up of odd winter noises, but a surprising amount of depth to gameplay and strategy.”
atmosphere
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
23%
18%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its simplicity and effectiveness, creating a sense of desperation and panic that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the meditative quality of the visuals and the atmospheric winter soundtrack, which contribute to a relaxing yet immersive environment. However, some critiques mention that basic special effects and inconsistent sound quality can occasionally detract from the overall immersion.
- “Its visuals, low-key world-building, atmospheric winter soundtrack, and general design aesthetic are fantastic.”
- “The entire atmosphere of the game is oddly relaxing, like a quiet day in the woods (or, given the theme, a snowy woods).”
- “The atmosphere in this game gives the feeling of desperation and panic as things start to go worse and worse.”
- “On a negative note, some of the special effects are very basic, to the extent that they distract the player and break the immersion of the atmosphere.”
- “Some of the visual effects are too basic and detract from the atmosphere.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The music in the game is described as moody and atmospheric, effectively enhancing immersion with its eerie and minimalist qualities that complement the art style. However, some players find it repetitive and note that transitions between tracks can be abrupt, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack contributes to a tense and immersive environment, aligning well with the game's winter theme.
- “The scratchy art style looks terrific, and the music is wonderfully moody.”
- “Its visuals, low-key world-building, atmospheric winter soundtrack, and general design aesthetic are fantastic.”
- “The game does a fine job of incentivizing extended play by unlocking new cards and unique scenarios with every run you complete, and the combination of the minimalist interface and eerie soundtrack do wonders for immersing players in the wintry theme.”
- “Music can end rather abruptly without a smooth transition from one piece to another.”
- “The combination of the minimalist interface and eerie soundtrack does wonders for immersing players in the wintry theme.”
- “It has a very simplistic art style, UI, and a very minimal soundtrack made up of odd winter noises.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game's story is appreciated for its unique and engaging elements, particularly through the card mechanics that enhance the survival theme. While some players enjoy the integration of storytelling into gameplay, others feel the narrative is limited and lacks a cohesive campaign, leading to a sense of repetitiveness. Overall, the intriguing themes and character objectives provide a foundation for replayability, but many players desire a more developed storyline and progression system.
- “I know it's just cards, but the simple pervasive theme and mood just works on me and raises the game above a math problem or puzzle and makes it feel like a survival story.”
- “They're all unique and enjoyable, and many even find clever ways to integrate storytelling into the card mechanics.”
- “The hunter and the meditator, for example, have simple objectives, but some like the shadow and the skeptic have quite involved missions with fresh patterns of play.”
- “On top of that, the limited story of the game unfolds through those scenarios--specific challenges with unique deck mechanics and abilities designed to create a slightly different game feel--and unfortunately that game feel consists of constantly hammering on the restart button.”
- “Story threads are limited to whatever awkwardly translated text you see during splash screens, which is a shame, but the overall theme of the 'frost' meaning different things to different people is an intriguing one nonetheless.”
- “There's no campaign to give you a sense of progression or story, but there are levels of difficulty that are unlocked, as well as specific challenge scenarios that unlock as you play.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be tedious, particularly for players seeking more engaging content beyond the initial easy mode. While some appreciate the unique scavenging mechanic that replaces traditional resource gathering, others find the overall experience lacking and overly reliant on repetitive tasks, especially for those not fond of strategy or survival genres.
- “Only offers easy mode to begin with; if you are experienced with such games, then it takes boring grinding before you can unlock anything more interesting.”
- “I don't like strategy/survival games generally because I find them tedious and frustratingly complex.”
- “The open-play with limited cards makes it feel a little lacking in content to me, unless you're a fan of farming achievements, in which case there'd be a goal in mind.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game is praised for its high replayability, attributed to its engaging deck-building mechanics, varied play modes, and the ability to unlock new decks. Players appreciate the added depth from challenges and the evolving gameplay experience, which encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “Great deck building game with phenomenal atmosphere and great replayability.”
- “Highly replayable with some mild story elements in the form of challenges.”
- “Unlocking more decks and the various play modes provide a nice amount of replayability.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users frequently encountering bugs that affect gameplay.
- “The game is riddled with bugs that disrupt gameplay.”
- “I frequently encounter crashes that make it unplayable.”
- “There are constant glitches that ruin the overall experience.”