Frozen Synapse 2

65%
Game Brain Score Based on 206 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Frozen Synapse 2 Game Cover
Frozen Synapse 2 has plenty to offer with its campaign, but again, this sequel is at its best when playing against other fallible humans.
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Frozen Synapse 2 is a tactical game set in a procedurally generated open world city, where you must defend against internal and external threats. Manage bases, deploy forces, and engage targets in simultaneous turn-based combat, while dealing with AI-controlled factions vying for control. Collaborate or betray, and participate in various activities such as bank robberies and assassinations.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

65%
Audience ScoreBased on 206 reviews
gameplay17 positive mentions
story7 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique multiplayer experience with simultaneous turn-based tactics that keeps players engaged and allows for strategic depth.
  • The addition of a city management layer enhances the single-player experience, providing a dynamic environment with various factions and missions.
  • The tactical combat has been improved with new units and mechanics, such as the focus diamond, which adds more strategic options during gameplay.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration for players.
  • The user interface is clunky and not very intuitive, making it difficult for new players to navigate and understand the game mechanics.
  • The single-player campaign lacks clear guidance and can feel overwhelming, with many players reporting confusion regarding objectives and mechanics.
  • story115 mentions

    The story in "Frozen Synapse 2" is often described as convoluted and lacking clarity, with many players finding it difficult to engage with the narrative due to its reliance on complex lore and poorly defined factions. While the game introduces a city mode that adds context to tactical battles, many reviewers feel that the procedural generation of missions leads to repetitive and unremarkable experiences, overshadowing the scripted story missions. Overall, while the game offers a living world and emergent storytelling through gameplay, the traditional narrative elements are seen as a weak point that could benefit from further development.

    • “The pure single player is a massive addition from the previous title, as we now have a living world for which the campaign is set in, opposed to a chain of linear story missions that the first title boasts.”
    • “Fs2 is no different on this front: the story is full of proper nouns that I don't understand and backstory I don't really care about, but the city aspect of it gives all the tactical battles context and, because it's a simulation, entertaining stories emerge from the scenarios that crop up.”
    • “The story/dialogue isn't the game's strongest suit, but the engaging gameplay and cool tactical puzzles you end up facing make it well worth it.”
    • “The storyline is convoluted and not necessary.”
    • “Outside of gameplay mechanics, the story is arguably the worst element of the game; it's more or less incoherent and I have no idea why any of the factions are doing anything or who they even are most of the time.”
    • “The game does a poor job of explaining what exactly is going on (are we in a virtual world? what are vatforms? who are all these factions?), not to mention that I ran into a game-breaking bug during a mission, where I was told I could place my units inside the perimeter (they spawned outside).”
  • gameplay91 mentions

    The gameplay of Frozen Synapse 2 is a mix of tactical combat and city management, praised for its engaging mechanics and strategic depth, particularly the simultaneous movement feature. However, many players find the city management aspect tedious and poorly explained, leading to a frustrating experience marred by bugs and a lackluster tutorial. Overall, while the core tactical gameplay remains solid and enjoyable, the additional mechanics and city gameplay require further refinement to enhance the overall experience.

    • “Overall, Frozen Synapse 2 is an incredibly fun experience which delivers a unique style of gameplay that is very successful at creating an engaging strategic experience.”
    • “The tactical gameplay is tight; the city game I found initially very difficult, but having gotten my head around it, I find it a very satisfying experience with consequences to your choices.”
    • “The new city mechanic adds so much more complexity to this game, but in a good way.”
    • “It's extremely tedious gameplay and needs to be tweaked for any living human to realistically play.”
    • “The whole city gameplay is poorly explained, highly obtuse, buggy and just not fun.”
    • “The tutorial is poor and the first mission was so unclear that I got lost within the first 45 minutes of gameplay.”
  • music43 mentions

    The music in the Frozen Synapse series, composed by nervous_testpilot, is widely praised for its incredible quality and atmospheric depth, often described as a standout feature that enhances the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as both captivating and emotionally impactful, with many considering it one of the best in gaming. While some note the soundtrack's brevity, the overall consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's appeal and replayability.

    • “The music is incredible in every game so far, the gameplay is super fun, and really challenging.”
    • “God, I cry every time I hear that music - it eats sublime for breakfast and reinvents it.”
    • “The soundtrack is phenomenal though, so I guess it has that going for it.”
    • “You might say Frozen Synapse 1 & 2 merely ended up being a pseudo 'marketing campaign' for nervous_testpilot's music!”
    • “Soundtrack is way too short.”
    • “I recommend not buying the soundtrack DLC on Steam though, just because Steam is not reliable when it comes to these types of content.”
  • stability26 mentions

    The game has been widely criticized for its significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that detract from the overall experience. Despite some enjoyable gameplay elements, many players feel that the game was released in an unfinished state, with insufficient post-launch support to address these problems. Overall, the stability of the game remains a major concern for users, leading to frustration and disappointment.

    • “I have played the tutorials and several hours of the city mode with no glitches or crashes.”
    • “The game runs smoothly without any stability issues, making for a seamless experience.”
    • “I appreciate how stable the game is; I've encountered no bugs during my playtime.”
    • “The game is a bit buggy and would have benefited from more patching (and perhaps a bit more time being worked on before it was released in the first place!), but regular patching ended at the end of 2018 so the state of the game is basically what you're stuck with.”
    • “Fantastic concept, but way, way too buggy and unpolished.”
    • “Unfortunately it's very buggy and painful to play.”
  • graphics21 mentions

    The game's graphics are praised for their cyberpunk aesthetic and vibrant visuals that complement the gameplay, but they are marred by various bugs and performance issues, including crashes and graphical errors. While some players appreciate the improvements over the previous installment, others find the resolution options confusing and the overall polish lacking. Despite these drawbacks, the graphics are considered a solid aspect for those who prioritize tactical depth over high-end visuals.

    • “The music is also great, as expected, and the visuals complement the action nicely as they fizzle, pop, and glow in cool blues and bright streaks of light.”
    • “A splendid combination of XCOM: Apocalypse strategy elements and Blade Runner aesthetics, complete with its own original take on pause-based combat.”
    • “Apart from rare crashes and some UI issues, FS2 is a solid improvement over FS1 with more units, better graphics, better soundtrack, and a cool new single-player city mode which fleshes out the solo experience a bit.”
    • “The game is riddled with bugs, ranging from minor (dialogue being cut off, not showing names of people or places, UI hitches, AI not performing adequately during 'long turn' mode, unit traits such as 'chain shot' being wholly broken, diplomacy being completely broken, unit graphic oddities such as holding a knife or a pistol like an assault rifle, etc.) to major (game crashing during turns, then crashing upon attempting to load mid-mission saves, game simply corrupting save files so you can't load back into your campaign, units randomly deciding not to attack each other, wall geometry not loading for you so you can't see obstacles which the AI can, procedurally generated maps putting your objective, units, and enemy units in unreachable places, an unmentioned cap on stored items in your base causing the oldest ones to be deleted when storing new ones which, if the game deletes the 'building cert' deed being used on your HQ, makes you lose control of your HQ, etc.) and just an overall feeling of lack of polish.”
    • “Interface is pretty bad, graphics seem blurry no matter if at the proper resolution.”
    • “Now, if you're the kind of gamer that expects this game to have a AAA budget, and visuals to match, then I would say stay away from this game.”
  • replayability7 mentions

    The game offers high replayability through its expanded, randomly generated campaigns and open-world approach, allowing players to choose missions, factions, and units. Dynamic faction events and procedural maps further enhance replay value, making both single-player and multiplayer experiences feel fresh and engaging. Overall, players can expect a long-lasting gameplay experience with numerous organic moments.

    • “If you like door kickers and would like a similar experience with a greatly expanded, randomly generated, and extremely replayable campaign, get this game.”
    • “Every moment is organic, making it an extremely replayable game.”
    • “The procedural city and maps really open up the game for replayability and should give the game a very long life independent of your desire, or lack thereof, for any multiplayer action.”
    • “This game is also arguably much more replayable now that it lets you choose what missions to take, which factions to help, which units to buy and deploy, and so on.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The optimization of Frozen Synapse 2 has received mixed feedback, with players noting persistent bugs and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Many users report feeling that the game runs slowly and is performance-hungry, leading to occasional crashes to desktop (CTDs), and they express hope for future patches to improve optimization. Despite these concerns, the game is still considered worth the price by some players.

    • “Despite a few bugs and performance issues that remain after the developers could no longer continue work on the game, Frozen Synapse 2 is still a great game and well worth the asking price.”
    • “I think it was right to release it now, but I have the feeling the game is really performance-hungry. I hope it gets patched up soon and maybe optimized a little bit.”
    • “Other than that, the game feels like there's slowdown or that it's running slowly.”
    • “I'm not sure what it is, but it just doesn't feel as smooth as it should from a performance perspective.”
    • “I think it was right to release it now, but I have the feeling the game is really performance-hungry and I had some crashes to desktop already. I hope it gets patched up soon and maybe optimized a little bit.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly in the endgame, which detracts from the overall experience. Many express a desire for adjustments to make gameplay less monotonous, such as introducing customization options or the ability to engage with real human players. Overall, while the game has potential, the grinding elements need significant improvement to enhance player enjoyment.

    • “It's extremely tedious gameplay and needs to be tweaked for any living human to realistically play.”
    • “I would really like the format of this game if it was made a little less tedious, had customization options, or if I could fight against real human players in the city sandbox that would fight more reasonably.”
    • “However, the combat itself just seemed a bit too tedious for my liking.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd scenarios, such as the comical disappearance of enemy bases when their headquarters is captured, leaving behind loot for players. Additionally, the bizarre notion that players can eliminate their own employer, the city government, without any impact on the campaign adds to the game's comedic elements.

    • “Even more hilarious is the fact that when their HQ is taken, the rest of their bases just go poof along with them, leaving the loot in a pile for you to take if you remember where. (Hint: station a one-man unit next door to their bases, and when you've hit their main HQ, simply walk in and take the loot unopposed.) It's also incredibly bizarre that you can wipe out your own employer, the literal city government, and that apparently has no bearing on the campaign at all.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players appreciate the emotional depth of the single-player experience, noting that it offers an engaging and immersive journey that can provide around 40 hours of enjoyment.

  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive qualities, featuring a captivating soundtrack and detailed in-game sounds that enhance the experience of simultaneous turns and intense combat. Players who appreciated similar titles are likely to find this game's atmosphere engaging and compelling.

    • “Overall, if you enjoyed FS1 or are interested in the concept (simultaneous turns, tight and visceral combat with nothing left to chance, extremely detailed orders down to fractions of a second, and all with an amazing and atmospheric soundtrack and in-game sounds), then you should certainly give this a try!”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

83% average critic score

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Play time

2hMedian play time
2hAverage play time
1-2hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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