Frostward

What do you actually do in this game?

You need to lead the last survivors of the apocalypse and build a civilization that can endure both the cold and constant enemy threats. You can choose to adapt to this world and survive for the long term, devote everything to building the Ark of Life and escape, or explore the source of the endless winter and try to bring warmth back to the world.

There are quite a few survival games set in frozen, post-apocalyptic worlds. What makes this one different?

At its core, Frostward is a turn-based 4X strategy game. You need to plan building layouts across a hex grid, combine buildings into districts, and eventually use them to support enormous Wonders. At the same time, you can directly command your forces in turn-based battles across the world map, or prepare defensive structures in advance to hold back invasions.

Survival creates the pressure, while planning, expansion, and combat are where most of the decisions happen.

You call it a 4X game, but is there enough strategic depth?

I’m a big fan of 4X games myself, and I don’t want “depth” to simply mean more resources and bigger numbers. I want the choices you make to genuinely affect how the rest of the game develops. Technologies, buildings, units, heroes, policies, and other systems are designed to offer different directions rather than a single answer that simply becomes stronger over time.

After a few runs, won’t there eventually be one fixed strategy?

Maps, resources, enemies, and victory goals can all change the course of each game, making it difficult for the same optimal solution to work every time. Of course, I’m sure players will eventually discover strategies far stronger than anything I expected, but what I want the game to emphasize is:

Building your strategy around what happens in each run, rather than following the same standard routine every time.

So who are you, and will the game continue to be updated?

I’m Kairos, an independent developer, and Frostward is a new game I’m developing on my own. I’m also a longtime strategy game player. Solo development naturally takes time, but I’ve put a great deal of work and care into this project, and I intend to keep moving forward with it.

If Frostward looks like a game you might enjoy, please consider adding it to your wishlist. For a solo-developed project, every wishlist is meaningful and very real support.