Conquerors of the Frozen North!
Thank you for your interest in Frozenheim! The Early Access starts on May 20, 2021. The special early-adopter price has been set to only $16.99 (€13.99 / pуб.389 / £13.49 / PLN 59.99), brought further down by extra 10% launch-week discount. We also answer some of the most frequent questions and present you with an Early Access update roadmap - see details below!
We want to give you a better idea what to expect from the game, both in it's Early Access form you'll be getting soon, as well as upon its full release in the beginning of 2022. What better way to start on that, than to show you a large chunk of actual gameplay footage?
From the very first steps of the construction of your own settlement, through the challenges and hardships that you will encounter day by day, season by season as the Earl of your Viking clan. Watch us play Frozenheim in a video captured exactly one month before Early Access release!
The footage comes from a beta build of the game. It's representative of the gameplay you'll experience in the Early Access version, but some elements still may change.
Ever since we've unveiled Frozenheim on March 8, we're enjoying a lot of attention and we see lots of people very much invested into the game. This interest, naturally, brought about many questions, and we'll try answer the most prevalent ones right here.
Q: You say the game is a city-builder, an RTS, and a management game. So, which one is it?
A: All of them, actually. But let's set the record straight. The main focus of Frozenheim is the city-building component. We would like you to feel the serenity of the Frozen North, experience the steady passage of the seasons, and give you time to take in the beauty of the semi-realistic Scandinavian realm. Building your settlement and maintaining the well-being of your clan will be the most imprtant task before you. The RTS combat in Frozenheim is designed to provide a welcome distraction and introduce an additional level of challenge into the game, but we kept it on an easy to understand and handle basic level. The game also features mechanics centered around exploration, which brings about a bit of adventure into the mix.
Q: The game was revealed in the beginning of March, and you say I'll be already able to play as soon as May 20. I don't believe it. How can you make the game so fast? Is it one of those "asset flips"?
A: We've revealed Frozenheim so close to the Early Access release date, because we believe in getting in touch with the players and involving them in the development. That's why we don't want to keep you waiting, and that's why we're taking the Early Access route. Does that mean you'll be getting a prototype that's been put together quickly after the trailer succeeded in capturing people's attention? Of course not! Paranoid Interactive has been developing Frozenheim since 2018 and came to Hyperstrange with a pretty fleshed-out game with huge amount of original ideas and content. We've revealed the game only after deciding on the exact development and publishing timeline. That's why the trailer includes the Early Access release date.
Q: Why does the trailer look so different from the gameplay clip I saw? Was it even made with in-game footage?
A: With the Frozenheim reveal trailer we wanted to focus on the atmosphere of Viking legends and give you a bit of an introduction into the game's premise. We knew we would be publishing the first actual gameplay clip soon after, so we decided to give you something more cinematic with the trailer. Everything you can see in it (save the title-cards) was captured within the game, often utilizing its photo mode, which allows to switch off the GUI and set different camera angles. Most of the time in the game, you'll be enjoying classic RTS birds-eye view, as shown in the gameplay footage above.
Q: Does the game feature multi-player mode? Will I be able to play a quick skirmish game with my friend? How about cooperative play?
A: Early Access version of Frozenheim will feature both single-player, and multi-player modes. You will be able to use any of the free-play scenarios both in single and multi-play. So yes, a skirmish with a friend is absolutely a part of what Frozenheim will offer from the very beginning. We do hope player feedback in Early Access will give us the opportunity to expand and polish the multi-player component much further. As for cooperative campaign play - the campaign is limited to just a few introductory scenarios in the Early Access version, and you will not be able to play it in co-op. Your actual demand for some option will be taken into account when we decide
Q: Just how much of the game will there be in the initial Early Access version? Do you have any specific plans for updates? Will this be one of these games that stay in Early Access for ten years? Do you already have an approximate full release date?
A: My, that's a lot of questions. Glad you've asked! TL/DR version: a lot, yes, hell no, of course. Want to know the specifics? Let's move on to...
The Early Access version of the game that hits Steam on May 20 is the result of a development cycle that began in 2018. With a huge chunk of gameplay mechanics already present and polished, we want to include you in the process of further development. Our experience with ELDERBORN Early Access has taught us, that player feedback and involvement can make a great concept really shine. That's the plan for Frozenheim as well!
Early access content
Upon it's Early Acces release on May 20, Frozenheim will already include:
- Open-ended free-play mode where you set your own goals and enjoy building and expanding your settlement at your own pace, without any arbitrary ultimate goals or restrictions
- A rudimentary single-player campaign, containing a few introductory scenarios with some pre-defined goals, progression paths, and challenges
- Basic multi-player component based on the free-play mode scenarios, for you to play with your friends online
- A photo-mode to play around with, and to capture the charm of the Unreal Engine-powered world
Early access updates plan
Post-Early Access release, Paranoid Interactive will provide you with monthly content updates adding new stuff to the game while polishing earlier additions with the help of your feedback. We are planing to give Frozenheim 6 or 7 such monthly updates before the full release. They will come in a form of themed content-packs. Here's what we can tell you right now in specific:
Wild Nature pack (June 2021)
- New unit types: wolves, bears, "druids"
- Animal taming mechanics (utilized by the "druid" unit)
- Points of interest: bear cave, wolf den
- Wolf hunt and bear hunt quests
- And extras: small ambient animals, new tree types, musk oxen food resource
Narrative pack (July 2021)
- New quests: resource delivery, guard duty, caravan escort
- New play mode: Survival (Protect Village from incoming encounters)
- New play mode: Free Building (SinglePlayer Only)
- New play mode: Ragnarok
Battle pack (August 2021)
- An expansion to combat mechanics and additional combat units.
Siege pack (September 2021)
- Expansion to battle mechanics and units based on community feedack.
unnamed update (October 2021)
- Contents to be revealed.
unnamed update (November 2021)
- Contents to be revealed.
possible update (December 2021)
- Contents to be decided based on community feedack.
This leads to the conclusion of Early Access cycle in late 2021. From there, the final 2 or 3-month round of polish and expansion will lead to the game's full release in early 2022. Again, we invite everyone interested in Frozenheim to participate in the Early Access stage, as broader reach and more player feedback will allow us to make an even better game!
We are Hyperstrange, an indie development and publishing studio based in Warsaw, Poland. You may know us as the developer of such action titles as ELDERBORN and POSTAL: Brain Damaged. But we love other classic game genres as well! We've teamed up with ChaosForge, to bring their bad-ass roguelike Jupiter Hell out of Early Access. Now, we're partnering up with Paranoid Interactive to give you Frozenheim!
Paranoid Interactive is an ambitious team of Unreal Engine developers. They're an indie collective of experienced game makers with a huge passion for constructing fantastic, yet believable worlds. If you want to meet them, the core team hangs out around Hyperstrange Discord. It's the best place to get first-hand info on the game, or - if you're lucky - get to play it before everyone else does! You can also stay up to date on Frozenheim news by following our Twitter. But most importantly, please...
WISHLIST & FOLLOW FROZENHEIM!
Stay tuned for more Frozenheim news in the upcoming weeks.
Make Odin Proud!
Yours,
