Vikings are having their time in the spotlight lately and this is unlikely to fade any time soon, as more developers look towards their time period as inspiration for their games. Frozenheim is an upcoming city builder from publisher Hyperstrange and developer Paranoid Interactive that’s closing in on its Steam Early Access release date and has recently detailed its 2021 roadmap.
Described as a “serene Norse city builder,” the title looks to tap into a setting and atmosphere that’s not used too much within the genre. The footage shown and information shared so far look quite promising and we’ve gathered everything we know about Frozenheim below, including details on its Steam Early Access release date, 2021 roadmap, gameplay, and more.
Frozenheim Steam Early Access Release Date
Frozenheim’s Steam Early Access release date has been locked in for May 20, 2021, which means it’s coming out in under a month. Although it was only revealed earlier in March, development on the city builder begun back in 2018, giving Paranoid Interactive time to include “a huge chunk of gameplay mechanics” in the initial version that players can try.
Frozenheim Campaign
Although Frozenheim’s Early Access version will focus on its freeplay mode, a full single-player campaign will be available when the game’s full version releases. We don’t yet know a lot about it, but it will more than likely follow your Viking clan as it explores and settles new lands, makes use of their resources to survive and thrive, while fending off those who would see it undone. The campaign’s first incarnation goes live next month, but only features a handful of introductory scenarios.
Frozenheim Gameplay
Frozenheim’s gameplay will mix city building, resource management, and RTS battles, according to the developer. That being said, its main focus will fall on building and expanding your settlement while making sure that your people have enough resources like wood, stone, and fish.
You’ll also be able to progress down multiple progression trees to further your efforts and specialize in different areas of gameplay, such as combat and exploration.
You can send units to explore the world or form raid parties that you can make their way to their targets either on foot or in feared drakkars, which you can customize. Shrines spread across the world let you gain favor with the gods of Asgard, as will building temples of your own.
Combat sees squads of units facing each other as they seek to plunder riches or defend their homes. So far, we’ve seen both melee infantry like axemen and spearmen alongside archers who prefer to fight from a distance.
Multiplayer, which will be available as soon as Frozenheim’s Steam Early Access release date arrives, will let you either ally with other players or raid them.
Frozenheim 2021 Roadmap
Here is what you can expect on Frozenheim’s 2021 Roadmap, as detailed by the developer in a Steam post:
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.
Frozenheim System Requirements
Frozenheim’s recommended system requirements weren’t shared just yet, but we do know that its minimum ones are quite accommodating to older hardware. As the game’s Early Access journey continues, they might, however, change.
Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 or better
- Processor: Dual Core 3.2 GHz processor
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 660, Radeon R7 265 or equivalent with 2 GB of video RAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
How long will Frozenheim stay in Early Access?
Frozenheim will remain in Early Access for the remainder of 2021, aiming for a full release at some point in early 2022. That makes for six months of scheduled updates which should, hopefully, keep players busy.
Frozenheim Trailer
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