# Frostpunk

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/frostpunk/

5 people recommended Frostpunk in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

3 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “City building games have a Soul Problem pt.2”.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its grim, atmospheric city-building and how hard it is to stop playing once a run starts.

Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Atmospheric, grounded industrial setting (2 comments in the sample): "very grounded and pragmatic, so it’s all dirty and loud and belching flames/smoke" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49945766)) "the paths in the snow that are gradually disappearing when left unused" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49945894))
- Hard to stop playing (1 comment in the sample): "I couldn't quit the game and finished my first (and only) run at 5am." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49945960))

## Other city builder games people recommend

- [SimCity 3000](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-3000/): 18 recommend, 5 mixed, 2 criticize
- [SimCity 2000](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-2000/): 16 recommend, 3 mixed, 7 criticize
- [SimTower](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simtower/): 11 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [SimCity](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity/): 10 recommend, 7 mixed, 10 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Frostpunk", https://hackerapproved.com/p/frostpunk/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.