Frostpunk really makes you feel inadequate.

Morality in this game is used as a punishment for poor leadership. If you're not able to provide for your people, then you'll have to make bad decisions to keep them alive. Like employing children in mines or beating disobedient people to silence them. In my first playthrough, I had to deliberately let dozens of people die to save hundreds.

Rather than simply posing morality as a role-playing element (be good or be evil), this game puts you in the shoes of a leader who is unable to 'do the right thing' because you lack the expertise to keep people alive while maintaining your humanity. You begin to understand religion as a tool to keep people happy. You use tyrannical rule to keep people from spreading discontent. You let people fight each other in pits to keep them entertained. Anything to keep people through another day.

Your ability to make higher moral choices is dependent on your ability to manage resources. Through my playthroughs I made plenty of poor moral choices, but only because I believed I had to. I felt genuine remorse because I knew these choices were a consequence of my poor management. It wasn't a matter of changing my outlook or adopting better morals, but a matter of becoming a better manager. It's a problem real leaders face, and this game provides a thoughtful, philosophical light on what it means to lead people through dire situations, and the choices one is forced to make to maintain order.

Frostpunk really makes you feel inadequate. Morality in this game is used as a punishment for poor leadership. If you're not able to provide for your people, then you'll have to make bad decisions to keep them alive. Like employing children in mines or beating disobedient people to silence them. In my first playthrough, I had to deliberately let dozens of people die to save hundreds. Rather than simply posing morality as a role-playing element (be good or be evil), this game puts you in the shoes of a leader who is unable to 'do the right thing' because you lack the expertise to keep people alive while maintaining your humanity. You begin to understand religion as a tool to keep people happy. You use tyrannical rule to keep people from spreading discontent. You let people fight each other in pits to keep them entertained. Anything to keep people through another day. Your ability to make higher moral choices is dependent on your ability to manage resources. Through my playthroughs I made plenty of poor moral choices, but only because I believed I had to. I felt genuine remorse because I knew these choices were a consequence of my poor management. It wasn't a matter of changing my outlook or adopting better morals, but a matter of becoming a better manager. It's a problem real leaders face, and this game provides a thoughtful, philosophical light on what it means to lead people through dire situations, and the choices one is forced to make to maintain order.