Simulation Complete

It’s Always Worth Double-checking In Frozen Synapse 2.

- Chris Bratt

The action in Frozen Synapse 2 plays out in perfect five-second bursts, as soldiers carry out orders with precision. It’s great to watch. Your team might breach a room from multiple entrances at once, or duck behind cover just as a grenade explodes on the other side. It’s flawless and meant to be enjoyed, because these moments take plenty of planning on your part.

Like its predecessor, this is a game fuelled by intense simulation. You may not know what your opponent plans to do next, but you can run tests until you have a pretty firm idea.

Let’s say you find yourself controlling a soldier armed with an assault rifle facing an enemy unit holding a shotgun. Between these units lies some basic cover. Should you tell your soldier to stand their ground and take a shot, or move to the cover and open fire? Which is safer? What happens in either case? Unlike most turn-based tactical games, in Frozen Synapse 2, you don’t need to guess.

Instead, you run a test scenario for each decision. This means not only simulating your soldier’s actions for the next five seconds, but also those of your opponent. You can confirm what will happen if both units hold their ground, or what happens if one, or both, of them run for cover instead.

KNOW THY ENEMY

After collecting this information you’ll want to see if you can give your soldier an order that has them win regardless of what your enemy does.