Suzerain

Suzerain drawn my interest right when it was release. As someone very interested in politics, the ability to play as president of fictional, but very fleshed out country in alternative 1950s was something straight from my dreams! Unfortunately, it doesn't really deliver. The game isn't really a sim - it's more like very well-crafted visual novel. Decisions and events are mostly driven by dialogue with other characters. This is where Suzerain shines - NPCs are well written and fictional is really deep. The game contains a codex with articles on every important place or person, so you can read about them in reasonable detail. There are few contrivances in the setting, but nothing too big. Up until the last chapter, the game feels good to great. The political landscape is quite deep, you have to navigate many conflicting interests. Sometimes you fail and you need to learn to pick your battles. 3 years of presidency in and my country was on right track, with balanced budget and good economy. But then my finance minister suddenly tells me that the GDP has fallen and the debt magically increased! The country is actually in an economic depression of magnitude unheard of in history. Wait, what? Wasn't it a steady recovery just a moment ago? I suspect it deteriorated because of sudden country-wide protests that were somehow spun by two minor radical organizations, which I had no reasonable means to avoid, but why their impact is so big to destroy the economy in a matter of months? It left me disappointed to the extreme. From the look of it, the game simply proved too ambitious for the studio to finish properly. I can see how there must be huge amount of variables and flags beneath the surface, and juggling them out to present a coherent story would be very hard even for larger studios. But it doesn't change the fact that this effort simply didn't succeed. Maybe someday there will be an ultimate political game, but Suzerain isn't it and I don't give points for trying.

I havent played a game in a very long time that I was really able to get into but this game accomplished that for me. I'm not going to talk about the story line but the amazing thing about this game is that it is based mostly on dialogue and choices. The way the story plays out is very nuanced and dramatic leaving you with the curiosity for what is next. If you enjoy politics and a good story you should buy this game. I'm disappointed there isnt a part 2 but hopefully there's one on the way.

I tried 3 runs of the game so far, completed one losing the war and deleting two incomplete games. Part of it is that my english seems at times to diverge from the games english and my choices do not seem to be what i thought i read. Part of it is that the abstraction goes to far in certain areas like budget decisions where i.e. you have a massive increase in your overall budget like almost doubling it yet this does not materialize anywhere. A general increase in the overall budget would mean that with no changes you either have surplus money or each ministry participates percentage wise and can invest that money to improve the conoditions in their respective field. None of it happens unless you manualy increase the budget yet that will likely end you in a deficit that likely is disasterous for your economy. Part of it is that some economical dependencies do not make any sense like conscription boosting your economy. Part of it is the military is ultra abstract and the lost war was told to me in 4 reports with no stats or visuals etc. I figured i lost the war for the enemy seemed to use gas attacks which my army was obviously not prepared for but that was it. Many things are kept to broad and vague and the conversation choices never give a hint for possible folllow ups / subchoices. The game stil is entertaining if you like to read and play the game like a text adventure having your imagination fill the shortcomings of the presentation.

This is an absolute gem of a game. It captivated me from the first second and had me playing unhealthy amounts of time already on day one (The famous “just one more turn”- effect). In the game, you are the leader of one the poorest, most broken, most corrupt, most antiquated countries in the world. Everything is a mess – The economy is in free fall, corruption is rampant, civil rights are a joke, public services are non-existent… And here you are, trying to make your country work! (Or are you?) The game will make you feel like trying to put out all the fires in hell with a glass of water, and it does an excellent work at that. It is truly immersive, and I found the dialogues to be well-written. (Which is good, because there is nothing but text in this game). The only problem I have with this game is the ending(s). I won’t spoil it/them, of course, but I was left pretty frustrated, in a way slightly reminiscent of the Mass Effect trilogy. In any case, the game is a definite recommendation. It makes you forget everything else.

It's so good dawg, damn.