- Exceptional political simulation with engaging narrative
- High replayability and immersive world-building
- Player choices have real consequences
- Unclear mechanics and information
- Limited player agency and freedom
- Excessive and repetitive text
Emotions
Players are highly satisfied with the game's exceptional quality as a political and role-playing simulator, praising its deep narrative, realistic world-building, and impactful choices. The game's extensive replayability, intellectual challenge, and ability to create immersive and unique playthroughs, even with negative outcomes, contribute significantly to this positive sentiment. Many find it to be the best in its genre, offering great value and a compelling experience.
Frustration stems primarily from perceived limitations in player agency, such as forced outcomes, rigid design, and a restrictive save system (ironman mode). Players also express significant frustration over the lack of official localization for several languages, particularly Chinese and Turkish, and the poor quality of some existing translations. Technical issues like bugs, crashes, and unskippable text further detract from the experience, especially during multiple playthroughs.
Excitement is driven by the game's innovative blend of genres, its in-depth storytelling, and the anticipation of new content, especially DLCs. Players are thrilled by the unpredictable nature of playthroughs, the impactful decision-making, and the potential for exploring diverse outcomes. The game's overall quality, addictiveness, and the promise of future expansions keep players eagerly engaged and looking forward to what's next.
Disappointment arises when the game fails to meet player expectations, often due to a perceived lack of true player agency, limited choices, or a linear narrative that doesn't allow for desired political paths. Players are also disappointed by the lack of official language support, particularly for Turkish and Chinese, and the poor quality of some existing localizations. Bleak or unsatisfying outcomes, economic inconsistencies, and bugs also contribute to this feeling.
Players are deeply engaged by the game's challenging political environment, its complex narratives, and the profound impact of their decisions. The game's ability to evoke strong emotions, create moral dilemmas, and foster a sense of responsibility for the in-game nation keeps players hooked. The strategic depth, replayability, and the feeling of being a real president navigating political crises contribute to a highly immersive and thought-provoking experience.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 86% Ā· Negative 14%. Score: 14 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game as a masterclass in political simulation, offering an incredibly in-depth and immersive experience of being a nation's leader. It excels at making every choice matter, providing a comprehensive look at national and international politics, and fostering a deep understanding of political intrigue and decision-making.
- The game offers exceptional replayability, with multiple paths, diverse endings, and varied outcomes that make each playthrough feel unique. This, combined with strong immersion, keeps players hooked and eager to explore different choices and their ramifications.
- The game is lauded for its phenomenal writing, captivating story, and rich world-building. Players are deeply absorbed by the narrative, well-developed characters, and intricate lore, which combine to create a highly immersive and emotionally impactful experience.
- A core strength of the game is its impactful decision-making system, where every choice, even minor ones, has significant and often unpredictable consequences. Players feel the weight of their actions, which shape the narrative, character relationships, and the nation's future, encouraging thoughtful engagement and high replayability.
- The Rizia DLC is highly praised, often considered a standalone game that significantly builds upon and improves the base game. It introduces new mechanics, enhanced war controls, and a compelling narrative, adding substantial content and replay value to the overall experience.
Negatives:
- Players struggle with a lack of transparency regarding game mechanics, especially the economy and political systems. Crucial information about decision consequences, budget management, and political influence is often withheld or poorly communicated, forcing reliance on external guides and trial-and-error gameplay.
- Players consistently report a lack of meaningful choices, feeling railroaded into specific paths, and an inability to influence key events or outcomes. This significantly reduces replayability and overall satisfaction, as decisions often feel predetermined or lead to arbitrary, frustrating consequences.
- The game is heavily text-based, with players complaining about the sheer volume of reading, slow pacing, and repetitive dialogues. The lack of effective skip options for previously seen text makes subsequent playthroughs tedious and significantly reduces replay value.
- Many players find the game excessively difficult, especially on a first playthrough, often leading to negative or unsatisfying endings regardless of their efforts. The game's systems are perceived as punishing and unforgiving, with little positive feedback or clear paths to success, contributing to a sense of futility.
- Despite its premise, many players feel the game falls short of being a genuine political or economic simulation. It's often described as a visual novel with limited strategic depth, lacking the emergent gameplay, detailed metrics, and proactive decision-making expected from a simulation game.
Gameplay:
- The game is primarily a text-based political simulator and visual novel, where players assume the role of a newly elected president in a Cold War-era country. It blends raw political maneuvering with emotional story beats, requiring players to navigate complex internal and external interests, make policy choices, and deal with a living cast of characters.
- Player decisions have significant and often unexpected consequences, impacting the country's economy, political landscape, and personal relationships. These choices shape the narrative, leading to multiple branching paths and diverse endings, encouraging replayability.
- The game offers extensive freedom for players to role-play across a wide political spectrum, from dictators and communists to capitalists, democrats, and reformers. Players can pursue various economic models, social reforms, and foreign policies, leading to vastly different national outcomes.
- The game is set in a fictional country, Sordland, reminiscent of a Cold War-era Eastern European nation in the 1950s. It features a bipolar world with capitalist and socialist blocs, allowing players to experience the geopolitical struggles and internal turmoil of a small country caught between superpowers.
- Players face numerous challenges as president, including economic collapse, civil unrest, corruption, geopolitical tensions, and military pressure. The game demands difficult decisions, budget management, and strategic thinking to navigate a country in crisis.
Performance:
- Players have found workarounds for windowed mode and noted that the game doesn't run in the background during loading. There are also reports of N-card driver damage and issues with automatic translation in version 3.10.
- The game reportedly worked perfectly on the legacy beta version (3.0.9), indicating that recent updates might have introduced new issues or regressions.
- Torpor Games has been quick to fix bugs, which is a positive sign of developer engagement and support.
- The game is confirmed to work on the Steam Deck, which is a positive point for portability and accessibility.
Recommendations:
- The game receives overwhelming recommendations from players, often described as a 'must-buy' and 'fantastic.' Many praise its unique experience, especially for those who enjoy story-driven games with significant choices and political intrigue. It's frequently cited as one of the best in its genre.
- Players highly recommend the game for its deep political simulation, appealing to those interested in politics, geopolitics, history, and international relations. It's considered one of the best political games, offering a compelling experience of running a country and making impactful decisions.
- There is significant feedback regarding the official Chinese localization, with many players expressing dissatisfaction and requesting improvements or a new version. Some reviewers have even based negative reviews solely on this issue, despite enjoying the game itself.
- The game is strongly recommended for players who enjoy extensive reading and text-based narratives. Conversely, it's advised against for those who dislike reading or have difficulty with literary terms, as it's essentially a visual novel with deep storytelling.
- Players express a strong desire for more content, including additional DLCs, sequels, and expansions for other countries. Many are eager to purchase future releases, indicating high satisfaction with the current game and confidence in the developers.
Miscellaneous:
- Players are eager for more DLCs, expansions, and sequels, particularly those that introduce new playable nations, expand the existing universe, and offer diverse political storylines. There's a strong desire for continued development and exploration of the game's world.
- There is a significant and urgent demand for official language localization, especially for Chinese and Korean. Many players currently rely on fan-made translations, highlighting the critical need for official support to improve accessibility and market reach.
- The game is characterized by its extensive text and reading requirements, with no voice acting. This makes it appealing to players who enjoy political simulations and deep narratives, but also poses a challenge for non-English speakers.
- Players appreciate the game's realistic portrayal of politics, drawing parallels to real-world events and historical contexts. It offers a compelling political drama where choices have significant, often difficult, consequences for the player and the nation.
- The game is praised for its compelling premise, well-developed setting, exquisite writing, and overall structural completeness. This strong foundation contributes to player satisfaction and their desire for more content within this universe.
