Lunar Ascendant

I think I'm...disappointed by this game? It's hard to say, because I can see the potential there. There are interesting factions. I think. As in, I can see how, with much expansion and much more branching, these factions would be very cool to deal with. But, as is, there's not enough interaction, or even possibilities, to make them feel more than one-note. There are not enough solutions to deal with problems, such that you know, with every decision you make, exactly what the consequences will be. I suppose that can be a good thing, but something I really liked about Suzerain was that there were multiple ways to deal with a faction. Maybe you pissed them off with one decision, but you could secure their cooperation during another because you have mutual interests. Or, they could see the position you are in and make interesting offers of you. [spoiler] For example, in Suzerain, the conservatives demand that you restore EPA limitations if you previously lifted them. The catch is that they are so incensed by the EPA changes that this is the only demand they make of you. You can intentionally give yourself leverage by lifting the limit, knowing that the conservatives will hyper-focus on that, instead of many of the other things you are doing. [/spoiler] Instead, I have a labor union whose response during a critical emergency while the city is running out of supplies is to...burn down the city? They demanded that I create renewed trade out of nothing. I...guess I understand that their relationship number dropped below a certain level and now they are permanently hostile to me. I suppose I could understand that, if they believe I am intractable, they would not be interested in negotiating. But, I had a conversation with the labor leader (that I was invited to!) in which I had no options to negotiate. I guess we just drove out there so the guy could hit someone he didn't like. I want more. I want more options, more information, more follow-ups on leads that went nowhere. [spoiler] What happened to the black market guy? Why was the terrorist subplot completely useless? What was all that buildup for the data-center for? Why is Earth's strongest demand that I integrate AI? The reports made it seem like they are just as desperate for Helium as I am to sell it. They threw my city into chaos with an embargo and then made exactly zero demands of me. What did they think that would accomplish? [/spoiler] The game is unfinished. It is deeply unpolished, linear and restrictive. After turn 5, you become progressively less able to act, as if the game is presenting you with a "consequences" section that would be better served as a summary screen instead of half of a game. There is not enough intrigue, maneuvering or backstabbing. I have only played it once, but I did not see any opportunities to betray anyone. That was a great disappointment. Someone at the end called me a "good man" and I wished I could shout that I would not have been had I just been given the choice! And in the acknowledgement of these flaws, I also acknowledge that I am being cynical by giving it a positive review, because I want the game to be finished. I want people to buy it, and the developers to have the resources to expand it. I do not want them to ever give up on this game, or this genre. I want this species of well-storied political sims to grow, and capture an ever-larger player base, so it becomes less of a niche, and more of a mainstay. I don't think just one review will move the needle much, but I try my best regardless. Buy the game. Support indie political sims. Reward the team for trying, and encourage them to try harder. I can see wonderful potential in Artemis. Just imagine it realized!

I really wanted to like this game, I love Suzerain! and the Rizia DLC which is also great. So despite the mixed steam reviews I picked it up on the spring steam sale. I have played the game through a couple of times and made different choices along the way. However I found this game is nowhere near as polished as suzerain and feels more like an early access/demo rather than a finished game. it starts off pretty strong with multiple interesting story layers, characters that appear to have engaging depth of character and factions pulling in different directions but towards mid to late game I found myself jarred out of immersion multiple times with repeated lines of dialogue, responses from updates from projects or replies from characters that appeared to be replies to dialogue or decisions that had not been something I had selected. It left me feeling a lack of confidence that the choices I was making (the main mechanic to the game) where not having intended impact. Additionally I also found a couple of save files wouldn’t load properly meaning I would have to load an earlier save file. But I genuinely think I am pretty forgiving when it comes to bugs and hot fixes however my biggest issue is the game feels way too short. I find it abruptly ends (10 turns total) leaving me with the feeling of loose ends not being tied up to what I felt was going to be the slow build up to a climactic ending, key points of intrigue that were talked about, characters that I wanted to explore, interact with and a couple of characters I really wanted to deliver some righteous justice/karma to but I never got the chance to despite different reattempts with different choice selection. But If your looking for a game that will scratch that ‘suzerain’ itch I can’t recommend this game as it will leave you wanting. However if you love ‘choices matter games’ and need something to tide you over while we all wait for ‘The Conformist’ to be released😊I would recommend, that you try out: ‘The Succession of Changing Kings’ ‘Road Warden’ ‘Ixion’ ‘Heads will Roll Reforged’. ‘Citizen Sleeper’ 1 & 2 ‘Yes, Your grace’ 1 & 2 ‘Pentiment’ & ‘Ken Folletts - The Pillars of the Earth’

While this game still has some quirks, it's actually pretty good, it is practically solo developed, but the story line is great, just gotta give them some time for some things, but it's worth it so far. They just gotta fix the name thing, where when you or someone else speaks, it shows the name of a different character and there was a choice where the choices did not show at all, btu they're working on it. If you've played Suzerain, and give it some time, you'll definitely enjoy this game, due keep in mind that it's new, and not all new indie developed games come out perfect out of the gate.

Needs more braching. I tried to be 100% pro earth and you just cant. Its really upsetting. I dont see why you cant have a budget meeting like suzerian early on and those decisions change the game. like security, I did everything I could to increase security and its like it did not matter. I still needed to make a crappy deal that would destroy the city you built. where is the choice there?

This game... is a real kick in the groin. I loved Suzerain, and how, even if you screwed up, the game let you try to course correct. This game doesn't do that. Not yet at least. It just felt like I was railroaded into a bad ending, even when I [spoiler] bent over backwards to be pro-UEF and everything, and they bloody betrayed me, and I was just sitting there in front of my screen saying: "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!?" [/spoiler] I mentioned in a previous review how I loved CYOA games, but most of those games give you agency. Most of those games allow you to fix what you have broken. Most of those games give you a chance to avoid a bad ending if you accidentally screwed up. [b] But again, this game doesn't do that. [/b] At all. It just says: [i] "Oh, you screwed up? Too bad, you're getting railroaded to a bad ending, and you're going to like it, consent be damned!" [/i] I hope the devs do fix this game up, and I do hope I can play a second playthrough later on once more of the issues are ironed out, to change my mind and turn this thumbs down to a thumbs up. But for now, I can't recommend this. If you like getting kicked and punched in the groin, hey, you do you. But for me, I can't condone being kicked and punched in the groin.

I dont get this game. It feels like no matter what you choose, you are bound to get killed by ither faction. I have over 50 hours in Suzerain and i never had this kind of problem, but here it feels like your choiches doesnt have any impact on the story at all.

Bugs mostly fixed. Fun setting. Nothing special, but it is good in an empty genre. Clear left wing bias, but not obnoxiously so. Not the best game, but given lack of competition. Definitely recommend.

Good game. In my opinion, it feels more like the Rizia DLC from Suzerain than Suzerain itself. But it’s very good. If you played and liked Suzerain, you will probably enjoy Lunar Ascendant. So far I encountered a few bugs, but the developers are releasing updates to fix.

The Devs worked hard to clear bugs, and now what we have is a good, well-written political simulation.

if you liked Suzerain, you’ll likely find a lot to appreciate here as well. Is it as great? No. But it's close to scratch my itch of political sims. This one leans more into interpersonal drama, but I ended up enjoying that more