Suzerain

i hate this game ♥♥♥♥♥

goat

A compelling political RPG with stylized Cold War-era worldbuilding.

빙글빙글 얼렁뚱땅 타협과 신념 사이의 줄타기 예술을 보여줘야 하는 게임. 미쳐버린 팽창주의 초강대국이 국경 너머에서 당신을 노려보고 있고, 나머지 이웃들도 각자 당신과 국익을 위한 줄다리기 협상을 준비하고 있습니다. 동시에 국내 경제는 시대에 맞지 않는 제도와 불황에 고통받고 있고 비단 경제 뿐만이 아니라 보건, 교육, 교통 등 대대적인 개편을 필요로 하는 목소리가 높아지고 있습니다. 불만에 찬 보수파, 자유주의자, 극우 민족주의자, 심지어 소수민족 분리주의자와 공산주의자들이 각자 당신의 자리를 노리고 있다는 사실도 빼먹을 수 없겠군요. 아, 그냥 당신을 쏴버리는 걸 선호할 수도 있겠네요. 하지만 그럼에도 대통령은 당신이죠. 그들이 아니라. 그건 '아주' 많은 선택지를 주죠, 그렇지 않나요? 행운을 빕니다.

great game,

The single best political sim/RPG you can play, Suzerain is unique amongst a lot of other games in that it completely revolves around the most basic building block of politics and economics, decision making, and expands it to create an incredible story that changes wildly each time you play, existing within a world that feels incredibly real.

I stumbled upon Suzerain a couple years ago on Steam: as a fan of “Choose your own adventure” type of games, it felt different from the average visual novel in tone and theme. It hooked me from the start, and I finished my first playthrough in a weekend. Since then, I’ve replayed it several times and loved every hour spent in it. I play a bunch of games, so I’ve been pondering for a while about what made Suzerain so memorable to me. The first reason is how the game approaches politics. The political aspect of the game is memorable, and unique. I appreciate games that feature politics beyond the “classic” simulators and wargames. I’m thinking of Papers Please, This War of Mine or Not for Broadcast. In my first playthrough, I went with the flow and followed my intuition, and I ended up being ousted out of the country. It turns out that liking games with political themes does not make me knowledgeable on the subject! What I really loved was how it educated me about politics: there is a political compass shown after the credits that include every character in the game (including yourself!). This helped me understand the different terms used to describe a person’s political affiliation, essentially demystifying it. My subsequent playthroughs were very enjoyable because I knew what I was going for and I understood how to “play the game” better. I’m still not super engaged politically today, but I’m more knowledgeable. Another major strength is its worldbuilding. Suzerain’s universe is rich and documented, which is a strength and a weakness. Within half an hour of gameplay, you gain access to an overwhelming amount of information: a complete map, multiple newspapers, a full codex, a complex overview of the country’s situation, and I’m missing some. It is a hurdle, but the effort to get into it is worth it. Sordland is smartly defined, it reminds me of several countries and regions of the world. The world is coherent and plausible, it feels real. The story is well written and felt coherent with my choices. I enjoyed trying to please (or cheat) the various characters, and I had to constantly make tough decisions. It can feel frustrating to have major consequences for a choice you made without enough knowledge. One could say that the members of your cabinet are very incompetent, but I see it as a necessary evil for the game. You can really steer the country in the direction you please, and the payoff is rewarding. Taking a step back from my personal experience, I feel like Suzerain is a great game that I would recommend to people looking for a narrative experience. There isn’t much gameplay besides reading and picking options, but I don’t think it needs more. The DLC introduces light strategy, which does not improve the game drastically in my opinion. Suzerain is structured in linear turns. You mostly discover the story in the order it’s given to you. I found it endearing to read every new piece of information at the start of a turn. Visually, Suzerain is serviceable, it does not feel cheap despite its limited budget. I like the aesthetic of the map which is the main visual element of the game. It also made me feel like I was in a “war room” with a huge map on a table, which added to my immersion. The score from James Spence feels tailored to the game: it evokes calmness, the importance of being President, the nervousness of Anton and dare I say the responsibility he and I felt. Torpor Games has supported the game very well over the years. They added a new option to replay parts of the story (which is great to experience the numerous paths) and rewrote parts of the story. They also introduced a prequel DLC in the universe very well, and left room for (hopefully) more content. I commend these efforts and the decision to update a “non-service” game in 2026, it gave me confidence and motivation to delve deeper into the world they created. If this resonates with you, I think Suzerain is well worth experiencing. I’d be super pleased if my words lead to more people discovering this great game.

A very deep "Visual Novel" about fictional cold-war era politics. In the game, you will have to do a intricate juggling act between economy, morality, and foreign and domestic relations. Every choice you make will make you feel like you're losing progress somewhere else. To quickly summarize this game, "THAT'S POLITICS ♥♥♥♥♥!!!"

Failed to get the reforms to the constitution because of the bluds, retaliated by declaring war on Rumburg and getting nuked 10/10 A morgna wes core. Vectern sis da

This is apparently made for a specific kind of person and im not that. If you like in-depth RTS games, this is not one. This is basically, as far as I can tell, a visual novel with light interaction. You can pass or veto bills and make small decisions but they just don't seem to do anything important, at least in the moment. I have only played for 3 hours which I understand in very little time, but I cannot be bothered to play more. Its just constant reading with what feels like zero input, which is a shame because there is so much effort put into this. If you like political thrillers, then you may enjoy it. I didn't.