REVIEW | Become a fictional dictator in Suzerain

Do you know the meaning of Suzerain? If you recall some long forgotten History class, it’s a term referring to the “relationship between two nation states”. More specifically, it defines a political situation of a country that partly controls another country. A good example to make matters simple is the city of St. Petersburg in Russia belongs to Russia as much as Kalmykia. But does all this political mambo jambo fits inside a videogame?

I received a copy of Suzerain for the Nintendo Switch by Terminals and, after playing an intricate story for a couple of weeks, I bring you a full review about this unusual and thought-provoking game.

Your country, your rules

Developed by Torpor Games, Suzerain is an strategy game that tries (and I would like to emphasize the “TRY” verb here) to go beyond a normal title from this genre. You can almost classify the game as an attempt to create a Strategy Simulator experience that does not accomplish many of the main characteristics of these two game styles. It’s almost like Euro Truck meets Tropico.

In the game’s plot, you are the newly-elected President Rayne. It is your responsibility to lead the people of Sordland, a nation well-known for a history of bloody revolution and despotic leaders. The worst part is that the country general situation is not very good: economic recession, civil unrest, international threats, among others.

Your only connection with this fictional (but very close to our own) reality is through beautifully designed map. You can easily visualize any part of the country and pop-ups are always telling you what problems each section is facing. You must work out the best strategy to solve each issue but you can’t actually “win” Suzerain. The final outcome will always depend on which direction you took to save your country. And remember: there is no solution that will please everyone.

This simple strategy mechanic comes together very well with the main gameplay loop: attend various briefings, listen to your advisors and, finally, make decisions. Be prepared that you will have to read a lot political documents, but they are very far apart from real bureaucracy and serve more as a means to explain the problem and give you hints on how you can approach in the best manner.

Politics is never easy

The same that happens in real life (and in real governments), each of your advisors has a completely distinct personality, and it will not be easy to deal and cope with different opinion. Besides, there is your own family. You will have to keep good relations with your wife and daughter — even after a failed assassination attempt. Unfortunately, these are not the only problems that your ruler (and you) will have to deal in the game.

Suzerain has some some issues with the UI, that often feels that lacks polish, which feels even more problematic when playing the game in a small screen as the portable mode on the Nintendo Switch. Nevertheless, there also problems with the writing with some terrible gramatical errors. This is a serious matter, specially when talking about a text-based adventure game that relies so much in text and document reading.

At the end, Suzerain has its merits and should not be ignored if you get a chance to play it. As a strategy game that relies so much on the politics aspects of real life government management, it is clearly not a pick for every player. Nevertheless, if you always dreamed of ruling a nation and trying to best (or the least worst) politician, then Suzerain is a good choice for you.

Final Opinion: OK

By Luis Antonio Costa.