Suzerain

Love this game so far! It's really rewarding to see the payoffs of my choices, even years down the line. Excited to do multiple playthroughs and see how the story changes!

I will admit, I was initially apprehensive about the play style of this game as I am typically used to more interactive geopolitical simulators. But from the first few minutes I was absolutely hooked! The developers have outdone themselves to create a complex web of entanglements and decisions that you will come to regret. Being a text based game requires the writing to be superb, which I can gladly say it is - all the characters are believable and have unique personalities. Suzerain provides a great take on politics, I can't recommend it enough and look forward to what machinations the developers come up with next :)

Good political sim with a great story, both base game and dlc are great 10/10

It's more akin to a VN/RPG game than a geopolitical mangement Game. Yet it shows that is a narrative game on its on right, with well thought characters and an emphasis on realpolitik, backroom dealings and everything that comes with it.
I wish I could see it translated to more languages because this is really a gem of a kind that one rarely stumbles upon and it was worth, every cent and every minute I spent playing it.

Great game but I would like to see more options to expand Rizia or Sordland land

Suzerain is a unique game, mixing visual novel with political science. The game begins as you've just been elected president of Sordland, a country in a deep recession and ideological turmoil, being a fictive major regional power in an alternative world technologically similar to post-WWII. We can align ourselves, our party, and the country to almost any political orientation, be it authoritative capitalism or democratic communism... although not all forms of government might have the same success. Gameplay revolves around studying the involving factors and make government decisions (diplomacy, economics, internal affairs, development etc.) based off of them. It keeps you on your toes with events that either suddenly cut into your budget or shower you with popularity in the polls, along with rival countries and possible allies. While these events are mostly default in any run, many will also come from your unique decisions, possibly spiraling your governance out of control if you don't read the fine print in conversations and newspaper articles. All in all, a great game with the small caveat that replayability can get a bit tedious with how many of the conversations are aimed towards first time players.

great game with great storylines. the only bad thing i can say is that i can't keep playing the story forever and that it comes to an end, with either you winning or dying

This game made me experience power poisoning. Story pulled me in like no other game did. Immersion is amazing. I wish it had more paths.

🎩 "From Desk Jockey to Supreme Leader" 🖋️

Great game, limited replayability after two probably maximum of three times per story line but it was well worth what I paid.

A fun story with good writing and interesting, if not especially flashy characters. My one piece of advice before you buy: READ THE STEAM TAGS. This is a visual novel/CYOA story, not a strategy game. If you want a crunchy political management game, play Democracy.

I don't write many reviews, mostly because I can't be arsed, but this game struck a nerve in the best possible way. As a fan of simulation games and political theory, Suzerain was in a sweet spot that piqued my interest.
Got it for less than $5 during a sale and feels like I robbed this studio for the time I spent on it in just a few days.

Would encourage to go in blind as the newly crowned ruler, follow your gut in making decisions for the greatness of Sordland and find out what an incredible mess you've made. Restart. Make slightly different choices thinking you've learned from your mistakes, only to discover you've created entirely new ones.

It's realistic in it's portrayal of navigating party politics by being fairly obtuse about concrete results of your decisions and actions, there's no "She will remember this" pop-up here. When you've dun goofed, you'll find out by the knife in your back. Conversations are long, you have multiple options to go back on a decision during one and of course you can use and abuse people in any way you want.

Music and sound is subtle, tense music during tense moments is enough to get sucked into the quality writing, but it's not particularly varied. You really get a feeling these characters are real people with their own strong personalities, some easy to read, some difficult. Keeping you on your toes the first few games knowing who to trust.

Gameplay is essentially an interactive novel but with a plethora of outcomes based on choices made, there's a map component and there's information about each province and their cities (GDP, population, etc), but it's mostly about the power dynamics through conversation and political decisions - so nothing in any sense of a Paradox game if that's your usual fancy. You read text, click decision, hope it was a good one. That's it.

Overall a genuine recommended to anyone who thinks they can pull a country out of a recession in the midst of a looming civil war and mounting geopolitical tensions. Or be a dictator and make it worse, whatever - you do you.

Overall, 8/10.

This is an excellent high level strategy game that really puts other VN-style games to shame. Every decision is incredibly significant, the writing is fabulous, the cultures and characters are very engaging and believable. This is the kind of game I would gladly pay season passes for, because the mechanics and world building are so high quality that each new season could promise riveting and compounding world effects.
That goes double if the devs get real ambitious and try making multiplayer Suzerain!

My only complaints are:
1. There are some very minor UX problems, primarily laggy UI and at times a very cluttered notification handling experience.
2. The overwhelming majority of choices and outcomes feel meaningful and sensible, however there are one or two that have completely arbitrary outcomes - and those particular outcomes really stand out like sore thumbs and sour the experience. Without spoiling too much, any situation where a choice just yields a particular outcome without being able to clearly explain with data or with cause-and-effect is an empty and meaningless outcome. Thankfully, these are rare, but ideally they should never even be possible. I consider this a major design flaw.
3. I really wish the "campaign promises" could be made with more background information. I know they're intended as starter choices, but I don't know nearly enough about the economic and political landscape of Sordland at the very beginning to meaningfully decide whether it's better for us to align westward or eastward; these are not arbitrary or meaningless choices. I also consider this to be a small design flaw; any outcome that has to only be learned in retrospect and not from deduction and inference is not a strategic choice, it's at best a gamble.

If you're the type that likes Risk-type games, social deduction, or Civ-like games, this is definitely one for you to try!

Really fun and immersive game but sometimes they try to guide you into the developers own "moral" choices and outcomes

one of the most interesting, compelling, and exciting story-driven games I've ever played. The sheer amount of choices you have blew my mind. If you wanted to play a political rpg - this is the game for you

Absolutely amazing game with a really unique decision system.

This is the only political sim that feels like you are neck deep in politics.

I recommend Suzerain if you're purely interested for the visual novel aspect.

However, I can't recommend if you're interested in the political aspect of the game, it just exists as a tool to move the plot. The game basically plays by itself, a 'turn' in the game is just clicking on the next events of the plot. You read through them, enact your decision based on what you just read and it auto advances with no player agency or initiative whatsoever.

The campaign map has no interaction besides reading the national news or the districts report, basically it just exists to be eye candy. This genuinely made me reconsider about buying the DLC, wary if all of that flashy stuff in the trailers are also just for eye candy and with no substance in it.

Despite the previous points, for me, the most outrageous issue with the game is the UI and how it displays the information to the player. You're supposed to save your country from recession and what the game gives you as a hint is a green or a red line going up and down in a graphic? What am I supposed to understand? That: Green = Good? Then why, out of nowhere my economic advisor says that inflation is high or GDP is low (you don't get that info anywhere, if feels like the game is just making numbers up) even though the graphic line is green or not RED at all?! Another random example is how in the end of the game you may get dragged into a war in the final turn and in the next you're at the end credits just saying 2.2 million casualties were suffered? Am I supposed to feel something about it or were the numbers just randomly generated? The info that the game displays in the credits or conversations just feels way out of place making you think if your choices have any meaning at all or for just a different set of conversations depending on your policies.

To summarize, if you like visual novels, this game and its characters are great. But for a political simulator? Those mechanics are wide as an ocean with its mechanics lacking any meaningfull gameplay depth, probably to catter the mobile phone market, make that what you will...

Suzerain is the optimal political simulation game for anyone who truly seeks to ¿get in the mind of politics, it is quite good at explaining complex subjects to the player, particularly those in the political unknown and simplifies the economy while still leaving those who seek deep political complexity anf its DLC is an absolute must play!

I thought I would've been able to do more than just sit around, and I presumed I was able to at least try and change policies or something like that with doing anything other than just sitting through long paragraphs.

And yes, I understand this is a visual novel game, but other visual novel games let you doing something else, like the one's on itch.io, and yes this game is fun to read through, it was for me too. But it just got too boring eventually.

If you DO enjoy that type of game, then yes, I recommend it.
9/10 game, especially on the visuals, but it's not the type of game for me.

This game shocked me. I bought it on sale for $7 after all the political events in 2024 to see what I would do when given hard choices. I loved the challenges this game threw at me from personal struggles of a leader to the difficulties of balancing morality with enforcing your will. I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants their beliefs to be challenged with tough decisions.

It's a tall order to put together a presidential simulator like this, and Suzerain does a commendable job (although good luck telling your friends---the name elicits more confusion that interest). The dialogue is very well written and the presentation is beautiful. I found myself invested in the story early on.

In about 10 hours of play, this game caused me to feel a wide range of emotions about the choices I had before me and their ramifications---mostly anxiety, occasionally wonder, and, less frequently, frustration. In all, this is the best political simulator (and specifically presidential simulator) I've played to date. This being said, the game does have its failings.

The principal issue I have with Suzerain is that your citizenry, and the game's logic system itself, is essentially insensate to your positive actions. Do something that any group of citizens dislikes, even with ample justification or subsequent appeasement, and you'll be hard-pressed to ever win that group back. Waffle on an issue and you'll likely lose large swaths of parliamentary support forever---even sizable portions of your own political party.

Others have commented on this, but the machinery governing the internal works of the economic engine are brutalizing and, I'd argue, broken. You inherit a recession at the start of the game, and no wonder. The nation has virtually no social or economic infrastructure and no trade or strategic allegiances to speak of. I enacted several business reforms, made tough choices, and spent shrewdly to avoid going into insurmountable levels of debt. My reward for turning around the economy, improving the plight of labor, shielding corporations from excess taxation, and expanding trade by leaps and bounds was... for the game to tell me we were now in a depression due to my choices. All the while, my failure to pass a constitutional reform bill caused my public approval rating to plunge to something absurd like 18%. I essentially had to throw in the towel after the entire country rebelled against me, although I had theoretically improved their lives exponentially.

I am still giving this game a thumbs-up because of its beautiful and engrossing nature of its game play and presentation. This game certainly had me hooked and emotionally invested. Some re-balancing of outputs would have led me to an unqualified recommendation, but I do recommend political junkies grab this game when it's on sale.

Great, worth playing; The DLC also improves on a few gameplay aspects from the base game

I enjoyed it but it's important to make it clear what kind of game this is - and first, it's more of a choose-your-own-path story than a game, and second, it's very, VERY heavy on the minutiae of public office. In fact, if you happen to harbour any kind of passion for a political ideology than demands full commitment to an extreme position, you might even get upset by a game that takes you through the negative consequences of your ideology during its practical implementation and why a real-world politician would very likely have to compromise or abandon your ideology.

I think that's good, though. I think one of the problems we have in this world is that there is not enough education on the nuances of politics, what it is and what it isn't, and why even your ideology - whatever it might be - would probably fall apart during the stress test of real-world governance.

I admire a game that is not afraid to take on complicated issues and does not try to dumb itself down for the player.

It's not going to win any awards for gameplay, though. It's basically a visual novel. One about a dense and dry subject matter at that.

If you like, slow paced, reading games, where your choices impact an entire nation and the larger geopolitical landscape.

BOY is this a game for you, and a great one at that

A great political management game/visual novel in which you can experience the hardships of being a president during political and economic crisis in a fictional world set during cold world-era. The trick is that it isn't your usual spreadsheet simulator or map painter, but a game of talking, careful financial decisions, understanding your ministers and overall socioeconomic climate of your and neigboring countries. Invest in megaprojects, implement reforms, create alliances, ingage in questionable political practices and get overthrown in several different ways. Shall you steer the Republic of Sordland to greatness and prosperity or be blown away by the winds of change ? Definitely a must play for any political enthusiast/self-proclaimed neo-liberal/communist intellectual/third-positionist and etc. !

A great visual novel, full of depth, that places you at the head of a Türkiye-lookalike towards the beginning of the 20th century. The visual novel is a great format for a political game such as this, as it presents individuals-representing-networks who cut deals, rather than sum aggregates which will support you more or less based on policy decisions (although these exist in a more minor role at election time). The only negatives are that the ending in the final chapter seems to come about abruptly, and a lack of a button that skips through text, making subsequent playthroughs tiresome in the early-to-mid game.

I've played just one game, but still... it got me feel so emotional. I'm not really emotional person. I rarely experience any strong emotions about certain things in TV-series, movies and games. But Suzerain... Uh. It almost made me cry in despair and anger. I wanted the best for Sorland, for its citizens, but I couldn't do anything, I couldn't change anything, because some idiots don't wanna do any reforms. My contitution was a fail, my management was a fail, all was a fail... Oh, yeah, this despair, this unfairness... mixed with exaltation from the game and hope that something will work out. Just like the way I like it.

Well... Let's talk about exaltation... to put it somply... delight! I'm really delighted. Yeah, maybe some things weren't logical, I noticed that. But it didn't spoil the impression from th Suzerain.
I like the story. It's very interesting to read and play. I'm not into reading, but here I've read all of this huge bunches of text. I was soooo into it. Everything is really well-written. Almost every character has a biography (even a small one). The character can appear once per game, but you can still read about them. The same thing with the descriptions of different organisations. There's A LOT of information. And I absolutely LOVE it.
I like the characters. They're amazing. Some of them are annoying, some of them make me wanna empathize. They seem alive to me. Deputies, co-party members, other party members, family... AND SERGE. SERGE IS SO SWEET. WHY HE HAD TO DIE IN MY STORY... AWWW... I'm sobbing. And all this is another reason to fall in love with this game.

I don't know what else to say, besides I'M IN LOVE WITH THE SUZERAIN. THANK YOU FOR THE SUCH A GREAT GAME.

I'll definitely play as many times as I get something right. I wanna be the best president for the Sorland and for the people of Sorland.

A Morgna wes core, Vectern sis da.

Really fun game and I am a big fan of it. I would recommend to anyone who is interested in political games or CYOA games. Although if you dont like reading, this is not the game for you.

I have always been an avid fan of political simulation games. I think Steam recommended it to me and it was very affordable, so I wanted to give it a try and bought it without putting much thought into it. Boy was I pleasantly surprised! I knew right off the bat I should brace myself for one hell of a ride as soon as I saw the excerpt by Nazım Hikmet in the intro. Sordland in the base game and the Rizia DLC are great in equal measure. I finished both twice over trying out different choices to see how the story changes and it was very enjoyable every single time. I must end with a suggestion that the game is ripe with enormous potential for more DLCs focusing on other countries ideally with expanded narratives. Kudos to the entire team behind this gem of a game.

Amazing game and great story telling. Can be hard at first but that's what makes it fun to play

This game does a great job of letting you model what bringing a consistent ideology to a developing nation can look like and what results it might bring. Responses from the game feel logical and consistent, although at times slightly contradictory. If you let yourself get invested, it really does become quite addicting. Overall, very well done. I could see myself playing through it again in the future.

This is one of my most favorite games of all time. This game has scratched the itch I had for a good political game. It is a very realistic political game that allows you to run your country however you want. I highly recommend this game for anyone who enjoys either political stuff or a great visual novel.

One of the most intelligent, politically astute games I've ever played, like best elements of diplomacy, foreign policy, and internal politics, reflecting real world reality and cold-war dynamics.

I was highly engrossed in my first play-through... I couldn't put it down for 10 hours... However, it started to lose its luster when i realized this game punishes you way too severely for not playing "the right way" and does so without warning for spending any governmental funds, especially in a command economy run, while also being anti-communist. Also it is practically impossible to get anything done without going into huge debt. I was under the impression that I would automatically receive governmental funding occasionally but nope..nothing...There is no tutorial to tell you basics like this...so you spend a lot of money in the beginning and are left with nothing by the end. Also there is a major flaw when it comes to "politics" within this political simulator. There is no politics. Your decisions are not based in politicking and statecraft, it is more like the Walking Dead Game where "your choices matter" but only up to a limited amount of preconceived options. You try to make some wide ranging decisions but the game will often register the effects of your choices as "inconsistent" or "wrong" and result in hidden penalties. The game decides what is right or wrong whether than it truly being up to fate, luck, wit, strength.. you know? politics?...There isn't even fluidity. It is is too stringent. There are also hefty biases..your wife will always be nagging at you to push women's rights through and you'll be seen as the devil by the game if you don't.. like sorry we are on the brink of war and I'm -15 in debt. Who cares?.. The game is not dynamic enough.. It is way to too linear.. there is no real decision making here. Way too much dialogue. Not enough free choice and possibility. This is a visual novel disguised as a political simulator.

Really enjoyable narrative with interesting characters and impactful decisions. I didn't do so well on my first playthrough, but the one more turn feeling was great, basically played it all day.

Looking forward to booting up the next playthrough.

Simply the best politic-related game I ever played.
The world they crafted, the intricacies of every situations, the realism in characters reactions and the very good writing are all exemplary.
You must definitely have a taste for politics, although your prior knowledge can be somewhat basic (the game does a good job at explaining how things work).
As for the gameplay itself, see it as an interactive book where your decisions (and you will make a ton) really has an impact on the story, so while the options are laid out to you, you still feel that YOU made that decision.

The story has emotion. The depth of politics feels like history book. Sometimes it felt too slow but maybe it was because I was very sucked into the story. Very good game.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Suzerain having never played a game like this before. It was a nice change of pace not having to micromanage a bunch of systems but still being able to make strategic decisions and drive a compelling narrative. I went into my first playthrough blind and didn't feel punished for that which is rare these days.

Suzerain is an interesting experience; a (mostly text-based) mix of a RPG and a political simulation where you step into the shoes of the newly elected president of a democratic country on the verge of crisis. You must face challenges such as economic recession, political intrigue both foreign and domestic, as well as scandals and plots.

This is a game which I find myself returning to every now and then to see where my different decisions will take me. I give it a 5/5 rating!

A Captivating Game with Immersive Storytelling.
This game delivers an engaging experience with its compelling narrative and a wide range of gameplay styles. Will you steer the nation toward democracy, or tighten your grip to establish a dictatorship? The choice is yours, and the journey is both challenging and rewarding.

The DLC is also a fantastic addition, offering even more depth and exciting new content. It enhances the core experience and keeps you invested in the story.

While the game excels in many areas, I’d love to see more detailed statistics and additional optional tooltips for crucial decisions. These features would help players make more informed choices and enhance the overall strategic depth.

A deceptively enjoyable political visual novel at its base with flavorful writing!

the creators have made a truly amazing game with a gripping story. in my opinion, the economic and military system in Rizia expansion is definitely worth the purchase for a once through play.

that being said, I was highly disappointed that I was only permitted to play for 8 turns. this limitation definitely did not make me want to play again.

for the 8 turns however, I was thoroughly entertained!

Delightfully engaging, throughly stressful.
Its one of those very few and rare games where writing and world building is so good You might as well played it in the command line and it wouldnt loose much of its charm. Every decision counts, very imaginative consequences and compromises to strike. Feels as if You were really leading a nation.

Honestly a great political game that is very underrated. This is a very text heavy game (it is basically all text). But the writing is incredible. Feels very realistic. I got heavily invested in the story and genuinely trying to help this imaginary country out of a recession and into a bright future. This game truly lets you take and explore whatever political ideologies/beliefs you want, and it will present challenges and consequences in an imperfect world. I saw in myself that the longer I played, the more "professional" as a politician I became: making speeches that said a whole lot of nothing intentionally, reading into the intentions of my advisors and other politicians (i.e. what's your angle), being cold-hearted and backstabbing allies "for the good of the country," and more. I cannot recommend this game more for those who think they might be interested in this type of game. I think I got this game on sale, but I'd recommend it full price as well. It won't be everyone's cup of tea; but if you enjoy intrigue and ever think "I could do it better" around election season, this game is for you.

I adore this game, took a little bit of time to fully wrap my head around it and actually not destroy the economy but the narrative for both the Main game and DLC are excellent and there's really nothing else like it in terms of a story driven political simulator.

A beautiful game, with lovely writing. The first 5-10 hours of this game can easily hold my near continuous undivided attention. The world and characters are rich and interesting, and the dialogue is sharp. Even the hundreds of reports and articles presented in the game are worth taking the time to read.

However, despite this I cannot recommend this game. I have attempted to finish it no fewer than three times over the past three years and each time I have found myself burnt out by the revelation that the narrative is far less adaptive and reactive than the well crafted world and characters initially imply.

This is a trial and error game. Not in the sense of achieving success or failure, but in the more critical sense of experiencing a narratively satisfying story - or not. This may be excusable on its own if the problem wasn’t compounded by the “Ironman” style save system, and the inconsistent decision making system.

There are three primary ways of making major consequential political decisions in Suzerain. I will list them in order from most to least satisfying.

1. Discussing the options in detail with other characters in a scene, hearing each character’s opinions on each option, before concretely stating that you’ve made up your mind. Followed by stating your intentions through dialogue.
   
2. Being presented a menu outside of dialogue that clearly states you are locking in a decision. The menu will feature buttons or sliders allowing you to select your intentions before locking them in with a confirm button.
   
[*]Making a single comment in a dialogue with no indication that it is a conclusive statement that will lock in a policy position you cannot return from. This is especially frustrating when it can seem like one of the discussion questions from ‘type 1’ in this list.

One of the most immersive games. The political rammifications are on point. Full of surprises, tension and hard choices. Great game!

Firstly it must be made clear that this is NOT a political simulation game. Rather this is more of a chose your own adventure visual novel.

You take "control" as president of a poor(ish) country struggling to overcome the history of a long serving president(possible dictator). You make choices that you may believe are right but are ultimately wrong. What many of the negative comments seem to fail to understand is that in real life you dont know what the results of your decisions will be. Many seem to think the game should function similar to a Paradox game like HOI4, EU4, Stallaris, etc. where every decision hand feeds you the stat changes. In this game you set a goal for yourself and try and achieve those goals as best as you can. The game does seem to rail road you a little bit in terms of direction and whether or not you can win reelection but this actually adds to the world as trying to make a country a left wing paradise despite being controlled by a conservative ruling class is extremely difficult and very unlikely. That being said your choices can totally change the events in the game as there are events that I never experienced due to my decisions preventing them from coming up.

If you like political intrigue, hard choices, and a character driven story, and a flushed out world then I cannot recommend this game enough

Great story, great tension and writing. Great to see devs have the confidence to develop this type of game.