Suzerain: A Story of Political Struggles

Time to "Beat" Twice: 21.2 Hours

There are two kinds of political simulators. Those that aim to replicate the bones of the system, devoid of context (like The Political Process), and those with a history, a heart pumping blood through the system, but lacking the supportive skeletal system. Suzerain, developed by Torpor Games, is of the second category.

Suzerain follows the player as they control Anton Rayne, the newly elected President of Sordland. Set in 1953 in a fictional planet earth the game locates Sordland in a Eastern Europe/South East Asia like region stuck between the desires of a capitalist superpower (Arcasia) and its opponent, the communist United Contana. The nation faces a recessions, a threat from Rumburg (a powerful neighbor), the conflict between east and west, capitalism and communism, a repressed ethnicity willing to engage in violence to claiming equality, corruption, a lack of investment, the threat of a military coup, a lack of civil rights, oligarchs and economic inequality, socialists vs fascists, progress vs conservative values, and the general threat of instability.

Though that might seem like too much to include in a ten hours game, Suzerain succeeds at developing these concepts, while impressively grounding them in human actions, beliefs, emotions, and desires.

Suzerain opens in 1908 with the birth of the protagonist. In an introductory section the player makes choices that define their Anton Rayne. The very first choice: were you born into a poor, middle class, or wealthy family?

Many events, like the 1923 revolution that overthrows the king and establishes the republic, don't include choices. The player gains more control over their choices in their teenage and early adult years, choosing their actions in the turbulent 20's as they attend university during a civil war. The player continues to develop Anton during the 1930's when he joins the political class in Sordland, and in the forties as he prepares his path to the presidency. This opening is detailed, compelling, and referenced by characters once the proper game begins, though I'm not sure how many of these choices matter.

The introduction allows the player to create and bond with their Anton Rayne, while also teaching historical context to their eventual presidency.Before the election, which Anton wins regardless, the player lays out their four key campaign promises on the economy, foreign policy, immigration policy, and their focus.

A cheering crowd welcomes Rayne to the presidency of Sordland. The government has a Congress, a single chamber, with four parties. Rayne belongs to the United Sordland Party, the political party of all four of Sordland's presidents. USP has always held a majority, and it still does with 130 representatives. The USP is a conservative party that has been trending to the left. The second largest party is the People's Freedom and Justice Party, a reformist party, with 70 representatives. The right-wing nationalist party, the National Front Party, is led by a Sord nationalist, and with 40 representatives; it can't pass its racist bills. The final party has 10 officials, a group of independents from various non-official parties: the Sordish Communist Party, the Worker's Party of Bludia, and the Bludish Freedom Party. At the beginning of the Suzerain, Sordland has a law that requires a party to earn 10% of the vote before it can earn any representatives. Politicians running independently from a party don't have to cross this threshold.

The player is introduced to a whirlwind of other elected officials. There's Rayne's VP Petr Vectern and his chief strategist, Lucian Galade. The leader of the PFJP, Frens Ricter, along with the leader of NFP and lesser leaders of the USP. The player meets their minister from Defense, Economy, Rural, Interior, and Justice. This list doesn't include the many lesser officials, the leaders of foreign countries, the oligarchs, the former presidents, and the supreme court justices the player interacts with throughout Suzerain. Despite the overwhelming number, each is distinctly crafted with opinions, ideals, motives, goals, and visuals. Beware advice, because most characters have their own interests in mind. Even advisors can be helpful or harmful, loyal or deceitful, corrupt or just. Some of them associate too closely with rival factions. Some are cunning snakes, while a few characters support Rayne with complete enthusiasm. Even among those who aided Rayne, who believed in something, expressed a cynical position on politics. Everyone believed I chose political policies to gain power. At least 75% of the politicians expressed naked doubt when I said I was enacting a policy to help people. They thought I was enacting policies to consolidate power. The only people that seemed to trust me, was my family. Rayne has a wife, an elder son, and a younger daughter. Though not critical to the plot, these family members compare and contrast with the politicians of Sordland.

There are the parties and the politicians, but Suzerain also includes four factions; the Old Guard, the Centrists, the Reformers, and the Oligarchs. While the PFJP and Independents are clearly reformers, and the NFP are Old Guard, the player's party, the USP, is so large it contains politicians sympathetic to all of the factions. My opening choices early aligned me with the reformist position, so at the beginning of the game I eagerly grasped at a chance to reform the constitution. I've read on Reddit that players can take other paths, like dictator for life, centrist, or even nationalist democrat. But as a reformist, the first major policy is amending the constitution.

It's a difficult job. The PFJP share a similar goal, but they desire the majority of credit. Meanwhile, the USP must be persuaded, cajoled, and threatened into supporting the reforms. Suzerain offers at least a dozen possible amendments, from term limits, to rules on the impeachment of the president, to lowering the voting threshold for political parties. I sought a more democratic constitution. This isn't the only decision the player makes. The game has hundreds, some of little consequence, and others massive in magnitude. The choices are political, and they are personal. They can be surprises, with no prior discussion, or explained for ten minutes by advisors and ministers. They are prepped and litigated by the five newspapers, which are an excellent way of providing five perspectives to every decision.

The most significant decision after amending the constitution is the national budget. Suzerain seems to use a simple system. At the start of the game the player starts with 7 government cash. Yes, seven. This number represents whatever value you think it is. Sordland is in a recession. The player must decide how to spend money to recover. The country can go into debt, but too much debt harms the economy. How much debt is acceptable? I don't know. Suzerain doesn't say, though I do have my guesses. Its economic system is surprisingly opaque. One significant choice is when the player allocates money for the four key departments; healthcare, education, military, law enforcement. The player can choose to increase, maintain, or decrease their budget. Increasing is expensive, but offers cool perks, like the ability to fund an anti-corruption police. A stable economy requires the player to realize this simple truth; they can't have everything they want.