Suzerain - political simulator & RPG hybrid by Torpor Games - now with Kingdom of Rizia DLC

[Hellion]

Is Sordland a suzerain of some country? Or is it other country's vassal state? The game is called Suzerain, hence the question.

8 months later, I've completed another playthrough and might have finally solved the mystery regarding the game's title.

One of the main overarching plotlines deals with Sordland's constant enmity with its northern neighbour, Rumburg.

Spoiler

During the, let's call it "end-game crisis", and depending on the choices you've made up until this point, it's very likely that Rumburg will declare war on Sordland. And, if you do manage to emerge victorious in this conflict (which, again, depends on many, many choices you make during your playthrough) you sign a peace treaty with Rumburg (this whole sequence is presented in a great way as well, you sign the treaty in a train wagon deep in the forest, just like the end of World War I, and you have the option to act like a total dick towards the defeated queen of Rumburg) that effectively makes Sordland its suzerain.

It might be rather weak, but that's the only instance of the word "Suzerain" I've encountered being actually mentioned directly in the game so far.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Beyond just the multiple endings tied to some variables, how's the general C&C during the rest of the game? Hellion?

 

[Hellion]

Certain choices (like the ones you make during the introductory, Tyranny-like "Conquest phase") are for the most part just cosmetic and are referenced in dialogues only. Though you do start with a larger personal fortune if you select that "you were born into a rich family", and this offers you several more options later on.

Political and diplomatic choices (how you allocate your state budget, if you increase or decrease funding for a specific aspect of government, how you deal with the constitutional reforms, if you enact trade relations with a neighbour or not, and many more), as well as your dealings with your family (how you behave towards your kids, if you will "allow" your wife to get involved in a political cause), all have their consequences down the road, either minor or major, or possibly even catastrophic for Sordland or for president Rayne himself.

There are also some in-game plotlines that are triggered depending on choices you've made, so you have to replay the game multiple times in order to "experience everything".

 

[Parsimonious cook]

Well this is fine and all, but can you cheat on your wife with some young intern/assistant/secretary (and possibly have to face the scandal when it gets out)? This can be hardly called an accurate political simulation without options like that.

 

[Hellion]

You most certainly can.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

How long did each of your first two playthroughs take, Hellion?

 

[Hellion]

The first took about 10 hours, the second a bit less because I would skip some of the text I had already read during my first one.

 

[Nm6k]

Well that's certainly longer then a run of Hidden Agenda or Rogue State. I'm might just get the game then

 

[vota DC]

Certain choices (like the ones you make during the introductory, Tyranny-like "Conquest phase") are for the most part just cosmetic and are referenced in dialogues only. Though you do start with a larger personal fortune if you select that "you were born into a rich family", and this offers you several more options later on.

Political and diplomatic choices (how you allocate your state budget, if you increase or decrease funding for a specific aspect of government, how you deal with the constitutional reforms, if you enact trade relations with a neighbour or not, and many more), as well as your dealings with your family (how you behave towards your kids, if you will "allow" your wife to get involved in a political cause), all have their consequences down the road, either minor or major, or possibly even catastrophic for Sordland or for president Rayne himself.

There are also some in-game plotlines that are triggered depending on choices you've made, so you have to replay the game multiple times in order to "experience everything".

But those ten hours for run Is because you have more thing to do than hidden agenda, you can't be president for decades?
Also what if you start from a poor family instead of a rich? You get more political influence with farmer of you were a farmer and a lot of aid if you were a beggar?

 

[Heroic Liberator]

you can't be president for decades?

You only get to play a single presidential term, with the ending expanding upon the subsequent ramifications of your actions in office.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/1207650/view/2886208158603500062

November Broadcast

The inauguration ceremony is nearly upon us. Tomorrow, at 8am PT, Friday the 4th of December Anton Rayne will step into the role of President of Sordland. How will you lead this nation? What will your term entail? Let’s find out!

To put it simply, in November we finished Suzerain “completely”. While finishing a game is not a real thing since no game is truly finished, I would like to call it drawing a line in the sand. We drew the line and here we are in this significant moment. As developers we are satisfied with what we have achieved so far and we know exactly what we can do to keep improving on Suzerain after launch.

We’ve also added 45 Steam achievements! Some are more common than others and the endings are hidden so nobody gets spoiled. Achievements in general are very fitting for Suzerain due to the branching narrative so expect some more to sneak in the future. Let’s see how many you get to unlock on the first run.

While this journey has been a personal one for the team, in the end this game is for you, the players. It is your thoughts that really matter and we hope that you enjoy Suzerain as much as we did making it over these four years. When we set forth on this journey, we had a story to tell that had to get out. It was the circumstances of our surroundings that triggered creating the game, but the message was larger than any circumstance. Than any one person. This is our own Mona Lisa as Torpor Games.

I can’t thank you all enough for being here with us. I can’t thank the team enough for putting thousands upon thousands of hours into this. I can’t thank all the organisations enough that supported us on this journey and believed in our story without doubt or little there of. At the end of the day we are lucky and we just worked hard on top of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Want to join us for the big moment? We are going live on Steam tomorrow the 4th of December at 4pm CET / 7am PT, where you can directly chat and ask questions to the developers. Daeron Augustus will be streaming the game after the launch section of the livestream has completed at 6pm CET / 9am PT and will be streaming on Twitch, Youtube and Facebook. Special thanks to his passion for Suzerain make sure to check out his channel!

So what does the future entail? It will be a step by step process. We will monitor the launch and apply hotfixes that are critical where necessary in the two weeks following the release. Our team will also take a much needed break during this period to rejuvenate.

For now, we wish nothing but good luck tomorrow President.

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Glory to Sordland!

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Game just released.

 

[Nm6k]

Wow it's a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. I expect 20$ at least

 

[Infinitron]

https://af.gog.com/game/suzerain?as=1649904300

 

[Heroic Liberator]

On one hand I understand the logic of not allowing manual saves, on the other... navigating politics in order to fix the Sordian economy is tough without them.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Well, finished my first playthrough.

Didn't manage to get Rayne reelected for a second term, but the ending was nonetheless bittersweet (and as a sidenote, you have plenty of C&C in the epilogue itself). The game definitely has replay value as far as I'm concerned and the writing quality is pretty good, albeit it might use some anachronistic political jargon here and there.

 

[vota DC]

On one hand I understand the logic of not allowing manual saves, on the other... navigating politics in order to fix the Sordian economy is tough without them.

Isn't slavery not efficient for modern economy anyway?

 

[fantadomat]

not allowing manual saves

Ok so the game shit then...

 

[Hellion]

Manual saves would just tempt everyone to savescum. It works fine the way it is.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

The game is fucking great! Just finished my first play through in which I got the country our of the recession, joined ATO while taking no bribes and even kept the marriage from falling apart despite the wife´s best efforts only to get overthrown by the military in the end. Not gonna, lie - I am kinda salty about that, but it just made me eager to try again.


The game is very complex and the C&C is actually real and more significant than in most RPGs. The replayability is huge as well since you can be anything from a democrat to religious nut-job Pinochet-type dictator to corrupt asshole to Fidel Castro, you can participate in a genocide, form various alliances, at home you can try do go after the deep state, the billionaires or you can work with them - the possibilities are huge.


There are some minor things where the game could use more polish

Spoiler

for example, I put my minister of interior in prison, but a while later when I survived an assassination attempt she was signed under a report about the investigation.

, but I did not notice any major problems so far. As for the lack of manual saving - I agree with Hellion. The point of this design decision is to make you live with the consequences of your decisions and I think that is the right way to go for a game like this.

 

[Urthor]

I didn't think someone would release a game that had more reading than Disco Elysium

...I was wrong. All those codex entries.

Definitely a great game, severely worried because a playthrough takes awhile and I'm feeling a boatload of choices sitting around potentially blowing up in my face.

 

[vota DC]

Manual saves would just tempt everyone to savescum. It works fine the way it is.

They could just introduce ironpresident without manual save.

 

[Deadass]

got impeached,my wife left me and i killed myself
best ending

 

[Hellion]

Endings I've read people experience so far:

Spoiler

-Being deposed by a military coup
-Being assassinated
-Surviving the first assassination attempt and then being successfully assassinated later on
-Being impeached before your first term is even over
-Actually forming an alliance with Rumburg (!)
-Being nuked by Rumburg
-Being nuked as part of a GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR :O

I've played the game four times and haven't even encountered those endings myself. The depth and possible options/outcomes are truly immense.

PS. People are rating the game negatively on Steam because "I did everything the best I could and yet in the end I died, worst game ever" lol. Plebs.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Endings I've read people experience so far:

Spoiler

-Being deposed by a military coup
-Being assassinated
-Surviving the first assassination attempt and then being successfully assassinated later on
-Being impeached before your first term is even over
-Actually forming an alliance with Rumburg (!)
-Being nuked by Rumburg
-Being nuked as part of a GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR :O

Another two endings that you can get are:

Spoiler

- Surviving the assassination attempt during your campaign speech for the second term election (which is tied to taking the good luck charm offered by your driver before the assembly meeting for the constitutional reform vote). You wake up later on, but you've lost the election. You have several choices on what to subsequently do, so my guy ended up emigrating to United Cortana and reuniting with his son, living in a comfy countryside dacha and lecturing as a university professor.
- Going to war with Rumburg and ending up killed by Rumburgian soldiers once they reach the Maroon Palace.