Suzerain is a Political Simulator Done Right

[@DanielGoldhorn]

In case you're wondering: yes, I'm playing the Kingdom of Rizia DLC. Yes, I'm greatly enjoying it so far. Yes, I'll be making a video on it soon.

[@johnpijano4786]

OMG. I literally checked this comment to listen to while playing the new DLC. I cannot wait for your response.

[@AN-kb4kh]

Can't wait, your review of this game is the best I've seen

[@hasanyrom9055]

You probably got couped too like everyone else

[@vegemarkr4582]

You better paint a favorable view of our glorious kingdom, or else...

[@karlkrump6634]

Please do. I have some thoughts of parts of it that I find odd, but than again my first playthru on the OG was rough too.

[@americancaesar6065]

Suzerain does a great job of revealing just how dangerous, complicated and difficult politics can be. We all dislike politicians, we see them as people only interested in getting reelected and getting paid, but Suzerain also does a good job of showing how difficult making policies is. While Sordland is an extreme example, it does a good job of showing how flawed a democracy can be while not sneering down at the system or upholding some other ideology like autocracies. You can have vicious dictatorships and corrupt democracies or enlightened autocracies and idealistic pluralist systems, and at the end of the day you come to respect how hard it can be to be the man at the top, where one wrong move can undo literal years of work.

[@1Maklak]

There is also a TV series "House of Cards", which shows that competence and the ability to get things done is crucial for getting paid and reelected.

[@americancaesar6065]

Not entirely. Like is Suzerain, you can do a horrible job and be a terrible person, but as long as a "majority" of people love you (or if you can warp the game to your advantage) you can hold onto the keys of power.@@1Maklak

[@magni5648]

@@americancaesar6065 And how that's also reflected in a lot of the characters in the game. A reformist-leaning Anton Rayne is going to curse some of his own supposed allies because for all that they're willing to support the same cause, they're also corrupt, self-serving snakes. And then on the other side you got Gloria Tory, the speaker of the assembly and leader of your own parties' conservative branch. She can be an absolute nightmare to deal with in a reformer run... because she's a *genuinely principled* woman and a highly-skilled negotiator, and she will absolutely play hardball if you don't find enough compromise in your damn constitutional reform bill that she can get the conservative block behind it. And at the same time she genuinely gives you good advice at multiple points. And then there's a certain cabinet member. Like, holy fuck, I did NOT expect THAT when I let the Anti-Corruption Police loose on the Old Guard.

[@echorises]

Sordland is not much of an extreme example. It's actually Turkey's 80-90 years condensed into a decade or so. The game even starts with a quote from Turkish Communist Poet Nazim Hikmet Ran. Sollism is very similar to Kemalism, loyalists and all that. Bludish is the Kurdish population in the east of Turkey. The game even goes further by talking about the imprisoned Bludish leader (irl, Abdullah Ocalan). Also, the general position of Turkey between the east and the west until USSR acted too aggressively and it resulted in Turkey's entry to NATO (1952). I've been playing like 5 hours or so and these were the first things I realized.

[@Matt-q9g]

@echorises Shoot, I thought I saw some Turkish-sounding names in the credits too, so... that's pretty interesting actually.

[@MalaysianChopsticks]

I was nice to everyone too. Then a military coup and was sent to prison for 20 years.

[@DanielGoldhorn]

The struggle is real 😔

[@KumihoMahao]

Skill issue 🗿 I only got seven years. And I got to meet my grandkids, and the daughter of the communist politician that died wrote a biography about me 🗿🗿🗿🗿

[@MalaysianChopsticks]

@@KumihoMahao biography name: Suzerain? I got that ending too

[@KumihoMahao]

@@MalaysianChopsticks In one ending I wrote it myself, in my last run the daughter of the communist wrote it. Either way! Cheers

[@allot5530]

Finally a South America simulator

[@Grivian]

I can't stress how important the introduction is, making your choice of how Rayne reacted and acted during his youth. Throughout the game I felt proud of Rayne but at the same time humbled of the responsibility because of the struggles of his past. The introduction truly makes you invested in the character.

[@storytellingchampion6438]

I have played Suzerain many times, and it is one of my favorite political-sim type games. The music alone makes it amazing, but the various political problems and ways you can implement your chosen ideologies is great. I have done both a capitalist dictator run and a hyper-democratic capitalist run where I crushed the Sordish Oligarchs and made the country into the greatest nation in the world. I highly recommend the game for anyone who enjoys political Sims. A Morgna Ves Core! Vectern Sis Da!

[@shi117]

When you were woken up in the middle of the night and ushered to the ministry of defense's war room: "Oh Shit!..."

[@yawar7668]

@storytellingchampion6438 could you recommend a game similar to suzerain. I have played suzerain and I loved it. I want to play more games like suzerain

[@storytellingchampion6438]

@@yawar7668 Torpor Games are working on a DLC for Suzerain where you'll play as a king. But there are a few similar games but they're not exactly the same type of games. We have "Yes, Your Grace", "We. The Revolution.", "The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante", "The King's Dilemma" and then some empire sims like "Stellaris" or "Crusader Kings 3".

[@history-jovian]

"The morning has come, Victory is close"

[@yawar7668]

@@storytellingchampion6438 Thnx a lot. Tbh I think the life and suffering of Sir brante was the only game that was somewhat similar to suzerain

[@valrossenOliver]

I somehow did excellent my first run with reforms, perfect economy, everyone (but the NFP and Old Guard) loved Rayne, then I tried a second run to see if I could try something different and my neighbour invaded and put me in a torture chaimber lmao.

[@DanielGoldhorn]

Jumping right from the good ending to the cursed ending

[@dozhadeville444]

Yup! Down with Rumburg!!

[@xxeduduranxx2435]

They sent me to life imprisonment (Damm Old Guard) and before that Lileas and Lucian betrayed me and won the party's re-election candidacy

[@thecolombian8909]

@@xxeduduranxx2435 got impeachment and life imprisonment as well, but lileas actually thanked me for supporting her

[@didncozosksma4466]

I went in as a moderate democrat from Deyr who pushed for more progressive reforms and came out a hardcore democratic socialist who was trying to make a utopia of cultural diversity and fairness. The game is well done in how nuanced, black, white and grey the world, characters and story is, not perfect (THAT FCKING SALAD) but really made me understand the difficulty of politics, not just in my nation, but the whole world. A Morgna Ves Core, Vectern Sis Da!!

[@pixelchrome2]

Literally how I tried to play.(i failed)

[@dozhadeville444]

Vectern Sis Da! ✊🏾

[@spelunkyboy]

The salad doesn't matter. I didn't pick it in my first run and she still accepted easily.

[@wizzotizzo]

@@spelunkyboy likely because you picked a law background during the prologue

[@spelunkyboy]

@@wizzotizzo I picked economics and middle class background

[@1orangutan656]

It does not matter what kind of run you do, you always stay homies with serge

[@xxeduduranxx2435]

Serge the GOAT (I paid his children's education, I have no regrets)

[@sarthakmishra1415]

Bought this game after seeing your review. You are quite persuasive, Sir.

[@yosup2174]

Me who downloaded a free full game with unlimited budget & personal wealth hack version of the app: **PATHETIC.** (Am not bullying btw this is just a joke.)

[@sarthakmishra1415]

@@yosup2174 Got impeached. I think worst possible ending of all 9 endings. Now I also need to try the hacked version, just so that I can kick those who got me impeached in first playthrough.

[@yosup2174]

@@sarthakmishra1415 want a download link to where I downloaded unlimited money hack app?

[@sarthakmishra1415]

@@yosup2174 Thanks, I got it.

[@MrDVG-fe9ms]

Excellent review, but I had to stop watching at the halfway point, bc now I want to play it myself and don't want any spoilers 😢

[@shi117]

Do it! It's freaking AMAZING

[@dozhadeville444]

This is the greatest Political Sim ever made. I would like to see this as an actual animated game! The scenes are extremely tense and the visuals would take this over ther top 🤯 So many choices and twists and endings OMG! Torpor deserves a gaming award for this

[@mustardjar3216]

This game is especially interesting if you are turkish, it is so obvious that sordland was heavily inspired by th 20th century turkey which i love

[@simoncolin5939]

Whaaaaaaat :O I never thought of that but now that you're talking about it makes soooo much sense, that's crazy. Some points aren't similar to turkey situation but the political, economical, east VS west totally is. Aaaanannnd ahhh i see syria/iraq and the kurds angle. You my man just opened my eyes

[@echorises]

@@simoncolin5939 The game also opens with: > You are my enslavement and my freedom. > You are my flesh burning like a raw summer night. > You are my country by Nazim Hikmet Ran, Turkish poet

[@michimatsch5862]

@@mustardjar3216 makes sense. Some of the devs are from there.

[@TSDTalks22]

This seems like a great game but all it confirms is that I would be a terrible politician

[@shi117]

Of course me too

[@SwedishDrunkard5963]

i almost stop the resesion, and made 500 people disepear. It made me relise i would be ok politican not a great one but not a horribel one to.

[@imlivingunderyourbed7845]

​@jackjohnxin Something that could've made it better is to show physical consequences of a President's decisions and also have scenes where Rayne interact with the public instead just his family and certain political figures. Like meeting a worker that lost a limb for not passing the Worker's Rights bill, or visiting towns that either gets better or worse depending on how well the recession is handled.

[@chrisg5219]

It's such a crime that we haven't gotten any sequel even a spiritual one to sid meiers pirates.

[@baronbrummbar8691]

yeah ..... a remaster/remake/sequel of that game would be somthing epic

[@thoronirgros188]

You're in luck one is releasing in a week.

[@gwaptiva]

I just finished my first playthrough, completely failed but absolutely loved the experience

[@DanyelAzamor-lh7yg]

I was doing a socio democrat run and put all my trust on Ricter... I got so mad when i didnt get enough votes for the constituition change because Ricter betrayed me that i uninstalled the game lol

[@dozhadeville444]

Ricteris not to be trusted 😂 Definitely not Kibener

[@someone-wh2rb]

same. but i kept pushing through, doubled the GDP of sordland and was reelected

[@DanyelAzamor-lh7yg]

@@someone-wh2rb I wish I had managed to do that

[@idiocrat3744]

Ricter is a bastard who wants to get all the credit for the reforms so he could get elected. His true colors are unveiled if the USP abandons you after adding some civil rights amendments

[@RuneForumwalker]

There may be "no nazis" in how that is the name of a specific type of fascist group (German nationalists), but arguably there are "nazis" in that there are nationalists who are led by wealthier interests in the country who spark racial hatred.

[@Patrick-de7ty]

The NFP

[@KumihoMahao]

Young Sords being literally nazis, supported by the Old Guard

[@feastguy101]

The Young Sords? Just a cultural association, of course!

[@MandoMonge]

This reminds me of CGPGrey’s video on The Rules for Rulers I’ll check it out on the switch

[@Bob-red-skull]

We can all agree serge is really the best boy

[@apruebaconnotaalta]

Love this game, I've taken so many paths and always notice new details.

[@exiavaganza]

I tried to be nice to everyone, as the greater good was Sord people, not factions. I fixed the economy, health and the army, although I had to abuse powers to make quick changes bypassing the legislative powers, but I wasn't bribed even once. Sordland was prosperous, yet the parties wanted my head for being an absolute centrist. That until Rumburg decided to nuke us 😅.

[@Dwags789]

Man, I remember when I was able to amend the constitution by a single vote. I have never been more relieved in a video game.

[@nunoandresilva93]

I loved this game. The only bad thing is that is "limited". In Victoria 3 for example, you can continue your story for several years. And in Suzerain i played once as a good guy and another as a corrupt and i ended up with the same fate

[@wizardcat5220]

I manged to get a pretty solid win on my first playthrough and din't really notice how the thin the line I walked was until my second and third playthroughs. I pushed through some major reforms but manged to keep the conservatives happy for just long enough to get an alliance with the PFJP then went on to fix the economy and win re-election. My second playthrough went less well and my third ended in prison. I played one more time but ended up with a run veary similar to my first. I stopped playing after that but reading this comment section has inspired me to go back and try the game again. It sounds like I only scratched the surface of what can happen.

[@KevinWalls]

I’ve done two play throughs played them mostly different and the end I am still a huge centrist 😂

[@GIGAY1K]

Fun fact. Most of the events and story of Sordland have been written from the political history of Turkey

[@CreativeSteve69]

I had to stop watching this video near halfway point. I just pickup this game recently since I do love me some good strategy titles now and then to scratch the itch. Sounds like it's a really fun addicting title I might add also the music sounds really pleasing to the ears as well. Looking forward on actually giving this a try down the road soon in my backlog.

[@Patrick-de7ty]

It's a great game of how politics can work. I hope we could as Anton in a second term

[@therewillbefudd]

Great review!

[@ethanschenck9714]

I may just give this a purchase!

[@brandonmorel2658]

Suzerain is absolutely one of the best political RPGs ever, and it meets eye to eye with quite possibly the all time greatest, the quite psychological Disco Elysium. The brilliant aspect of the writing is that every character has consistent class based opinions, that reflect on their actions, worldviews and ideologies. There's no Manicheism, as everyone thinks their solution is the only practical conclusion to the matter. While there are certainly villainous characters; Graf, Hawker, Soll, Richter, Walker, Kibener -- no one is truly portrayed as the problem. You quite adeptly picked up on this too. The thesis of the entire story shows through it's themes that it's not individual characters the ones' responsible for history, rather it's the complex web of economics, opportunism, material conditions and collective interest willing to act on certain ideas. The game rejects the "Great Man" theory of history and embraces Historical Materialism. This entire worldview is reflected on the President who is effectively at the mercy not of his will, rather, the conditions hitherto created by past events. Rayne is a reactionary figure in his own story and as president of Sordland. He does not actively pursue certain outcomes, he can't magically create a perfect socialist utopia, he can only navigate through limited possibilities, he has to cave in to the interests of economic classes, and it's through fortuitous choices, tolerated by said classes, his administration changes the future of the country into something that resembles the player's vision. Unfortunately, this reactionary streak of the gameplay hampers it's interactivity, as it is felt when playing that one is not in charge of the ship, rather, limited to picking and choosing items off a menu. At the end of my second playthrough, I've felt that if I was Anton, I could have handled the situation very differently, his choices were not my choices. In this regard the game fails and the connection Avatar/ Player is lost. A good sequel would amend it so that there's more agency and interactivity, while still portraying the feeling of not quite being in control. All that said, it is a very delicate balance to be achieved, and would take a lot of work, hundreds of thousands of words and many possible outcomes. The game still succeeds at portraying politics and economics realistically and should be revered. It has been said that film is a medium for empathy, that connects the viewer to what's on screen. Video-games if realized well can the most effective form of "Empathy Machines" in existence. Suzerain has hitherto recontextualized all of history and it's actors, at least for me. It has given empathy for a wide range of leaders, such as Comrade Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Bosch, Allende and even history's greatest villains such as Hitler, Pol Pot, Pinochet, and every POTUS ever elected.

[@kjj26k]

You did NOT just put The Great Emancipator on the same list as the likes of Hitler or Pinochet. 🧐

[@brandonmorel2658]

Khmer ultra fascist fake communist no glasses no rice gang 100@@kjj26k

[@TheIncredible2IC]

He said Dwight Walker is a villainous character

[@abdullahansari437]

In my first and so far only play through I did so well. Fixed economy, budget, social unrest, reelection guaranteed. Mixed economy welfare state. Amazing family life too which I looked after. All at the end of my first term. After all this I was expected at least not the worst possible ending subjectively. That’s exactly what I got. I neglected rumburg. I knew they were coming, but I thought I had more time and underestimated them. Just this. One thing. My military. I neglected it. That one thing made everything else I did irrelevant. I died in a rumburgian cell of old age with my entire nation conquered and my family’s fate unknown. Literally lost every possible thing I could have had to lose. Even my family which I could have gotten out before the war but I did not think we would get steamrolled so comprehensively. I underestimated them. Which makes sense, of course if a leader ignores their already weak military when a strong neighbour is threatening you, he’s a goner. Like doesn’t matter how well he managed the economy. I solved the polio outbreak without the public even knowing of it. Read the small reports from Bergius at the start of the game about an outbreak. I knew this was gonna be a major thing in the future so nipped it in the bud by making healthcare great again. Even considering the lives lost in the war, I’m sure I saved many more. I think this might be objectively the worse ending too. What could be worse?

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

You need to increase their budget so rumburg will lose you can also sanction them both in OMEC and AN that will criple their economy You do not need to do every economy plan from symon instead think smart and plan everything to get the best ending possible

[@abdullahansari437]

@@bamantioindrahidayat1165 Ya I didn’t. He was too liberal for me. Started the game with planned economy promised but I always wanted to make a mixed economy and I was pleasantly surprised that it was possible in this game The game at the start really gave me the idea that the military is a threat politically. So I didn’t wanna increase their budget. That miscalculation directly caused my loss Also probably my diplomatic isolation. My mixed economy didn’t gel well with either super power, so apart from Agnolia I had no one. I pretty much decided to risk it as a non aligned power. Maybe that’s why I never got the option of economic sanctions

[@exoels]

I'm in my first playthrough as a uncorrupted capitalist run aligning myself with the West maybe I can join the NATO equivalent to protect Sordland

[@abdullahansari437]

@@exoels my only issue with that was Runburg’s queen actually starts talk with the west herself before you can. So idk how much of a help your filthy capitalist overlords would be

[@_alexdez8053]

Well, one whole year later, you made me want to play this. It's like 5€ rn, and you sold it very well

[@kop1807]

Help I accidentally killed serge

[@DanielGoldhorn]

"With this character's death, the thread of prophecy is severed. Restore a saved game to restore the weave of fate, or persist in the doomed world you have created."

[@kop1807]

@@yosup2174 he saved me from an assassin

[@fishnujish1511]

You deserve any impeachment you get. I'm sorry. Serge is off limits.

[@yosup2174]

@@kop1807 oop yeah I just accidentally got him killed in one of my recent playthroughs. If you undergo assassination attempt, you can tell Serge to either floor it or reverse. If you tell him to floor it, he dies.

[@betzcb3106]

@@yosup2174 What about reverse? I always told him to floor it, since reversing would make us a slower target.

[@history-jovian]

Suzerain is how real life works out. You can never make everybody happy. You have to try to make everybody satisfied enough. Also, the family one. Even the most sheltered can become bad. Franc is basically the teenager. The kid has to go through life with either good decisions or embarrasing. It os understandable why Franc acts the way it is. Espeically considering the fact that rayne is president.

[@dozhadeville444]

So true!

[@Daimo83]

Wow this reminds me of Conflict Middle East on DOS from back in the day

[@planetofgamespog8242]

First time I played I didn't even manage to get the reforms past the Assembly. I rage quit then lol Took me like four or five tries to fix the recession

[@NgaMarsters]

You ever played Disco Elysium? It's an RPG that also has some expertly handled political themes. You can actually play a game called Suzerain in it. Even though it's basically that worlds version of the Civ games.

[@DanielGoldhorn]

I've actually not played that before, though I've heard good things. Might try to play it soon...

[@NgaMarsters]

@@DanielGoldhorn it's definitely an acquired taste. Not meant for the mass population of gamers.

[@baronbrummbar8691]

that game is like playing L.A. Noire while high on some shrooms

[@Brett-uq4tz]

In suzerain can you do anything underhanded or manipulative? And do you have any political rivals?​@@DanielGoldhorn

[@davidsmith8826]

@@Brett-uq4tzI’ll answer. Yes in fact you can form Secret State Police and betray anyone you want. Remember though, there are always consequences.

[@1Maklak]

The game has a wiki. It is incomplete, but it's a good guide through some initial decisions and you can more or less get a hang of it after that.

[@gmg9010]

I found this game on the App Store and now I have it on my PC and I love it.

[@masterodisguise2983]

I managed to boost my economy to new heights, was adored by my country, would have even become a member of honor after my term had the bombs not dropped...

[@straitzuzuki]

I tried the game, and i liked it. I may not be that skilled when it comes to chaos of politics, but it intrested me bec of this video, i'll maybe have to resort to pritating to continue my playthrough, unless im able to download it in laptop and its free their including all the chapters

[@jaytayGO]

Is it a big difference from the mobile version?

[@nawolith3840]

Wonderful game! In my first playthrough i tried getting rid of corruption, and govern to the best of my abilites and modernize the constitution. I managed to push it through - and then i got voted out of leadership by my own party for being too left and had to retire... Even my personal advisor (forgot the name) voted against me! But at least the constitution stuck.

[@pineapplesmoovey7898]

the Sim games as a kid were lit ngl

[@arynrowland862]

One of my favorite things is the complexity of the different factions and how you interact with them. Being an American, I believed that the conservatives would be staunch capitalists, but they are anything but.

[@ТАДАМ-ю4ж]

conservatives not capitalist tho. More like socialist

[@johnnotrealname8168]

It makes sense to be honest. Conservatives were not pro-market historically.

[@arynrowland862]

⁠@@johnnotrealname8168They conservatives in the United States(republicans) have pretty much always been the party of businesses and corporations. I get that in a global sense, it’s different, but in the US the Republicans have always been a free market, anti protectionism party.

[@GuilhermeRib]

@@ТАДАМ-ю4ж The conservatives in Suzerain didn't like socialists, It was pretty standard for some right wing folks be more open to intervention in the past (19XX)

[@ТАДАМ-ю4ж]

@@GuilhermeRib right right you playing Rizia now?

[@RavenStorm332]

the game allows you to take notes as well so there's that. Also I think that some kind of interface that shows which characters like you

[@DuVious1]

In my first playthrough I; > Enacted the a new reformed constitution with 154 ayes and 96 nays and 6 of the Supreme Court Justices voting for it. >> The new constitution allowed a 3/5 Override, made it so the Supreme Court cannot vote on constitutional changes, made the Assembly and Supreme Court have to agree to impeach me, allowed the Assembly to choose the ministers, pulled the electoral threshold down to 8% (after enacting the stupid Finance Bill), made it so the Assembly has to pass an enabling act for me to proclaim decrees, and enacted a two-term limit. >>> I negotiated with Gloria Tory to move the electoral threshold to 8% at the cost of having to leave Soll's Member of Honor status alone and allowing Justices to have immunity. She also wanted me to call off the Women's Rights speech, to which I did, only to support Monica during the lashing out. >I invested in the H-3 Highway, siding with Taurus. I went to the funeral of Bernard Circas, visited the towns affected by civil unrest, provided stimulus cheques to people in hard times, didn't ban the Red Youth or/and the Young Sords, Address the protestors at Gasom, invested in Agnland, donated a small sum to the Alphonso foundation, mechanized the existing farms in Gruni, played a little chess with Lucian, accepted the aid from Arcasia, began to build the Benfi International Airport with the SSC, spent a little bit of money to sway the MPs ;) ;), got a high return from the Gasom shares, turned away the Rumburg whistleblower, sent Lucian to attempt to talk to Justice Heron, donated a hefty sum to the Sordish League of Women, selected Gloria Tory as my Vice President, I started to give out medical scholarships, went to the Aschraf Anniversary with no armored convoy (I think, I might've misclicked), I expanded the automotive industry, grabbed the military industrial investment from Arcasia, I refused to fund the Young Sords or Red Youth, I paid reparations to the Kingdom of Rumburg and got a sweet trade deal out of it, I finally decided to focus on Security for my next turn. >I enacted the Fair Trade and Competition Commission and created the Supreme Council of Sordish Radio and Television, making sure it remained fair and free of misinformation. >I enacted the Tourism and Cultural Preservation Act, the G.R.E.E.N. Act (Which was a sham), the Workers' Rights Act, the Unified Education Language Act (which was extremely stupid of me), the Less Smoke Act, the Women's Liberation Act, the Human Dignity Bill, the Children for Future Act, the Alcohol Tax Act, and the Fair Luxury Tax Act. >Attempted to quell Bludish hate by teaming up with the PFJP and NFP to force the Supreme Court to throw /the/ case out. I did not attempt to reform Articles 6 or 7 as I was told the NFP would have to make an entirely new statement seperating themselves the from PFJP and USP. I thought this would lower the chances of the Supreme Court throwing out the case. Overall, 2.2 million people found a job, 81% fewer maternal and infant deaths were recorded, 8,222 people died to criminal violence, 779 people died during the Red Youth and Young Sords clashes, 86,450 soldiers became unemployed (I removed forced conscription), 3,390 people with Bludish descent were jailed and 239 were killed, 3,899 legal cases were delayed, 614,470 women joined the workforce and 805,380 girls were enrolled in secondary education for the first time, 13,142 businesses were founded, 259,498 students left secondary education without graduating, 10,400 state employees lost their jobs while 3 oligarchs obtained 40% of the Sordish economy, and 633 ATO officers arrived in Sordland. I was re-nominated again despite Graf running for me, in which Lucian endorsed her. I won re-election despite being told only 27% of people would vote for me if I were to run again and 53.4% of all voting women advocated for me if I continued to fight for gender equality. I like to imagine Anton Rayne, my Anton Rayne atleast, continued to fight for equality of everyone while attempting to keep its status in the AN. He'd find his footing and be smarter regarding his bills and push for former, racist bills against the Bludish to be stopped. He'd continue his political fight even after his second term ends and he would attempt to talk to everyone in a democratic manner, keeping all opinions in mind. He would continue to be a reformist-centrist. He'll probably retire 10-20 years after 1963 and settle down again with his family.. or maybe he'll be assassinated in 1963. While playing Suzerain, I couldn't help but think that I could do so much more - redo old bills and acts that were unhelpful or un-democratic. I wanted to truly turn Sordland into a global superpower on the likes of Arcasia and United Cortana. I wanted to do the best I could for my country while still having enough wiggle room to get unlikely people to agree with me and vote for me. I wished to veer away from shady dealings and establish trade relations with every capitalist-leaning country. I wanted to raise the budget of things I had previously failed to raise, ie. the police and the military. I brought a country from a dark and deep pit of despair, burdened with racism, sexism, censorship, and a potential civil war and invasion to one that thrived, free of sexism and a little bit of racism, free of censorship with everyone being able to speak their mind be it journalists or citizens, and free of the fear of war as I push our biggest threat close to us and into peace. I think that's what every politician is - or president, atleast. They bend the rules a little and play the game in a way it is not meant to be played, with people either loving or hating their decisions. This is, in their mind atleast, the BEST way they could run the country at that very moment. The problem with real life politics is these countries are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. There is no "we're going to reach the highest peak" and it's instead "we're going to try to reach our peak again." Sordland is only a couple decades old. You're the fourth president after a guy who was locked in prison and burned alive, a tyrant, a Colonel who was good for a bit but started to devolve and a guy who took "I want these files on my desk by tomorrow" a little too seriously.

[@Dottor_J]

I love the game. Fantastic writing. We need more CYOA like this one

[@nikoladedic6623]

I wonder if 2.0 update will help with Franc's story.

[@definitelyhuman4510]

Haven't got any chance to try it again. Did they improve his behaviour towards Anton? Iirc he's annoying and unrealistic af as the son of President. I mean Anton family in general is kinda toxic at a glance, but Franc is just different breed lol.

[@baronbrummbar8691]

@@definitelyhuman4510 considering that if you do everything "right" franc can join a terrorist organization ............ yeah he is another breed

[@baronbrummbar8691]

sadly not ........ the family didn.t change at all

[@idiocrat3744]

​​@@definitelyhuman4510Are they really toxic? Your daughter loves you no matter what and Monica treats you well if you respect her enough. Franc is a teenager but if you pick the right responses the most hostile word you can get is "Yeah right but...*awkward teenager moment*"

[@patrick17_6]

I wonder if there is a genuine peaceful ending after making Sordland great

[@nahuelpiguillem2949]

Crisis in the kremlin serie of videogames has this kind of mechanichs but with realistic geopolitical problems

[@dozhadeville444]

Did anybody else try the full Malevyan approach??

[@baronbrummbar8691]

in like my 8th run ............ doing it while being reformist used to be very op before the 2.0 update

[@dozhadeville444]

@@baronbrummbar8691 I wanted to try the reformist approach but I didn’t trust them lol! I got overwhelmed, it was happening so fast and the decisions had so mich weight

[@baronbrummbar8691]

@@dozhadeville444 the PFJP you can trust aslong as you DO actual reform btw the leader of the communist party used to be a member of the PFJP but economic reasons drove them apart .......... the PFJP is a social democrat party . pro unions and small business

[@roundninja]

This looks really interesting, I might play it

[@BipolarBear-tc5oe]

Which countries are better for trading when playing the autocrat playthrough? Will trading with Valgsland upset the sollists? What is the best strategy for winning the war alone?

[@kevinnac1]

For the war,you need bigger army if you gonna win alone,Honestly i do recommend you to get allies(you can win the war alone but it costs a lot of casualties,If you go allied nations and modernizes the army,Sordland achieves a Crushing victory with minimal losses),but basically it to win the war alone do not modernize the army just expand it(DO NOT SEND FRANC TO MILITARY SCHOOL,HE WILL DIE)but expect consequences

[@annoyedbipolar7424]

ok but if you beat the game once or twice it should unlock a manual save (it doesn't but it should) Clearly, you would have beaten the game by that point and one manual save slot is kind of the best of both save camps.

[@DanielGoldhorn]

Yes, this is true! When I had made this video, the game didn't have that feature, but it was added in an update.

[@annoyedbipolar7424]

@@DanielGoldhorn I didn't know that. Didn't even hear of the game till today. I was just trying to make a semi-cheeky comment about the developer's weird initial choice. Cool video btw

[@DanielGoldhorn]

@@annoyedbipolar7424 Thank you! I'll be talking about the DLC soon

[@Brett-uq4tz]

Quick question about suzerain, can you appoint anyone to any position in the government?​@@DanielGoldhorn

[@TheFlashPirates]

Is there a difference between playing on steam and buying the full version on IOS?

[@OlaniyanTeniola]

I played this game to the end in the very first term with lot of economic reforms and so much even my democratic constitution got accepted,.when i thought i will win the next election then a military coup occured and was so annoying. But this game is the best political game ever

[@kennethjohnpadernal7853]

after playing Suzerain and the DLC Rizia I hope they expand more the lore of this world

[@ronaldp7573]

Subscribed only because I believe goats are under appreciated animals.

[@matthewoneil8037]

my first run, i was a complete centrist on the political spectrum and managed very minor reforms and got reelected.

[@igretrovods9189]

Yes, but is it as fun if you are not reading the text? I do not like to read in games so I wonder if you can skip the dialogues and play

[@davidsmith8826]

@@igretrovods9189 this is a bit late, but no. The whole game is text based. Even the military in the base game is down through text.

[@crragg1022]

@@igretrovods9189 its a text Based game, kinda like a book you can control so no the text is part of the gameplay

[@seanisnotjohn]

It's literally a playable novel

[@user-xb3my6zw6r]

Not really. Atleast throughout the first time game play you've to keep track of every word displayed. After you get enough understanding,then yes you can happily skip through dialogues (Assuming you aren't changing your political strategy)

[@idiocrat3744]

There are no nazis officially but there are ethofascists around. Hell, even Orso Hawker is implied to be "something darker" than Sollism

[@seanisnotjohn]

"There aren't Nazis but there are National Socialists"

[@mamerechristopher648]

The easy way for Anton Rayne to even survive is to please and work with the Oligarchs, these rich and powerful people can help you almost with everything in the game, as long as you listen to their needs and protect their interests. The most notable man is Marcel Koronti, this guy can be your most powerful backer in the game aside from controlling the media this guy can also intimidate the military if you wanted to pursue ATO membership and prevent a Rumburg invasion and a possible military coup. So the only way to win this is by allying with the Oligarchs and when the time comes for Privatization efforts I advise you to fully Privatize SSC and Nedam Mining Group then sell them all to Marcel Koronti. Remember corruption is a must if you want a more Democratic and wealthy Sordland to prosper, and I highly advise caution against your closest ministers and adviser. Warning! If you're gonna take this path then don't listen to both ministers of Law and Order cause they will surely give you hell if you allow them to create newly branch of Police especially the Anti corruption Police.

[@EsdrasIX]

I won the game without all the stuff you mentioned, I even put Koronti in prison.

[@tcda9699]

I was pretty solid internally. Made alliances with the old guard and Konstantini (?). But messed up foreign policy. Ended up invaded by Rumberg (?) and committing suicide as as an invading soldier pointed his gun at me in my presidential office.

[@_Muzolf]

My first president Rayne was pretty much a failure, who could not push trough democratic reform, left the economy in recession, and ended up resigning before he could be ousted, which absolutely would have happened because his popularity tanked. Only positives, successful education reform (that alienated the conservatives) and avoiding war by entering the western sphere of interest. Even the autonomy granted to the Bluds was a giant mistake as the place just became a breeding ground for terrorists, and i learned later that they are not even a majority in Bergia, i handed them a majoriy of ethnic Sords to abuse.

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

You should not sign every law or change in constitution instead choose a balance approach or become bold by doing corruption or stay clean but clever run I ended my run as a centralist with great economy and win war against rumburg i also make a semi-autonomous blue region and make the BFF worthless with my law and economy I don't pick side tho cause it's a recepy for Doom yes you can win against rumburg but you have to play your card smartly

[@_Muzolf]

@@bamantioindrahidayat1165 I am convinced that the game will call you a centrist even if you pull 90% in one direction, so that says little. My last run i consider a full success, economic recovery, war avoided, medical system fixed, and Bergia integrated like a normal region, the Blud vote was split between their re-legalized and the other party so they remained outside of parlament, and Rayne got reelected. But that was my 4-th attempt, 1 was what i described above 3 and 2 were near complete disasters with depression, lost war and the other one ending in a coup.

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

@@_Muzolf why would you avoid war Your economy is gonna go booming you should make yourself victim first and kick rumburg butt and get thornburgh for yourself

[@_Muzolf]

@@bamantioindrahidayat1165 I dunno, i feel like any positives aside, a war if it can be avoided, should be avoided in the first place, because of the death toll and unforseen circumstances even if you can win. Which i most certainly would not have in my last run, because i defunded the military to be able to increase the security and medical budgets without sending us into the red right away.

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

@@_Muzolf are you crazy the sordish people love go to war and by defund the military iosef and Valken become your enemy And winning the war make you reelected asap people will love you 200.00 live is nothing if you get thornburgh,make rumburg pay for everything like litteraly and rumburg economy will get cripled or become commie puppet state You should go to war if Beatrice piss you off after peace talk not before it(paint yourself again as the victim) You basicly make sordland like Swiss but stronger and have high economy

[@mikaelos]

Fixed the economy, joined ATO and GOT REELECTED, heard it is hard to get reelected when you join ATO

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

Or you don't join ATO instead become neutral kick rumburg but and got reelected You can get reelected if you win against rumburg well basicly winning rumburg=next term

[@seanisnotjohn]

I: -Ruined the economy, Literally caused a depression because of a half assed corrupt planned economy -Commited extreme war crimes against the Bluds -Arrested political enemies -Somehow joined ATO, avoided war with Rumberg -Used secret police to brutalise people -Ruined my marriage -Sent my son to military training, don't even know what happened to him there -Never had a single interaction with Vanglisland or whatever it's name is -Nearly (kinda did) gave Lancea control of the entire country -Went down to like -20 budget - 0 personal wealth (divorce) - Didn't listen to a single thing the education minister ever said -Worked with both Oligarchs (killed one of them) - STILL GOT REELECTETED THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL

[@rzen091]

And at the end, you get couped by a Military General by saying that you did a horrible job but agreed to your decisions and even agreed with you on some

[@notmax8588]

I was assassinated by the Bluds

[@dozhadeville444]

I was shot at my speech... but survived!

[@dozhadeville444]

If u pay for Serge kid to go to college he will give u a pocket watch, this will save your life during the assassination attempt. This little detail is amazing

[@baronbrummbar8691]

@@dozhadeville444 if you ally the nationalist they give you a rippo lighter and creating the secret service also protects you ........ ther is an achievment for surving 3 assassination attempts

[@RaptureRefugee]

"A Morgna wes core, Vectern sis da!"

[@syhusada1130]

I hate the naming sense of the location/countries in this game. Other than that, I love it.

[@Hazardius]

I need to come back to this game and finish at least one playthrough. xd It was just too easy to engage in that world and sink hours while considering my options.

[@mentaripagi__]

Been playing this game for a month 1) Lose war against the Rumburg 2) Get coup by Iosef 3) Lose war again by the Rumburg 4) Finally i won the war against the Rumburg 😂

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

You need to have strong economy to kick rumburg Also iosef and Valken wouldnt coup you if you increase or maintain the military budget i myself prefer to increase the budget so i can kick rumburg You can make a neutral approach but you need strong allies like valgsaland or lespia

[@badassgoat5601]

All I know, even though I firmly believe having society's best interest at heart.... but too make changes I need the secret police in order to be able to do so 😂

[@baronbrummbar8691]

yeah being hyper corrupt to achieve anything and then just getting rid of the people you have been corrupt with is epic

[@yosup2174]

Weird Fact: I legit had a crush on Gloria Tory when I first saw her 🥺 💓.

[@Misagh_H]

Ayoooooo. Down bad for that Sollist bu**y

[@adrianbattersby4791]

Hello, at around 8.41 in your video you suggest that the nazi's were socialist. Although they were called the national socialist German workers' party they weren't socialist and in fact having any socialist views in Nazi Germany meant should be sent to a work camp . I am sorry if this sounds like I am correcting you, I just wish to point out and on his mistake.

[@_Muzolf]

Its not a mistake, the nazis were socialist, just not the kind of socialist people understand under it these days. Their socialism came from the prussian socialist school, not the Marxist-Leninist one. They very much advocated for heavy state controls and social policies, they were just somewhat more willing (Somewhat being the operative word, they still nationalized private property at times.) to tolerate private enterprise. But one only needs to look up Hitlers words on capitalism to understand where they stood.

[@alabastertheunicorn3204]

@@_Muzolf exactly as fascists and in this case National Socialists generally weren't fond of private businesses because they were outside the control of the state and more said corporations should dance to the tune of the state.

[@adalwinamillion5477]

Millennialist Goat enacts State Mandated Garlic Bread and Lattes for Everyone

[@stanced3277]

I tried to be a good socialist, my sordland entered a trade war and a debt crisis, failed to pass reforms, and voted me out for my more sollist advisor of the interior.

[@Taylor_slayss]

It really is,sad you have to pay for the rest of the story

[@DanksterPaws]

I still feel like the game is just modded Hearts of Iron but with a focus on events. I don’t know if im sold.

[@piyushvasdani8206]

trust me you will be it is the best thing ever

[@definitelyhuman4510]

Also couples of juicy drama

[@DanksterPaws]

@@piyushvasdani8206 I’ll give it a chance, but only if I pirate it. If I do end up liking it then I’ll plop it into my wishlist to be bought on sale

[@piyushvasdani8206]

@@DanksterPaws that's is a good idea

[@magni5648]

Nah. It's closer to a striaght-up visual novel than HoI.

[@fluffynator6222]

Comparing the Socialist Nationalists to Nazis is kinda rough... The Nazis weren't exactly Socialist in any way, they actually created most modern German companies.

[@seanisnotjohn]

National Socialists are literally what the Nazis were

[@amarjamakovic1297]

This is basically Turkey during 1940s till 1990s

[@sahilhossain8204]

Lore of Suzerain is a Political Simulator Done Right momentum 100

[@firstname7312]

Suzerian is a visual novel not a political simulator nothing at all is simulated it is purely story

[@seanisnotjohn]

You choose what happens so it is simulated

[@MsHydna]

My first playthrough I did a decent block of reforms but couldn't figure out how to run the economy well.... lost reelection to the liberals, which wasn't too bad.

[@robinalbers6107]

Got assassinated on my first playthrough 10/10

[@sharpshooter--00]

the best part of this game is news , you mess up ,they will make fool of you its really funny to read that 😂😂

[@baronbrummbar8691]

i mean mos to fthe news will just insult you nomatter what you do .. espacily the radical will almost always be anti you ------- you did just do what they asked you to do since forever ........... "Rayn did this to distract you"

[@realninjamasteryt2034]

Nice

[@tristanexists1806]

Sordland number one glory to Sordland ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@Copy-x2k]

For me i never play Suzerain if i can play once I will play as Left Democratic Reformist and join West but man as leftist dude and try join West power that would be Hard as F*ck because well in Cold War of our Timeline there no any leftist Democracy Nation on side US

[@rrrr-xj6ll]

Not true mary western European social democracies where allies of the US during the cold as long as you are not communist or have trade relations with the soviet union the us would be your ally

[@magni5648]

I had no problem being chummy with ATO as a very left-leaning social democratic reformer. As in, expanded public health and welfare while keeping it all nationalised, levvied high taxes on large corporations plus luxury/consumption taxes, had extensive workers' rights and invested in large public works etc. Only truly free-market capitalist things I did was loosening (but not abolishing) protectionism on the energy sector and partially privatizing the two big state companies. Of course I did ally Agnolia and stand up to Valgsland, and told Wehlen's funny guy to shove his "special operation". Getting an alliance deal with Lespia was easy in that run.

[@Copy-x2k]

@@magni5648 neat also i just finish my first as socialist dem path which ngl i almostgot busted because at late i got corrupted leak because i fail to convince moderate wing in court to favor me so have no choice but bribe one of old guard figures and plus i keep media independent when at party convention which our minister of interior turn against us i found that minister economy and health has resign to escape this mess which in my head i think atleast able to reform constitution and help sordland economy which i hope my good karma action has pay me back like people may forgive me for my corruption for bribe court to pass reformed Constitution but end with miracle that i win and get next term also actually try to make my character have some Sollist idea like when meet him in washroom i said that i forgot dialogue but i said i still respect him till now and said constitution must change for greater goods

[@lomiawolfcaller5527]

currently in my first playthrough - so far, feels like it's all bad choices!

[@riec4482]

Good game hard as shit tho

[@tysongamerpro1095]

TRUE PURPLE BLOODED SORDS VOTE NFP!

[@Hilman_Faiz]

Finally a game that can be used by keyboard politicians to do what they think will work!

[@deebs12]

Just found this video by chance. Now, I’m subscribing. Cheers. Also, the only politics simulator I’ve really played and enjoyed was Hearts of Iron IV. I may give this one you talk about a chance.

[@jacobalexander5797]

Suzerain is too linear

[@seanisnotjohn]

What does that even mean

[@MH-nj7uu]

Its a indepth game, compelling game but I just couldnt get over the long reading and text. A game should also be fun and enjoyable to play, this sadly isnt.

[@seanisnotjohn]

It absolutely is fun

[@anarhistul7257]

Oligarchs who are FOR private markets? WTF is wrong with you?! Oligarchs want subsidies and privileges' only!

[@АнтонМаксимов-к8м]

It is a bit difficult to be a successful oligarch when the state owns and regulates the economy.

[@anarhistul7257]

@@АнтонМаксимов-к8м you have it upside down

[@bamantioindrahidayat1165]

You can investigate oligarch and hawker out from the judicary

[@anarhistul7257]

@@АнтонМаксимов-к8м no, it regulates it for you

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:» D

[@atrixtussand2369]

Just went thru first playthrough. I have to say. The general idea behind the game is awesome but the execution is trash. You don't have actually power at all, you are more going with the flow. No matter how hard you try you can please almost no one regardless did you make a deal with medial mogul or not the news will unanimously taking a dump on you almost always. Your people are in majority xenophobes racist and misogynist that say that they wont changes but apparently NO ONE and NOTHING is willing to change. Weather is the laws, the constitution or the rights everyone will be against it. Your neighbors all f-in hate you unanimously and the best you can do with them is to "tolerate" you. You are from very start in everyone crosshair to make you their scapegoat. Everything is against you, and i mean everything. On top of all. There is no negotiation in the game there is just yes and no and the only people that are willing to make compromises and very few people from your cabinet. I swear its like i trying to control my own country. Everyone is fake, everyone is greed, everyone is snob and everyone is so f ing shortsighted that they don't give a vibe of an actual person. That goes foreign dignitaries the most. They are lunatics that you cant reason with you can either flip them off or suck their D. There is no middle ground in 80% of cases. I swear i don't know if i love or hate this game. Currently the ball is a lot further in the hate field. Never ever i had wish i had an option to dispatch assassins to take out some of the most annoying characters in the game. But i guess the game is true to life in that part. Majority of politicians sole purpose is to obstruct those on power and nothing else. They have no better idea, other goals or anything else aside from stopping ruling members from doing their job and just like in real life they don't give a single shit if they gonna burn the country in the process. I still think this could have done better because right now it just give Telltales GoT vibes. There is no good outcome, you are perpetually screwed only difference is by whom and how hard. Rant over.