Recent reviews by Barks

Very simply, there is another review around that states "I did what I would have done and it worked out."

I am here to say, I did what I would have done and I got sent to the electric chair as a war criminal after losing a conflict with my neighbor and during the next playthrough I didn't let the bastards take me out of my office alive . On the third try, I won the war . Lastly, I know from accidental spoilers that you can have your driver's child be named after you, suffer a coup, be stabbed in the heart by a close advisor, push your VP to commit suicide, murder him yourself, and/or be nuked , etc., etc., etc...

The fact that my game was different than the other review, and from the other games I had played, is what you're looking for in a good review for Suzerain. The game is intricate, enjoyable, and replayable. You definitely feel like the leader of a struggling nation. Your allies feel like allies, your enemies feel like enemies, and both can become the other as you understand (and exploit) their desires and weaknesses to help you secure a future for your country.

The creator put a lot of thought into the personalities and paths you can discover, and you can easily get at least 4-5 solid playthroughs before even considering the Rizia DLC. The price is worth it. You should buy it.

That said, there are two flaws in the game:

1) The map is beautiful, and the icons are nice, but it doesn't really change in the way that a usual map-based grand strategy game does. If you're into beautiful maps, you'll love it. Just don't expect to paint it. The game is beyond that simple objective anyway.

2) The entire game is dialogue-driven. You can make the dialogue go faster by clicking through the narrative, but be careful not to accidentally click a confirmed response by your character, because there is no going back. For this, you need to engage with much of the same dialogue during subsequent playthroughs, and so replayability suffers a bit. However, I think it would hurt the game to offer simple, dialogue-skipping options such as (Stay Sollist) or (Push Reforms) or (Be Moderate). The feeling of being an actual person among actual people is unique, and I'm personally okay with this singular issue with replayability.

It's been 133 hours, and only just now do I feel bored playing samey maps against the AI; disappointed in the lacking multiplayer (have thick skin if you're new, and just be happy the servers aren't dead). If this amount of time is worth whatever the price of this game is at the moment, then go for it.

There's a moment, when you start becoming proficient, when it just feels worth it.

We'd been pinned down for what felt like a lifetime.

The MG fire exploded from the shredded backyards of Yamki, each burst accompanied by the indiscreet muzzle flash just visible through the teetering, slatted fences. My squad leader was dead, the medic's still body not one meter away from his. One more Able Squad rifleman lay bleeding out near me.

"Hang in there," I told him, the storm of steel all around us, but I knew he was a goner. Our outpost was too distant for another doc to show up and save this young soldier's life, and even he knew it. Soon, grip on my hand softened, and his eyes gave way to eternity. I shook it out of my mind. I couldn't dwell. I checked my ammo. One magazine left. I scanned my surroundings. The next closest squad was Dog. "You got ammo?!" I shouted. It wouldn't have mattered. He was just as trapped as I was.

"Nah." The problem would remain, for now. Then we all heard it. Salvation, from above.

The bombs fell, one after the other, upon the houses of Yamki, shaking the earth and rattling my vision into a blur. Soil and debris covered us. I thought I was going to die, but when the explosions stopped, so too had the gunfire.

"That's it, boys!" Dog Squad leader hollered, standing up before the open field. "What do you wanna do, live forever?!" We charged toward the ruined homes. Two of us went down immediately - dammit. One MG had survived, somewhere in one of the yards. We reached the fence, ammunition tearing through it relentlessly. We hunkered down as best as we could, but the fire kept coming. We'd be minced if we stayed here long.

"Wait for the reload!" I shouted to my comrades. I knew the magazine would be empty soon, and as predicted, the shooting stopped. "Go, go, go!" We jumped the fence, catching the gunner both between drums of ammunition, and in my sights. I pulled the trigger. Again. My enemy fell, the MG tumbling beside him. I turned my rifle to the log pile on the side of the house and put two more rounds into the prone soldier there. My movements were automatic, a flow unmatched in any other moment of my life. It was like I had been here before, and was just re-enacting some terrible, beautiful moment. But I didn't see the submachine gunner standing in the window until it was too late. His eyes were fixed on me, and I heard the popping burst of a weapon. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate.

But I drew breath where I had expected to find none. There, across the yard, the leader of Dog Squad stood, smoking gun in hand. The body of my would-be murderer crumpled behind the window, and two more members of our unit jumped through to clear the house. A third dropped ammunition at our feet.

"Damn," I said, inspecting my uninjured body.

"Yeah," replied the lieutenant. "What a fight."

"No joke." We looked across the street - movement, behind the houses there. I looked at my comrade. "Ready for another?"

"Born that way," he replied. We grabbed some ammo...

This is the strategy game I've been waiting for, and I couldn't be more happy with it so far. I can already see its replayability, as well as the lengths the developers have gone to keep it streamlined as possible without removing the complex inner workings of your usual Paradox game.

The ONLY issue I have isn't really an issue: the user interface. But here's why it's not an issue:

1) The game is still absolutely worth it, despite some UI clunkiness.
2) The UI will undoubtedly be updated by Paradox (who is renowned for taking care of their releases for years to come), or by a good mod sometime in the future.

Buy this game, because it's the 4X you've been wanting to play.

I suppose you shouldn't pay too much attention to this review. I have only played this game for 28 hours, to be honest. Although, I have had an immense amount of fun playing this game, ever since I purchased it 28 hours ago.