izigame.me

I have just concluded the Kingdom of Rizia (KOR) DLC for Suzerain and have some parting thoughts. Overall, I think it’s very well done with some of the best strengths of the base game carried over -well written scenes and an authentically realised world - but with new elements introduced that distinguish the experience as very much its own unique proposition. The government type this time round is that of a semi-constitutional monarchy which in effect amounts to an absolute monarchy with the semblance of democracy tacked on for the sake of appearances. This more autocratic form of government is well implemented from a gameplay standpoint with a list of decrees being available to the player for issuance at any time – assuming resources allow – and can often be seen to take tangible effects instantaneously (cf. the more decisions focused framework for shaping policy in the base game). For example, the player can decide to decree a tax on the noble families of the kingdom in an ostensible effort to redistribute national wealth and this will be seen to reflect in revenue or budget per turn, or construction projects like a hydroelectric dam contributing to energy per turn. A selection of these are available from the outset, however the majority will only become available as the game progresses, with several being proposed by the state assembly.
Another notable addition here is management of the Rizian Armed Forces which the player can expand via recruitment at any time assuming access to the relevant military resources are available. A brief word on resources - at the kingdom level, these comprise Authority, Budget and Energy, all used to issue decrees, negotiate deals during scenes with other characters and make decisions like investments, interventions, invasions, that sort of thing. Militarily, resources include such things as manpower, equipment, tanks, trucks, you get the idea. These military assets can be used to expand the ranks of the Rizian army in preparation for the invasion of Pales, a neighbouring state that is de jure part of the Kingdom of Rizia. To my understanding, players less belligerently inclined than myself can opt to take a less drastic approach to resolving diplomatic tensions with this fledgling nation, however, this will deny them experiencing what is probably the main feature of this DLC i.e. the war game mechanic, which is unapologetically gamey and, in my opinion, delightfully fun, even though I lost. These systems signal a soft gamification that tentatively departs from the more narratively driven approach of the base game, and is, in my opinion, a welcome evolution.
This is what brings me to what bothers me about KOR, the gamified elements don’t go far enough. I realise, Suzerian is, in essence, a visual novel, and this is very much how the base game is experienced. However, even in that case, the budgetary metrics, at least for me, often proved the primary litmus test to measure the success or failure of government policies. Granted, there were newspaper articles and reports generated constantly, representing a more narratively driven method of storytelling, however, it was the numeric elements given pride of place at the top of the screen and indeed what often decided both the extent and nature of policies available. This is particularly true of KOR which expands budgetary resources to encompass those two other metrics I’ve mentioned and offer a rewarding reflection of the Kingdom’s health particularly when considered the means for unlocking further choices for governance.
Of course, the myriad reading materials are still heavily employed, and there’s hardly a dull moment where these more nuanced insights of the impact your decisions are having are concerned, but they work all the better when combined with the resource management elements that have been expanded as part of this DLC. I realise there’s a slippery slope here, and the line must be drawn somewhere, however it’s my opinion that the optimal balance has yet to be found. This is especially frustrating when decisions are presented as merely costing money and energy, that have some conceivable benefit, say to the droves of homeless people housed as part of a relevant scheme, or tourists welcomed at a newly opened resort, but without some kind of concrete metric representation, are denied the obvious significance that others have. Furthermore, one can’t help but feel deeply uninformed about some of the decisions they’re making. Then there’s those metrics for things like drug trade and tourism that are presented as part of decree effects, but which have no aggregate value the player has any oversight of. How tantalising, that there exists this underlying layer of mechanical complexity only for the player to be afforded such scant engagement with it. If indeed invisible metrics are at work, why conceal them from the player and nullify the sort of strategic approach that is both functionally and thematically appropriate? A public opinion one would have been particularly useful considering I was ultimately shot by revolutionaries on the balcony of my regal abode.
Further tightening of cohesion between the narrative and numeric elements is also needed. To be informed that factories are shutting down due to outages in the midst of a national energy crisis while there’s a surplus and positive gain of the corresponding metric is a tad maddening to say the least.
These gripes come from what is beneath it all, a very positive impression of this DLC and Suzerain overall, which continues on an upward trajectory I look forward to enjoying further.