An expansion for the game, called Suzerain: Kingdom of Rizia, was released in 2024.[4][5]
Another video game titled The Conformist, also set in the Suzerain universe, is currently under development.[6]
Setting
Suzerain
In the base game, Suzerain places the player in the role of Anton Rayne, the newly elected president of the fictitious Republic of Sordland. While nominally democratic, the nation is emerging from twenty years of authoritarianism under the regime of former president Tarquin Soll, as well as a severe economic recession under Rayne's predecessor, Ewald Alphonso. As president, the player must decide how to lead Sordland, navigating various structural problems and crises affecting the country amid increasing global tensions, in order to secure a second term in office. Although the plot is largely limited or concentrated on one term of office or campaign, the way in which Sordland is governed will determine the future of the country and that of Anton Rayne personally.
The world of Suzerain is a historical parallel to mid-20th century Earth, shaped by the geopolitical rivalry between capitalist and communist superpowers in the global west and east. Sordland is presented at the start of the game as a non-aligned state, neighboring both western-aligned and eastern-aligned nations, as well as Rumburg, a bellicose monarchy with global ambitions of its own. The player can attempt to side with either the western or eastern faction, or try to maintain their neutrality.
Rizia expansion
In the Rizia expansion, the player assumes the role of Romus Toras, a young, newly crowned monarch of the Kingdom of Rizia, which lies further south of Sordland and is not a direct neighbor. The kingdom boasts natural resources such as gold and fossil fuels. However, due to the ineffective leadership of Romus's deceased father, Valero Toras "the Frail," and the loss of two territories, the kingdom, like Sordland, finds itself in a precarious economic and tense domestic and foreign political situation. The player is faced with the decision of whether and, if so, how to continue ruling as monarch, how to respond to the loss of the territories, and how to otherwise position the country geopolitically.
The player also encounters several characters from the base game, including Anton Rayne; if the Sordland campaign is completed beforehand, the player can use their savefile to align the version of Rayne in the Rizia campaign to the one they created.
Gameplay
In-game screenshot
Gameplay in Suzerain is primarily based around character dialogue; the player interacts via read text with ministers, advisers, and other important figures in their attempt to understand the various situations affecting their country, followed by multiple-choice prompts for how their character might react. In Sordland, these decisions include major reforms to the nation’s constitution, pursuit of market-driven or centrally planned economic policies, and responding to security threats and public welfare issues as they arise. Family also plays a prominent role in the story, adding greater personal weight to the player’s decisions as they try to balance their responsibilities as head of state with their life at home.
The dialogue is supplemented by visual aids such as political maps, a constant feed of reports and newspaper articles, statistics for available budget and resources, and a library of informational briefs on the people, places, and history of the setting. The player also receives prompts for secondary decisions that, while important to the outcome of the game, do not require a narrative-driven deliberation.
According to the developers, the game contains 450,000 words – about the same length as the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.[7] However, the newspaper articles, that contribute to the large amount of text, do not necessarily have to be read in order to progress in the game; according to Howlongtobeat, the base game can also be completed in 11.5 hours instead of 36.5 hours.[8]
The Rizia expansion includes, depending on the government style, an optional interactive war chapter with corresponding game mechanics, allowing the player to organize their armed forces and lead them through a war.
Since both the base game and the expansion have several different endings, both games and campaigns have a high replay value. The conclusion of the narrative is followed by a results screen, displaying the player’s final position in an in-universe political compass and a list of statistics detailing their accomplishments.
Both the base game and the expansion have been supplemented with content and patches and bug fixes several times since their release.[9] As of 2025, due to the game's popularity in the People's Republic of China, a Mandarin Chinese voice output is under development.[10]
Updates and downloadable content
A major update, titled "Amendment", was released 31 July 2023. It added content and lore in the form of a number of scenes, several bills, and several hundred news events; the update was accompanied by information surrounding an upcoming DLC for the in-game country of Rizia.[11]
Suzerain: Rizia was released as Suzerain's first downloadable content on 25 March 2024;[5] the DLC was added to mobile, in addition to the 2.0 update, on 11 December 2024. Another major update to Rizia, titled "Sovereign," was released on 7 May 2025.
Suzerain was awarded the Deutscher ComputerspielpreisBestes Expertenspiel (Best Expert Game),[14] as well as the 2021 Games for Change People's Choice Award, and was recognized as a "Most Innovative" nominee.[15][16] Unfold Games Awards also awarded the game with an honorable mention.[17]
Der Spiegel called Suzerain "perhaps the most realistic video game about politics." According to Der Spiegel, the game is "explicitly political, not in the sense of taking political sides, but because, despite its fictional world vaguely reminiscent of Central Europe in the 1950s, it is based on the real world of politics."[7]Rock Paper Shotgun noted the game world as impressively detailed and called it an overall "superb" game.[18]PC Gamer noted it as a "fascinating" and "truly unique" game.[19]Vice.com said the game has "sharp historical insight and commentary on the politics of today."[20]Oyungezer gave the game a positive review, praising the world building, character designs, and the replayability; but also noted the tutorial and user interface could be better, and called the music repetitive.[13]The Escapist said the game "[...] makes for an interesting and emotionally taxing experience".[21] In 2024, PCGamesN listed Suzerain as one of the best political games on the PC.[22]
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