Positech Games returns with its Democracy series with Democracy 4, a more refined democracy experience with several of the current real-world issues implemented in the latest title. The last game in the series, Democracy 3, was released 7 years ago in 2013, so it is the perfect time for the new game to come out in the current political scenarios we are facing in t world. I have to admit, this is the first Democracy title that I ever got to play, and although it was quite overwhelming at first, it was only a matter of minutes that I got hold of things and understood them with the tutorial. This is my review of Democracy 4 on the PC, and my honest take on my first ever Democracy game experience.
Like any other Democracy title in the past, Democracy 4 lets you as a player, take the role of the President or the Prime Minister of the ruling party in your country. Depending on what country you choose from, you can get the different issues and rules depending on the country you are elected in as the president. And just like the previous titles in the series, your primary task is to manage your country, make the right decisions for the people, the businesses, workers, healthcare, and everything that you can expect from a real president or ruling party. On the other hand, your goal also remains the same, which is to win the majority vote in the next election and get re-elected in the next term of your party.
Returning players of the series will find many new features, while some may have been removed. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the developers had already revealed their plans to bring in new and updated features in the game, that stands relevant and appropriate in the current political climate of the world. However, the game still gives you full freedom in running the country in whichever way you find suitable. Whether you want to cut down military spending, cut of taxes, or go to the opposite extremes of increasing government taxes, reduce spending on basic needs, military, or healthcare benefits. It truly gives you a sense of power and control right from the start.
As a beginner, the main interface of the game will seem quite overwhelming. There interface is basically a complex graph with interconnections of economic and political aspects of your country. In other words. Clicking any aspect will open up a detailed description of the feature, how it is doing, and the causes and effects. Hovering the mouse over an object or aspect will show you all the other aspects influencing the selected issue or aspect. Objects that are highlighted red are the most critical issues that require your immediate attention. This can include healthcare, productivity, unemployment, climate change, and threats, etc.
There is also the return of Policies, which contain many new real-world policies that can affect massively boost your political standing in the country, and gain a majority in the polls. There is a plethora of policies to choose from, highlighting the effects of each if you decide to choose one over the other. Policies also have an intensity slide which allows you to choose how active or inactive you want them to be. This purely depends on how much you are willing to spend on a certain policy, bearing in mind your country’s debt and expenditure cost.
On the left part of the screen, you will find the Voter and Focus Groups. Considering that your ultimate goal is to maintain the satisfaction of the voter and gain vote bank, you can check each of the focus groups and how they are doing after each turn, policy implementation, and changes you make in the country. This is a good way to track all the focus groups that might be slipping from your hand, or decide which ones matter the most while disregarding the rest. After all, it is your country and you can run it however you want it to be run. But, of course, with the limitations and ultimate goal to be reelected in the next term.
Running a nation as a democratically elected president is no small task, as there are plenty of dilemmas, situations, and threats that can arise. While Dilemmas put you in more thought provoking situations, demanding you to make a choice that can have its adverse effect on your policies and focus groups. Having said that, Dilemmas need to be addressed straight away in order to move on to the next turn. On the other hand, you also have the threat of Terrorism from religious groups that are against your policies, or certain issues that hurt religious sentiments. This includes passing gay marriage bills, passing abortion laws, same-sex marriage, gender change, etc. At times, you can control these threats before they even arise by agreeing to certain religious groups and their demands. However, this can hurt liberalism and can cause its own negative impact in your country, its business, laws, and other interlinked factors.
As a first-time experience of the Democracy series, there is pretty much a lot to explore and experience for both returning players and beginners. Democracy 4 is the first of its kind game experience that puts you in the shoes of the most powerful person of the country, the responsibility on their shoulders, and the decisions needed to run the country, no matter how tough it may be. The game teaches how certain factors are interlinked and can affect the country and the people. But most importantly, Democracy 4 teaches how governments rule over a country, how they lead the people and how a country is managed on a massive scale from one end of the spectrum to the other.
Final Verdict
Democracy 4 is a true political gaming experience that lets you imagine how it actually feels to run a country as a president or prime minister. If you are a person who indulges in the current political scenarios of your own country and want a country that should be run on your own policies, with your own mandate, this game is made for you. It brings the current political issues surrounding the world in each country and gives lets you decide on how to tackle it. As a new player, you will understand how ruling parties run the country and what heights need to be achieved to win the next election. I would highly suggest you give Democracy 4 a go, even if it is not your type of game, you will get hooked immediately granted you give it some patience.
8/10
“…you will get hooked immediately granted you give it some patience.”
So I get hooked immediately, but only after a while?