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Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware Game Cover
93%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor
Most mentioned negative aspects:monetization, graphics
93% User Score Based on 161 reviews

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PCWindows
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Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware Game Cover

About Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware is a single player survival city builder game with fantasy, economy, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Door407 and was released on April 30, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

The prequel invites you to participate in the events preceding the story told in the campaign of the main game. You are the famous filibuster Duncan Ironbrow, who was unexpectedly dragged into "big politics". You are destined to become a hero of the Battle for Independence of Samreignia. Two story missions, plus one Endless Mode exclusive map layout await you. Like in the original RTS-game, in Dip…

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Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware screenshot
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Reviews

93%Audience ScoreBased on 161 reviews
story8 positive mentions
monetization9 negative mentions
  • The game offers a fun and engaging blend of city-building, RTS, and tower defense with a humorous story and well-done cutscenes.
  • It features deep micromanagement and strategic resource management that appeals to players who enjoy complex gameplay and challenge.
  • The demo provides a substantial amount of content including campaign missions and an endless mode, serving as a great introduction to the full game.
  • The difficulty level is very high, even on the easiest setting, which can be overwhelming and frustrating for new players.
  • The game is somewhat unbalanced, with enemies often outnumbering the player’s forces and limited preparation time, leading to a punishing experience.
  • There are occasional optimization issues and bugs that can detract from the overall gameplay experience.

  • story

    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    44% positive mentions, 39% neutral mentions, 17% negative mentions

    The story is praised for its humor, character animations, and engaging narrative, though the campaign currently includes only a few missions, serving partly as a tutorial. Players appreciate the well-balanced, polished storytelling and additional lore in prequel content, which enhances the overall universe despite limited campaign length. Overall, the story is considered a strong, enjoyable element that motivates continued play.

    • “Wonderful game and a great story riddled with humor.”
    • “Very well made game, balanced and has a proper storyline.”
    • “Still recommend, great game, great story, great comedy, great characters.”
    • “The demo has everything but doesn’t have the story line, only the first two levels.”
    • “The prequel campaign consists of two missions.”
    • “It's only the first two campaign missions and an endless mode - but still, that's quite nice for an expanded free demo.”

  • humor

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game is consistently praised for its humor, with many users finding it genuinely funny and cleverly written. The comedic elements are well-integrated into the story and cutscenes, contributing to an engaging and charming experience.

    • “Wonderful game with a great story riddled with humor.”
    • “The cutscenes are well done and quite funny.”
    • “Funny and clever, I have been playing this nonstop since I got it.”

  • monetization

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The monetization approach is heavily criticized for misleading players by labeling the product as a full game when it is essentially a paid advertisement urging users to spend $30 on the full version. This tactic is seen as exploitative, unfairly taking up market visibility, and providing no real value to gamers, damaging trust and the overall gaming experience.

    • “The purpose behind this advertisement is to convince you to spend $30 USD, your money, on the real product.”
    • “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and in some ways harmful.”
    • “Often developers may choose to incorrectly publish demo/advertisements as separate games as a cheap way to bypass paying Valve for marketing presence on the Steam front page, which may seem clever to them, but it's harmful behaviour and it's not good for gamers.”

  • graphics

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions

    The graphics are characterized by low-poly, stylized art that some find charming and relatable, though others view them as low quality or simplistic. Overall, the visual style is cute but not highly detailed or sophisticated.

    • “Amazing graphics, also Duncan Ironbrow is relatable.”
    • “The product this is advertising, Diplomacy is Not an Option, is a potentially not awful strategy game from Russia with rather low quality low poly 'art' instead of proper graphics and a 'horde survival' theme... but that's not really relevant, because 'Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware' isn't Diplomacy is Not an Option, it's just an advert for it!”
    • “Very fun demo/short game, it's basically Manor Lords but with low poly, stylized graphics.”
    • “So, definitely not worth the price at the moment, but cute graphics I guess.”

  • gameplay

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions

    Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some users finding the mechanics confusing and poorly executed, while others praise the game's challenging nature and engaging concept. Overall, the gameplay experience appears divisive, appealing to those who enjoy difficulty but frustrating for others.

    • “Fantastic game, great concept, cool gameplay.”
    • “I was still figuring out mechanics four hours in.”
    • “Game is just terrible, if there was anything notable about the game it failed at conveying whatever message that was, mechanics just sucked, gameplay sucked even more.”
    • “Very hard gameplay but I recommend it.”

  • optimization

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, -67% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions

    Users generally feel that the game’s optimization is lacking or unbalanced, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Some perceive performance issues that hinder the experience, suggesting that better optimization could improve recommendations.

    • “If the game is optimized and balanced, I would definitely recommend it more.”
    • “The game doesn't feel very optimized for some reason; it discredits the fun you can have when playing the real game where optimization isn't an issue.”
    • “The game doesn't feel very optimized for some reason; it discredits the fun you can have when playing the real game where optimization isn't an issue.”
    • “The game doesn't feel very optimized for some reason, I don't know why. It feels like it discredits the fun you can have when playing the real game, since optimization isn't an issue there.”
    • “It is unbalanced; if it is going to be optimized and balanced, maybe I can recommend this game more.”
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Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware is a survival city builder game with fantasy, economy, medieval and historical themes. Common tags for Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware include free to play, 3D, indie, colony sim, tower defense and others.

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware is available on PC and Windows.

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware was released on April 30, 2025.

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware was developed by Door407.

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware for its story but disliked it for its monetization.

Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware is a single player game.

Similar games include Diplomacy is Not an Option, Vedelem: The Golden Horde, Cataclismo, Becastled, They Are Billions and others.