Here to Stay

About

Here to Stay is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Marchello Giancarlo and was released on March 11, 2023. It received neutral reviews from players.

In "Here to Stay," a political strategy game, you build your own political party and compete in elections to gain control of a fictional Eastern European country in the 1970s. As head of state, you'll manage the budget, make diplomatic decisions, and consider the economic situation and ideologies of the population. The game offers a unique challenge as you manage your party, prepare for elections, and make decisions affecting the entire country.

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

53%

Audience ScoreBased on 30 reviews

graphics2 negative mentions

The game features a unique and engaging concept with a core gameplay loop that offers depth and strategic party management mechanics.
Once players overcome the steep learning curve, they find the game rewarding and enjoyable, especially in terms of developing an understanding of its mechanics.
The game has potential as a hidden gem, with interconnected mechanics and a satisfying progression system for those who invest time into it.

The game suffers from numerous unpolished elements, such as an unfinished guidebook, performance issues, and a lack of clarity in UI and mechanics, making it feel low effort.
Players experience frustration with the saving system, as favorite characters do not retain their status after loading a game, leading to unnecessary time waste.
The game is criticized for its poor English writing and lack of a proper tutorial, which can make it difficult for new players to understand and enjoy the experience.

gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
The gameplay is praised for its innovative concept and engaging core loop, but it suffers from a steep learning curve and a lack of clear tutorials, which can lead to initial frustration. Players are encouraged to invest time to understand the interconnected mechanics, though the unclear UI and unnecessary visual elements detract from the experience. Overall, while the game offers rewarding depth, it requires patience and experimentation to fully appreciate its systems.
- “Amazing idea for a game, love the concept and core gameplay loop.”
- “It has a fairly steep learning curve, but after a couple of hours of gameplay, you receive the reward of developing an intuitive understanding of its mechanics and inner workings.”
- “Use your first several hours in the game to figure things out, experiment, unlock actions, and work your way toward running a city, which took me about 3 hours of gameplay.”
- “I believe it's due to the fancy window that covers 10% of the screen and provides no gameplay purpose; there is no option to turn it off or even turn down the graphics.”
- “When you click on some new gameplay feature you don't understand, it leads you to the guidebook, which does not even have a description of the features you clicked on.”
- “Not a ton of hours, but the lack of a tutorial (a clear good one, not written in general terms without any guidance through the UI), an unclear UI, and unclear mechanics just made my first impression instantly negative.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The graphics have been criticized for including a decorative window that occupies 10% of the screen without contributing to gameplay, and there are no options to disable or adjust the graphics settings. This design choice has led to frustration among users, as it detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, some players still find the game enjoyable if they are interested in its political themes.
- “I believe it's due to the fancy window that covers 10% of the screen and provides no gameplay purpose; there is no option to turn it off or even lower the graphics.”
- “I know it can be said to be my fault for not checking every time, but that is a huge unnecessary time waste, which could be solved by a simple graphical representation like adding diagonal stripes over the bar, or giving him a fancy hat or anything noticeable.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and repetitive, with a steep learning curve that ultimately leads to minimal rewards for the effort invested. The focus on party politics and the grind to achieve goals, such as securing a parliament seat, detracts from the roleplaying experience.
- “So basically the whole game is non-stop repetitive grinding.”
- “It's pretty light on the roleplay, and heavy on party politics and grinding your way from breaking into a city to running a whole state.”
- “Steep learning curve, but once you are past it, you realize there is no reward for all the grinding you have to do to get 1 parliament seat.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game faces criticism for its optimization, with users highlighting unnecessarily high performance requirements that seem disproportionate to the small window size. This has led to frustration among players who feel the game demands more resources than it should.
- “Unnecessarily high performance requirements due to a tiny window.”
- “Unnecessarily high performance requirements due to a tiny window.”
- “Unnecessarily high performance requirements due to a tiny window.”