Rogue State
- October 16, 2015
- LRDGames, Inc.
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"Rogue State" is a political simulation game where you govern a Middle Eastern nation. Maintain political stability, balance the budget, and ensure national security while navigating relationships with foreign powers. Your decisions directly impact the success and failure of your country, making each playthrough unique.
Reviews
- Rogue State offers a unique blend of political strategy and humor, making it an engaging experience for fans of the genre.
- The game features a variety of factions and random events that create a dynamic gameplay experience, ensuring that no two playthroughs are the same.
- Despite its rough edges, the game has charm and potential, with players expressing a desire for more content and depth in future updates or sequels.
- The game suffers from a lack of depth and complexity, with many mechanics feeling simplistic and repetitive after a few playthroughs.
- Random number generation can lead to frustrating outcomes, making it feel like luck plays a larger role than strategy in achieving success.
- The user interface and animations can be clunky and slow, detracting from the overall gameplay experience and making it tedious to navigate.
- gameplay45 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its charm and simplicity, offering a blend of political mechanics reminiscent of titles like Democracy 3 and Tropico, but often criticized for its lack of depth and variety. While players appreciate the engaging elements and humor, many find the mechanics overly simplistic, leading to repetitive experiences and limited strategic options. Despite some enjoyable aspects and potential for replayability, the overall consensus suggests that the gameplay could benefit from more complexity and coherence.
“It's got the interlocking politics and policies of Democracy 3 and the sharper focus and tongue-in-cheek humor of Tropico, all of which are presented with relatively simplified gameplay compared to its inspirations.”
“The gameplay is engaging, the randomization is just enough to give you a great new play each time, while maintaining the integrity of a very well-designed branching plot and political strategy.”
“There are so many interesting aspects in this game that you'll never see in other management games that it felt rather fresh, even though underneath the skin, its gameplay is nothing new.”
“While the core gameplay is decent, there are relatively few levers available for accomplishing any particular goal. Despite this, it's really not that hard to achieve a utopian equilibrium where everybody loves you, society is a paradise, your neighbors all respect and admire you, and your treasury is full... and yet still have problems keeping separatists from trying to break free or prevent coups because you have almost no options that allow you to directly influence those problems.”
“The mechanics are extremely simple to the point of being ridiculously so.”
“Gameplay is semi-fun but repetitive and a bit too random; there isn't much to do but balance a budget with the occasional sentence-long event or stock conversation with a rival diplomat.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game evoke a strong sense of nostalgia, featuring a retro pixel art style that some players find endearing, while others criticize it as unpolished and reminiscent of early 90s designs. While the visuals may not appeal to everyone, they are often seen as fitting for the game's theme and mechanics, with a satisfactory standard that complements the overall experience. However, the graphics can feel choppy and lack modern polish, leading to mixed opinions on their quality.
“The use of retro graphics (unlike many games) is not an excuse for poor graphics; the graphics are very well done, with a modern use of perspective-animation and good atmospheric voice acting.”
“I adore this game even down to its aged art style.”
“Graphics - 7.5/10; I'm a sucker for retro and indie style graphics, and it was one of the things that sold me on this game.”
“Then there's the graphics (meh - looks like something from the early 90s), the tedium of watching your guy walk around the office, the lack of any real replayability and just the feeling that you're really not in control of most anything that makes it pretty bland.”
“The graphics and gameplay are choppy and the animation is worse than the Lord of the Rings animated cartoon from the 70s.”
“Graphics are going to hit you first, some strange mix of pixel art and 3D models that would be considered high-tech in the late 90s.”
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story features multiple outcomes and branching paths, providing a compelling narrative that evolves based on player choices and the survival of their regime. While the storyline is engaging and offers replayability through different scenarios, some players feel it lacks depth and variety, leading to limited motivation for multiple playthroughs. Overall, the story is well-received, though it could benefit from additional events and crises to enhance replay value.
“Multiple outcomes are possible from the story-based mode.”
“Depending on how long your regime survives, you'll see more of the story unfold.”
“The gameplay is engaging, the randomization is just enough to give you a great new play each time, while maintaining the integrity of a very well-designed branching plot and political strategy.”
“The problem with this game is that it doesn't make you desperate to replay it once you've finished the story.”
“The storyline events and crises add some flavor, but end up limiting the replayability after a few runs.”
“Is better than a lot of political simulators but doesn't have much room for personal story creation or depth.”
- replayability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed among users. While some appreciate the random start settings and various playstyles that enhance replay value, many feel that the lack of depth and engaging gameplay limits the experience after the initial playthrough. A few users noted that increasing difficulty can provide additional incentive for replaying, but overall, the consensus leans towards low to moderate replayability.
“Makes for lots of replay value.”
“Replayability is very good as well.”
“Well replayable, thanks to random start settings.”
“Low replayability value in my opinion.”
“So for that reason alone it has no replay value and is not really a lot of fun after the first playthrough.”
“The storyline events and crises add some flavor, but end up limiting the replayability after a few runs.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring a zany atmosphere and entertaining modes that can be genuinely funny, with amusing events and easter eggs to discover. However, some elements feel forced or incoherent, leading to a collage of humor that doesn't always land effectively. While certain jokes, like the chicken leader, may come off as silly, the game does manage to infuse serious themes with a comedic twist, keeping players engaged.
“Funny music adds a delightful touch to the experience.”
“The game contains really funny and entertaining modes that just make it so fun to play.”
“There are many funny events and some easter eggs you discover as you explore the dialogues and all the panels.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its thematic relevance and artistic quality, with users noting that it enhances the overall experience. The blend of Middle Eastern influences and humorous elements contributes to a solid score of 8/10, making it a standout feature that complements the game's events effectively.
“Music - 8/10 solid.”
“It is probably too bad because the turn-based tour of the office, the voice-acted little dolls, and the Middle Eastern music playing had decent flavor.”
“Fits the theme of the game in every way, and any given piece of music fit an event in the game.”
“Artistically and musically, this game really excels.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its zany and engaging quality, effectively blending serious themes with humor. Retro graphics are well-executed, enhanced by modern perspective-animation and atmospheric voice acting, while the inclusion of oriental tunes further enriches the overall experience.
“I love its zany atmosphere, and the game's ability to turn real-world 'serious' into 'funny.' The game got me wanting to see what happens next.”
“The use of retro graphics (unlike many games) is not an excuse for poor graphics; they are very well done, with a modern use of perspective-animation and good atmospheric voice acting.”
“Nice oriental tunes that stick to the atmosphere of the title.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by several glitches, including issues with unlimited wealth exploits and screen blackouts during battles, which can lead to crashes. Additionally, players have reported persistent mouse pointer problems that detract from the experience. While the game functions adequately overall, these bugs indicate it is not entirely polished.
“The game runs smoothly overall, with only minor issues that don't detract from the experience.”
“Despite a few small bugs, the gameplay remains stable and enjoyable, making it a fun experience.”
“For its size, the game offers a surprisingly stable performance, allowing players to focus on the fun aspects.”
“There are several glitches where your wealth becomes unlimited by abusing a certain buy item.”
“The war board, where you attack other nations, glitches and turns your screen black for a couple of minutes or crashes the game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is undermined by the lack of meaningful trade interactions with neighboring states, which diminishes the potential for a rich and immersive economic simulation. This absence of depth may lead to a less engaging experience for players seeking emotional investment in their strategic decisions.
