Politics The Game – How to live, Mr. Prime Minister? 

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“How to live, Mr. Prime Minister?” This question was asked 14 years ago by an entrepreneur to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Three years later, Simplicity Games, a Polish independent studio focused on mobile and console games, was founded. So, how are these two stories connected?

The Rzeszów-based studio began its adventure in game development with casual mobile games on various topics, mainly sports and quizzes, but their latest project takes a completely new direction: politics. In October of this year, Politics The Game made its debut on Steam, inviting players to clash with iconic figures from the Polish political scene, including Tusk himself.

From MVP to MP 

Politics The Game is the first adventure game that lets you become a Polish MP. Your goal is to become a parliamentarian, create a powerful party, and lead it to victory. To achieve that, you’ll have to face countless battles where not only your popularity, but your very dignity is at stake. Navigate a storyline inspired by current events where no side of the political spectrum is spared.

The game is released in chapters: there are currently six of them, the last one having been launched on December 11. It’s worth keeping this in mind, as the game currently takes about 6-8 hours to complete, but it is not yet the finished version. Each chapter has a similar structure: we check our party’s support in the polls, then set off to one of the locations for an adventure, which culminates in a final battle and the recruitment of new team members.

This allows us to see the progress of our career on an ongoing basis, while at the same time not expecting where it will all lead in the end. For now, however, let’s leave all predictions and polls aside and focus on what we have so far. The nature of this production is evident from the very beginning. In the character creator, we can choose our politician’s views, with the proviso that we should not become attached to them, because they are irrelevant anyway.

In addition, the level of difficulty here is linked to the level of honesty – the more genuine you are, the more difficult your life becomes (just like in real politics). You can see some inspiration from South Park games here, especially when it comes to combat mechanics and a specific sense of humor, which we will discuss in more detail in a moment.

What a twist! 

The gameplay itself is not very demanding – our main goal is to gain support, which we obtain by completing subsequent quests. They require us to explore new places, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies. All these points can be summarized briefly as follows: simple but creative. We visit locations related to politics, but we don’t expect to encounter ice, underground, or even underwater levels.

We are familiar with how quick time events work, but we have not yet used them to vote in parliament or come up with half-truths at rallies. Hexagonal boards and turn-based gameplay are nothing new, but each boss requires us to observe our surroundings and come up with a new strategy.

It’s about those twists and turns that defy our expectations, sometimes in the most ridiculous ways possible. And although I think that sometimes there are simply too many battles in a row, which unnecessarily prolongs the journey to the goal, I can’t fault one thing: the background music that often overshadows what is happening on the board.

It is no secret that some of the vocals and soundtrack were created using AI (for example, to reproduce the voices of real politicians), but there is no denying that these songs are catchy and have some pretty creative lyrics that capture the sense of humor accompanying the events.

Speaking of humor, it goes without saying that this is a parody that takes no prisoners. This becomes clear after just a few minutes of playing: references to iconic and embarrassing political situations or satirical commentary on current events are commonplace here. Dialogues play an important role here, offering many interesting nuances not only from the Polish bubble – we have, for example, elements from The Lord of the Rings and Pokémon.

However, most of the game’s comedic potential is realized in unexpected and absurd plot twists. Once again, it all comes down to taking the player by surprise – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but one thing seems certain to me: it’s not the type of humor that will appeal to everyone.

Is that a Poland reference?!

This topic also raises the question of the game’s target audience. In cases such as this, where the game revolves around the plot and its nuances, the player is required to have knowledge of the contexts of Polish politics, history, and social situation. Personally, I liked that the creators broadened the subject matter and also included themes related to the Polish mentality, celebrities, and culture in the broad sense. Although I managed to catch most of the motifs and references, I imagine that not everything can be understood right away. 

In addition, the stories presented are characterized by their topicality. On the one hand, it’s cool when you play and have fresh events that you witnessed. On the other hand, however, these stories will soon become outdated and be replaced by new scandals. Interestingly, this can already be seen, as the new chapter was released two months after the previous ones, and significant changes have already taken place in the Polish parliament (kudos for referring to them in the game). 

I wouldn’t say that this game is only for people who are familiar with Polish politics – you can still play it without knowing these characters and contexts, but you will definitely get less enjoyment out of the experience. It can therefore be assumed that the target group is Polish, which makes sense given the subject matter. On the other hand, however, since an English translation has been added to the game, the door is open for an international audience. 

I just wonder what could attract these players then, when we take away the humor and story. At first glance we are left with only simple graphics with repetitive animations and not very sophisticated character designs. Unless we can treat this game as the Polish South Park, in which case I would have to ask you for your opinion on this matter. 

Ending thoughts

Did I expect something good? Well, after playing the demo (which is also the first chapter of the game), I didn’t have high expectations – it seemed like making fun of everyone in turn on a tight budget. Was it actually good? Honestly, it was great fun: I laughed, listened to music on repeat, and now I’m waiting to see how things develop. 

At the same time, I know that my experience is conditioned by specific circumstances, and surely not everyone will be able to say the same. At the moment, the game looks pretty good, and the potential for further chapters is enormous, so if it continues in the same direction, we may actually officially recognize it as the Polish South Park. 

However, as nothing has been decided yet, I will not tell you what to think about this title or how to live your life. After all, even the prime minister himself was unable to answer that question. 

Review copy provided by the publisher