➤ Democracy 3, review 🎮

In recent times, the word populism has made a comeback due to the clamor of parties that rely more on sensational declarations than on political programs to survive. But as with the bright colors of advertisements, the high-sounding election promise is an integral part of the extremely widespread system of government we call democracy. On the other hand, it is a quantitative form of organization and although there are numerous rules designed to make the representation of the people structured and functional, the only absolute law is consent. A law that is the very pivot of Democracy 3, a very particular political management system that is rather far from the most widespread videogame forms but which has the advantage of highlighting and translating the paradoxes of modern Western politics into game mechanics.

Democracy 3 is a particular title that highlights the paradoxes of consensual democracy

The hard job of the politician

Democracy 3 is the third installment in a series developed by Cliff Harris, a single man who has managed to create a complex product, capable of attracting a decent following, using a decidedly particular approach.

The whole experience is in fact linked to graphics and information sheets, the only visual tools with which the player, who plays the role of the prime minister of one of the great world democracies, can evaluate which decisions to take to keep the government standing, increase the percentage. of consent and increases the Gross Domestic Product of your country. But despite the spartan graphic design, closer to that of an analysis tool than to that of a video game, the mechanics of Democracy 3 are decidedly complex. Selecting one of the nodes that make up the main title screen, organized in a "radar graph", highlights the numerous interrelations and interdependencies that characterize each element. They range from education to taxes, obviously passing through transport, weapons, energy, religion, health, space, ethnic minorities, various types of industry, technological evolution, the environment and the different wealth bands of the population. Justice is obviously one of the most important factors and the safety of the citizen is one of those elements on which to leverage when you are short of consensus. But if you intend to be remembered as a winner, and not as a populist who has tried to take the longest step, you need to take into account the practicality of your choices by carefully evaluating percentages and side effects.

The trick of the populist promise

Democracy 3 can also be enjoyed by exclusively pursuing consensus, which unfortunately seems to be in the ropes of even more than a real-life politician. But it is clear that in this case the element of challenge is lost, the only real videogame factor of the entire production. And it is here that we come across the biggest flaw of this title or the inability to add salient news and some extras capable of making everything light and engaging. Democracy 3 is a title made with a care for the interface that is cleaner and more refined than that of the second chapter of the series: the information sheets are extremely readable and the symbols are designed to make the wall of icons that pivot the experience less aggressive. . Thus, viewing the data relating to a sector or making a choice is a matter of a few clicks.

However, despite the enviable ability to mix a complex soul with an agile and intuitive experience, there is a lack of a pinch of pepper that could be the simulation of crisis situations, a narrative component, election campaigns or greater depth. internal relations in the country. Political crises, unforeseen events and emergency measures are present in the game and also relations with ministers are important since they influence consensus and accumulate the points that determine the number and weight of the choices we can make in a round. But it is clear that this part of the game would benefit from some additions while on the geopolitical front the number of factors taken into consideration is sufficient and would be enhanced in a more structured context. Fortunately in this last chapter the influence of international politics is felt and limits the omnipotence of a Prime Minister who is all too decisive on the dynamics of his own country and, moreover, the Steam Workshop support should guarantee the community the possibility to fix and enrich the title, but as far as its mechanics are concerned, we certainly can't talk about evolution. In any case, Democracy 3 is a unique game that manages to propose an almost simulative management, albeit based on data that is too precise and predictable, of a democratic type of government and this while adopting an overall light and usable approach.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

OS: Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core i7 920
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Video card: GeForce GTX 770

Minimum requirements

OS: Windows XP
Processor: 2 GHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Video card: 256 MB
Disk space: 500 MB

Recommended Requirements

OS: Windows XP
Processor: 2 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Video card: 256 MB
Disk space: 500 MB

Comment

Version tested: PC Digital delivery: Steam Price: € 22,99 Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (9)

7.2

Your vote

Democracy 3 is all about micromanaging a large number of factors that allow us to please the people and, but it is not necessary to be re-elected, improve the state of our country. There is also no shortage of government crises, reshuffles and a whole series of relations to be cured in order to obtain the consensus which is the main currency of democratic politics. From this point of view everything works quite well but you feel the lack of a pinch of extra pepper. The news compared to the previous chapter are few and the excellent interface fails to balance an obvious lack in terms of involvement. Impossible to advise against, this third installment of the peculiar series created by Cliff Harris, however, lacks the evolution that we ardently hope to see in the next Democracy.