NationStates

Overall Opinion: It's safe to say that there are few if any games on the market doing what NationStates is doing. As the AAA game market continues its move towards bigger budgets that emphasize open world exploration and high end graphics and the indie world delves deep into retro gameplay and aesthetics, NationStates' stark and simple menu-based presentation and focus on simulation is an outlier. The closest comparison one could make to NationStates would be the vast and complicated games put out by Paradox Studios, but even that doesn't quite enough to do the game justice. But the game novelist Max Barris managed to create in NationStates is built on a strong foundation, and it offers a radical gameplay experience far removed from what players can find anywhere else. Players start by creating their nation. This takes the form of a short questionnaire that determines the policy and ideological intentions of the player and is followed by the ability to name their nation, assign a flag, and determine the state animal and motto of their country. The gameplay loop is deceptively simple. Each day, the player is given multiple options on how their nation approaches an assigned issue. This can be as meaningful as determining the stance on freedom of expression to more seemingly innocuous policy positions. How you respond to these questions can create problems or advantages for your country, but it also determines the form of government that your nation prescribes to. While players may start the game with noble and ideologically pure notions, chances are likely that the need to respond to unexpected complications and ethically fraught situations will result in a nation that shifts in terms of policy. These government types are rated based on where the nation stands on three fundamental axes: political freedom, civil rights, and the economy. The result is a game that's less about winning and more about exploring one's own political and philosophical values. A neat additional feature is the inclusion of a World Census Report, that ranks playing nations according to a number of different metrics. The Census is released daily. While the principles behind the game would be interesting enough in a solo setting, the real meat of the game comes in the form of social interaction. Each nation belongs to a region of other players, and playing nice with your neighbors becomes a critical aspect of maintaining your nation's solidarity. Becoming endorsed as a member of the regional World Assembly garners players more control over regional activities, so learning how to cooperate becomes a fundamental necessity for survival. This all lends a meta game element to the whole affair, and well invested players often rely on the included forums and third party Discord chats to coordinate and discuss policy. NationStates is ultimately a game in which rewards are scaled to how much you're willing to invest. Non-sociable players can find a lot to love by exploring their core values, but there's a dense and organic level of strategy for those looking to dig deeper and play with the intricacies of foreign strategy.

Pros: Entirely free to play Stands as an entirely unique premise in the gaming community Supported by a vast and well invested social community

Cons: Fundamentally simplistic gameplay Graphics are exceedingly basic