Fans of city builders like SimCity or Cities:Skylines may find a lot to love in the upcoming Urban Empire, as players create enormous, sprawling cities. But a lot more is going on in Urban Empire than just trying to run your city – your political aspirations and motivations play a huge factor as you take your city through time, from the early days of industry to the modern digital age. Players can also choose to simply just play the game in one era, but taking the multi-persona family-line sprawl through the eras is an intriguing prospect. The result is an interesting mix of Civilization, SimCity, and backroom diplomacy all in one.
Politics are a huge component of the game. Once you stop being able to pay for things out of your own pocket, you have to curry favor and call votes to get your town plans passed. Make too many enemies, and you could even lose the game. In fact, that’s the only way to lose the game. The fail state condition is when folks decide you’re no longer fit to be the mayor and oust you from power. There are a variety of ways that you can use and gain political power, including dredging up secrets on your opponents and using that knowledge against them, pleading for things, and even making threats.
Through politics, your city will grow and prosper, leading to new technological upgrades. The tech trees are similar to human history itself, and can sometimes be witnessed right away as they integrate into your city structures. Gas Infrastructure technology doesn’t just make cute lamps on your streets – it also makes your city safer.
Win conditions are similar to other strategy games, except there’s no “domination win” here as you’re really playing against yourself and political rivals in your own city. Will you be able to backstab, bribe, threaten, or smile your way through the ages while cultivating a bustling city? We’ll find out sometime this fall.