Kaiserpunk

Kaiserpunk is a cross between a city builder and a grand strategy game. It was developed by a Croatian indie studio, Overseer Games, known for the relatively similar Patron.

Plot

Kaiserpunk is set in an alternate early 20th century. We play as the leader of a city-state, needing to manage its growth and dominate other nations. It's up to us how exactly we'll do so.

Mechanics

Gameplay-wise, Kaiserpunk consists of two layers. The first is isometric city building, very much similar to other city builders. The key to success is production. We must create fields and farms to acquire food and transport resources to factories and facilities. Produced goods can then be sold or processed further. This complex process requires us to keep constructing new buildings, create production chains and road networks used to transport resources and goods (ranging from those aimed at civilians, to weapons and military vehicles). We can also research new tech to expand our city and make trade deals with other countries.

Since a city needs workforce to function, we must take care of our people's needs. Alongside absolute necessities - housing, public facilities (hospitals, schools) and services (police, fire brigades) - we should also provide them with some luxury. They make them happier and more eager to spend their money and fill up our treasury.

Unlike most other city builders, there's another major part of gameplay to Kaiserpunk. Players can move onto the political map and make decisions on a much larger scale, slowly transforming our city-state into an empire. The game's world is divided into regions and it's up to us how we'll dominate them - through diplomacy, economy or military conquest (which, obviously, requires a powerful army).

Taking over territory grants us more workforce and access to new resources. Curiously, the player doesn't know who controls the regions - we'll only learn it through diplomacy or warmongering. While expanding our influence, we must remember to expand our logistic network as well, letting us resupply our forces and transport goods from far away.

Both gameplay layers affect each other: without a prosperous city we won't increase our influence, while neglectic global decisions will prevent us from creating an empire and could possbily get us attacked by someone else - maybe someone more powerful, too. The game takes place in real-time.

Gameplay is made more diverse through stories, event chains shaped by our actions. We can influence them both directly (by making the right choices) and indirectly (for example, small riots can be quenched by building a police station).

Technical aspects

Kaiserpunk features decent visuals and an extensive, easily understandable interface.