For years, games like Tropico have put players in the position of a nation’s leader, offering the power to shape the future of your people and the land you govern. Enter Kaiserpunk, a game that’s aiming to take this genre to new heights with a visually stunning and dynamic twist. It lets players rewrite the geopolitical story of the 20th century in unique ways. The catch? It’s not scheduled for release for another three months. But here’s the silver lining: you can dive into it this weekend with an extensive new playtest.
You’ll start your journey in Kaiserpunk by establishing factories and infrastructure to grow your city-state. As your ambitions rise, you’ll need to expand—often through conquest—to transform your tiny territory into a vast empire. Set in an alternate history of the 1900s, it’s a captivating setting for a strategy game. Earlier this year, Kaiserpunk held an initial playtest, only to later push back its release to 2025. However, Overseer Games has put that extra time to excellent use, and this second playtest promises to offer a true glimpse into the final version.
What’s fresh in this playtest? The developers playfully sum it up: “In short: everything.” They’ve polished Kaiserpunk into a feature-packed experience, introducing new systems, refining old ones, and integrating feedback from the first round of testing.
Among the improvements are social systems that align with your nation’s ideology, heritage options with German, Western, or Russian roots, new and optimized maps, a revamped tutorial, and a brand-new diplomacy system. And for those with a love for flags, the ability to design your own national flag is a standout feature that definitely won me over.
The strides made since the first playtest are truly remarkable. When Overseer called it “feature-rich,” they weren’t exaggerating.
The new playtest for Kaiserpunk kicks off on Friday, November 29, and runs through Tuesday, December 3. Signing up is free, providing an excellent opportunity for Overseer to collect additional feedback leading up to the game’s release on February 27.
If you’re looking for other games to fill your time once the playtest wraps up, check out our expert picks for the best city-building and 4X games.
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