Despotism 3k Critic Reviews

Despotism3K is full of humour that had me laughing a lot, but the high degree of difficulty and randomisation and arbitrary choices that can end a run in a moment had me swearing at it a lot, too. You end up replaying gameplay that doesn't change all that much between runs. Still, it's a good distraction if you don't want to play a huge adventure game, and instead want to throw some puny humans into a bioreactor.

Despotism 3k has a solid strategy resource management core and some excellent, creative text dialogue events oozing with humour. It also has one of the most punishing and demotivating RNG event simulators that can break each of your runs without mercy and will happily kick your progress to the curb. It’s a decent game, but just like its real life despot counterparts, holding onto ultimate power will always be impossible to enjoy when a Cthulu monster decides it doesn’t appreciate your delusion of grandeur.

A simple idea that is addictive and fun to play, but gets too repetitive after only a few hours of gaming.

As a punishing game-built on resource management and difficult choices, Despotism 3K won’t be for everyone. The reliance on trial-and-error choices contribute to consistent frustration. However, If you can break through this difficulty layer then you will find a unique and hilariously mean-spirited title that will keep you busy for hours.