Megalo Polis (PC) Review

Forget about the clash of orcs and humans, or terrans and zerg (or protoss). Megalo Polis has Obama vs. Bernie Sanders, vs. Ted Cruz, vs. Hilary... and D. Trump vs. Everyone. These power-hung... err, shiny beacons of democracy are the only "units" you'll control in here, and the purpose will be to win the elections by gaining the trust (aka the vote) of the people of the Land of the Free.

This will be done by having them run from state to state, and city to city, and talk to citizens. Gameplay-wise, this means running around with a Kaiju-sized, bobble-headed candidate, entering some small blocks were tiny people await, and then start "summoning" them to your cause by making sure they are inside your radius of influence, as you deliver your speech in a chipmunk-kind of way, colouring and "locking" the block to your would-be-president while at it - repeat until the end, and hope that you'll win.

Megalo Polis has a vibrantly coloured palette, a cartoony art style that looks pretty good, and the "speeches" of the candidates are actual recorded quotes from each one's campaign, played with double the speed. The problem? This isn't as funny as it looks, and, most importantly, as it should be. Swap all these politicians with some nameless people, and the result will be exactly the same. In other words, if looking for a satire of the elections, better look elsewhere.

Sadly, the biggest issue here, is that this isn't even a strategy title as it claims to be. Skill isn't a requirement - speed is. The gameplay mechanics are extremely simple, so all you need to do is to be fast with the mouse clicking that must be done, in order to do all your voter-persuasion as fast as possible. You gain money from locked districts, and you can use it to lure people by throwing some at them, or in order to ruin your opponent's day in some way or another, but in the end, it's all way too... Smartphone game simplistic.

So, this is a strategy game without any strategy, and is about the USA elections yet won't provide any laughs. The final nail in the coffin? It's mind-numbingly repetitive. The basic loop never really evolves past the lock-districts/gather-money one - and don't forget the backtracking; lots and lots of backtracking, as you need to constantly visit your districts to gather money, and shoo the other candidates way.