Supreme Ruler 2020 is the latest strategy title from publisher Paradox Interactive and developer BattleGoat Studios to hit the PC. The sequel to Supreme Ruler 2010, 2020 carries the legacy of its predecessor by offering an extremely meticulous take on the turn-based strategy genre. Unfortunately, the real caveat is that casual gamers or even all but the most hardcore fanatics of the genre will immediately feel completely lost. Still, if you were a fan of the original Supreme Ruler 2010 and know how to make heads or tails out of complex turn-based strat titles, then Supreme Ruler 2020 provides enough updates and improvements to effectively deliver the goods.

Supreme Ruler 2020 ups the ante from its predecessor by providing a fair amount of fixes and updates. The game features a campaign mode, which essentially allows you to choose a nation and run with it, turning them into a global superpower. You’ll gather and trade resources, set up a government and appoint cabinet ministers, relate with other nations politically, wage war, and tons of other tasks as you vie for sociopolitical supremacy.

Another mode is a scenario-based mode, which allows you to play through goal-based missions. This mode almost seems to help wean you into the gameplay, but this is unfortunately doesn’t do too well, leading into one of the game’s biggest problems.

Supreme Ruler 2020’s biggest downfall is the fact that it is so darn difficult to get into. If you are a fan of Supreme 2010 in need of a skill touch-up, then the tutorial system is a dead end, as it’s a near never-ending series of tough-to-follow “help” boxes that don’t do very much. If you aren’t very versed in turn-based strategy games, then forget about it, since the game’s intimidating nature means that you won’t be able to get a good enough foothold unless you’ve had practice with similar titles.

Graphically, the game looks pretty decent, with a zoomable camera that can easily be controlled with the mouse. Otherwise, the game is pretty average for a turn-based strategy, with 2D maps and some units here and there.

The sound effects fair about the same as the graphics, meaning that they are fairly spares. There is a pretty good score, and some battle sounds that occur when a kafuffle breaks out, but nothing that will knock you out of your seat.

Supreme Ruler 2020 is a solid turn-based strategy game that will appeal to the hardcore strategy fans for which it was made. However, everyone else will be immediately lost.

Gameplay: 7.5
Fans of complicated turn-based strategy games know what they want, and Supreme Ruler 2020 delivers about as deep an experience as you’re likely to find. Unfortunately, anyone who is not a rabid strat-fanatic need not apply.

Graphics: 7.0
Not much to look at here, aside from some well-rendered maps.

Sound: 7.0
There’s a decent score here, but the remaining sound effects are pretty sparse.

Difficulty: Hard
Supreme Ruler 2020 will have you spinning many plates at the same time, and the whole experience can be very overwhelming if you aren’t completely comfortable with it.

Concept: 7.0
The game has no shortage of depth, giving fans of the genre a lot to do, but figuring out how to do everything will take even seasoned vets a while.

Overall: 7.0
Supreme Ruler 2020 is as deep and complex as they come, albeit incredibly intimidating.