| Console: | PC |
| TV Standard: | NTSC |
| Developer(s): | Stardock Entertainment |
| Publisher(s): | Stardock Corporation |
| Release Date: | 2020-03-03 |
| Players: | 2 |
| Co-op: | Yes |
| ESRB: | Not Rated |
| Type: | Strategy |
Let the campaign begin!
Win the hearts and minds of America’s voters and take the 2020 presidential election by storm in this exciting political strategy game. Choose from a large roster of candidates, from Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to Republicans Donald Trump and Mitt Romney, as well as other well-known politicians like former senator John McCain, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mitch McConnell, Barack Obama, and more.
Want to shake things up a little? No problem! Use the Candidate Workshop to create your own frontrunner, complete with customized statistics, ideologies, and design. If you believe everything is going to hell in a handbasket, you can play as one of the wild card candidates like the Giant Meteor and adopt some truly crazy ideologies (ban all video games - they’ll rot your brain!).
The Political Machine 2020 features unique ideology trees for each of the candidates that allow them to play very differently from each other. Throughout the game, you’ll visit Town Halls or take on Campaign Events to gain ideology points that you can spend to own certain issues. For instance, Bernie Sanders has ‘Medicare for All’ as an issue he can own, while Donald Trump can use points to purchase the ‘Build the Wall’ issue.
Each issue is modded on a per-state basis with their voter support based on data in order to allow for an accurate simulation of how those issues will play out in different states. It’s important to win 270 votes in the electoral college, so you’ll need to pay attention to what issues voters care about in the swing states. What plays well in Texas or California might hurt you in Ohio or Florida.
The Political Machine 2020 is a complete rewrite of the original versions of the game with vastly improved graphics and a more sophisticated simulation that combines polling data, voter enthusiasm, and the most recent US census results to deliver a game that is both fun to play for casual players, and realistic enough for political wonks.
Do you think you have what it takes? Take to the campaign trail and show the nation why you should be the next President of the United States of America!
