Let’s be honest; secret societies are awesome. The idea that there are entire groups that are responsible for the way the world works, running things from behind the scenes and influencing governments, is fascinating, whether you believe in the conspiracies or not.
The development team at GameTrek, part of the publishing company 1C Entertainment, are exploring the idea of secret societies in their upcoming title, Secret Government. Players will take on the role of the leader of a shadowy cult working to spread their influence around the world.
If you are unfamiliar with grand strategy games as a whole, they often involve controlling a nation (or sometimes a planet) through history, though in a way that’s a bit different than most strategy games. Grand strategy is less about building units and dominating opponents than it is controlling rulers, making alliances, setting policies, breaking alliances, and so on.
Secret Government is no different, though the secret society aspect is an interesting twist to a well-developed premise. As the leader of your organization, it’s up to you to manipulate governments to achieve your goals. Spark a war between two countries by infiltrating their military, disrupting their alliances, and more. Overthrow governments through rumors, inciting unrest among the people.
Throughout the game, you’ll also be in charge of researching new philosophies and technologies to help you with your world domination, each of which provide you with new opportunities to spread your influence. At the heart of any secret society, however, are its people; the ones who are on the ground and in the shadows are the keys to success. You will need to choose your people wisely, as every potential recruit has their own strengths and weaknesses. Understanding these attributes is important to knowing who to send on important tasks.
Your secret society is not the only one out there, however. There are other brotherhoods vying for control, and you will need to take steps to deal with them. If you aren’t careful, your people can be captured, or worse. Keeping tabs on the other organizations is vital, but so is staying hidden.
So far, Secret Government is looking like a very interesting grand strategy game. While we’ve seen secret societies explored in the likes of Assassin’s Creed and other action games, there haven’t been any games that allow players to lead one.
While no official release date has been given, Secret Society is set to come to Steam Early Access in October of this year.
