Neocolonialism: exploit, manipulate and pillage the world in twelve turns

Neocolonialism isn't subtle with its worldview. It's DEFCON with a bail-out instead of a bomb. Your job is to do as much harm as possible to the world, all in the name of your growing Swiss bank account. Fittingly, its developer, Seth Alter, is looking to boost his own financial situation, and is Kickstarting the game's continued development.

The game has you buying up political votes, making free trade agreements, playing the IMF and liquidating assets to increase your final score. Your influence is entirely political - there are no armies facing off, just voting blocs and destructive capitalism.

At this point, you're probably wondering why the map is upside-down . According to the Kickstarter page, it's to evoke discomfort and "exemplify the north-south dichotomy of the world, wherein the southern hemisphere is generally poorer than the northern hemisphere." That clears that up then.

There's a playable alpha of the game available from the Subaltern Games website. It's primarily designed for multiplayer, but AI players can fill in the gaps.

If the life of a heartless hyper-capitalist monster appeals, you can back Neocolonialism at its Kickstarter page.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.