El Presidente returns for the 6th installment of the Tropico franchise in January 2019 (PC) and Summer 2019 (Consoles). Originally slated for release this year, the delay “to allow El Presidente to better prepare the islands” should hopefully be worth it. Couple of Gamescom reviews that I’ve seen suggest that the game is looking and playing great already, so there’s hope.
Tropico 6 will span four distinct eras: Colonial, World War, Cold War, and Modern. In an early mission, we see a surprisingly inhospitable island environment covered in desert and active volcanoes. But El Presidente has no plans to stick around – as Penultimo explains, this is an episode from his youth as a plundering pirate.
The ‘fond memories’ framing device allows Tropico 6 a bit more freedom in its mission starts, as there’s no need to stick to a specific timeline. You’ll jump from the Colonial era to the Cold War, for instance, with no need to play through the World Wars in between. Many of the locations have their own themes, and missions will take place across 15 campaign maps.
Any of the campaign maps can be played in sandbox mode, which has its own set of 15 maps. Sandbox mode simply strips out the mission-specific setting and start conditions out and lets you play your favorite locations however you’d like.
As El Presidente, you will now be able to customize your palace – or ‘governor’s mansion,’ if you insist – with your own color schemes. Add a crowd of flailing inflatable wavy-arm tube men to the gardens. Put an aquarium on the roof, or install a glowing hologram of yourself. You get the idea.
Perhaps the most interesting new feature is the ability to manage extensive archipelagos, or groups of islands, for the first time. You can make use of new means of transport, and infrastructure by building bridges and tunnels between the islands, so that your Tropicans can easily move between them. Other new transport modes include taxis for your tourists, aerial cable cars, and buses.
Add all this to the ability to send commandos out to steal iconic landmarks from around the world. Some of the world wonders your commandos can steal, including the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Kremlin. Soon the island state of Tropico will look like a tropical Las Vegas.
Here’s the Gamescom trailer as well:
Steam page is up, but no specific release date yet (other than January 2019), and no indications of price or versions yet either:
