Tropico 6 is a ‘greatest hits’ of El Presidente’s questionable career

The last few Tropico titles have run through the 20th Century’s big events at a bit of a break-neck pace, with technological advancements and historical events happening in rapid fire. In Tropico 6, the campaign is presented differently: rather than playing a linear narrative, we’ll be hearing El Presidente’s reminiscences as he and his second in command, Penultimo, enjoy post-dictatorial retirement. “You see Penultimo starting every mission, basically, with something like ‘Remember back then?’” said Mark Messler, a level designer with Limbic Entertainment, the studio that’s handling Tropico 6 this time around in place of long-time series developer Haemimont Games. Like its predecessor, 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.