IXION can be extremely overwhelming and punishes players for not having nearly precognition levels of foresight. Still, once these roadblocks are understood and avoided, the game can become an excellent and welcome challenge. IXION is defiantly for survival fans first, while city planners may find things a bit more aggravating.
Wavetale is impressive and extremely fun for those who enjoy high-speed traversal. It lacks challenge when it comes to combat, but it also means it doesn’t take much to return to exploration. There is a lot of extra stuff to do besides the main story, though it only results in more cosmetics. Those looking for a rather casual adventure game will love Wavetale.
New Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja is just for the desperate who want the same old-school gameplay. Those that have never ventured into the series might not find anything special or unique about this remake. Regardless, any that consider buying the game should highly consider at least an initial price reduction or maybe new updates, if ever.
This port of As Far As The Eye does very little to make use of the PlayStation 4. The game itself has some fun ideas, and those that enjoy exploration and gathering aspects of simulation games like Civilization or Starcraft will find some enjoyment. Still, if possible, one should go for the Steam or Epic Store PC release if they have that option.
Land of the Vikings has a great premise and much potential to become a stand-out city builder. However, it still is several patches away from becoming a noteworthy classic. Lap Games absolutely needs to improve the game’s performance and add many more quality-of-life features. Diehard fans can still consider Land of the Vikings while it is in Early Access.
Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia doesn’t do much to stand out. It can provide similar action to those that have already gone through all of the other Asterix and Obelix action games. Even then, those interested should consider a price drop from the current $30 price. For new players, one should, at minimum play Asterix and Obelix XXL Romastered and Asterix and Obleix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum first before considering this spiritual sequel.
While The Valiant has a lot to offer, not all of it is readily accessible. There needs to be a serious boost in active PC players, or the fun online modes will just quickly die out. The campaign may last around eight hours and doesn’t have a lot of replay value. While the game looks good and sounds great, only the most hardcore RTS lovers should really pick it up now. Others still new or tepid to the genre should wait for a significant price drop.
SIGNALIS never lets up from feeling completely strange and unsettling. This works great in the context of a terrifying and disturbing alien world. However, this bizarreness stretches into archaic gameplay designs, a muddled story, and strange visuals. It feels like genuinely stepping into the past of the late 1990s, both for better and worse.
Indoorlands has a lot of neat pieces and ideas, but almost none of them wind up meshing cohesively. There is something very enjoyable at the core itself, but players will need to weed through the sparse tutorials and cluttered subsystems. Worst of all, bugs and other errors can be blindsiding. Hopefully, Pixelsplit can patch out these problems and wind up with a fantastic game.
Potion Permit throws a bunch of ideas together, but nothing really sticks as a true standout. It forces players into heavy grinding sessions for materials and other progressions at its worst. This makes it feel more akin to an MMO or GaaS than a fitting single-player experience. However, the actual aesthetics and characters are great and can be enough to tip things to some people’s liking.
Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is extremely accurate to the original version. This can make the game come off as old and outdated. But for some, that nostalgia kick may hit just the right spot. As it stands, those who loved Destroy All Humans 2! on consoles should consider Reprobed if they can no longer access their older devices. But the remake doesn’t do enough to change things up, and those who never experienced the game in 2006 may be easily put off.
Wayward Strand is great for players who love talking with NPCs and hearing their thoughts and opinions. However, this is very much in the form of a journalistic interview; Casey lacks the charisma or drives to shape the outlooks of seasoned adults. Still, it can be great fun to unravel the mysteries and stories by just happenstance.
Sword and Fairy: Together Forever was made for already existing fans and is an unsuitable jumping-off point for newcomers. At a minimum, one should have at least gone through Sword and Fairy 6 but will be better off knowing the entire series. This might be a tall order, as most of the games are exclusively in Mandarin and sold only in Asia.
Voyage is a pleasant little journey with fantastic music and superb art direction. But with little to do, it isn’t much of an actual video game. While Voyage can be a fun experience, it isn’t worth the current asking price. Those interested in the PlayStation 4 version should wait for a major sale or potential future giveaway.
Cartel Tycoon is mostly for people who want a fun and gritty theme to their city management, even if it is at the cost of overall gameplay. As it stands, the game needs more onboarding and a better user interface instead of just throwing players to the wolves. Moon Moose has already announced further updates, and perhaps those could help relieve some of the existing issues.
Loopmancer will be repetitive for a very long time, but after collecting e-Coins and Cores will eventually become far too easy. The game has a great foundation but needs tweaks to balance performance and level generations. Maybe with three to six months of more work and patch updates, Loopmancer will become a side-scrolling classic.
Chivalry 2 embraces how absurd its massive chaotic battles are and it's an incredibly fun, objective-based first-person war game. Players should remember that they won’t find the melee finesse of something like For Honor or dominate the whole map solo. Every match moment will be an over-the-top action sequence, where bodies will fly, characters roar with laughter, and nothing will make any real sense.
Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn has some great new features like interconnected buildings and ferocious dinosaur species. Its tie-in to the Jurassic World Dominion film is rather flimsy and sometimes takes away from the immersion.
The two aspects of combat and city building seem to clash against one another. This is partially due to the real-time gameplay and the overall imbalanced economy. Players will either find themselves only gaining enough supplies for their war effort - akin to RTS games like Warcraft - or having a stable society that doesn’t go out and conquer. But, those that like this oil and water non-mix will have great fun with Frozenheim.
Citizen Sleeper can be some great solo fun for those who have played a similar Powered by the Apocalypse game. But, the game doesn’t offer enough to entice newcomers with no experience. Even then, it can be a little difficult to resist just cheating the system by min-maxing on certain skills.