ZEPHON’s post-apocalyptic world delivers on its promises, offering a solid and enjoyable experience with strong mechanics, striking visuals, and engaging themes. The audio is serviceable, if unremarkable, but overall, there's no faulting this game for being above-average. While it doesn’t revolutionize the 4X genre, ZEPHON remains a worthy addition, standing resilient in the shadow of more iconic titles without casting its own. It may be set in the aftermath of an apocalypse, but ZEPHON certainly isn’t the end of Civilization.
Unknown 9: Awakening suffers from a clear disconnect between its mechanics, genre, story, and ambition as a AA to AAA title. On one hand, it hints at being a semi-decent action-adventure game with its visuals and okay world-building—forgettable, but at least functional. On the other hand, the combat feels flat, the stealth is clunky, the experience is rife with bugs, and the story is hard to follow, making it difficult to appreciate from any angle. Altogether, this results in a subpar experience that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone anytime soon.
Europa is a game that’s fun enough to play but hard to miss, and not for the lack of trying. It’s clear that this game had some pedigree behind its creative team, as evidenced by its great visuals and equally stunning audio. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, a game has to be engaging, and Europa simply could not deliver on that front, at least not in a way that makes it worth remembering.
Until Dawn is just as fun, interactive, and narratively gripping as its 2015 predecessor—and in some ways, it even surpasses it. Now remade in Unreal Engine 5, the game has reached new heights, with impressive polish across nearly every front. It plays smoothly, offers more content than the original, and delivers the same captivating experience, now enhanced for a second time. This is what happens when a narrative-driven game is helmed by excellent writers and brought to life by talented actors. It kept me playing long past dawn—I’m sure it’ll do the same for you.
At first glance, comparisons to Sid Meier’s Civilization might seem inevitable, but they miss the mark when you dig deeper into what Ara: History Untold truly offers. While the surface similarities are there, the game’s innovative mechanics and fresh approach set it apart. Its stunning visual and auditory presentation further bolster its appeal, even if there are a few minor stumbles in execution. It’s got all the right ingredients to stand tall among other 4X games—just don’t expect it to dethrone Civilization anytime soon despite its uniqueness. #GiftedbyXbox
Calling Frostpunk 2 a textbook sequel doesn’t do it justice—this game goes far beyond the standard follow-up. It’s a masterfully crafted continuation of an already outstanding title, one that builds on the original’s strengths, addresses its shortcomings, and adds stunning new stylistic choices. As an experience, it’s bleak, grueling, and profoundly depressing (as it should be); but as a game, it’s one I’d willingly endure any eternal winter to play. New London hasn’t just survived—it’s thriving under new management, with all the challenges and triumphs that come with it.
The Plucky Squire leans heavily on the charm of its narration and the novelty of its 2D-to-3D transitions, but these strengths don’t quite carry it all the way to the finish line. Beyond the clever dimension-switching mechanic, the game lacks any truly groundbreaking ideas and simplifies many of its other gameplay elements. That said, it still offers a high-quality experience. It’s certainly engaging and fun, but as for being a genre-defining title that will be remembered for years, it doesn’t quite reach that mark—though that may ultimately come down to personal taste. I can still see this game hitting it big with the adventure puzzle-platformer aficionados down the line.
To call Satisfactory simply "satisfactory" would be the understatement of the century. After six years in development, the game has used every moment to craft the ultimate automation experience—one that is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon and will keep us engaged until that day comes. With its intuitive design, dense content, remarkable sandbox automation, compelling world-building, and stunning visuals, Satisfactory has undoubtedly earned its place at the top of the genre. I’ve been here from the very beginning, eagerly awaiting the day when the game’s final piece would fall into place. It’s truly an honor to witness the crowning of a new king in the automation genre, and Satisfactory has just ascended to its rightful throne, accolades and all.
Like the roots and branches of the World Tree that stretch across the Nine Realms, Roots of Yggdrasil boldly branches out, blending elements from various genres to create something not only new but great. As with any ambitious fusion, there are a few missteps—the fragmented story, imbalanced cards, and average audio being the most noticeable. Yet the game earns high marks for its daring approach, venturing into uncharted territory. Much like the survivors of Ragnarok, the potential for greatness is undeniable, and with continued development, it could grow even further.
Sumerian Six is perfect for short bursts of play, but it’s not a game you'll likely want to binge. It boasts solid visuals, a great soundtrack, and a meticulously designed gameplay loop centered on synergy and strategy. However, with so much to tackle in each mission, you might find yourself fatigued long before reaching the end of its somewhat meandering story—assuming you don’t get soft-locked along the way.
Star Trucker is a solid example of a promising concept that’s been executed… well enough. As a simulation game, it doesn’t exactly grip you, and the experience is bogged down by the tedious upkeep of fuel and power cells, coupled with clunky controls that can’t even be remapped. Despite these flaws, the simulation of the universe you're trucking in is genuinely impressive. With some fine-tuning, this game could evolve into a stellar experience. For now, though, it’s best you keep yourself grounded with a more down-to-earth trucking experience.
Cinema and video games offer distinct approaches to artistry and storytelling, yet The Casting of Frank Stone blurs the line between the two in ways I never thought possible. While the game does have a few bugs and glitches that need addressing, its captivating cinematography, enthralling writing, and astonishingly good world-building are as undeniable as they are legendary. Movie adaptations of video games rarely hit the mark, but this feels like a movie turned video game done right.
Immortal. That’s the word that best captures the timeless essence of Age of Mythology. Even now, remade for a new era with fresh values, its addictive gameplay and enduring storytelling continue to evoke the splendor of RTS greatness for a new generation of players. Yes, it may still bear some of the quirks and flaws of its original incarnation, but it also carries with it the brilliant game design that the world has long since forgotten. This is a tale retold—and one I’m eager to experience all over again.
Rome certainly wasn’t built in a day, and MEMORIAPOLIS is a testament to that old adage in its current, half-finished state. It came out of the Colosseum gates with a bunch of new features, executed with varying degrees of success. However, its visual style has already been refined to an iconic level, even at this early stage of development. MEMORIAPOLIS has the potential to deliver the experience that Civilization VII aspires to offer, but whether it will surpass or even equal that promise remains to be seen.
Tactical Breach Wizards made a bold statement when it entered the scene. It showed that great visuals don't require ultra-detailed graphics or flawless animations. It demonstrated that tactical turn-based gameplay can be both fun and challenging without being unforgiving. Most importantly, it proved that when good ideas are executed with creativity and passion, the result is something truly exceptional. With all it's achieved, it's clear that Tactical Breach Wizards has little left to prove.
It's hard to believe that Concord has been in development for nearly a decade because, by the time I played it, I was left wondering where all that time and effort went. The game’s visuals and audio do show signs of careful curation and actual effort, but the gameplay and character design feel unworthy of such a lengthy development period. Add to that an incredibly anti-consumer monetization scheme, and you’re left with a game that didn’t just fail to hit the ground running—it hit the ground and died. It’s almost tragic to see eight years of work culminate in such a visually appealing, yet lifeless, game.
Although Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers had the deck stacked in its favor with a fun and creative gameplay premise, it simply didn’t have the right cards to form a winning hand. Its story barely exists and its audio was better off not existing. The aesthetics are well-made but lack the polish of similar games like Balatro. While the aesthetics are well-made, they lack the polish of similar games like Balatro. Still, it’s a fun idea that was executed poorly. If it can sweeten the pot a bit and decorate its dungeon a tad more, I’m certain that D&DG will eventually hit a Nat 21.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is an instant arcade classic in every sense of the term. It captures the charm and challenge of traditional arcade games, while also exhibiting the unintuitiveness and minimal storytelling typical of coin-op classics. Despite this, it shines as a AAA wonder, featuring the high-quality graphics and audio you’d expect from a major studio. Balancing these strengths and weaknesses, CYGNI sets a blazing trail for other classic arcade shoot-em-ups to follow and soar into the skyline of modern gaming.