Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is an undeniable and great improvement on the original. Featuring a huge amount of content, including some brand-new game modes, as well as a revamped and improved portion of the original campaign, there's a lot on offer. The AI is improved, though does have a few niggles here and there. Particularly so with pathfinding. This issue is overwhelmed by the amount of content on offer, great improvements to the aesthetics of the game, improvements to multiplayer as well as changes to the home city system outside of the campaign. While not as outright fantastic as Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, this is still a brilliant release and comes in at a very low price.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope takes the Supermassive Games formula and improves on the previous outing, Man of Medan, in so many ways. With a more interesting story, a strong set of characters, the masterful building of atmosphere and more, you're going to be left on the edge of your seat while playing through this story. The excellent branching narrative, as well as multiplayer options also increase the gameplay value exponentially. This still isn't perfect, the sloth-like movements of characters can be annoying later on and some QTE's are annoyingly cheap, but this is still a brilliant game, one I would recommend to anybody.
Expeditions: Rome is a surprisingly detailed tactical RPG that takes you through three huge theatres of the Roman republic on a personal quest for revenge or triumph. This story is what you make of it, packed full of meaningful decisions that influence many aspects of the game. Adding to this story is a robust character development system that feeds into the excellent combat, with multiple side-missions to develop both characters equipment and stories, as well as your war camp. The game feels like it could become dull, but never reached that point and is one well worth it for any RPG fan.
Grounded is undoubtedly one of the best survival games around. While it falls into some of the same traps, getting very grindy and gatekeeping progression while not signposting as well as it should do, there's little doubt that it's a very engaging game. Where many games will give you a world to play around in, Grounded places you in a living, breathing world and has you engage with every element in interesting ways.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a strong tactical RPG that feels like something that wouldn't be amiss in the MCU. Some elements can feel a little bloated, but it's a very strong game. The characterisation is top-notch, with some excellent scriptwriting and voice-acting to support it. Outside of the RPG aspects, combat is fun, engaging, and challenging - particularly at higher difficulty levels. I've had a lot of fun with the game, and I'm still having fun with it, and I can't help but think that fans of the genre - and Marvel - would enjoy it as much as me.
Company of Heroes 3 is a triumphant return to the game that raised the bar for Real-Time Strategy. With unparalleled action on the battlefield, that alone makes it work your while. The new grand-strategy campaign is a welcome addition, though it has some flaws, ranging from performance issues and bugs to simply being too easy. Despite this, it's impossible not to recommend Company of Heroes 3 for the excellent game that it is.
Aliens: Dark Descent is an excellent real-time tactics game mixed with survival horror and arguably the best Aliens game around. Excellent tactical action in a world ever-succumbing to the Xenomorph threat, you will find resources scarce, leading to difficult decisions, ones made all the more difficult when time is also a factor. Add on an engaging enough story and an excellent atmosphere, and you have a game that I can't help but recommend to anybody and everybody.
Jagged Alliance 3 marks a long-awaited triumphant return for the franchise, with the last undeniably great release being Jagged Alliance 2 over twenty years ago. Creating an exceptional balance on both a strategic and tactical level, bringing back character attributes and progression, an entire inventory system, perks and more, forcing you to balance your broader economy and ensuring you can't just sit back - Haemimont Games have successfully created a game that will challenge, that I have found compelling and fun, and one that has kept me hooked into a "just one more day" loop and a few very late nights at that.
Forza Motorsport is a strong return to form for the core Forza series, with exceptional visuals, outstanding racing and what is a strong game throughout. While lacking in tracks, which is noticable, this is still a game worth recommending.
Homeworld 3 marks a successful return to a long-revered series. Bringing back the successful space strategy series, but improving the combat by a large amount with a more tactical approach, Blackbird Interactive has successfully made their mark. With exceptional tactical combat, made all the more important by the fact that everything carries over, and one bad mistake could cripple you much further down the line. The additional War Games mode only enhances this, making for a very engaging title.
Age of Decadence is a challenging, yet excellent RPG. With a huge focus on story and depth, it gives you a wide variety of choices to make, ones that have actual impacts on the story. Not only that, the combat is easy to learn but can be incredibly tactical. This is a game well worth playing.
Black Desert Online is the most refreshingly unique MMO around. Introducing many new game mechanics and ways to play in a world that's so exquisitely designed, with characters, building, monsters and even the weather all working together to make the best looking MMO to have ever been released, BDO is only really let down by the game's unwillingness and/or inability to properly explain its mechanics. The post-launch updates have been great so far and there's no reason to think the game won't keep improving.
Inside has a foreboding atmosphere that's second to none, set by the masterful use of lighting, shadows, colors and sound. Although padded at parts (even for a four hour game), it's still able to keep you gripped. The puzzles are somewhat basic for the most part and the ending of the game is one of the worst I've ever encountered, simply not fitting in with the rest of it.
Zombie Night Terror is a great little tactical game, with a distinct art style and direction that makes zombies interesting again. At a low price, offering a good length that offers replay value in side objectives, there's no doubt that this is a game that should be looked at and is worth your time.
Gravity Rush 2 is an excellent sequel to the first game. It's easier to control, has an incredible depth of quantity and while it doesn't all hit, the vast majority does. It has a few strange choices in story design, particularly a false ending in one of the worst places I've ever encountered. All things considered, it's an excellent game with some of the most entertaining gameplay around, set in a fantastically designed world with a great visual design.
Sphere of Influence - Ascension takes you on a more personal journey through the Sengoku Jidai period of Japan. Take control, rise through the ranks and explore an even more detailed game than the original. This standalone expansion improves on the original in almost every way.
DiRT 4 is a very good game, that much is certain. Retaining the fantastic control of cars from DiRT Rally, albeit made somewhat simpler, it offers almost endless rallying with a procedurally generated track system and a number of changing online challenges. Not without its flaws, including an oversimplified gamer control scheme and anemic career mode, it's still a worthy entry of the core DiRT franchise.
Dawn of War 3 may not be revolutionary, but it's certainly an improvement on the previous iteration. Bringing in the best of Dawn of War 2 to the RTS elements of the first, the game is only let down by a rather boring campaign that acts more as a tutorial for the excellent multiplayer.
Out of the Park Baseball 18 is one of the best sport-simulation games on the market. Lagging slightly behind its football rival primarily due to a terrible interface. Once you get sucked in, though, it's extremely compelling and a great learning aid if you know little about baseball.
Expeditions: Vikings, while not perfect, offers outstanding tactical combat, with excellent character and world development. You'll encounter a host of interesting characters, fulfilling quests and important decisions as you travel from Denmark, to Britannia, in a quest to save your clan.