F1 2019 is yet another excellent racer developed by Codemasters. With a wealth of positives, such as the improved feel of the racing, as well as how great the game looks and a number of new gameplay features, the game was bound to shine. The minor negatives, such as new modes like the Senna/Prost challenges feeling shallow, are minor blips in what is an otherwise outstanding game.
Steel Division 2 is a game with some excellent ideas, such as the Army General campaigns, the attention to detail and the sheer size of battles in multiplayer and, to a lesser extent, skirmish. Also, it looks great and, despite the sheer size, can be really engrossing to play. At least for the most part, with the game being let down by an incredibly high barrier for entry, offering no help because the tutorial is a sheer Berlin-wall of text and an AI that seemingly decides it's only fair for it to cheat, all of which can take you out of the game.
Driftland: The Magic Revival offers an interesting turn on strategy games, both with a unique setting and interesting hands-off control system, which can offer some especially compelling gameplay online and in a skirmish. However, despite the interesting setting, too little is used from it in what is an anaemic at best campaign and a very much limited and shared asset pool between factions. Despite these issues, there is an enjoyable time to be found here, especially for strategy fans.
Unruly Heroes is a decent action-platformer that has a fantastic art style and genuinely looks beautiful. The platforming and combat, for the most part, is sound, with a huge amount of variety to find in the levels. However, the controls can be a little unresponsive and the game does have issues with some very forced 'comedy', though comedy is always subjective. Is Unruly Heroes worth buying? For what is a reasonably low price, it is a decent title to pick up and is worth spending some time with.
Total War: Three Kingdoms is as close to flawless as you'll find, with a fantastic balance of 4X strategy and character-focused development and emergent storytelling. The battles are frantic, with increased tactical opportunities through duelling. City development is more intuitive and less restrictive, though still requires thought and all of this takes place on a China that looks downright fantastic, where even the UI and menus look great. This is the Total War experience and a new high for the series.
Were it not for the lack of resources and having to push the game out, I can honestly say that Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey could have been a very good game, though not without the known issues of the tediously slow movement. All in all, if you want to play through an interesting story with a compelling core cast of characters, masterfully voice acted, then you could do a lot worse than Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey.
All things considered, though, I would heartily recommend Close to the Sun. With some fantastic world-building, an incredibly well detailed and atmospheric setting that's enhanced by a cast of interesting characters with great voice acting. The real issue comes from the lack of replay value, though for those who like to explore the world and story, there are reasons to go back.
Tropico 6 is the best entry in the series, though not without its flaws. The repetition of random requests with no real direct relation to how your city is developing is always an irritation to me. The economics of the city is especially well developed, though areas like the superpowers feel tacked on at best. Fortunately, new features like raids help the game stand out from its predecessors.
Generation Zero is a game that has fantastic potential but falls short in so many areas. The Excellent combat and generally great atmosphere is let down by a myriad of bugs, a very limited range of enemies to face off against, boring quests and a world that is just too large and sterile, particularly if played alone. The potential of bug fixes and increased enemy types would make this a fantastic budget purchase, but until that time it's one I would miss unless you know at least two others to co-op with.
Medieval Kingdom Wars is a very ambitious game, one that certainly has the potential to be far better if Reverie sticks to their promise and keep up with updates and fixes. At the moment it's a little better than adequate, it can even be good at times. It just has a few too many flaws and can hit too many boring patches, preventing it from reaching that higher level.
DiRT Rally 2.0 far surpasses other rally titles and other games that feature, though don't specialise in rallying. With an extensively detailed roster of cars, where each of them feels, handles and reacts differently, on tracks that actively degrade through constant use, changing the lines you'll have to take, this is a game that will keep you thinking. Best of all, unlike its prequel (to an extent) and other racing sims, it's accessible thanks to a bevy of assists that you can change to suit your needs. A game that only features a few downsides, the primary one being a shallow career mode and some minor bugs here and there. All things considered, DiRT Rally 2.0 is the premier rally experience you could hope to have.
Metro Exodus is an incredibly atmospheric, engaging and compelling shooter that places an onus on the player to think on their feet, thanks to stringent limitations on ammo, supplies and the resources required to make more. Enhancing this is a world that is almost dead set against you. From other survivors who are more likely to kill you than talk to you, mutant creatures and ghouls that want nothing more than to feast on you and the hazards of the environment, it's a game that wants you on the edge of your seat. It masters this with ease. From tight gunplay to well-developed stealth mechanics, the game offers variety within the confines of its own rules. The only downsides are average-at-best voice acting and the game ignoring its own stealth leanings to force combat with incredibly difficult bosses. All in all, Metro Exodus is a fantastic game that you'd be worse off for missing out.
Genesis Alpha One is a great indie roguelike that offers a combination of first-person shooter, ship-building and management elements. Building up a ship, of which you can explore and work on every single section, offers a huge sense of scale and personal ownership, especially as you travel the reaches of a dangerous galaxy in the aim for the survival of the human race. You'll task your crew, which you grow in cloning vats, to run different areas of your ship while making sure their needs are met. All of this while going to planets to scavenge resources and, of course, trying to survive against horrible alien creatures that want to do nothing more than breed with your face. Every part of the game is a fine art of balance, though like other roguelikes luck will be a key factor in your survival, which is the biggest downside to the game.
Catherine is a genuinely funny, fun and altogether unique experience, even now. It merges brilliantly challenging puzzle gameplay with an Animé adult-romance story that is as equally compelling as it is entertaining. It features interesting and deeply flawed characters, particularly the protagonist whose emotions directly affect the challenges he'll face. All of this contained within a game that has aged particularly well due to the colourful and Animé-style design.
X4: Foundations is a far superior game to the last outing and is already on the right path to success, thanks to Egosofts diligent work in fixing issue s and enhancing the game. However, in its current state, it's still lacking core elements that help to make the game what it could be.
Override: Mech City Brawl features a fun and engaging combat, featuring giant mechs facing against each other, or against giant aliens. It's slightly marred by an unwieldy camera which loves to obscure your view of the fight and limited single-player options. However, this is made up by it being one of the better party or online games out there, when you have the people online, particularly as you can group up with up to three other players to control the same or different mechs.
Sword & Soldiers 2 is a strong yet simplistic side-scrolling Real Time Strategy game with a genuinely funny set of characters and dialogue that runs throughout the game, also topped up by a genuinely strong and colourful aesthetic. The game is only really let down by the limited replay value and small online audience.
Darksiders III is a fun game with an engaging combat system that can be very satisfying, particularly thanks to the dodge and counterattack system in place. All of this is surrounded by a surprisingly compelling storyline with interesting characters. There are issues in the game, with a few bugs and other technical problems as well as a pretty damn cheesy script, with the biggest issue being some downright irritating puzzle sections which are less about logically working something out than slamming your head into a wall repeatedly until something gives. Despite any issues, I've genuinely found myself enjoying my time in the apocalypse.
Fallout 76 lacks the heart and soul of what is a Bethesda RPG. The exclusion of NPC's and, in general, decent quest givers makes an emotional (or any) connection to the world near-on impossible and manages to shatter any immersion. The inclusion of other humans does nothing to remedy the fact that these core elements are missing. What it does do right, though, is having built by far the most varied and engaging Map yet, which is a pleasure to look at and explore - even if it looks dated up close. Furthermore, teaming up with other people to take on high-end creatures, particularly after the launch of a nuke, makes for compelling gameplay. As can be expected from a Bethesda title, it's riddled with bugs and glitches, many are game breaking, though Bethesda is already working on fixing them. What Fallout 76 really needs is an infusion of NPC's, even if only at a single hub, to give the game purpose.
GRIP is a technically sound game and can genuinely offer some exciting racing, as you try to dodge enemy weapons, track hazards and more, all at insane speeds. However, it can also be a confusing game to navigate and also has very unfair rubber-banding which can screw you over more than half the time as you'll find a well-placed rocket right up your rear-pipe just before you hit the finish line. GRIP also looks and sounds great, with some very well designed tracks, though some side modes (arena-based modes) completely miss out the best part about the game - being able to ride on any surface. I can genuinely see people enjoying their time with GRIP than I have, I just think it's missed the mark.