It's a flawed masterpiece, but make no mistake, it absolutely is a masterpiece – one of the best RPGs ever created, and a true tribute to Sapkowski's stories.
More of a refresh than expected, but still hands down the best modern way to conquer unknown space.
An essential sandbox for anyone with an interest in space, rocketry, or explosions.
The disappointing second half lets it down, but even at best, Broken Age is far from the genre's greats.
At the moment, it's hard to recommend actually buying it. It's not hard, however, to imagine that the few months when it should have remained Early Access will be able to make the difference - to file off the rough edges, add the missing features, and create a dungeon experience that can appeal to both the hardcore fans out for a challenge and more casual Keepers looking for the darkly dripping horrors of a place to realise their evil whims.
In keeping so close to the Baldur's Gate/Infinity Engine template, Pillars of Eternity can't help but inherit a few old flaws, and it would have been nice to see a bit more personality of its own shine through its carefully traditional design and shell. That said, what most stands out is just how well it manages to modernise the experience of playing those games and stand apart from them as an epic adventure in its own right. It's an RPG with design firmly rooted in nostalgia, but one that absolutely doesn't rely on it to be enjoyable today. Instead, it's both a great reminder of why those games worked so well, and a brand new adventure well worth the hours upon hours (upon hours upon hours) that it takes to pick away at its secrets and its world.
A solid, if thin puzzle game, with not quite as much to say as it thinks it has.
The Escapists makes breaking out of prison as hard as nails, yet soft as taffy.
A great game, unimpressively updated. Get the bigger, cheaper version instead.
Definitely be careful of rose-tinted memories. The puzzles and its relatively early peak can't and shouldn't be ignored. Nor though can everything that it does right, from its sheer heart and creative polish, to the genius of its ideas and characters. Even when it stumbles, it stands as a fine reminder of why LucasArts at its prime was seen as the industry at its best, and few other adventures have deservedly gathered so much affection. It was an instant classic back in 1998. It's still very much a journey worth taking today, albeit ideally with a walkthrough.
For all the things Gat Out Of Hell could or ideally would do though, it's important to remember what it is - a standalone expansion. Go in remembering that, and knowing about the lack of missions, and it's a pleasant surprise how much it at least tries to offer within its limits. Just don't expect it to be a sequel, or even a full slice of Saints Row 4 at its best.
A powerful reminder of why nobody has ever truly taken Warcraft's rusty crown.
If only it could head back and redo the puzzles as easily as Bill Murray wooed Andie MacDowell.
Dungeon of the Endless combines many games, but emerges as something entirely its own.
The true power of the Inquisition may be illusory, but that doesn't stop it being satisfying to wield while it lasts.
Hack 'n' Slash mostly nails the new things it tries, but stumbles on the simple stuff, making it fun, but flawed.
These mostly minor issues aside, Wasteland 2 is a great sequel. It's very clearly made with love to be true to the original game while still learning from the games that followed. In going for something so unapologetically old-school it does sacrifice the ability to do anything new with the format, as Divinity: Original Sin managed to do in many ways; that game's flexibility does arguably make it the better of this year's two old-school, turn-based computer RPGs. This hardly matters, though, because if you like one you're almost certainly going to like the other. Both are great games that set out to stick their fingers in the same quivering part of your brain and make it throb like it's the 1990s. Choose magic, choose a shotgun, or better still, find time for both; computer RPG fans haven't had it this good in ages.
In time, it may prove the definitive Sims, the last gasp for the series or anything in between. For now though, while its primary changes are good, the trade-off is hard to recommend.
It remains a shame that Clementine never quite became the truly different kind of lead that the first episode promised, but in the final analysis, what The Walking Dead offers still more than makes up for its occasional stumbles. It's definitely a road trip worth taking - as long as you don't mind its highs being its most devastating lows, its good endings being little but the trap where optimism goes to die.
Shadowgate hates you and wants you dead, but fans wouldn't have it any other way.