Colin Campbell
Subsurface Circular extracts maximum entertainment from limited resources through the admirable trick of great writing, excellent pacing, sparkling dialogue and bang-on story beats. It's a lovely little game, the fine work of a developer whose main skill differential is neither coding, art nor level design, but good old-fashioned storytelling.
Last Day of June is a narrative puzzle game that makes full use of a wide range of powerful emotive devices to make its point. Its fairly straightforward puzzles won't keep you up, scratching your noggin at night, but the effect of its wonderful characters and the love they have for one another will leave you feeling like you belong to something bigger than yourself.
Knack 2 is an entertaining platform game like those of yesteryear. It's been created with due care and attention. Sure, it's old fashioned, and its story is appalling. But it's a reminder that the character-led platform combat game is still alive and well. Despite its good looks, it's more a work of engineering than it is a work of art. But, as my kid said to me after we'd mashed our way through a co-op level, it's kinda fun.
Death of the Outsider offers a standard take on the Dishonored formula, tracking closely to its admirable ethos of freedom and choice in a world of subtleties and illusions. It's a decent finale with a solid central character. But it makes little attempt to try anything new, a sign that all the best ideas are likely going into whatever comes next.
Turn 10 has become highly proficient in taking this basic mechanic and turning it into a full on fantasy, of conquest, of acquisition, of personalization.
In essence, Assassin's Creed Origins is much the same game as the original Assassin's Creed, which came out a decade ago. It's a formula that people like to play, and it's certainly been honed and improved over the years. Origins is, then, undoubtedly the best iteration of this formula yet. But I yearn for a fresh approach and new ideas, something that astounds the senses as much as the wondrous world this game inhabits.
The Red Strings Club is a fascinating journey into the problem of free will
This expansion is a recognition that the magic of this series is in giving players lots of choices — sometimes difficult choices — as we all strive to stamp our own personalities on what is, effectively, a simulation of personal political leadership.
At three hours long, A Case of Distrust held my attention all the way, but that's not to say it's without imperfections. The main character, I think, lacks the energy of her associates. She's rightly angry about how she was treated as a woman on the force, but her feminism falls somewhere between overly earnest and glib. Despite a strong backstory, she lacks emotional force and presence.
Fe is a magical, expansive and multi-hued world that creates a sense of marvel. Like a real-life walk in the woods, it is a thing of elemental beauty that demands to be inhaled and admired.
All Surviving Mars' interlocking systems make for an arresting time-sink that merges logic, forethought, psychology and experimentation. If you're the sort of person who enjoys losing yourself in high stakes strategy, building and planning, Surviving Mars is worth a look.
Even though the puzzles are simple and the interactions basic, I don't think this little piece of fun would work in the same way were it a static cartoon. Chuchel is a true universe, one that comes alive in bursts. This could not be done quite so well on TV or in a movie.
A Way Out has many faults, but a lack of heart isn't one of them. Seeing that heart translated into a cooperative play experience makes the journey worthwhile.
Irritations don't entirely diminish the charm and ambition of the entire endeavor.
Harry moves through the game, cut from the same cloth as a manuscript peasant. He has that resigned look of the perpetually damned. Nothing can surprise him, and this creates a fatalistic humor in his labors.
State of Decay 2 made me sad, but mostly bored
Mike Bithell and his team are doing important work, struggling with a challenging genre. Quarantine Circular hasn't perfected it, but if you like stories, characters, dialogue and moral choices, it's worth one playthrough — or maybe even six.
If you're looking for a game to enjoy with the people you care about, I'm happy to recommend Unravel 2. It's an agreeable, friendly, sometimes challenging world that encourages us to be the best version of ourselves.
Football, Tactics and Glory is an old-fashioned strategy game that's pulled me in, demanding that I keep playing and slogging towards in my quest to build a better team. It makes great use of turn-based battle grids to create a convincing simulation of soccer strategies.
Intriguing game has its moments, but flubs story section