The stronger Scenarios can't rescue Urban Empire from being disappointingly average however. A few quality of life tweaks here and there could have achieved a great deal in making Urban Empire a more engaging experience. With little noticeable cause and effect you're stuck prodding buttons until you hopefully stumble on solution, which sadly flies in the face of strategy as we know it.
I do hope that Paradox create more of these DLCs with the focus on minor nations, with interesting new National Focus trees. I like the addition of the autonomy mechanic and the new sprites and leaders. But that's only part of what HOI4 needs. If the next DLC brings more resilient AI, better balanced anti-air and a focus on fixing a few of my peeves with the warscore system, I'll be getting it for that rather than for any deep dives into the soul of a minor nation
The biggest down side - if you can call it that - to Natural Disasters is just how obvious it all is. Helicopters and shelters, weather stations for early warning, loss of life, rebuilding efforts, and so on. The whole idea of demolishing huge areas of your city with various crises. It's all been done before, and while it most certainly belongs in a game like Cities Skylines, I wasn't really surprised with the novelty of any of it. Does that mean it isn't fun? Heck no! Of course it is. Either playing with random disasters as part of the challenge, or manually bringing about the End of Days on your city like a vengeful god are brilliant ways to spend your time. Because, deep down, I suppose there's something in all of us that loves to just watch the world burn.
Tyranny weighs in at significantly fewer hours than Pillars. But a lot of this is replayable in ways that are interesting and thought-provoking. The potential to do some seriously messed-up stuff abounds, and so does the option to play in a subversive and morally-ambiguous way as well. There are few fights that seem 'just for the hell of it', which might drive down the overall number of hours. But you know what? We only have so many hours of gaming time. Wouldn't you rather spend it ruling the world in a fun and interesting way?
There are plenty of places where the success of the previous titles could have lent the financial security necessary for this version to feel some polish, but there's none. And the price! If this was a $4.99 Excalibur title, I suppose I could forgive them, and just shrug it off. But it's a full-price title! Every moment I was chained to this game was misery, and I wouldn't play it again if they paid me the money instead of the other way around.
Civ is a game that almost defies a straightforward 1-10 scoring system. It's a way of life. A serious undertaking which can't be quantified with a simple number. Suffice to say, this is a feature-rich and immersive iteration where attention to detail in design is apparent from the first turn and systems you didn't even realise could be significantly improved have been infused with a spark of genius. True, the AI is a woeful mess and it's lacking a few tooltips but there is none of the hollowness that Civ V had on release. Could this be a worthy successor to the majesty and awe of Civilization IV? Well, ask me again when I top the 300 hour mark. But at the moment, all signs point very clearly to yes.
At the end of the day, the infinite replayability of procedurally-generated maps and adventures is limited by the encounters available, and you'll have seen them all in a couple of playthroughs. Still, in that time it's a pretty good laugh, and The Curious Expedition bestows a real sense of adventure and exploration.
So it's a little game, but with a big heart. There is some serious love of Norse mythology - prepare for an armload of nidvellirs, ratatosks and mjolnirs. To relive that feeling in the pit of your stomach when either you and the end-of-level boss will be killed by the next stroke. Ultimately, there's nothing in Jotun that would have even been hailed as original if you'd seen it in Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion, but fun is timeless.
DLC is a funny thing, really. It's lambasted as a cynical money-grab in many cases, but I feel confident in saying that you'll get your money's worth out of Nuka World. For me, it was the prod I needed to get back into the world of Fallout 4, and wonder why I'd ever really left.
With tougher, longer puzzles and a proper storyline (or no story at all, for that matter), Hue could perhaps have clawed itself a couple more marks. As it is, it's a passable puzzler that is priced according to its length and may serve as a light snack for puzzle and platform fans, but nothing more.
While the experience was enjoyable, I have to say I was sort of waiting for a big reveal that just never really arrived. I suppose I was in love with the idea of Bohemian Killing more than I was really in love with the game itself. That said, originality and the bravery to walk off the beaten path of game design are laudable characteristics, and I did enjoy getting into the mystery, with all of its weird Promethean themes and bizarre scenes.
It's remarkable how effective a game Playdead have created from a few static backgrounds and a bunch of playforms and ladders. I suppose it goes to show that games as art are as good as the emotional investment of the designers. Good for you, Playdead. I'll be interested to see where you go next.
The things that upset me about the game stem from the exact reason I love it - I disagree with Paradox's description of the Centurion-class Battleships, for instance, but only because I'm a huge nerd, and therefore perfect for this game. It's definitely a "your mileage may vary", but I feel comfortable in saying, entrance to the grand strategy rabbit hole has never been easier. But be warned - it's still a deep rabbit hole.
So how to go with recommending it? Were this a creation of any other developer or publisher, I'd have my concerns. But the truth is, once they get it all sorted, it's going to be a heck of a game. From the modular ship constructor system and the impressive (if automatic) fleet battles, to the ethical tensions between interstellar neighbours reminiscent of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, to the endless moddability that'll allow, no doubt, classic sci-fi reskins (the likes of Dune spring to mind), I can't wait for Stellaris to be the game it is so obviously going to be. For now, though, it's still struggling with escape velocity on its mission to the stars.
But it's a small thing. By and large, Battle: Fleet Gothic Armada is a great game, and another one of the nice surprises that can occasionally emerge from Games Workshop's plan for world domination.
I mean, it's not actually painful to play. It's a little broken here and there, with one of those perma-map-scrolling bugs that seem to plague RTSes, and a couple of other small niggling technical issues. But what really stands out is the lack of anything interesting or novel. In the rush to market for the accolade of 'First game to utilise DirectX 12' or whatever, they've presumably cut everything out of the game that would have made it stand out from anything else. I guess there is a system of supply lines that can be cut which plays far more of a part in multiplayer games than it does in the single player campaign, but ultimately it's too little to make a difference. This is how we are to be introduced to DirectX 12 - not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Ultimately, it comes down to your own relationship with Pillars. I know, I know. Lazy journalism. But if you've taken a lot of time off and don't feel like you can re-engage with the world in a short time, you'll maybe miss some of the fun. When you roll back into Stalwart and the locals are coming up to you and talking about things you can only vaguely remember, something is lost. If I remove my own personal feelings on the matter, though, it's exactly what you'd hope for: a roughly ten-hour excursion back into a fantasy world you know and love.
Like a good thriller, the whole time I was playing Firewatch I was completely engaged and couldn't wait to see where the story went next. The tale raises interesting questions about solitude, privacy and paranoia. However, a weak ending and some occasionally strange pacing ultimately detracts from Firewatch's spark of greatness.
It's sadistic, mean-spirited and unfair. And it makes no pretense at being anything other than that.
Getting back into the world of Pillars of Eternity was soothing, like a comfortable pair of slippers that you'd almost forgotten about. Sure, it didn't give me the same unexpected euphoria that the core game slapped me with but as a few evening's entertainment, it was a very welcome addition to the lore and gave me a chance to lark around in a world which, despite its reliance on walls of text and creepy obsession with souls, I'd fallen in love with.