The Sinking City is deeply evocative in its oppressive dourness, and stays true to the investigative backbone of Cthulhu. We are presented an open world of horror and suspense that HP Lovecraft surely would have enjoyed investigating.
Games have come a long way since I was a youth. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a clear example of a game as an art form with a strong message and a complex, layered narrative. It's true that you're sort of along for the ride and most of your interactions are through your emotional response to what is depicted rather than through the mechanics of the game, but is that such a bad thing?
This Wolfenstein has been broadly politicized and has been the no-doubt eager focus for political stunts and controversy. Which is odd, really, seeing as how at its heart it's one of the most clear-cut examples of an FPS that we've seen in a while. No tricky resource management stuff, no new sub-systems to learn, just straightforward running and gunning, with a side-order of throat-slashing. And leg-removing. And eyeball-popping. And forehead-hatchet-burying. And exploding with diesel-filled grenades. And evaporating with laser guns. Typical, uncomplicated Wolfenstein stuff!
Battle Brothers is a game that recognises these classical roots and the way they allow room for the player to use their own imagination to fill in the blanks left by a mostly simplistic interface, but has also learned the lessons of the modern age
Adding depth to characters throughout the world is always welcome, and while the concrete plotlines themselves might be a little thin, the new dimensions and allegiances that can affect the unscripted procedural stories are always welcome. Great job as usual, Paradox.
So how to conclude? Well, it's another Sniper Elite game. Much like number three, which admittedly took some major steps forward over V2, but the same level of progress is missing. A new climate and a lick of paint have made another game in practically the precise mould of the brilliant Sniper Elite III, so I can't really complain. It's like going back to your favourite restaurant and ordering what you always order. Sure, it's a bloody delight, and there's not much bad to say about it, but perhaps something slightly different (aware as I am that this is vague and ill-defined) might have been nice?
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.
It's these moment-to-moment planning decisions that really make Satellite Reign a game to recommend and to remember. Eventually, when you've researched the top-flight weapons and your soldier can stand toe-to-toe with entire squads while your hacker turns turrets against the security forces and the infiltrator moves unseen through swarms of alerted guards, you'll get the feeling that nothing can stand against you, and that you've earned every single ounce of your power. But in the early days, while you're scrambling to stay hidden from Dracogenics' henchmen, making the call to pull out with nothing more than a little more intelligence on the layout of an enemy compound to lick your wounds and rethink strategy for the next assault, something really special is happening. Strategy, being formulated in real-time. A surprisingly rare event for a real-time strategy game.
Rebel Galaxy is extremely 'aggressively priced', as I believe the marketing guys say. For the money, it's really the best you can do for space trading. It's fun, simple and engrossing, and if you're put off by Elite Dangerous' more-than-double price and you're not bothered by single-player only, Rebel Galaxy is really filling a niche that needed to be filled.
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.
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.
While perhaps a little derivative, it's all simple to learn, beautifully presented, and with enough detail and variety to keep fantasy buffs engaged for a long time. Age of Wonders feels like it's back to stay, in all its beardy, D20-throwing glory.
I didn't expect to get on all that well with Grimrock 2, and I was pleasantly surprised. This does have to be your kind of thing – that's not to say that newcomers can't find anything to enjoy, but lots of what I took away from LoG2 came from nostalgia and references to yesteryear – not exactly in-jokes so much as a firm appreciation of the videogame RPG's tabletop roots.
For those who have never played a Tropico game, I heartily encourage a look at this fine series. For old timers who've always enjoyed the leisurely pace and low difficulty, there's always the opportunity to cheat yourself a little extra money at any time. The graphics are mediocre as usual, but it's more than made up for by the gameplay. I said I'd be pleased with more of the same, and much of the core game remains unchanged, but with just enough that's new and interesting to keep you engaged.
It's the best action shooter series out at the moment for sure.
What it comes down to is that Paradox is just amazing at listening to their community and developing their games long after release. Now that ships are done, I expect that the air force will follow not too far behind. Then, who knows? Of course, they could release a DLC of nothing but National Focii for everyone from Bulgaria to Tannu Tuva and many fans would be ecstatic. If more companies were like Paradox, the world would be a better place.
I sort of have to criticise, you know? It's the job. Truth is, though, I've really enjoyed every minute I've spent with Dirt Rally 2.0, just as I did with 1.0 before it. The handling is gorgeous, the routes are truly beautiful to look at, and the management is ...manageable. The cars all have tons of individual character, the rallycross feels scrappy and frenetic and everything just comes together wonderfully. Codemasters, eh? They really have the hang of this thing.
To be honest, Waking the Dragon is worth it for the National Focus trees, new general mechanics and decision system alone. If you have the slightest interest in the Chinese theatre during World War 2 and have any intention of playing one of the nations or warlords, you'll be missing out on so much colour and richness by not having this DLC it'd be a real loss. If, like me, you have little to no real knowledge of what the heck was happening over there during the war, Waking the Dragon will school you real quick and in that beautiful, delicious way that only Hearts of Iron IV can.
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?
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.