Robert N. Adams's Reviews
Dawn of Man has a couple of small issues, but it's otherwise a solid game that's sure to be enjoyed by fans of city builders and real-time strategy alike.
Metro Exodus builds on the gameplay of the previous titles and expands it into a much broader world, adding new mechanics and expanding the narrative without padding things too much.
Astroneer nicely builds on the Early Access release. The world is much more polished and it finally gives players something to do beyond simply digging up the earth and crafting new techs.
GRIS features outstanding graphics, beautiful cinematics, and whimsical music. While it lacks in gameplay and replayability, it handily makes up for it in its presentation.
Two Point Hospital keeps the spirit of Theme Hospital and improves on the gameplay, but buggy pathfinding and missing quality-of-life features brings the whole experience down.
The Spiral Scouts is a solid puzzle game with a boatload of off-color humor, but some parts may prove too challenging for puzzle game novices.
Jalopy is a game with an interesting concept and good mechanics behind it. Sadly, poor design, a number of irritating bugs, and a lack of things to do beyond the game's single quest make for a disappointing experience.
Surviving Mars is a solid city-builder, but some areas of the game require too much micromanagement and some critical information is either inaccurate or not presented in a useful way.
Subnautica is an underwater survival game with a compelling narrative, although some design choices, oversights, and bugs hampered my enjoyment of the title.
Mushroom Wars 2 is a simpler-than-average real-time strategy that nonetheless possesses a good bit of a depth and has potential for competitive play.
Ghosts of Miami mixes a detective story and romantic themes in a colorful and vibrant setting, but a couple of mechanical flaws make it slightly tricky to experience repeat playthroughs.
Agents of Mayhem is Volition trying something new with a bit of their longstanding franchises mixed in, and they mostly do a great job at forging new paths. It has a few bugs and it's not perfect, but it makes for an excellent new game with a heck of a lot of character.
While Planet Coaster has some flaws with management and automation, it is nonetheless an excellent theme park simulator that adds many new tools for the aspiring rollercoaster tycoon.
War for the Overworld and Heart of Gold are serviceable spiritual successors to Dungeon Keeper. There's quite a few issues with the game but no major show-stoppers.
Stardew Valley has a little bit of everything for everyone and does it all well. It's well-designed, well-polished, and encompasses everything I love about this style of game and more. A modern masterpiece in every way.
American Truck Simulator is a great game for listening to podcasts while driving around a virtual simulacrum of Nevada and California. It has some flaws, but the overall presentation was fantastic and very enjoyable.
Although it has some minor flaws, Shardlight nevertheless stands out as an excellent point & click adventure that pays homage to its predecessors.
Planetbase has a handful of minor flaws, but the overall presentation is excellent despite these tiny problems. A fun game for people who like building and managing communities.
Rebel Galaxy is nearly perfect in every way. It provides the perfect mix of player choice, balance, and challenge for fans of space combat games who don't mind the lack of 3D flight.
Although it makes some stumbles that its predecessor avoided, Metro: Last Light Redux is nonetheless an exciting romp through previously unexplored parts of the Metro universe.