Voodoo Vince is a solid title and something parents and kids will enjoy. It has enough zaniness to keep your attention and, while I'm not a fan of collectibles myself, it doesn't go out of its way to make those a difficult chore. Admittedly, most non-parent adult fans may not be thrilled at the prospect of playing through a game without guns or explosions, but it's charming enough to get by on its own. The story is fun, Vince is a quirky little doll, and seeing a magical take on New Orleans makes for a very good time.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has some good moments when you focus on the sniping aspect set in the open world environment. It's a shame it suffers from several bugs and feels a little misguided. I couldn't find myself invested in the main character or the plight of anyone around me, but rather I was just interested in the game's excellent array of weaponry and ability to kill everyone. Maybe that's a bad sign, but to my defense, hunting down collectibles gets old.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is at least a somewhat fresh take on the Warriors system. It's still enjoyable and it offers some new elements, even if the overall affair is what we've come to expect from these games. Some major added benefits though include the game's more polished graphics and ability to render even more enemies on screen. It makes some of those battles truly feel gigantic.
Dead by Daylight is a great game and worth playing a few rounds at the least. Unfortunately, be prepared to face some difficult challenges if your killer or survivors are higher leveled than you. Granted, it's, in my opinion, a much easier experience to play as the killer and advance, the challenge and excitement of teaming up with friends and surviving is much more fun. The cooperative experience combined with a great looking and ambient game makes for a fun package, even if balancing feels off at times.
Spark of Madness adds some great new variety to Dead by Daylight. I thoroughly enjoyed using the Doctor as I hunted down survivors and Feng, once leveled up, makes a great addition to any survivor team. Considering how generally creepy the Doctor is, I think Spark of Madness does an excellent job in padding out Dead by Daylight.
Galaxy of Pen & Paper is an incredibly charming game that I enjoyed. However, I do come from a background of playing tabletop RPGs with friends, and it's impossible to fully recreate those nights of questing and hilarity, even then Pen and Paper does a damn fine job at meta gaming, interjecting comments, and more. I think the game's humor, references, and overall feel will draw many players, but I worry too that some may not fully jump into that recreated world. Combined with larger, but seemingly empty environments and some required grinding, it may be a further turn off to those players.
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a fantastic game. The gameplay, visuals, and goofiness of the game are treats. I didn't necessarily enjoy the ramping difficulty of the game; I found myself almost destroyed 30 days into the campaign against a single alien fleet that ripped my three ships apart. Combined with the randomness that can potentially kill you (I ended up losing one of those ships in a random encounter) means even the best intentions can kill you. If you enjoy the threat of imminent death with fun gameplay, this one is for you.
The game rehashes several locations/areas from other Warriors titles, as is usual with these combination games. Most of the game looks great and plays well, but I'm not sure I fully understand some of the crazier elements to the game. Koei Tecmo has been putting many extras into their games in recent years, but some of the ones in this feel too tacked on, too forced. The core gameplay is still fun, and the goofy story is attractive, plus the ability to pick your battles across a large map, but I don't need a billion little things to worry about. One of the attractions of Warriors is the ability to just go hack and slash hundreds of enemies. Now that I've got an option of which character I want from whichever franchise, I'd prefer to not have all of the excess baggage with it. That being said, the game is still solid and fun experience for those who enjoy Warriors.
Oriental Empires is a solidly built empire strategy game, but I feel it falls short in some key categories.
The meat of Fictorum lies in the magic casting system and the game's ridiculously, dangerously fun physics. Blowing up buildings and bridges or sending enemies soaring into the sky is just an absolute treat. Throw in a fun story to follow along with on the map screen, and some crazy spells and the game can become quite enjoyable. The only huge concern I might have is the overall challenge of the game and how easy it can be to die. I've jumped onto house debris and managed to die before sliding off since the game interpreted it as me being hit by an object. It can get frustrating to die over and over, but thankfully the game experience is new each time.
Solstice Chronicles: MIA. is a solid twin-stick shooter. I enjoyed the narrative, sequences, and even the sometimes cheesy voice work. I initially wasn't aware that the game provided skill points, in fact I accrued 19 points before I even knew the system existed. My main complaint honestly is the lack of online support, as that was hands down one of the best parts of The Red Solstice.
Observer is incredibly solid. It's steeped in narrative and features dark and beautiful environments. It captures the dystopian feel of an uncertain and technologically filled future. And there's certainly enough to spook you or keep you on your toes. No mind interrogation is easy or makes much sense, but you can never fully understand the mind either. Aside from the creepy, intense leaps into other's minds or completing a forensic investigation into a crime scene, much of the story is told through slow exposition. The world is seemingly devoid, and aside from a few places, I never felt pressured or frightened. It was more of a "I'll just keep going this way until something changes." The lack of interactions in the world makes me question a lot of what Lazarski experiences, making it seem like reality is suspect in itself.
ELEX is a game that suffers from its lofty ambition. It aims for admittedly high goals that are worth aspiring to, but it seemed to have forgotten some key things along the way. The sheer expanse of the world, rich backstory, and a mind-boggling amount of things to see/do in the game are fantastic, but the game suffers from technical issues, absurdly challenging gameplay at times, and a buffet scenario where you just have too much to choose from. The technical issues alone can be frustrating, but when you combine those with incessant deaths at the hands of minor enemies the game starts to really drive the point home that you should play on easy. Be warned though: you'll still face a hard time.
A Hat in Time is a fantastic experience. It's got stuff that anyone of any age can enjoy. I know it reminded me of some of the classic 3D platformers of the mid-to-late 90's, both in general feel and tone. Throw in a goofy-yet-fun story and a wacky cast (with great voice acting to boot), and you'll be able to get anyone interested. While the game is only available on PC at the time of this review, it will be coming to consoles at a later point.
SpellForce 3 is a pretty fantastic game, but it's also pretty large and potentially overwhelming. That's not to say it doesn't create an excellent challenge, but there is quite a bit to pick up and run with for people new to the RTS genre. I feel that given some time, most can become quite adept and will thoroughly enjoy the game. And at the least, the game has some beautiful graphics to admire while you're slaughtering some crazy beast or an enemy army.
Post Human W.A.R., as I noted, feels like "RTS-lite" and is even reminiscent of a board game sprung to life on my PC. The points system, grid maps, and vibrant nature of the games has me imagining pulling everything out of a box and setting it up on my kitchen table. The general simplicity has a high-level draw, and it offers an appeal of fun for anyone looking to get into something that's not overly violent and has a budding online community to play against. While I think some of the chat features need to be revamped, it's definitely a game newer RTS players could get into. My only real complaint is the lack of heavy substance; since the campaign feels quick and the focus of the game seems to be primarily directed towards online, those looking for a deeper single-player experience may feel left out.
I feel Hyper Universe may fill an unrealized niche in the MOBA genre. The gameplay feels fresh, the controller support is an excellent perk, and for those tired of other MOBA games might find themselves falling quickly into Hyper's simple, free-to-play model. While yes, it's possible to go and buy equipment and Hypers, I'm never sure how much that may or may not imbalance overall gameplay. That being said, given some time and server tweaking to fix those crazy lag spikes and I think this game will continue to grow.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is absolutely a solid and engrossing game. It may be slower for some, but even then it's something to play for a few hours at the least. I found myself traveling to faraway points just to see what little story I could find and unravel in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed finding stories I previously told become larger and larger, subtly changing with each new retelling. I enjoyed getting to know those who lived on the road and away from civilization, understanding their quirks and seeing just how my interactions with them affected my travels. Topped with impressive voice acting, a stunning soundtrack, and beautiful visuals...I highly recommend trying this game out. It's a different experience, but getting to explore early Americana and listening to its tales should be hard to pass up.
Truthfully I do like some of the core mechanics of the game. I've done small-scale farming in real life and understood the requirements that kind of profession and lifestyle places on you. A lot of things in this game remind me of those days, but there's a lot that breaks the simulation and realism. The odd vehicle controls, random issues when driving that will instantly slow you down, and the need to continually open that damn tablet really deter me from the game. Otherwise, it does perfectly capture the tedium of the farming life reasonably well even if your character seemingly never has to sleep.
Frostpunk is without a doubt an excellent new entry into the city-building genre. It contains enough familiar elements tinged with new, fantastical ones comprised of the steampunk aesthetic and feel. Admittedly though, the game's seemingly shorter length may make it feel like it's not complete, but that's not true in any way. It's great price point, challenging gameplay mechanics, and overall offerings with replayability make this a solid game to pick up. It takes some time to master as well, making it worth the challenge of surviving in the long winter.