If the game is patched extensively, there are hints of an interesting enough story to make it worth a playthrough. However, at launch, the amount of game-breaking bugs present makes Broken Porcelain practically unplayable. It’s only because I had the duty to review it that I got as far in as I did, and I doubt the typical gamer will have the patience to get past the first hour.
Port Royale 4 will be an interesting distraction for fans of management sims, but none of its systems are complex enough to hook players for long. Both the trading and town building are surface deep, and after 15 or so hours of gameplay, everything is just repetition. There’s no big buildup to an endgame, so everything has that mid-game feeling of going through the paces.
Star Wars: Squadrons is a flawed homage to flight sims of decades past. It’ll be a dream come true for fans of the X-Wing and Rogue Squadron series. It’s the type of Star Wars game that seemed to be extinct. It’s a niche title that highlights the fantastic starfighters of the franchise.
In a year where new consoles are dropping, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is at risk of falling off the radar. I hope that players avoid that pitfall because this game is something special. It’s unique art and gameplay make it an unexpected treat, and it’s got the makings of an instant cult classic.
If you’re a Nintendo fan, you’re going to want to get Super Mario 3D All-Stars. However, just because the games are good doesn’t mean that these ports are great. They’re adequate, which has to be enough, I guess.
Crusader Kings 3 takes the massively-popular formula of its predecessor and distills it into a much more accessible and attractive package. The drama is even better, the plots sneakier, and it’s a game you can play for hundreds of hours without getting tired of it.
Wasteland 3 is a marvel of a game, especially from a small studio like inExile. It’s not without its flaws, but the excellent writing and enthralling world overshadow those.
If you’re a big fan of Souls-likes and want to play a game that follows that formula fairly closely while introducing a few unique gameplay elements, Hellpoint isn’t a bad choice.
I would have liked to see Mojang put more resources behind Minecraft Dungeons and put a unique spin on the hack-and-slash RPG genre by utilizing Minecraft‘s unique aspects. Minecraft Dungeons is fun in short bursts but does little to actually adapt the Minecraft property into its gameplay. Mojang plans to expand Minecraft Dungeons with DLC that may address some of the issues it has at launch. However, with the gameplay loop being so shallow, I wouldn’t count on any DLC expanding the game’s depth without fundamental alterations to the game’s core systems.
Mafia 2 is still a game that’s worth playing, but if you own the original for PC, you’re better off just modding it. If you don’t own it, the Definitive Edition is only $20, and you get Mafia 2 Classic with it, so you don’t have anything to lose.