Empire of Sin's many bugs, balance issues and competing systems undermine what could have been a novel mob management game.
Not quite as novel as its predecessor, but the co-op is still bewitching.
The stuff that made Crusader Kings 2 so enduring has been pushed to the front even more, while some of the bloat that accumulated over the better part of a decade has been chipped away. It's a very sensible sequel.
Refreshing tactical changes and some of the best maps in the series make this an experiment worth checking out.
Desperados 3 turns the Wild West into a brilliant tactical playground that will fill you with lead over and over again.
A mountain of issues gets in the way of the gratuitous monster murder and engaging customisation.
An exceptional RTS let down by a very disappointing remaster.
A polished, wide-ranging update that brings the classic RTS into the modern age.
Huge, inventive and the reason I'm sleep deprived. It's brilliant.
Gathering Storm is an ambitious expansion full of welcome additions, even if it does falter at the end.
Passive AI and a flawed economy ruin what could have been a refreshing 4X experiment.
Lethal League Blaze doesn’t flip over the table, but it’s an extremely confident sequel that improves on just about every part of its predecessor.
Two Point Hospital is a brilliant management game, regardless of nostalgia.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a nearly flawless remaster of a mixed bag that I'm still incredibly fond of, even after so many deaths.
I don't want to bad-mouth cool dinosaurs, but cool dinosaurs can only carry a game so far.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, within the first couple of hours, contains the phrase "Cannon-fucking your boat to sodden splinters." Pirates might not make everything better – you wouldn't invite them to a booze-free wedding – but they've done wonders in Obsidian's RPG sequel.
A brilliant early game and bold experiments almost make up for the AI niggles and the boring march to the final battle.
Wargaming’s flagship remains a great game that frequently gets in the way of itself.
Northgard is a surprising, elegant RTS that's laden with a very dull story.
Surviving Mars is a lot of hard work, but managing a burgeoning colony never stops being compelling.