I worried that, after years of playing its predecessor and all of its expansions, I would be too familiar with Galactic Civilizations III. I worried that I'd get a bit tired of it too quickly. This hasn't remotely been the case. I'm hooked in the same way I was with the last game, and not because it's stayed the same, but because it's managed to strike that balance between the comfortingly familiar and the refreshingly new.
Cities: Skylines is absolutely the best city-builder I've played since SimCity 4. From macro to micro, from the sprawling transport networks and city-wide policies to the fine-tuned districts and street-level detail, it impresses. Its size and flexibility creates a fertile space for experimentation, making each new map, or even each new plot, a place to try out new plans for a hyper-efficient green utopia, filthy industrial powerhouse or anything in between.
Endless Legend combines fantastic fiction with compelling strategy. Underpinning it all is a strong design philosophy that connects the tenets of the 4X genre together seamlessly, while providing a plethora of options without being overwhelming. Even during a time when we're seeing a lot of 4X offerings, it sets itself apart, promising something different from its contemporaries.
Distant Worlds: Universe is an exceedingly complex, infinitely rewarding space strategy game. It's made me more excited about the genre than any other game of its kind since Galactic Civilizations II. All of those numbers and systems that hold the simulation together create these dramatic stories, ones about gallant captains constantly pushing back the frontier, races under the thumb of pirates rising up and taking back their independence and wars between empires that spread throughout the galaxy like wildfire.
Grow Home is utterly lovely. It's welcoming and sweet, and its simplicity is as elegant as BUD is adorably clumsy. Little experimental treats like this are worth a dozen Far Creeds and Assassin's Crys. More of this, please, Ubisoft!
It's not just a great, surprisingly insightful game. It's also true to the literary genre that inspired it and Bill Willingham's Fables comics. The moments of reflection that Cry Wolf offers aren't just in regards to Bigby. The very real issues of invisible, disenfranchised people and the inability or simple lack of interest that administrations have in protecting them is central to the game. That's why I'm left feeling uncomfortable, but desperately wishing for a second season.
I'm completely invested now. I worry about Bigby. I'm pointlessly going through the decisions he made, I made, attempting to figure out how they will change the way the rest of the fables' view their protector. But most of all I want to finish this case and catch whoever is responsible for this titanic mess, and then rip his limbs off. Bigby's indignation and quest for vengeance is infectious.
You start off as a weak, undead wanderer and eventually grow into a being that can kill god-like monsters, and it's not because the game's narrative needs you to be that powerful, but because you've worked so very hard to get to that point. It's an incredible feeling, and makes Dark Souls III an incredible game.
Calling Stellaris Europa Universalis in space is probably reductive, but it was the first thing I did in this review not because they are almost exactly alike, but because, when I put away my empires and get on with my day, the stories that have played out in these digital worlds embed themselves in my brain, and I so desperately want to tell people about them. Both games tickle the part of my brain that wants every battle to have some greater context, every move I make to be part of a larger narrative. Stellaris manages to do this without history to lean on, though, and does so with aplomb.
An expansion that makes arguably the best game in the series, even if it was a tad conservative, better and more exciting. But the real coup is how it makes every turn feel important.
A magnificent adventure with impressive fights and some very rough edges.
Disappointing campaign aside, Steel Division: Normandy 44 is a compelling and challenging real-time wargame.
Two Point Hospital is a brilliant management game, regardless of nostalgia.
A clever spiritual successor to Civilization full of both novelties and big ideas.
A flavourful and inventive 4X full of incredible spells and engaging empire management.
Desperados 3 turns the Wild West into a brilliant tactical playground that will fill you with lead over and over again.
Northgard is a surprising, elegant RTS that's laden with a very dull story.
A fitting end to a hilarious trilogy. Frog Detective, you will be missed.
Company of Heroes 3 is a spectacular RTS that manages to shine even when the main campaign doesn't.
A brilliant stealth sandbox and unconventional RPG in one very ambitious but buggy package.