Jonathan Bolding's Reviews
Victoria 3's attractive historical sandbox is filled with potential, but it's on you to unlock it.
Hard West 2 has plenty of little annoyances, but it's a supernatural western tactics game with a lot of style and the substance to back it.
Novel tactical mechanics make this indie a contender for the best strategy RPG this year.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale is a strategy RPG that gets the fantasy of playing as a heavily armored knight exactly right, but it would've been a better game if it didn't pad itself out with so many repetitive battles.
It's still one of the best dungeon crawlers ever made, but now it's on PC.
Disciples: Liberation is a promising RPG with rich stories and compelling tactical combat, but nothing quite makes it a must-play.
Diablo 2: Resurrected brings a beloved classic up today's graphical standards, but it overlooks 20 years of obvious flaws. It's still a very satisfying action RPG, but you couldn't get away with these problems a decade ago, much less today.
Eastward is a post-apocalyptic picaresque as charming as it is pretty, with simple action combat and puzzles that are accessible to everyone.
King's Bounty 2 is a unique game, but it's uniquely mediocre.
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a jolly, blood-spattered tactical romp through the grim, dark future.
Roguebook stands out from the pack on a few qualities, but it's not a must-play.
Loop Hero's cleverly stripped-down RPG concept demands attention for as long as it takes you to work out the clear "best" way to guide each hero class, and its fantastically dark story setup stands out as one of the best in years.
Try not to suffocate… or die of boredom. Breathedge's concept of survival crafting in space may be good, but it just isn't fun.
Field of Glory 2: Medieval is the closest to a tabletop miniatures experience you'll get on PC.
A functional, basic board game port isn't enough to truly shine off the tabletop.
Hard science, harder simulation, and narrative innovation make Per Aspera a real gem.
Empire of Sin's criminal management sim and turn-based tactical combat combo sounds brilliant on paper, but it completely fails to live up to its aspirations due to major imbalances and bugs.
The flock of dizzying strategic possibilities and the brilliant plumage it's dressed in make this digital board game a must-play.
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition preserves for posterity the core of this weirdest 00s RTS experiments while making some much-needed changes. Love it or hate it, the definitive edition is Age of Empires 3 amplified.
If the RTS is dead, then Iron Harvest is some pretty slick necromancy. A classic single-player campaign with a strong story complements the absolute satisfaction of big, stompy mechs.