While the multiplayer is where Red Solstice 2: Survivors shines, fundamental design clashes, lack of single-player focus, and poor information presentation make the game a highly inconsistent experience.
Though the mediocre UI makes the game needlessly intimidating, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is an engaging tactics game that successfully mixes systems from multiple genres.
Total War: Rome Remastered is a solid technical remaster of a classic game, but fails to legitimately improve and adapt for modern sensibilities.
A charming facade can't save Buildings Have Feelings Too from its own poor technical framework, gameplay design issues, and lack of player accessibility options.
Sons of Ra is a super focused yet small game, but this isn’t inherently a bad thing. Its gameplay is addictive and fast-paced, the core loop works on the whole, and the setting plus the presentation gives the game its character. If Sons of Ra is to succeed at being a competitive multiplayer game, it’s vital that the balance issues with towers and upgrade buildings are addressed as soon as possible. Nonetheless, this neat little strategy game is worth checking out.
Though by no means revolutionary, Evil Genius 2 is a solid, expansive, and fun lair management and defence game and a welcome return for the franchise.
Stronghold: Warlords' innovative potential in its fun gameplay loop and interesting concepts is stifled by an archaic engine and design philosophy.
Though innovative in concept and boasting a great setting and aesthetic, a lack of content and glaring balance issues keep Hero Among Us from taking to the sky.
A solid and historically authentic entry into a consistently engaging, if slightly safe, turn-based strategy series.
Though the foundation is laid for a great game with excellent presentation, style, and robust gameplay systems, the horrid user interface and vast number of bugs and glitches keep Empire of Sin from being a great game.
Though conceptually simple and highly repetitive, ICBM is a neat and compact strategy game with solid design foundations and excellent multiplayer potential.
Though excellent conceptually and visually, Iron Harvest is a run-of-the-mill real-time tactics game with significant unrealized potential, lack of depth, and minimal innovation.
Though technically not a bad game by any stretch thanks to great art direction, solid gameplay, and several potentially fantastic ideas for the future, A Total War Saga: TROY is still an uneven and disappointingly stagnant entry in the Total War franchise.
With the release of Panzer Corps 2 and its updated graphics, improved UI, greater accessibility to newcomers and expanded player options, it’s a must-buy for any history and strategy game fan.
Broken Lines is a solid turn-based strategy-RPG hybrid with endearing characters, strong tactical gameplay that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and an alternate history WWII survival-mystery story filled with desperation, hopelessness, and dread
Astra Exodus is a fairly decent 4X strategy game with some interesting ideas and a surprisingly good tactical combat system, but it’s bogged down by a lack of polish and some technical issues.
Phoenix Point successfully introduces a slew of new features and mechanics that sufficiently evolve the XCOM-inspired genre of strategy games, though is brought down by some buggy, wonky, and unbalanced implementation of some mechanics.
Unity of Command 2 is an excellent evolution of the series that retains, improves, and builds upon the already high quality of its predecessor.
Radio Commander is a solid role-playing crisis manager game set during a compelling historical event, with great concepts and an interesting communications mechanic. However, the game is brought down heavily by an identity crisis in its core game design and inherent tedium and repetition.
Warsaw is a good installment in the dungeon crawler genre with its historical theme, excellent artstyle, and atmosphere carrying the experience. However, it can feel tedious at times with the slow responsiveness of skills during combat and some grindy situations in combat.