"Railgrade" is an absolute must for players who like to trim a system for efficiency. Borrowing from games like "Factorio", "Satisfactory" or even the more abstract "Magnum Opus", "Railgrade" pushes itself to the top of the genre thanks to charming presentation, short but crisp missions and an excellent price-performance ratio.
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Despite some technical rough edges, "Age of Wonders 4" offers an excellent gaming experience for all strategy fans and those who want to become one. Not only does the campaign require tactical skill, but it also presents you with an interesting challenge as you create the ideal race for each scenario. The fact that you'll slowly build up your pantheon between saves and unlock new customization options for your races in a separate talent tree provides more long-term motivation than many other 4X titles.
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Sonic Superstars won’t change anyone’s mind on the Sonic franchise, but instead serves as somewhat of a soft reboot.
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Last Train Home tells a gritty and emotional story of Czechoslovakian legionnaires trying to reach their distant home after the conclusion of World War I. As foreign armed forces in a now war-torn Russia, players not only have to manage scarce resources, but also their allegiances. While the core elements of RTS gameplay and survival management sim work well together, a large part of your enjoyment will depend on the balance of those two. For large stretches of gameplay, Last Train Home isn’t an RTS with management sim elements, but a Surival Management game with occasional RTS missions.
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Few fictional universes are as dense and impenetrable as that of Warhammer 40k. Owlcat Games (previously known for Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous have managed to create a gripping story of the darkness that lurks in man, accentuated by stellar writing and a combat system that masterfully increases in depth as the game goes on. Despite some bugs and technical issues, this easily counts among the very best delves into the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium.
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"Ginsha" is an absolute must-see for Metroidvania fans. The game cleverly combines elements from video game classics with newer ideas and manages to pack these elements into a very pretty and great sounding package. Only the difficulty level and the lack of almost any navigation aids can deter less experienced players.
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"Steelrising" is like "Greedfall" a very positive surprise. Spiders has once again managed to put its own stamp on a very highly competitive genre. The balance of the game could certainly still be tightened, and the areas are not as impressive as we would have liked. The bottom line, however, is that "Steelrising" is one of the best Western interpretations of the "Souls" series and brings a breath of fresh air into a very rigid formula not only with a fascinating setting, but also with new elements in combat and exploration.
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While inevitably overshadowed by its big brother, Persona 5 Tactica definitely has its own legs to stand on. The accessible, yet engaging combat system, a new story with its own twists and turns, as well as the excellent art style make this an easy game to pick up and play. What it lacks however, is anything truly outstanding. While competent at all aspects of the game, nothing stands out as particularly new or captivating, dooming this to remain forever trapped a shadow in the metaverse that is Persona 5.
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"Stray" had inspired the imagination of many players with his first attempts as "HK Project". The bottom line is that the final product feels far more familiar and generic than you might have hoped for from the first pictures. Nevertheless, "Stray" has its strengths, especially in the level design and in the atmosphere that it builds up again and again through great graphics and music. Playfully, the work moves rather on the easy side and offers experienced players hardly a challenge. But that's not what this is about anyway. "Stray" wants to take you into a world that is dirty and broken, and shows you again and again the bright spots of hope and the beauty that lies hidden.
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"Cult of the Lamb" can convince more as an idea than as a product. Minor defects exist at all corners and ends. The balance of the game leaves much to be desired, and it seems as if the progress of the cult is almost twice as fast as intended for the story. Nevertheless, "Cult of the Lamb" captivates not least thanks to the look and the original setting. With around ten hours of play, it is without a doubt rather short for a roguelike adventure.
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"Rollerdrome" is an excellent game in a genre that is now almost completely extinct.
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"Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous" is a role-playing game colossus that not only devours many hours of play, but takes you into a world packed with secrets, decisions and interesting stories.
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While Ilfonic who previously worked on “Predator: Hunting Grounds” and “Friday the 13th: The Game” excel at recreating the look and feel of the Ghostbusters movies, the gameplay remains relatively simple and shallow. This isn’t necessarily a title you’ll sink night after night into, but instead one to pick up now and again to play a couple of missions with friends. While it’s a bit light on the content side, the developers have a history of supporting their games long after launch with extensive updates.
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Pentiment might just be one of the weirdest AAA-games released this year. By stripping gameplay down to little more than walking and talking, this medieval crime drama feels like a visual novel that took the genre’s title a little too literal. The graphical style is heavily inspired by the illustrations of medieval books, which ties directly back into the main character’s background story as an illustrator. With an excellent story, great dialogue and too many mysteries for just a single playthrough, this odd little gem is one that may take some getting used to, but will reward you for your patience with a story more interactive and deeper than most.
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As more and more strategy games make their way to consoles, Company of Heroes 3: Console Edition brings its unique blend of real-time strategy with deep, tactical combat to a new audience. While the single player campaigns not only offer two vastly different takes on progression and gameplay but varied and exhilarating combat, the multiplayer modes feel like a side offering. Anyone wanting to play this mainly by themselves will have an amazing time, while competitive players should stick to older titles of the series on PC.
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Black Skylands follows modern Open World design a little too closely sometimes and relies on resource collecting, outpost clearing and repetitive side quests a little too often. Nonetheless the core gameplay is fun, and the presentation of the pixelated world is charming. Due to the gameplay remaining largely the same throughout its runtime, this is best enjoyed in smaller sessions and some breaks in between.
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With patch 2.0, "Cyberpunk 2077" fulfills many of the promises they made three years ago for release. However, just as many remain unfulfilled and since "Phantom Liberty" will remain the only DLC content, "Cyberpunk 2077" will never live up to the initial hype. Patch 2.0 nevertheless ensures that "Cyberpunk 2077" not only plays much better, but now almost all glitches and bugs have been eliminated, so that the base game alone is definitely worth a new playthrough. The "Phantom Liberty" expansion offers a lot of new missions and tells a very exciting story, but if you expect a new "Blood & Wine" like in "The Witcher 3", you will be disappointed again. The scope of the DLC is okay for the price, but by no means sets new standards.
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With Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game Saber Interactive takes a new spin on the beloved offroad franchise. With a much lesser focus on transportation over exploration, this time more than ever the journey is the goal. A more guided structure eases new players in, while veterans can discover plenty of challenging side missions off the beaten path. While there are some technical issues at launch and the multiplayer is sorely missed (to be added via free update later), the package as a whole is still a solid game for those who don't mind taking it slower.
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While it’s still somewhat struggling with the legacy of Bullfrog’s Dungeon Keeper, Dungeons 4 from German developer Realmforge Studios continues to carve out its own identity. A very solid and refined gameplay loop is somewhat held back by quickly dated humor and some visual clutter. If you liked the earlier Dungeons games, expect more of the same with smaller additions and improvements, but those itching to be evil don’t have a better alternative anyway.
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A Rogue-Like Survival games that put the player in the role of a shipwrecked girl looking for the remains of her tribe. While it’s falling into common trappings for the genre with annoying inventory management and a ridiculously hungry protagonist, the overall charming atmosphere and surprising late-game depth make this indie game worth checking out!
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