If Ark and Rust are the flaccid alpha males of survival gaming, Conan is the cocksure challenger angling for an advantage.
A compelling fusion of tabletop manoeuvring and characterful campaign progression
The old school RTS continues to gather strength, with help from some friends in high level places.
Although its augmentations are selective and skin deep, Outcast remains a generous and uniquely captivating game.
Hokey, uneven and janky, Elex is nonetheless a compelling throwback to a time before open worlds became choose your own to-do lists.
No matter how good a Total War game is, the follow-up campaign is always better. Warhammer 2's is no exception.
An impressive handling of the Warhammer licence, Deathwing is sadly a less than impressive tactical shooter.
An odd combination of Dead Space and Dear Esther, with a nice line in evoking the classics of sci-fi cinema.
A thrilling reminder of the golden era of the space genre, House of The Dying Sun is sadly a little too slim to be a breakout hit.
For space fans left cold by the popularity of the fantasy MOBA, this game will tempt you aboard.
An ambitious and promising multiplayer shooter take on 40K that's left Early Access a little prematurely.
These are are the voyages of starships and enterprise, boldly going where every 4X game has been before.
It has numerous issues and lacks content, but Blood Bowl 2 offers a solid foundation for the future of the celebrated turn-based sport.
To its credit Stainless has recognised the scale of the problem and has assured players than it is working to get the game in a stable condition as soon as possible. Until a decent performance can be assured for all, however, or until it's recalled back into Early Access, we have to advise caution.
Other minor issues aside, such as a need to develop the game's rather basic fleet management UI and a somewhat crippling arbitrary penalty that makes large-scale empire administration more of a chore than it should be, the game is well deserving of the GalCiv name and offers enough in the way of traditional features and modern scalability to secure the series' place at the very top of the 4X tech tree - if not for the five years that Stardock intend to adapt and add to the game, then at least until the next 4X game comes along in a few days time.
With space battles now more spectacular than even the evergreen Eve Online, and with far less effort required to enjoy them, this sees two excellent games restored. While in a past it was tricky to argue a decisive case for either of the Homeworld games for greatest RTS of all time, now they've been forever merged, updated and supplemented with the original games, the collection is indispensable.
Thankfully the issues with Armageddon are eminently fixable and since Slitherine has stated that the game will expand in a similar vein to Panzer Corps, with the addition of new campaigns, units and races to be released as DLC over the next couple of years, it's not beyond the bounds of reason to expect core feature to evolve too. For now though, unless you're desperately aching to play a new turn-based 40k wargame - which is entirely understandable given how long it's been since the last one - we'd advise waiting on the outcome of one or two necessary patches before joining the fray.
For those burnt out on WOW's content, WildStar is easy to endorse. Immediately familiar to anyone who's visited Azeroth and with enough new twists on the tried-and-tested theme park formula, Carbine's game is so overflowing with stuff to do that it's certainly justified in asking for a subscription - even if less people seem prepared to sign up to one. It's more difficult to recommend WildStar to those who've tired of the MMORPG treadmill and its incessant need to put characters through the same old process of grinding quests and raids to reach a level cap and acquire the best gear. As much as WildStar seems to effortlessly hit all the right notes, essentially the song remains the same.