Adnan Kljajić
Floodland is a formidable survival city builder but it's not a masterpiece that will blow everyone away. As such, it will have a hard journey if it wants to carve out a fan base from the market of the somewhat niche genre, which is mostly occupied by Frostpunk fans by now.
Happy endings are not exactly a theme in the 40K universe but it looks like the process of delivering this game had one. Complex Games successfully worked through the pressure to deliver an unforgettable Grey Knight escapade and provided 40K fans with another game in the "Good" column.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale offers a ton of fun in spite of the flaws that may be trying to drag it down. Knowing NeocoreGames' work from the past, these devs were capable of turning a mediocre release of a Warhammer 40,000 game into one of the best action RPGs available on the market.
I consider Lost Valley a must-buy if you already have the base game. Steam reviews for it are currently a bit iffy, owing to the aforementioned game-breaking bugs that have been fixed since but you will rarely find this much content being sold for $13 / €13 / £11.
Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is a breath of fresh air in the modern gaming world as it provides a unique sense of joy. I came out of my playing sessions feeling relaxed but also fulfilled, not wanting for additional challenge and completely stress-free.
I found The Witch Queen to be the best Destiny 2 expansion thus far, with the only real contestant being Forsaken, which is considered the golden standard among the community of what a good expansion looks like. As such, I would highly recommend getting the expansion.
Expeditions: Rome is a game with high points in storytelling and gameplay alike but the latter aspect has some glaring issues that drag it back quite a bit. Without too much eye candy, the game strives to show you the world and help you immerse into it, instead of expecting you to look at it as if you were window shopping.
Halo Infinite multiplayer is truly a love letter to old school shooters and a proper return to the qualities that originally made the series famous. Whether you are looking for smaller, more organised, matches or all-out warfare with vehicles, you have a lot to enjoy in this game.
Bright Memory Infinite turned out to be a game that can go either way on the scale for the average player but nonetheless impressive work for what is essentially a one-man studio.
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows has a lot of unused potential and some parts of the game almost seem unfinished or discarded mid-development but it still manages to deliver an experience well worth your time, should you decide to grab it.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous' countless storytelling and gameplay qualities contribute to the proper definition of "RPG", which is something AAA games often like to throw away these days.
With just two people in the core team, and a total of five when you factor in people behind the video production, music and background melody for the sales pitch, Alien Pixel Studios created a game that is an absolute joy to go through. With exceptional gameplay design and no visible weaknesses, Unbound: Worlds Apart is a breathtaking indie you shouldn't miss out on.
This is not a perfect game but in reality, that is something games should only strive for and not one of them will ever reach. With that in mind, Black Lab Games certainly did an amazing job in that pursuit as Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is the first game of 2021 I felt sad to finish. Just like Red Thirst nudges Blood Angels to want more blood, Battlesector nudges me to crave another campaign.
World Splitter is held back by elements such as storytelling or any form of character for either you or NPCs, which may be a result of budget restraints. That said, World Splitter is a puzzle game and as such, characters and storytelling should never take priority over gameplay and level design, which is something NeoBird obviously understood very well.