There is real appeal to the idea of living in a little rural community where everyone is pleasant and quirky, where the rhythm of life and the gentle change of seasons are tied to working the land and the world's secrets are not dark and menacing.
Maybe it's the somewhat featureless terrain of Kharak, the simplified, streamlined interface and missions or the slightly shallow multiplayer modes, but there is a real sense that Deserts of Kharak is a throwback to a much earlier RTS style of game.
Darkest Dungeon is difficult, but not because its systems are unclear or unfair.
Played on its own, without worrying about whether it effectively changes up the hallowed tropes of early JRPGs, or conversely, sticks a little too closely to them, Echoes of Aetheria is fun.
Ultimately, what's disappointing about Herding Dog is that its aspirations, demands, tasks and ideas are simply too small scale.
Although its toolset is robust and allows for the construction of both imaginative and real-world aircraft, and the community has provided a huge library of pre-rolled classic planes and inventive designs, SimplePlanes is a bare-bones product.
Devilian's combat makes it a totally competent action-RPG/MMO.
After playing Chaos Reborn's excellent tutorials, you'll both comprehend the game and understand — probably many times over — what it means to lose to the forces of randomness and bad luck.
Although it doesn't look like much, Conquest of Elysium 4 packs a ton of depth beneath its pixelated surface.
SteamWorld Heist exudes charm and goodwill.
With so many interlocking systems, Thea: The Awakening is a bit of a Frankenstein of a game, but kudos to MuHa for bolting together everything so seamlessly and for trying something new, though it might be time for developers to put card game subsystems on ice for a few years.
It's hard to recommend FIVE: Guardians of David to anyone. Fans of action RPGs have literally dozens of better games to choose from. Even gamers who would like to play an RPG without being assaulted by bloodshed have some excellent choices, such as the Torchlight games. Aside from the novelty of the Biblical theme and story, FIVE: Guardians of David's gameplay ignores a lot of what recent action games have added to the genre: strategic groups, tactics, character development, customization — FIVE has none of these things. Its heroes are bland and its enemies even duller.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate is one of the most successful entries in a franchise that has seen many highs and lows.
Literally every game genre has standout products and legions of imitators, but The Sims franchise has remained relatively free of copycats, at least games coming even remotely close in quality.
The Mean Greens has a strong core concept, but wrapped around it is a game that feels a few major patches short of its potential.
Fat Princess was subversive, politically incorrect and unexpectedly complex in its strategy and depth.
Whether you can enjoy Chivalry: Medieval Warfare depends on how low you are willing to lower your expectations for what a current-gen console game should look and feel like.
Fans of Warhammer-related products and turn-based game aficionados will enjoy City of the Damned. It isn't a casual experience and mastering the many systems — as well as the flexible combat — will take dedication and time. It needs a little more technical polish and a much smoother learning curve to be considered for real mass-market appeal, but Mordheim: City of the Damned is a rewarding game for the right player.
The Match-3 genre is one of the stalwarts of the casual game space, but all that means is that there are plenty of bad products trying to grab the attention of unwary gamers. With its depth of gameplay systems and huge amount of single and multiplayer content, Gems of War is one of the best across all platforms and one of the few high-quality casual games on current gen consoles.
If everything about Hard West was as great as its combat and strategic layer, it would easily sit near the top of a list of memorable Old West-themed games. Take away the cowboy costumes and it's still an excellent turn-based game with some clever mechanics to mess with. A kind of bland overworld game experience combined with a hokey story arc bring Hard West down just a couple of notches. Still, it's a Western, and a great turn based strategy game, and we need more of both.