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Bedlam is a neat concept that has managed to result in a game that's utterly bankrupt of creativity, polish, or fun. It's a game that went so wrong at every turn that it makes you just feel bad for its developers. There's nothing here but a bunch of half-hearted references and wistful nostalgia for old video games, both of which you can get plenty of for free on the internet.
Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode One is a promising start to Telltale's latest venture. As someone with only a passing knowledge of Minecraft, the story and characters were interesting enough to pull me in, and the manner in which the first episode ends suggests that there's some fairly major diverging paths to be resolved in Episode Two. It's nothing particularly new, as Telltale games go, but I think that playing with a more family-friendly property has been good for the studio.
Ultimately, Skyhill brings to mind 11-bit Studios seminal survivalist opus This War of Mine, though in doing so it invites comparisons it can't possibly survive as the former feels much more reduced in scope and flair than the latter. While entertaining for the most part then, Skyhill's ease of play and encouragingly gentle roguelike mechanics are not quite enough to allow the game to reach the ambitious heights of the structure that it takes as its namesake.
There's still work to be done – the end-game still fizzles out unspectacularly, and it's disappointing that each world's exotic alien lifeforms still act as little more than troublesome barbarians – but Rising Tide is an excellent first step on the road towards a better Beyond Earth.
Wait and hope for some major patches for now, but even then Armikrog still won't feel actually finished. Shame.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a decent puzzle game, but lacks the complexity and freedom of its predecessor by offering basic, linear goals. With many concepts from the original shoe-horned in regardless of theme or enjoyable gameplay it ultimately falls a little flat. Fans of the TV show will certainly get more out of this, it does have a certain charm but sadly doesn't quite work and feels like a missed opportunity.
All in all, Heroes of Might and Magic VII is a solid addition to the series. The game has plenty of content, beautiful visuals, and a terrific soundtrack to drive the story, but load times and unit balance need to be addressed if the game intends to be at the top of the series. And for goodness sake, do something about those scenario introduction cut scenes.
Nevertheless for this Dragon Age fan Trespasser was a hugely satisfying end to Inquisition, and the final choice alone will have huge ramifications. Roll on Dragon Age 4.
Grand Ages: Medieval remains an acquired taste, but it's certainly the most accessible game in the series to date. The trading mechanics are intuitive enough to avoid confusion, while remaining complex enough to encourage micromanagement and enjoyable risk-reward tinkering. Simplistic combat and a lack of variety mean that it begins to run out of steam by the end-game, but if you're looking for a more relaxed approach to world domination, Grand Ages: Medieval is a perfectly solid option.
A trip to the psycho circus is far more enjoyable than it might first appear. Penarium is an excellent game that delivers quality fun with or without friends. The graphics and story are a perfect platform to deliver this unique platformer to the masses. The pacing works well to move players through the game's grinding levels to the beat of a perfect soundtrack. Players who enjoy this type of game will find gold here, and players even remotely interested should dive in without fear.
Blood Bowl 2 is a faithful recreation of the board game with improved visuals and a cleaner UI than previous installments. The AI is as poor as ever but multiplayer is really where Blood Bowl 2 shines. The inclusion of only 8 races is extremely disappointing though as is the lack of overall polish the game has. If you already own Blood Bowl Chaos Edition, sadly Blood Bowl 2 doesn't really do enough to justify owning both unless the multiplayer community decides to migrate. It's still a lot of fun though, especially in multiplayer.
It may be short, but it is also easily affordable. If you've got a little extra change in your bank account and feel like trying something out of the ordinary, I'd recommend giving Euclidean a try.
In the 10 or so hours it took me to finish SOMA I was hooked for the entire experience, from shocking beginning to one of the best game endings I've seen since Portal. SOMA will destroy you emotionally, and that's a very good thing indeed.
Stairs is an odd beast then. A veritable love-letter to psychological horror, it's clear that the developer commands an impressive grasp of the visceral nature of the genre. Frequently terrifying and constantly unsettling, Stairs excellent atmospherics serve not only to deftly stimulate the senses with aplomb, but unfortunately also highlight that the game upon which these expertly fashioned frights exist doesn't boast a similarly formidable calibre.
The game feels like kit-bashed mechanics wrapped in clean and inoffensive modelling and UI design. The core design of the game is pleasant enough, but it is not accompanied by interesting creative tools or mechanical challenges. I like the idea of placing players in different eras and locations, giving them unique tools appropriate to the setting, and seeing what they can do, but at the moment there is just not the depth of play in Train Valley to support that idea.
I wish it were a little more approachable, but the unpredictability hosted alongside its premise and mechanics are a lot of what make it interesting. I look forward to continuing to play around with it casually and unlocking the many secrets I feel this game holds.
If you're an adventure fan and not a terminal coulrophobe Dropsy is well worth picking up, just because it tries to do something different. No dialogue, occasionally terrifying but otherwise heart-tugging story, doable puzzles and a decent-sized open world with day-night cycles, starring a creepy clown and his animal friends. It stutters a bit with execution by throwing you in to the open world too fast with no easy way to get around or changing times easily, and the lack of adventure game staples like a scene skip or hint system do rankle. Nevertheless Dropsy is an ambitious game and that should be savoured, and most definitely tried. Just try not to have nightmares.
The diplomacy is well done, but without a robust battle system and satisfying nation-building to back it up, the game feels like it's missing something – it's all build-up with no pay-off. It's a shame, because Sphere of Influence does some interesting things with the standard grand strategy formula. The way it mixes historical storytelling with freeform play is commendable, as is its focus on the political, personal side of military campaigning. Unfortunately, it falls at the final hurdle. Much like Nobunaga himself, in fact.
This is an entertaining way for long time fans to re-explore their favorite One Piece moments or even unfamiliar fans to get acquainted with what they've been missing. However, when you strip all that away, this is just another Warriors game and certainly not the best playing one.
Mad Max is a decent if, uninspiring time waster. You have a vast laundry list of tasks to chew through, but hardly any of them are particularly challenging or interesting. The excellent road combat and meaty progression system make it worth your time once you've beaten the significantly better open world games available at the moment.