59 public reviews
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Battletech is a turn-based strategy game from Harebrained Schemes , a company founded by the franchise's original creators so who better to revitalize it. The game shares much of its structure with Firaxis ' XCOM series, with players managing a base outside of combat, looking after the health of their pilots, and stopping and starting the timeline on which the world operates. What really differentiates Battletech…
Total War: WARHAMMER II doesn't seek to reinvent the wheel. Instead, Creative Assembly are content with streamlining the first game. The campaign is more robust with a less obtuse objective and a genuine sense of urgency pushing players along, the UI has been tweaked to be more accessible, and the hero units that once ran amok on the campaign map have been toned down. The multiplayer still feels a bit bare-bones…
Tooth and Tail takes the least enjoyable sections of Brutal Legend and mixes them with the strife of revolutionary Russia. The player controls a single commander unit who, while not participating in battles directly, can rally troops or build structures. Its a relatively simple control scheme but one that doesn't lend itself easily to micro-management. The game's campaign switches between each of the Russian…
ACE Team make weird games and Rock of Ages is certainly one of them. Part racing game, part tower defense , there simply isn't much else like it. For the sequel, ACE Team might have played it safe with a few tweaks to the formula, a new campaign, and few more robust multiplayer options but it still stands out as a mix of action, strategy, and eccentric British humor. For more information check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Read review Video Review - Rock of Ages II: Bigger & Boulder
Hellblade is the latest character action game from veterans of the genre Ninja Theory . That's not to say that this is in any way a traditional "one of those." While there is certainly action in the game, Ninja Theory wasn't afraid to spend large swaths of time telling its story, solving puzzles, or exploring its environments. Those kinds of liberties were necessary when telling a story with such a delicate subject…
Read the full review Video Review - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Tacoma is the latest space disaster tale from Fullbright , the company behind Gone Home . Those looking for an experience with more interaction than the team's last game should look elsewhere. Tacoma is very much in the same vein as its predecessor. The game follows Amy Ferrier, a contractor sent to an abandoned space station in order to collect its central AI. Along the way Amy encounters fragments of recorded AR…
What Remains of Edith Finch is a first-person narrative adventure where the player explores the home of the Finch family. The main character, Edith Finch, is the last surviving member of her family and she sets out to explore her old house in hopes of better understanding her relatives. The most unique part of the game are the vignettes each of Edith's family gets. These manifest almost like robust mini-games, with…
Read the full review Video Review - What Remains of Edith Finch
Halo Wars 2 is the latest in the shooter-turned-strategy game franchise and developer Creative Assembly 's second attempt at making a controller-based RTS. Luckily, they've done a much better job this time around, keeping the depth and complexity the genre is known for while also streamlining a lot of the controls and interfacing. PC players concerned that this would be a watered-down experience need not worry, as…
Fire Emblem Heroes is one of the first games in Nintendo's initial wave of mobile titles. Unlike Super Mario Run , which opted for a one time purchase price, Heroes adopts the gacha model popular in Japan in games like Puzzle and Dragons . The basic mechanics of the Fire Emblem series make the transition smoothly but with smaller maps that fit nicely onto a phone screen and low unit counts which keeps match times…
Glittermitten Grove is a management sim where the player runs a faerie village in a vibrant, colorful forest. The faeries build their structures in the trees which are constantly growing and competing for sunlight. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Planet Coaster is the spiritual successor to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and childlike euphoria simulator from Frontier Developments . While past entries have been more even in their balance of creativity versus micro-management, Planet Coaster leans more heavily towards the former. That's not to say that running a theme park is a cakewalk, just that the tycoon elements have been streamlined to the point that they don't…
Hangar 13 certainly can't be accused of playing it safe when they decided to update the Mafia franchise. It would have been easy enough to pull off some Scorsese inspired iteration about mobsters in an approximation of New York but instead, they decided to put a black Vietnam veteran in the Civil Rights-era South on a quest for vengeance. Mafia III is not your average 3rd-person shooter. For more information, check…
Headlander is the Castlevania game for those who grew tired of Castle Dracula and flying medusa heads and yearn, instead, for Studio 54 and technicolor androids. Double Fine nails the tenants of the genre and introduce a few novel ideas but what really sets the game apart is the art direction. Headlander makes up for its few lackluster design decisions with style and charm. For more information, check out the VIDEO…
Overcooked is local multiplayer cooperative and/or competitive game that packs a lot of value into a small package. It's a game that requires communication and coordination and can be played by 1 to 4 players. The real value comes from its campaign which sees players traversing a mario-esque overworld map , encountering ever-evolving challenges, and unraveling a completely bizarre narrative about time travel, giant…
This is the Police is a noir thriller set in the fictional town of Freeberg. You play as the city's police chief Jack Boyd who must secure his retirement funds before he's forced to leave office in 180 days. Unfortunately there's no way Jack can stay above board and make enough money which leads to plenty of tough decisions and moral conundrums. The game has a lot going for it but sticks around a little too long for…
Niantic's newest Augmented Reality game, Pokemon Go, follows very closely in the footsteps of Ingress . Players occupy a map dotted with locations in the game corresponding with landmarks in the real-world. While you can still randomly encounter pokemon and battle them at gyms, there are a lot of elements fundamental to the franchise that didn't make the transition into AR. For more information, check out the VIDEO…
Song of the Deep from Insomniac Games looks great, sounds great, and controls well enough but somehow manages to be less than the sum of its parts. It's primarily an adventure game with light combat elements but neither turn out to be compelling and some of the puzzles represent the worst types in the genre. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
INSIDE from Playdead is the follow-up to 2010's LIMBO and the lineage shows. Like its predecessor, INSIDE is a puzzle-platform with a focus on ambiance, mood, and tone with an unconventional narrative. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW .
Mirror's Edge Catalyst from DICE represents a return to form for the franchise. While that means what was great about the series, the art style and traversal, are in tact, it also means the same issues that plagued the first game return. For more information check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Total War: WARHAMMER from Creative Assembly is a marriage made in heaven. The rich lore of the WARHAMMER franchise and the refined mechanics of the Total War games pair together nicely although, like any marriage, there are some rough patches. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Total War: WARHAMMER from Creative Assembly is a marriage made in heaven. The rich lore of the WARHAMMER franchise and the refined mechanics of the Total War games pair together nicely, although, like any marriage, there are some rough patches. For more information, check out the video review:
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is more than just a competent adaptation of a tabletop war game. It's a great strategy games with a handful of innovative ideas and a robust multiplayer component sure to keep players engaged for months to come. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW
Firewatch is the first foray from the indie game all-stars at Campo Santo . The game follows Henry, the newest employee of the Wyoming National Park's firewatch, as he learns his job and develops a friendship with his boss Delilah. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Thekla, Inc's The Witness represents 7 years of work from indie game visionary Jonathan Blow and the work shows. The game is incredibly beautiful, dense, and complex. While that density and complexity can become overbearing at times, there is still plenty to appreciate in The Witness. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is the prequel to one of the most highly acclaimed real-time strategy games of all time and it comes from some of the original developers and their new studio Blackbird Interactive . Although it started off its life as more of a spiritual successor, Gearbox acquired the developer, allowing Blackbird to use the Homeworld IP and it doesn't feel slapped on. Every part of the product, from…
Helldivers is a hell of a game. That is, as long as you don't have a social anxiety problem. Much like Arrowhead Game Studios ' last few games, Magicka and Gauntlet , Helldivers is best experienced with other players. The game takes place in a sci-fi universe similar to that of Starship Troopers with its focus on patriotism and civic duty. The Helldivers are tasked with spreading democracy throughout the galaxy…
Rebel Galaxy from Double Damage Games is the space shooter for the fans of Joss Whedon's Firefly who thought the writing and characters were too complex. While the writing is just passable the gameplay is simple in a good way. The player's ship is stuck on a single horizontal plane and 2/3 of the weapons either auto-fire or auto-target but instead of oversimplifying the game it focuses the experience on maneuvering.…
Jotun from Thunder Lotus is more than just a really, really good-looking action adventure game. Its a piece of cultural heritage. Jotun tells the story of Thora, a warrior who died ingloriously in battle and must prove herself to the gods before she can be welcomed into Valhalla . More importantly, its a journey through the locations and characters of Norse mythology. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW…
The Beginner's Guide comes from Davey Wreden , the writer behind The Stanley Parable . While there are certainly similarities in perspective, genre, and overall quality, the tone is completely different. Instead of the humor and irreverence of the previous title, The Beginner's Guide is a much more intimate, personal story about Wreden and fellow developer, Coda. Coda's many experimental games and the relationship…
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain means a lot of things to a lot of people. Its the last in the Solid series for fans, its the final game for Kojima Productions , and its probably the last big budget game from Konami publishing. With all of that riding on its shoulders, it would be easy to assume the game would be a mess but that is not the case. Its certainly not perfect, but the highs in V are enough to…
Satellite Reign may not be the most unique vision of the future but its certainly a good looking one and plays competently. For fans of Syndicate and other similar tactical RPG s, this game should feel right at home. As long as you can make it past the unfavorable difficulty curve in the beginning, there's a lot to like in Satellite Reign. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/zPkPVz-mqWQ
Waking up due to unruly neighbors is certainly inconvenient but Party Hard from Pinokl Games believes that said neighbors deserve to die for that transgression. To that end, the player will attempt to kill all the party goers using his or her trusty knife and/or a few rigged death traps within the environment. While each level has its own look and feel, the problems arise after the first half-hour with the game when…
Cradle is a first-person adventure game in a near-future post-apocalypse starring a character with amnesia but somehow manages to be something other than a giant lumbering cliche. In fact, Flying Cafe for Semianimals accomplishes much more than just the creation of a good game by showing that even the tired tropes of video games can be reinterpreted. For more, check out the VIDEO REVIEW .
Interstellaria is an open world space action-adventure game, which doesn't say much. It can trace its lineage back to older games like Spaceflight and even newer ones like FTL . It does not, however, manage to stand atop their shoulders. Surprising amounts of the game require no participation from the player and many design descisions serve only as obfuscations. For more, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
The Magic Circle seems a lot like the game Irrational team members would make once they threw off the yoke of AAA development. Its a game about games and creation and a whole lot of other larger themes but none of that means they can't have a sense of humor. For more, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
RONIN is the thinking man's murder simulator. Most games with a basis of assassination go the 3rd person real-time action route but this one bucks the trend in favor of a turn-based mechanic . Whenever you are spotted by an enemy the game switches into this mode where you can plan out your movements and attacks all while avoiding the bullet trajectories of the people around you. For more information check out the…
Her Story is the detective game of your dreams, as long as you dream of scouring databases and testing your vocabulary. In the course of your investigation you'll watch clips of recordings of interviews with a woman whose husband has gone missing. In order to piece the story together you'll have to search through the database of clips using keywords pulled from their transcripts. Its an experience that may sound…
Massive Chalice represents the marriage of two great concepts: Turn-based Strategy and an ancestry system. The former will be familiar to fans of XCOM and Fire Emblem where the latter isn't quite as well-represented. The only example that comes to mind being Rogue Legacy , but the basics are easily understandable: Pair your heroes together and they will have children who are a combination of their parents classes,…
Broken Age was supposed to the ambassador for Adventure Games in the modern era, but with Act 2 Double Fine Productions threatens to sour players on the genre rather than give them something to celebrate. The good parts are still in tact from the first act, the voice acting, art style, and writing (for the most part) are all there, but the puzzles which make up the majority of Broken Age's gameplay are severely…
Convoy , from the aptly named Convoy games , is a Roguelike which takes place on a largely hostile alien world players must wheel, deal, and kill their way through in order to succeed, concepts we rarely see in video games. But, hey, lets be honest: this game borrows a lot from those that came before it which is fine because most of its inspirations are great. For more information, check out the VIDEO REVIEW.
Like a...cucumber drenched in Wasabi, Westerado from the Ostrich Banditos is cool, but harsh. What makes the game cool is the backdrop of the american west, which is realized in all of its 8-bit , slightly overused glory and the music which really sets the mood for you to play out all of your Sergio Leone fantasies. Things take a turn when you fail your first quest and discover you can't retry it. You just have to…
Rogue Legacy is a roguelike featuring a randomly generated castle and an interesting ancestry system. Every time you die, you are advanced to the next member of your family. You are given a choice between one of three relatives, with different classes and traits. These traits can be anything from Color-Blindness to dwarfism to IBS. These can make your trip through the castle easier or more difficult, but they help…
Look, domestic abuse is a real issue and one that Out There: Omega Edition from Mi-Clos Studio doesn't address at all. But, if, like me, FTL is a former lover of yours, then Out There is the abusive rebound you probably convinced yourself was the best you could do after the break up. Both contain a lot of the same qualities: there's the space-themed roguelike , the 2D spaceship cut-aways, the modular narrative…
Read the full review Video Review - Out There: Omega Edition
Spacebase DF-9 is a space station-building tycoon game with a storied development. Initially conceived during developer Double Fine's Amnesia Fortnight event, Spacebase went on to enter early access with hopes of a long, successful development period which would allow the game to keep expanding for years to come. Despite promising early sales numbers the development couldn't sustain itself and was cut much shorter…
Spacebase DF-9 is a space station-building tycoon game with a storied development. Initially conceived during developer Double Fine's Amnesia Fortnight event, Spacebase went on to enter early access with hopes of a long, successful development period which would allow the game to keep expanding for years to come. Despite promising early sales numbers the development couldn't sustain itself and was cut much shorter…
Ingress comes from Niantic Labs and is a location-based area control game. The game has a narrative but its obtuse and inconsequential so all you need to know is that there are control points (portals) that your team needs to attack and capture. Since this is GPS driven, you're probably going to do some walking/hiking/climbing/trespassing, sort of like a neo-geocaching (can I trademark that?). For more (including my…
Max Gentlemen is a self-described "arcade style manners simulator" and comes from the developers of Organ Trail , The Men Who Wear Many Hats . Max Gentlemen takes its inspiration from email male enhancement spam and requires players to collect hats and make the biggest hat stack possible. This is done in one of two modes: drinky and dodgy. In Drinky, players acquire more hats by collecting drinks from the bartender…
Max Gentlemen is a self-described "arcade style manners simulator" and comes from the developers of Organ Trail, The Men Who Wear Many Hats. Max Gentlemen takes its inspiration from email male enhancement spam and requires players to collect hats and make the biggest hat stack possible. This is done in one of two modes: drinky and dodgy. In Drinky, players acquire more hats by collecting drinks from the bartender…
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