Return of the Obra Dinn is a superb murder mystery game
For all its faults, Assassin's Creed Odyssey is one of the best explorable game worlds yet made.
It's sharper than previous games, more openly designed, bigger and more fun. One of Forza Horizon 4's strengths is that it tends toward freedom, letting us do just what we want, and liberating us from races and activities that we don't fancy. Most of all, this is a fun, even joyful experience, a thrilling racing fantasy.
The Gardens Between is a magical journey that's well worth your time
Two in-game currencies are at play. One is basic income, which can fluctuate wildly and must be managed with care. Ambitious expansion projects can take time to yield profits. Sloppy management of floorspace soon creates inefficiencies, or other problems. Another currency, called Kudosh, allows me to unlock new items. This gives me more options for resolving specific problems, such as inclement weather, local pandemics or aesthetic development.
We Happy Few is uncomfortable, uncanny and brilliant
Semblance is a clever, intriguing world of likable, entertaining challenges.
Intriguing game has its moments, but flubs story section
Football, Tactics and Glory is an old-fashioned strategy game that's pulled me in, demanding that I keep playing and slogging towards in my quest to build a better team. It makes great use of turn-based battle grids to create a convincing simulation of soccer strategies.
If you're looking for a game to enjoy with the people you care about, I'm happy to recommend Unravel 2. It's an agreeable, friendly, sometimes challenging world that encourages us to be the best version of ourselves.
Mike Bithell and his team are doing important work, struggling with a challenging genre. Quarantine Circular hasn't perfected it, but if you like stories, characters, dialogue and moral choices, it's worth one playthrough — or maybe even six.
State of Decay 2 made me sad, but mostly bored
Harry moves through the game, cut from the same cloth as a manuscript peasant. He has that resigned look of the perpetually damned. Nothing can surprise him, and this creates a fatalistic humor in his labors.
Irritations don't entirely diminish the charm and ambition of the entire endeavor.
A Way Out has many faults, but a lack of heart isn't one of them. Seeing that heart translated into a cooperative play experience makes the journey worthwhile.
Even though the puzzles are simple and the interactions basic, I don't think this little piece of fun would work in the same way were it a static cartoon. Chuchel is a true universe, one that comes alive in bursts. This could not be done quite so well on TV or in a movie.
All Surviving Mars' interlocking systems make for an arresting time-sink that merges logic, forethought, psychology and experimentation. If you're the sort of person who enjoys losing yourself in high stakes strategy, building and planning, Surviving Mars is worth a look.
Fe is a magical, expansive and multi-hued world that creates a sense of marvel. Like a real-life walk in the woods, it is a thing of elemental beauty that demands to be inhaled and admired.
At three hours long, A Case of Distrust held my attention all the way, but that's not to say it's without imperfections. The main character, I think, lacks the energy of her associates. She's rightly angry about how she was treated as a woman on the force, but her feminism falls somewhere between overly earnest and glib. Despite a strong backstory, she lacks emotional force and presence.
This expansion is a recognition that the magic of this series is in giving players lots of choices — sometimes difficult choices — as we all strive to stamp our own personalities on what is, effectively, a simulation of personal political leadership.