More creative and cartoony than managerial, thus a bit of a treat for people less boring than me.
UI niggles and a wincingly unfunny tone can't sink a strong hybrid of old and new design ideas.
Physics and realism offer flavour rather than undermine the raw joy of flight and space hoovering. ΔV: Rings Of Saturn is a sim for players who didn't even know this was their niche.
A detailed and moody setting wasted on a dull and repetitive RTS/management hybrid with the strengths of neither genre.
Another solid entry in a unique story-generator series that rewards a fascination with human cultures, but demands acceptance of failure and misfortune.
A strong turn-based foundation and colourful setting held back by grind, blind chance, and a need for efficiency over tactical variety.
An undemanding but enjoyable large scale 4X, with an emphasis on exploration and remixing possibilities in a familiar but somewhat flexible setting.
An engaging zone-based city builder that balances simulation with ease of play, but offers little that feels substantially new or improved enough to warrant a sequel.
An ambitious hybrid of RTS, management, and narrative history masterfully put together to represent a unique war story that easily smooths over some AI quirks.
An underexplained but ultimately rewarding tactical RPG with a rich and broad character customisation system that grew on me the longer I played it.
A familiar yet solid revival of late 90s FPS action that brings back a few annoyances but still sticks the landing.