Rick Lane
As a prohibition-era mob boss, you're at war with rival gangs as well as the police in this ambitious, if uneven, gangster sim
The Swedish studio's latest offering tracks a plane-crash survivor as she grapples with her new, terrifying reality
Partisans combines a classic real-time tactics structure with more flexible systems for a winning formula.
Colorado is a cold and violent den of outlaws in this characterful action game that gives players choices over its benighted society, but lacks a distinct hook
Iron Harvest's mech-based strategy can burn a little slow, but the payoff is undoubtedly worth it.
With genre music battles and stylish design, this should be great – but it can't decide whether it's a third-person fighter or a rhythm-action game
Buy Factorio. Build Factorio. Become Factorio.
Both its world and story are entertaining to investigate, with glimpses of brilliance hidden amidst its gloomy environments and obscure characters. Ultimately, Mortal Shell is not a Souls game, but it is the best not-Souls game I've played so far.
Total War heads to the Bronze Age for an entertaining and evocative brand of strategy.
Paper Beast's origami animals delight, but the resulting game is less than the sum of its parts.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter who you’re fighting or why. What matters is the fight itself, the spectacle and the flow. Superhot’s self-directed choreography emerges triumphant; stylish, dynamic and gripping.
If you’ve always fancied painting a big map in the colour of WAR, but get intimidated by complex UIs, there are certainly worse places to start. That said, I’d be more inclined to recommend something like the aforementioned Unity Of Command, which cuts right to the heart of large-scale strategy without a single mini-game in sight.
It wouldn't be Gears of War without gore, and combining strategy with viscera dispersal aplenty, this cerebral twist on an old favourite remains true to form
The classic shooter series gains a thrilling new perspective, thanks to VR tech that works symbiotically with the narrative
Finally complete after fourteen years, Crowbar Collective's remake is more than faithful to Valve's masterpiece.
I’m not sure Taur has enough depth or variety to justify its price tag, but it is good for picking up in half-hour bouts and knowing you can make a decent chunk of progress.
With a fun concept, superb creation tools, and finely crafted puzzles, Besiege is a construction game to savour.
There's much joy to be had building freight networks and watching cities grow … but what about the real-world pitfalls?
Transport Fever 2 offers a pleasingly detailed logistics simulation, although it does move mightily slow at times.
The granular gameplay in this post-apocalyptic strategy game becomes an administrative headache, and the story is presented with all the drama of an engineering textbook