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Although flawed, Thrones of Decay is a desperately needed step in the right direction for Total War: Warhammer 3. The strong roster of Legendary Lords alongside new units that add flavor and fill gaps in their factions' rosters do the heavy lifting. They offer compelling reasons to revisit or try out their respective races, especially if you also factor in the reworks coming in update 5.0.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is as much of an odd RPG as its predecessor and makes little to no concessions, leveraging its many strengths and unique traits to make up for the half-baked bits.
Tomas Sala's second Falconeer game may come across as nicher at first glance, but it's far easier to approach and have a great time with despite some baffling inconsistencies.
Millennia's take on the historical 4X formula is fascinating, but the wonder wears off soon due to misplaced priorities and omissions that are hard to overlook.
Alone in the Dark presents a promising yet imperfect reimagining that captures the essence of a mesmerising, atmospheric adventure game. However, it struggles to rationalise the inclusion of clunky combat and basic stealth elements that detract from the overall experience.
Expeditions feels like an exciting new direction for this series that encourages more experimentation on the gameplay side and I am thrilled that this didn't just feel like Mudrunner or Snowrunner again. I am excited to see where Saber takes the game with its seasonal content, especially after the exciting editions we saw with the Snowrunner seasons.
Praying in Vain
War Hospital is a primarily functional World War I management simulation game that struggles to establish a meaningful connection between players and their staff and patients. As you progress beyond the initial hours, the gameplay becomes bogged down by repetitive mechanics exacerbated by an inadequate user interface with insufficient tooltips and unclear instructions, accompanied by a host of frustrating bugs that compelled me to frequently reload older save files and restart entire chapters.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is at its best when it encourages you to be patient and focus on discovering its world, taking in the strange shapes of its trees and plants, while uncovering Na'Vi stories and customs. Easily the best way to experience the universe envisioned by James Cameron, it's also a fun enough take on a FarCry game, albeit not one that refreshes Ubisoft's tired formula nearly enough.
The repetitive minigames that occupy a significant portion of the gameplay in Zipp's Cafe tend to hinder its charm, despite the narrative potential that flickers through its admittedly dry dialogues. While the game succeeds to some extent in immersing players into its expansive setting, the lackluster routine of food and drink preparation, coupled with insufficiently developed characters, makes it challenging to feel drawn into becoming a frequent visitor.
Dungeons 4 doesn't raise the bar for the dungeon-building subgenre, but it's a delightful fantasy romp that harkens back to less complicated times, and that's quite valuable on its own.
A masterpiece in terms of atmosphere building and one of the few games in a long while that effortlessly kept me fully engrossed in its world, Alan Wake 2 is Remedy Entertainment's best game yet. Expert use of the contrast between light and dark works in tandem with spot-on sound design and deadly enemies to successfully insert horror even in the most inoffensive of places.
Cities: Skylines 2 doesn't rebuild the genre nor its identity, instead choosing to go bigger and deeper without losing sight of what made its predecessor work. With no better alternatives on sight, this will do.
When played in solo mode, Endless Dungeon creates a functional blend of elements from different genres that, unfortunately, fails to capitalize on the uniqueness of its universe and keep things interesting in the long run. Stale rogue-lite progression systems alongside heroes and guns that do not go through significant transformations as you play then fuel tedium.
Total War: Pharaoh will surely benefit from the shortage of AAA strategy games with real-time battles, but it may play things too safe for the most demanding fans of the series, and given it's a full-price release, the overall scope lands dangerously close to that of the Total War Saga entries.
With so many games on the horizon, the series is threatening to mimic sports franchises on an action-adventure level; the addictive same-old repackaged and resold back to you year-on-year. Mirage might promise a fresh oasis from afar, but get closer and it's the same formula, drier and less quenching than before.
The Lamplighters League's stimulating turn-based battles encourage you to carefully consider your actions each turn. Use your agents unique abilities in just the right order and you can go well beyond the default number of action points, while taking down entire groups of opponents.
Party Animals stands out as an enjoyable and hilarious multiplayer physics game that will entertain and keep you occupied. Thanks to various game modes and an unpredictable physics system, you can be sure this game guarantees laughter and memorable moments when playing with your friends.
A minor gripe would be that the content is a little short, but as this is intended to be another episode for the series, it's not a serious gripe. A nice taster without being a waste of time, a great introduction to social games without the pressure of eight-player ability fuelled mayhem, and an enjoyable adventure for experienced thinkers and friends alike. Plus, pirates! Try it.
Such letdowns underpin a game that I initially really liked and quickly grew weary of. There's fun to be had, and co-op may open up the enjoyment even more. But heed the warning; most of Atlas Fallen's positives are tapered by the sense it hates its players and isn't willing to give back on the effort put in.