Embracing player motivations from start to finish, Humankind refreshes the 4X genre – even with a couple of technical kinks.
An atmospheric world with deep, absorbing puzzles, Bonfire Peaks is thoughtful and charming-but without establishing its tricks, it risks leaving less fluent puzzlers behind.
I wanted to like Punk Wars. Its promise to be a stylish 4X style game about warring punk factions intrigued me, and it only really needed to strongly hit one target for me. I'd have happily taken a vapid but immersive tactics game; a thoughtful exploration of post-apocalyptic punk with bland combat; an all-style-no-substance experience that carried the game on vibes alone. Instead, I got the worst of all worlds: a dull, poorly balanced game that doesn't commit to its ideas.
An uncomfortable blend of vulnerability and brand consumption.
Sluggish pacing and stripped-back character interactions dull the charm, but there are still scares to be found
Folkloric life sim Kynseed is like a gingerbread house with a witch inside: made up of excellent parts and unpleasant surprises. The pretty bits are delightful, but not nearly enough to hold it together.
A rare balance of playfulness and genuine strategic depth, plucked from the margins of history.
The reverse city builder is trickier than it appears, but utterly committed to its environmental vision, taking the genre - and every level - to new places.
Wildfrost is a captivating card battler with an art style that absolutely shines, even if it's difficult to out-plan your luck.
Taking inspiration from RPGs breathes new life into Age of Wonders 4, which balances exciting breadth and surprising approachability.
Mask of the Rose is an incredibly ambitious dating sim - for better and worse, as its complexity is its greatest constraint.
Despite making an excellent first impression, Park Beyond ends in a downward spiral that's exciting in a coaster, but lethal in an economy.
With excellent stagecraft and meticulous detail, Baldur's Gate 3 conjures the illusion of perfect freedom - and then it disappears.
2021's groundbreaking Wikipedia ARG returns with new art and fungal sidestories – and a superb execution of its multi-layered, misinformation murder mystery.
The Talos Principle 2 is an ambitious sequel that explores bold, if unambiguous territory in its philosophical robot puzzling.
Never the same game twice, Against the Storm is a rare gem of a city builder that thrives on chaos but exists in perfect balance, evolving with you as you learn and adapt.
Don't Nod drops the melodrama for a poignantly performed story about grief and injustice, where the difficult choices tug at your heart and principles.
Broken Roads neglects its best ideas, padding out its runtime with fetch quests that leave you asking "why am I here?" for all the wrong reasons.