Reviews
85
All in all, Port Royale 4 is a surprisingly good game. It has a very broad scope, and its large management tools are benefited from an expansive map full of cities as a playground. In an era desperately short of good management games, this colonial Caribbean title is a breath of fresh air.
That said, when you're into Star Renegades, there is plenty to get excited about. Even the most trivial battles feel like an interesting puzzle thanks to the truly special combat design. This can carry you for dozens of hours, since there's really nothing else like it out there right now. It’s so good that it helps mitigate some of the less consistent character balancing, difficulty spikes, and samey map presentation that many of its ilk wouldn’t be able to overcome.
For me, it's nice to see that Rogue Factory is learning from their mistakes in Mordheim: City of the Damned, but It feels they're not learning fast enough. If you wanted fast and flashy battles in the crumbling domes of the underhive, you'll have to wait a bit more. But for now, there's a distinct lack of flash and a clear overabundance of bloat.
That said, Wasteland 3 will absolutely fill a void for all you strategy gamers out there looking to scratch that XCOM and/or Fallout itch. What really makes InXile’s doomsday RPG worthy of a 'must play' recommendation though, is everything else. From its clever writing, interesting setting, and dedication to making sure you feel every consequence of all of your choices, it’ll be difficult to find a more roundly satisfying role-playing experience this year.
A decent RTS that takes the core feeling of Company of Heroes and improves it with mechs and modern graphics. And while the quick match function may sometimes throw you to the much higher level wolves, there’s enough in here to scratch that strategy itch and plenty of (blech) encouragement to play frequently. Now all we need are those promised deathmatch maps and co-op modes and that'll round things off quite nicely.
Despite these few grievances, Crusader Kings III is undoubtedly one of – if not the – best strategy releases of the past few years. By building on the Game of Thrones-style drama and intrigue that its predecessor excelled at, it makes for engrossing gameplay that combines the best of the grand strategy and RPG genres.
I’ll honestly miss Frostpunk - its unique combination of narrative and strategy has made it one of the most memorable city-builders for many years. It feels like many reference the tough choices as being Frostpunk’s most memorable aspect, but for me, it’s atmosphere - and I get that’s maybe ironic for a game about an apocalyptic weather anomaly.
I can’t recommend Fae Tactics enough to those of you out there waiting for Square to take another longform stab at FFT. It may lack the abundance of micro managing you're used to, but the more straight on approach really puts the combat front and center, and I never missed upgrading menial unit equipment or cross classing or the like. Whether the trend catches or not, I can’t say, but don’t miss the truly fresh take on the classic formula.
Ultimately, Othercide is a unique entry into the genre that is definitely worth your time. It’s pacing issues and ramping difficulty might be the stuff of nightmares for some, but when it comes together, the clever timeline mechanics and risk-based troop management can be the stuff of sweet tactical dreams.
Still, Greek Wars nails that addictive 4X loop and it does so in an often-overlooked setting. One of the key issues with this genre is that fall-off point (typically around the late-mid-game) when you stop doing those titular 4Xs and start waiting for some turn counter to tick down while mindlessly mashing the end turn button.