The game may look like initially that it will play out like a visual novel, it is in fact quite deep. The base game lets you embody Anton Rayne, the newly elected president of the relatively new, fictional country, Republic of Sorland. In your newfound position you quickly learn there are deep problems within the country, and it's up to you to address them. Over the course of the game you have to make decisions impacting your political and personal life. The decisions themselves are generally political in nature addressing one of the various dichotomies that could be tied to the political spectrum. As I said before. Indeed, the game is deeper than it looks and where there are different paths to an outcome, as it runs a small simulation in the background where even the seemingly smallest dialogue options may influence a large outcome. Overall, there is nothing quite like this game, it tackles multiple political subjects that are rarely addressed together.
The game is great, it is an old experimental Ubisoft Adventure game. The game stars Jade, the protagonist who was pushed by circumstances in a fight against invaders. She embarks on her adventure with the help of her adoptive uncle Pey'j on board of their hovercraft. The world itself is charming, brimming with character and small charming details. Both the gameplay and story are quite simple, but they are carried by their presentation: cinematography, music, and set pieces. For the gameplay itself, it is varied but if I have a complaint we could have had more. The game itself is short (relatively speaking) and it could be felt as we get closer to the end of the game. On the technical side, the game may need some tweaking to get it to work correctly. All in all, this game is a gem that is worth a try.
The game is essentially a Star Wars 4X game. It does fulfill all Xs in 4X: you start with a few planets, you can expand your control either through diplomacy or force ; you exploit those planets to get the resources and infrastructure to build up your forces ; you explore the Outer Rim planets to either colonize or find enemy hideouts ; and of course, you exterminate your enemy (it is the victory condition). You either get to play as the commander of the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire and you seek to destroy the other side. The game starts at the end of A New Hope, the Death Star has been destroyed, the Empire is poised to strike back at the Rebellion. As the Rebellion, some planets have joined your cause, you will build up your forces in hiding (or not) and attempt to topple the Empire by liberating the Imperial Capital Coruscant and capturing Darth Vader and the Emperor just make sure your mobile base doesn't get destroyed in the meantime. As the Empire, you will want to find and destroy the secret rebel base, and capture the leader of the Rebellion Mon Mothma, and the soon to be Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. In order to achieve your objectives, you start with a few planets, fleets, armies and most interestingly characters. You move large amount of troops, fleets, and try to secure alliances. This game is very character driven, actions including spying, research, sabotage, even exploration relies on these character units, which could be the iconic ones we see in the original movies, or from the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now known as Legends). However they come in a limited pool, and some can actually die. Properly using your heroes is one important aspect of the game that differentiate it from other games in the genre. The space battles can be big and epic but the UI and visuals are dated (even for the time). It has a bit of a learning curve. The game overall is unique and one of my favorite.
This version contains both Evoland 1 and 2 in a neat little package. Both games are about video game evolution. The first game is a bit more dedicated to that concept as you get to unlock game features as you advance. The second game however is more story based, it uses familiar gameplay features in the first game and uses them in new narrative contexts. Gameplay wise, neither game is deep, but they have been fun. Bonus points: I like the twists of the second game on what essentially could have been a generic story. It left me a bit thoughtful on what exactly happened by the end.
Alien Isolation is a favorite of mine when it comes to the genre. It is overall a well-crafted game. Starting from the environment, which is mostly a retro-futuristic space station in disrepair. It's often dark and foreboding, it sets up the atmosphere quite well. The environments while similar, they remain distinguishable with a few fulfilling specific functions (hab block, starport, manufacturing... and sigh medical). The game is surprisingly well optimized and its graphics hold up quite well (at least outside character models which are a bit less good looking). The game's strongest point (and at times its Achilles heel) is the titular Alien. the game lets it roam around a few sections actively hunting whatever human is in the area. Stealth is an absolute necessity (at least early on, and in higher difficulties). When everything fits into place, the game is fantastic. While it may not be necessarily scary, it is tense, due to a combination of the sound design, the graphics, and the seemingly smart xenomorph. However, this is where the game can also fail, the tension does dissipate after repeated deaths, leaving only place to frustration. The game does try to diversify the threats outside of the Alien, you may have to deal with androids and other humans (a good chunk of which are hostile, but not all), however their AI pales in comparison to the alien's. The campaign is quite lengthy (sometimes overly so) and there is enough side content (especially with the various DLC). The story is the basic kind you'd expect from an Alien movie, it is serviceable, nothing more. The gameplay being mostly stealth based may not be everyone's cup of tea, especially those used to the more combat focused Alien games, but I still loved it.
In a world where a global idyllic post-scarcity society thrives, a cabal of oligarchs attempt to reverse the course of history. With several major cities under siege, the government has no choice but to re-learn war. The cruiser Antaeus, a relic of a past era, has been activated. Equipped with its nanotechnology fabricator, it is tasked to assault the islands from which the cabal stage their operations. The game is a RTS, action hybrid game, where you incarnate the cruiser's brain, which functionally acts more like a carrier. You can construct vehicles based on the blueprints you possess in order to accomplish your missions. The vehicles can be crewed with NPCs, in game they represent digital reconstruction of previously dead soldiers. One interesting aspect is how the game gives you the tools and let you figure out the way to finish your tasks, it works like a sandbox of sorts. As you progress, there is a variety of mission objectives and enemies that get increasingly more challenging. If there is a few general tips I'd like to share they are : past a certain point, stealth isn't only an option but is the optimal way to finish some of your missions ; always scout and target the enemy energy production as they are always weaker than the factories they power. Overall, between the interesting story and premise (which can go to dark places and imagery, this is an M-rated game after all) and a genuinely fun gameplay, this game gets a glowing review from me.
We start this adventure with a fantastical dream of our protagonist, April Ryan, an art student who recently moved to the city New Port to continue her studies. A dream that involves strange landscape, a dragon, a talking tree, and an ominous dark storm. Despite her recurring strange dreams, she tries to continue to live a normal life, working on her art project and working a small job. Those very dreams started bleeding into her reality. With the guidance of a mysterious Latin-American man, Cortez, the hunt for answers begins. Thus starts our adventure with our unlikely protagonist in her journey in familiar yet distinct worlds. The game is a point-and-click adventure that is very dialogue-heavy, with a strong emphasis on story, both on a personal level and in terms of world-building, the pacing however can be all over the place. One problem with the point and click game is that the puzzles may defy logic at times and can require a guide. I overall enjoyed the game but with some caveats, it is a product of its time. Now to the technical part, this game may be unplayable on modern OS. The game crashes on startup, can display missing files, and even if it manages to launch, other issues may still occur. So the game is likely required to be set up with a virtual machine, SCUMMVM. I do hope these issues are handled properly by GOG.
The game is old but gold, it aims to do one thing and it does it well. The game is generally a stealth game, where you play a thief named Garett, who escaped from the mysterious order who once trained him to exact his own plans. The world itself is interesting. You play in some fantastical world in the cusp of an industrial revolution led by the religious Hammers. However, it still remains a world where magic exists. Most of the game takes place in one massive city, and each mission is limited to an area. Most of the missions, the player aim to explore and retrieve specific items either part of some Get-rich-quick scheme or otherwise, then make an escape. The maps are expansive, which makes exploration a necessity, you may also find additional loot that would allow you to procure items for the next missions. Being a stealth game, the thief must embrace shadows, but there is always an opportunity to take a more aggressive approach. One can either use the bat to drop the unsuspecting guards unconscious, or switch to the sword to drop them dead. When it comes to the game's difficulty options, the game takes an interesting approach: it changes mission objectives. Often, the highest difficulty doesn't allow you to kill enemies, and it has you achieve some objectives that would be considered as optional in lower difficulties. Now to the negatives, while the game excels generally when it focuses on stealth, there are some parts which favor combat. Those in my opinion don't do quite as well. Another problem, is that a time some missions can feel like a fetch quest, add to that the large maps where it is easy to get lost (especially those which Garett ignores the layout). The game can also be quite dark, while it is thematic yes, but it can be a problem where paths, and some loot items are literallly hidden in the shadows. All in all, this game is a classic I'd recommend to most people. It has brought me enough enjoyment throughout most of the game.
