Factorio now sits atop a throne not many games can ever claim. It spawned its own genre, just like Doom, Diablo, or Dark Souls, with many great games taking inspiration from it, yet never really surpassing it. Some people might prefer Satisfactory because of its 3D environment and FPS look, some will love Dyson Sphere Program (which I also do) for its immense galactic scale, but none of these or any other are deeper, more customizable and truly hardcore than Factorio. You can literally build your own computer within the game. The game is so deep that even with my 1500 hours in it, I still feel like a beginner. I have the basic understanding of how it all works, but with each new playthrough I learn new things and new ways to improve upon my old designs. One of the huge assets of the game that is basically robust enough to be a game on its own... trains... Oh my God, the TRAINS in this game are awesome! And I'm not even a trains geek myself :O The sheer joy when I finally learnt how to setup my railways in such a way that they would be somewhat efficient and my trains wouldn't collide with each other, it was so rewarding. I'm a total noob when it comes to trains still, but even with my limited knowledge, I can just sit and watch them running for hours. These days I try to setup a railway network as soon as possible, with a personal train for transportation with a stop at each outpost, different parts of the base etc. The nickname of the game among its community is Cracktorio, and it's a very apt nickname, let me tell you. If you have couple hundreds or even couple thousands worth of hours to spare and you like to build factories and automate EVERYTHING, give this game a go. I guarantee you will not regret the money spent. One of the best investments I've ever made.
So I admittedly have not played the GoG release, but I've played through the game on Steam at least 3 times, twice with the Enemy Within expansion and honestly I hadn't had this much since Jagged Alliance 2. The new XCOM by Firaxis might have changed the original formula quite a bit but they delivered a great game with lots of polish and basically saved an entire genre of strategy games. If you haven't had a chance to play this gem, I sincerely urge you to give it a go. If you like the setting and strategy games in general, you won't be disappointed.
Okay, BG2 and I go way back, so long it touches the very beginnings of my serious gaming history. I was twelve, my parents finally bought me and my brother the very first computer, Pentium 200 I think it was, and I saw a review for this game in a local games magazine. I wished for this game to be my Christmas present, and as luck or chance would have it, my parents listened and they bought the game for me. I knew about it months before Christmas and every now and then I went to their Christmas presents hiding place and check if the game was still there. When I finally unpacked it and later installed it on the computer, I was nowhere enough profficient in English to enjoy this marvel of a game. So I downloaded translation into Czech which was however only partly done at the time, because the game has so much text and it was still fairly new. So I played with about 30% Czech dialogues and the rest in English, the most important parts were translated and I got the gist of the rest of them. Needless to say I enjoyed the game extremely much. The story was so rich and deep, to this day I remember the ending and the path with many twists that had led to it. This game had such an impact on me that I got really interested in fantasy literature as a whole and it shaped me into the man I am today. Also it provided one of the fondest childhood memories, we played it with friends and talked about it and lived the story. Many Christmas presents that came later I forgot, but this one I will remember forever. It is such a crown jewel among games that despite the fact that I still posses the original CDs along with the box in impecable shape, I have since bought the game twice more. Here on GoG and on Steam (the HD version). To this day I still prefer the original version though, with all its qualities and flaws (it hadn't had many). I hope that one day soon I have spare 300 hours to live this adventure again. And for all of you, THIS is the game you shouldn't miss.
Yes, as soon as I've seen there had been Incubation and its expansion included in the package, I didn't hesitate for a minute. I remember the very days when this game came out, I didn't really get to play it then but I was dreaming about it! First chance I finally got to play this brilliant jewel of a game was a few years later and it still was an amazing turn-based strategy/RPG, and that remains true to this date. When I bought it and installed it, I immediately lost myself in the atmosphere and couldn't stop for three hours... It's just as good as it was back then, this is a classic and one game you definitely don't want to miss on!
I'm by far not the best with these old school games. I have been playing Völgarr for last 4-5 days, must have spent at least 20 hours on it and only finished 2 worlds and one level in the third so far, but... I love it! Once you get to master each level, you get this incredibly satisfying feeling that you'll hardly feel in modern games, because when you reach for Völgarr for the first time, you WILL die! Very early on, perhaps in the first 30 seconds. And then again, and again, and again... but very often you will get just a little further, and further... and that's just worth going on. The game controls are very simple, but don't be fooled... Try to play yourself and then take a look at youtube, search for a video of speedrun of the first world (2'38"... incredible!!) If you don't mind dying and want to try some real old school tough as a nail but fair and precise platformer, go for Völgarrrrrrrrr the VIKIIIIIING!!!!
I just have to say, I love this game! It's the first game in a loooong time to have stolen so much of my time. I played it almost non-stop for the past few days, 40 hours just in 5 days, level 400 and I still am having fun! I don't particularly fancy platformers, UnEpic was kinda unepic to me, sort of mediocre, but this! Traits, gear, classes... so much fun! Don't hesitate and pick it up! Now!
I loved this game as a child, sucked at it, but loved it... For its cuteness, for how every little settler goes about and does his task for the greater good of the people. Somebody here complained stuff took too long in Settlers III, well, that person doesn't know you can jump ahead in time, but I NEVER do that! I love to watch my Settlers carry out my bidding. Building every little house, reaping grain... For me this is the best Settlers game ever made, and it's been keeping me occupied for the past four weeks and will do so for a long time still I believe. When you want to relax, mostly build and occasionally make a big-ass army and crush your opponent, this one is for you!
