Civilization 5Ĭivilization V takes the depth that makes 4X strategy amazing and simplifies it in a way that allows just about anyone to get a lot out of it.
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We scored it a 91 in our Opus Magnum review, writing "the magic to Opus Magnum is that while there are theoretical perfect machines, the space in which you construct your solution is so wide open that you feel like you’re piecing it all together entirely yourself, and the restrictions are entirely common sense, so frustrations are usually down to your own inability rather than arbitrary rules.Retracing the protagonist Daniel’s steps through the ever-more-disturbing halls of Brennenburg Castle yield frights that startle in the moment, and revelations that still unsettle hours after playing.For more, see our full Amnesia review here. But why Opus Magnum? The joy of expression that comes from building simple (or ridiculously complex) machines to solve a particular problem, then sitting back and watching it all work. If cyberpunk's your jam, try out Exapunks instead. We have only good things to say about Opus Magnum, but this endorsement could really be swapped out for any of Zachtronics' insidiously deep and clever puzzle games. Release date: 2017 | Developer: Zachtronics | Link: Steam This is a funny game, and you'll want to root out every last shred of humor before you're done with it." Undertale
Most importantly, sticking your nose in every corner of West of Loathing isn't just beneficial for improving your character's stats and filling your bottomless inventory with weapons, garments, food, hooch, and hats (there are over 50 of them!). West of Loathing is also a genuinely fun and clever RPG, with classes like the Beanslinger and Cowpuncher instead of genre standards.Īs we wrote in our West of Loathing review: "Flush a toilet for an XP gain, search a haystack for a needle or dig through a mine cart for a hunk of meat ore (West of Loathing has a meat-based economy), and insult yourself in a mirror to gain a combat buff because you angered yourself so much. They're in every corner of the world, and even in the options menu, and it's a joy to discover them. This is a game you explore for jokes, not loot. The funniest game of 2017, and maybe the funniest RPG we've ever played. Release date: 2017 | Developer: Asymmetric | Link: Steam A game about traveling the world is perfect when you're traveling the world with a laptop. Beyond the changes you make, the sheer range of scenarios and potential outcomes means you’ll discover something new on every run."įor more wonderful writing in a game that leans more heavily towards interactive fiction with fewer survival mechanics, check out the sublime 80 Days, too. It helps that death means something, because that elevates the stakes when you’re one direct hit from a yawning hole opening up in your hull and some hideous monstrosity is circling around for another attack.
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It earned a 90 in our review, "because of how brilliantly its disparate elements combine to produce exciting stories, from scrapes you survive by the skin of your teeth, to moments where your own hubris gets you killed. Like Sunless Seas before it, Sunless Skies is part roguelike adventure, part interactive fiction. Release date: 2019 | Developer: Failbetter Games | Link: Steam
But if you climbed out of the money hole of collecting Magic cards in a book full of plastic sleeves back in the day, this is a safe way of re-experiencing that without going broke." Darkest Dungeon You'll still need to drop money for whatever perfect deck's dominating the meta, or if you can't be bothered grinding daily quests for gold. It is much more generous than tabletop Magic. "When you buy a booster pack, whether with cash or gold earned in-game, you earn wildcards which can be traded for any card of an equivalent rarity (replacing the typical dusting and crafting systems of other digital CCGs). "It's free-to-play and generous," we wrote in our Magic: The Gathering Arena review. And its recommended system specs belong to 2011 hardware-any modern laptop will handle it no problem. The eternal collectible card game has gotten plenty of bite-size videogames over the years, and limped along with the bigger, messier Magic: The Gathering Online, but this one is finally the real Magic experience, and it's still a lot of fun.
Release date: 2018 | Developer: Wizards of the Coast | Link: Official siteįinally, the digital adaptation Magic deserves.