While the game does a fairly good job of staying challenging, it can be repetitive in terms of the opposition. It’s simply an unfortunate circumstance of progression of the enemy threat doesn’t always keep up with the thrill of learning the weapons.

The Leviathans DLC is in my opinion an absolute must for Stellaris players. The content offered is high quality and produces some great in game experiences. The additions add strategic depth to the overall game and frankly, I couldn’t see anyone going back after playing this.

Ascension is a fantastic stand-alone that is a superior game in every way to its predecessor. It’s perfect for both new players and veterans and both with have plenty of content to get their teeth into.

If you are in the mood for a political strategy game and you are willing to put the time in, Political Animals will reward you with an in-depth turn-based game filled with backstabbing and bribery. It is blindingly obvious Political Animals has a lot to offer, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to invest your time learning how to play it.

This is one expansion that is a must for new and old. The improvements and additions made are useful to all players. The changes made to diplomacy and religions allow for a much more in depth experience, and traits add to that sense of character.

There’s a lot to like about the game but there are problems in equal proportion that stem from the base game. The expansion doesn’t do anything to add to the game or resolve issues. It adds more content for those diehard fans of the game, but fails to do anything that would revitalize the system to attract new players.

A solid indie real time strategy that is held back by a few flaws but retains a sense of what it wanted to be. This indie command and conquer could be a strong starting place for Stormcube to expand into the genre in the future.

All together it is a gracious effort by The Dragonloft. You can see the inspiration as Final Fantasy Tactics shines through, along with the art direction mimicking Disgaea. The dialogue is cute and the battles are intense. I usually don’t go for games like this, but I was drawn in as I felt myself repeating “just one more try…”

Atelier Firis certainly lacks the depth that hardcore JRPG fans come to expect from the long-standing genre and hardly taxes the brain with morale decisions, but it gives a relatively safe environment in which to get to know some colourful characters and beat up monsters in some rather impressive ways. The soundtrack does little for the ears and the characters are likely to be relatively forgettable, but it’s a game full of charm and a good recommendation for those looking for something a little less broad in scale at a time full of AAA blockbusters like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Mass Effect: Andromeda.

There has never been a fighting game like this one before, and judging by Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, there probably never will. This port of UMvC3 will not be remembered as simply the PC version of the game, it will go down as the definitive version. UMvC3 has stood the test of time and then some. Going back to the game after all this time makes me forget why I ever stopped playing it. Priced at £20/$25, it’s one of the best deals you can get for a fighting game of this calibre. With mods already appearing and the Marvel community appearing to be rejuvenated as a result of the re-release, there isn’t a better time to pick up this game.

There’s plenty to enjoy with Afghanistan ’11 but there are several issues with in the game itself including a lack of depth to some of the core features. While as a strategy title, it will hit the mark for most, things like political aspect of the game are shallow at best and often feel like an untapped gold mine of interesting gameplay. The game does create a solid difficulty and provides a challenging experience with AI that doesn’t cheat like in most other strategy titles. Enemy AI cannot see landmines. There have also been several improvements and changes to reflect the setting and type of warfare, so respect has to be given to the developers for not just creating a carbon copy of Vietnam ’65 and placing a desert skin over it.

Mandate of heaven provides some great changes and updates but it has brought its own set of issues that need patching out. The diplomatic macro builder and the new historical ages system both are the standout changes by a large degree. The faction changes are a nice framework for future improvements but cannot be left as they currently are with the balance changes involved.

Tree of Life has a lot of charm to it. The progression and leveling is simple and easy to get into and it won’t be incredibly long before you’re able to put a makeshift camp together with relative ease. Moreover, the world is brighter and more cheerful than a lot of MMO experiences we’ve seen and is genuinely enjoyable to explore as far as its diversity goes. Getting together with a community is where the game thrives most and Tree of Life gives you more than enough tools to be a part of building a settlement, defending it, and finding your own role within your little community. Unfortunately, things like building timers and purposeful or accidental sabotage by other players can make various aspects of Tree of Life’s early game a test of endurance and/or dedication, especially if you’re going it alone. That said, if you bring some friends or find a few, Tree of Life is a lush environment that will give back in kind.

I’ll admit, it’s taken me this long to feel the need to expand Cities: Skylines above it base offerings. Now I understand why. Each expansion brings heaps of free content to owners of even just the base game, so you might only pick up the full bag if it focuses on what you need. For me, Mass Transit feels unnecessary; whereas for others that may have been all they ever wanted. Green Cities is like sugar in this case. I don’t need it, but I want it.

Stars in Shadow: Legacy isn’t a drastic shift in direction, but it is some pretty meaningful additional content at a small price tag. The Tinker race has a lot of distinct personality in their programming to make them stand out among the already varied factions of the core game. I wish the galaxy at large responded a bit more to their more extreme measures and made it a little more difficult to be an expanding robotic zealot race, but they still play differently enough to warrant several games worth of interaction with and as them. The other additions such as the Arda Seed aren’t enormous either, but they add important little strategic wrinkles to consider regardless of what faction you play. When it comes down to it, Legacies is a budget-friendly and meaningful return to the Stars in Shadow universe.

As with all region-focused expansions for Europa Universalis IV, the first question you need to ask is whether you want to play as a nation from said region, because If not, you should look at another expansion instead. However, for those interested in playing as Muslim nations, Cradle of Civilization has plenty of new mechanics, features and events to make it worth your time and money.

Way of Redemption is all there technically and functionally, but it’s empty and short on content. Every moment spent playing, the obviousness of it being an attempt at a forced e-sports success hangs over the experience, which is pretty dull to begin with.

I really don’t like how specific and restrictive the Technocrat and Diplomat advisors are, but their quality is for the most part okay. And aside from ship designs, "okay" is a word I can apply to the whole of the Humanoids Species Pack. The end result is kinda obvious, and something I alluded to at the opening of the review: it’s inherent value is based on your personal attraction to what is offered, and if you are attracted to the ships and races in display, you’re in luck.

As the first proper DLC expansion to Wolfenstein 2, the best FPS of the year, The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe is incredibly entertaining but isn’t without disappointments. Episode 1 of The Freedom Chronicles is decently sized and plays like an exciting classic linear FPS with the same level of excitement and imagination in the gunplay that made Wolfenstein 2 so entertaining. It’s incredibly fun then, but at the same time there’s nothing here that wasn’t done in Wolfenstein 2. The levels in particular are all re-used assets from the main game, and despite the framing device of Freedom Chronicles as non-canon pulp fiction comics Episode 1 never gets crazy or unique enough to justify that. It’s worth picking up if you’re looking for the best FPS action around, but don’t expect anything new.

Assassin’s Creed Origins: The Hidden Ones doesn’t change much, which isn’t a bad thing considering how good the main game is. It makes small improvements while keeping the same formula, while telling a meaningful story set in a new land as beautiful as ever. Anyone who enjoyed Origins is bound to enjoy The Hidden Ones.

A varied and interesting Culture Pack where each faction feels distinct.

Motorbike Garage Mechanic Simulator is polished and incredibly detailed, and manages to be enjoyable even for non-enthusiasts. While a few things are missing, it’s still a more than competent game which is both entertaining and relaxing.

Curse of the Pharaohs is a fantastic, content-rich DLC which takes what already worked well, added a few twists and turns, and gave us more of it. This is a solid ~15-20 hours of content if you’re a completionist and explorer with some unique and otherwise underrepresented settings.

Episode 3 is just more Wolfenstein - which isn’t a bad thing since the game’s great, but none of it is new or original. No new enemies, no new level design, no exciting setpieces, and no real reason to buy it. The story’s neat and it was undeniably fun all the way through, but if you haven’t yet bought The Deeds of Captain Wilkins you can leave this particular book of The Freedom Chronicles on the shelf - you’ve already read it.

A slightly casual wargame-y title that doesn’t offer a lot of tactical options, but offers enough depth to be engrossing.

Tempest Citadel is a charming, story-driven title that channels some of the best elements of non-starship based Sci-Fi. With great writing and characters, a depth of customization and plenty of game mechanics in spite of being hands-off with combat (which could have been a disaster, but is implemented wonderfully) come together to form one of the best gaming experiences of the year so far.

I really hate tearing down games because nobody sets out to purposefully make a bad game and people put passion and effort into Nobunaga’s Ambition: Taishi, but not only does this game fail on its own merits, the fact that this is the 15th entry in an acclaimed series makes it even more disappointing. The way it tries to hide its lack of depth is almost insulting, and not even a decent character system can save it.

An interesting concept is let down by some pretty glaring gameplay flaws.