Being evil is not a new concept to role-playing games, but Tyranny takes playing the bad guy further than I’ve ever seen before. While I’ve sided with demons, robbed innocents, and even slaughtered many a bystander just because I felt like it in other RPGs, the nasty stuff is taken to another level in Obsidian…

Any time I’m given a choice between stealth and action, I go stealth. I love the hold-your-breath tension of hoping a guard didn’t spot you and the hard-earned triumph of executing a perfectly timed plan. Dishonored 2 delivers that sneaky satisfaction, arming you with stealth essentials like hiding bodies, peering through keyholes, and silent takedowns.…

Serenity and wonder fill my ears when I first open Stellaris. Pulling from the same lived-in future aesthetic of games like Mass Effect, Stellaris opens with an invitation. It wants you to explore, it wants you learn, to unearth secrets your galaxy has held for millennia. As I do, astral outlines and nebulae dot my…

In Tastee: Lethal Tactics, your plan is more important than the action that follows. It’s a game of bets and bluffs, and if you telegraph your next move, you’ll likely lose. Tastee doesn’t always communicate its ideas effectively, and there are frustrating barriers to hurdle, but there’s a tense, layered, turn-based strategy game waiting on…

Soft Body is a playable kaleidoscope, an ever-changing symphony of motion, color, and sound. It’s a mixture of different genres, combining the best aspects of bullet hell games, puzzle games, and Snake to create a challenging and mesmerizing experience. You control two snakes that either move in unison or independently, dependent on the given level.…

The Magic Circle is another entry in the burgeoning but fascinating subgenre of games about the process of making games. Most games in that niche tend to aim small, often taking up the perspective of underdogs struggling to make tiny personal games in an industry filled with multimillion-dollar productions. The Magic Circle, on the other…

Housemarque has produced action games with an old school pedigree for years, but Alienation may be its most intense release yet. The epitome of the retro-style, overhead four-player shooter done up with new school technology, this is a game that clearly shows off the developer’s skills at crafting intense action experiences. Alienation isn’t that far…

Galak-Z is a game of tense moments and heavy decisions. Its first expansion The Void, to its detriment, is one long adrenaline rush from start to finish. Galak-Z’s frenetic core mechanics are intact, but The Void has sacrificed much of what makes the game so great in the first place. The Void’s main focus is…

For a game with so many strong personalities, Battleborn somehow lacks a cohesive identity. Every facet from the characters to the progression to the visual presentation feels overloaded with ideas–some good, some bad, some just confusing. Because it throws so much against the wall, the end result is a scattered grabbag of manic gameplay, complex…

Chronos is a game about combat mastery. Hostile encounters lead you through its world, separated only by puzzles and moments of discovery. Understanding your enemies and overcoming them is key to moving forward, while death acts as the teacher that keeps you after class to discuss what you did wrong. Some foes can prove highly…