Leana Hafer

A gorgeous antique city-builder that is worthy of a standing ovation.

Tuning issues aside, this might be the most on-paper impressive historical strategy game of all time.

This sequel is another flawed but unique and remarkable bite at the apple.

This exceptional action roguelite is some of Supergiant's best work on nearly every level.

An action-packed medieval saga fit for a Hollywood blockbuster.

A reinvigorating sequel for the series that leaves no doubt about its place in the RPG pantheon.

With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur's Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.

Imagine if you had to stick your hands into a sink full of dirty, putrid-smelling water to fish around for clues to a mystery. You keep pulling out weirder and more confusing stuff, and you really don't want to go back in again – but what you've found so far makes you extremely curious about what other secrets may be hiding in there. That's the best way I can describe the overall experience of playing Scorn, a first-person puzzle game about exploring the ruins of a dead civilization. With a mesm

A leaner but meaner follow-up to one of the best ever open-world survival games.

This remaster makes a grand old game feel less old – but it doesn't make it feel new again.

A fiddly world map and confusing objectives foil the plans of this stylish, gleeful villain simulator.

Stronghold Warlords has a refreshing East Asian setting and satisfying castle building, but it looks and plays like an RTS that was asleep for most of the last decade or two.

This RPG has decent stealth going for it, but its weak story forces you into painfully mediocre combat too often to be worthwhile, wasting the potential of the World of Darkness universe.

It's dauntingly complex, but offers almost endlessly enjoyable depth for optimizers and survival fans if you take the time to learn its systems.

Long live the new king of historical strategy.

A Total War Saga: Troy absolutely nails its Bronze Age setting and comes up with interesting ways to make the period work in its grand strategy framework, but its AI has trouble wrapping its head around it.

The past and future king of JRPGs steals our hearts again.

GreedFall’s epic, morally complex tale of exploration and swashbuckling is enjoyable just about every step of the way.

Getting medieval in a gritty recreation of 1400s Bohemia.

This aquatic survival game is an underwater wonder.