Early access preview by Ginny W. 4X games like Civilization and Europa Universalis are known for being meaty affairs, not least of all because they’re usually a tactical experience on two fronts – building up your own empire and contending with the omnipresent threat of foreign invasion. There are countless…
Read MorePreview by Jim S. I love games like Rune Factory and Stardew Valley, and perhaps that’s why I am really enjoying My Time At Portia. Even at this early stage it has a similar sense of simple, bright, pleasant charm. After creating a character, you learn that you have inherited…
Read MorePreview by Matt C. For anyone with fond childhood memories of playing with wooden train sets, Tracks: The Train Set Game offers a wonderful trip down memory lane. In the simplest terms, it’s a game about building railway tracks with those familiar wooden pieces, over and under and through whatever…
Read MorePreview by Ginny W. I’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with the phrase “rogue-like” and its use in modern gaming vernacular, and I always treat a game with a reasonable dose of skepticism when it self-promotes as such. Before anyone gets outraged, this isn’t a criticism of…
Read MorePreview by Ginny W. While Notch may have suffered a bit of a publicity blowout after being an idiot on the Internet, his progeny, Minecraft, remains ever popular. Part of that may be that no other building simulator looks as child-friendly at Minecraft, but it’s far more likely that he…
Read MorePreview by Matt C.At a glance, Prisma & the Masquerade Menace probably looks like a lot of other platformers out there, with its jumping puzzles and colourful presentation. However, its defining characteristic is inspired by something quite different: Ikaruga. In Treasure’s famously difficult shoot ‘em up, the only way through…
Read MorePreview by Ginny W. A game that advertises itself as being a mix of other established titles always makes me a little bit wary. I think that there’s a very fine line between a studio being inspired by a popular game versus reproducing a core idea from a popular game…
Read MorePreview by Jim S. Quarantine is, in principle, the opposite of another game we here at DDNet really enjoyed; Plague Inc: Evolved. In that game you needed to help a virus spread and destroy the world. In this turn-based strategy game, you must try to prevent the disease from destroying…
Read MorePreview by Harvard L. Here’s a PSA to all game designers and people with an interest in balancing game systems – play Card Quest. It’s a humble little Early Access card battle/strategy RPG combat game with some immensely elegant mechanics that lend themselves to compulsive, satisfying play sessions. I really…
Read MorePreview by Matthew C. As a rule, I don’t really like roguelike games all that much. Sure, there are plenty that I’ve played and enjoyed, but that enjoyment is usually in spite of the things that make the genre tick – permadeath, high difficulty curves, lots of randomisation and so…
Read More