Ever found yourself looking at the state of video games and going: “Why are so many things becoming so simplified and streamlined?” RPGs are melding into big action games with pacy combat, rather than stats crunchers, strategy and simulation games are often so simplified that it’s impossible to actually lose at them. Those rare titles that don’t simplify down to…
Upcoming relaxing first-person game Spray Paint Simulator seems pretty darn satisfying. I’ve previously described it as PowerWash Simulator (which I am slightly obsessed with), but in reverse: instead of spraying water, you’re spraying paint! Players will soon be able to start their own business and become the best spray painter…
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic for Nintendo Switch is a classic for a reason:…
Wholesome Snack is done for another year, so I’ll feel cozy and…
One of the great things about Football Manager is that you don’t need to be an incredibly hardcore fan of the sport to enjoy managing your team. You’ll want to know the basic rules of football, of course, but beyond that you’re given a sandbox to try things, fail, learn…
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After all these years, the love of virtual pets is still going strong. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve said I want a new Tamagotchi in the last year; yet I haven’t pulled the trigger, as all my extra cash is going into savings or gifts for…
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I must admit, I never thought I’d see Cricket Captain land on the Nintendo Switch. The Football Manager Touch series does fine, but this is a whole other kettle of niche. In theory, cricket should work nicely for a manager game. Cricket is a sport of statistics and tactics, as…
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I adore stickers, though I’m super picky about where I put them. As a kid in the early ’90s, I had one of those books (okay, many of them) of stickers that let you stick and peel and stick and peel; it was a huge playground pastime to trade. Smelly…
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Sword & Fairy is one of the biggest properties that we in the West barely notice. As Taiwan’s answer to Final Fantasy the JRPG (CRPG?) series offers some excellent production values and gameplay systems, and it’s a pity the series continues to exist in obscurity outside of its homeland, because…
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Dandori is a pretty simple word in the Japanese language. It simply means “plan,” “arrangement,” or “organisation.” A person that’s really effective at organising their time has good dandori. A person that is always late to meetings has poor dandori. For most Australians, dandori isn’t that important. If I could…
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Once, many years ago, I read an argument that the enduring popularity of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons in its homeland in Japan has to do with a very real desire for a “sea change” or “tree change” among Japanese urban populations. If this is true (and I believe there is…
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Bee-keeping sim Apico is quite bee-loved (Matt even featured it in his interesting games on an itch.io roundup), and is currently available basically everywhere… except anything Xbox. Well, that’s set to change – though I can’t tell you when past it will happen “soon.” As it does on current platforms,…
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There is no shortage of choices when it comes to city builders on the PlayStation 5 (and PlayStation 4). There is the recently released Anno 1800 and Transport Fever 2, but then there are also older titles like Cities: Skylines, Tropico 6, and some of the more out-there efforts like…
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Transport Fever 2 is a celebration of the value that transport networks bring populations. It is a “builder” simulator, but similar to the likes of the classic Transport Tycoon and A-Train, you don’t build the building directly. You build the road, train, ship and air transport networks that the cities…
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