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Getting the certifications might be the hardest thing my character has ever done. She’s been down on her luck for years and the need to pay rent proved stronger than principles, especially when the family got involved and suggested a job that seemed too good to be true. Sure, the first interview featured a few weird moments, but the paycheck has enough zeroes to smooth over the bumps that always pop up when an old organization welcomes new blood. Getting certified for increased access might sound routine. However, it involves interacting with departments that want to remain shrouded and having conversations with characters who want to focus on their work. There are uncomfortable revelations, attempts at keeping the peace, and moments that reveal how deeply disturbing some of their work is. Evaporation work is dystopian in a weird new way. It doesn’t help that an implanted chip is monitoring whether any secrets are being exposed when they shouldn’t, while a jovial e...

Wind power is a great way to ensure a solid energy supply for other districts while also making money by selling the surplus. I want to best other corporations on this planet while affecting the environment as little as possible. Wind farms help but I need to feed my population, and only industrial farms deliver the required output. I’m ready to live with that compromise, although I might be able to focus on seafood, as long as I use my licenses and my research right. In the meantime, I have a ton of gold to mine and sell and I’m hoping to use the upcoming congress session to try and raise the emissions tax, which will slow down if not cripple a few rivals. Imagine Earth - Galaxies is developed and published by Serious Bros. This is the first piece of downloadable content for the planet-building title. It gives players a deeper campaign and an orbital space station to use as they develop their strategy. The science-fiction premise is solid: a variety of factions a...

Maliki: Poison Of The Past Past takes place in the near future where humanity is very close to extinction. A plant monster called Poison is destroying the planet, and even the space time continuum. You play the role of Malikiand you have to do everything in your power to keep Poison from doing her bidding. Obviously, Poison has a lot of minions, and in the multiple worlds you explore, you can encounter a plethora of that. Since Maliki: Poison Of The Past features turn-based battles, the game requires a more tactical approach to combat. And thankfully, as you level up, you will encounter a huge range of new abilities to explore. You have Techniques and Attacks, but also defensive abilities too. That adds quite a bit of depth to the game, since you really have to experiment with different skills as you get better and better. Also, you are encouraged to battle each enemy, because you accumulate experience, level up and thus improve your skills. I found it funny that y...

A roguelite RTS is one of those game genres that you rarely see, but Wartorn manages to showcase those elements in both an addicting and fun manner. The premise here is simple, you control 2 sisters that are driven away from their home under attack. They need to go through the isles of Talaur in order to reach the ancestral fortress called Beynun. But that’s not a simple thing to do. There are a lot of enemies spread over this entire game world, which you are browsing through with a caravan. The caravan system is quite interesting, since you’re using it on a hand-drawn map, and you choose the direction if you encounter any crossroads. Plus, there are lots of random events happening while you use the caravan, for example someone might attack you, or you want to save someone from hunger, etc. In my experience, all those events bring variety, fun and new ways for you to replay the game if you want. Of course, what sets the game apart are the battles themselves. So, yo...

Time travel games are few and far between these days, so whenever we get to enjoy a new one, it’s a lot of fun. And with Old Skies, we do get quite an interesting story, featuring love, betrayal, all while visiting different times. Old Skies was developed by Wadjet Eye Games, the team behind Unavowed, and with this new game, they are trying something completely different. The game takes place in 2062, and we play the role of Fia Quinn. What’s really cool about the premise is that we are hired by a time travel agency that takes wealthy clients into the past, to the year of their choosing. Your focus is to ensure that you’re meeting those people’s needs, while making sure that the key moments in history are not overwritten, which can be rather difficult to do. In fact, right off the bat your first client is causing trouble, so you need to use all your wits and focus to try and find him and also figure out how to solve those problems you get yourself into. The 7 chapt...

The Fatal Fury series has been around for over 30 years at this point, but since 1999, we never got a new one. Until now. With Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, we finally have the sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves that we always wanted. Now the question is, was the 26-year wait worthwhile or not? Right off the bat, the game starts with lots of different options. You can play online with any of the 17 characters right off the bat, and even online you have ranked, casual play, leaderboards or any other options you want. Naturally, they also offer single-player content, in the form of a pretty interesting (albeit quite short) RPG-like campaign and local versus, not to mention single-player challenges. For me, the most appealing thing was the campaign mode. You choose anyone from the character roster, and then you go through a multitude of different fights, which you can choose for yourself. You have a large city split into multiple districts, each one with a plethora...

No enemy can actually land a shot on any of my characters, which makes this combat encounter trivial but long. At their best, the robots can deliver a graze, if they ace their positioning. But even if they focus fire on just my runner, it’s unlikely they’ll take her down because my team has significant healing reserves. I wasn’t able to choose my squad for this battle, making it slightly harder than it should be. Archi, my capable sniper, provides long-range headshots when he can and more classic attacks otherwise. My programmer has already hacked a turret and is taking shows at everyone who tries to get close. Margot is avoiding incoming fire and bashing enemies or slinging throwing knives at them. Once I overcome these robots, the rest of my six-man heist team will spring into action. Everyone has sacrificed something to get this far and the two robots running the show aren’t entirely truthful about their plans. But in this social score-obsessed society, this gan...

Thanks to the Syberia series, Benoît Sokal's name is instantly recognizable to adventure game enthusiasts. The hallmarks of the Belgian comic artist and game developer—richly drawn characters and a deep fascination with intricate machines and lifelike automatons—were already evident in his very first game, Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy, released in 1999. Now the cult classic returns with its original charm and expands its legacy through a lovingly crafted remake. I have to admire Microids for marching to the beat of their own drum. Rather than chasing the high-stakes race of AAA blockbusters, they quietly focus on creating accessible, family-friendly titles rooted in cherished franchises like The Smurfs, Asterix & Obelix, and Marsupilami. But Microids isn’t just about adapting comics into games, they’re also champions of indie developers and staunch supporters of the classic adventure genre, helping to keep its spirit alive for new generations of players. Among M...

The era of musketeers is not something we see in videogames often, so whenever Sacre Bleu was announced, I was already very intrigued. I enjoy platformers a lot, and having a nod to that historical era is amazing. With that in mind, Sacre Bleu is a game that manages to blend platforming with speed-running, all while having a very interesting story. At its core, the premise is simple: you are the musketeer captain. However, someone falsely accuses you of wrongdoings, and you end up thrown into prison. Your focus right now is to try and get back into action, while also figuring out the true plot, who pushed you to prison and what they were hiding. You start in Bastille, and you explore this large complex, filled with dangerous enemies and some rather unique bosses. The difference here is that the French aristocrats have become zombies for some reason, and most of the bosses you encounter are zombified versions of people you would find in real life during that Bastill...

Trusting one’s wife is always a good idea, doubly so when a powerful Sultan is ready to kill anyone who’s not playing his weird games. I need to deal with a Gold level Conquest challenge, which is hard enough without having to accept that my lovely life companion is gone, visiting a friend. It’s all because the nobleman I control was unable to mend fences with her after an unfortunate but necessary betrayal. Until she’s back and ready to once again manage the estate, a lower-level servant has to deal with that. That leads to less money to spend on books and equipment. Thankfully, my character adopted a character named Lumera. She is able to read any book and has become very wise and is now prepared to dabble in magic. She is also a social creature, helping gain special cards to boost some actions. I have five turns until I need to deal with the Conquest card or face execution. I keep working on the bathhouse, hoping to unlock new events linked to it. I plan to pick...