Displaying items by tag: Building

While this title is a fun and relaxing way to pass the time and the map editor is a nice addition, it isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. 

Implementation is disappointing, as gameplay just doesn’t feel right and leads to frustration.

With more things to do around the map, clear guidance through the storyline and quests, and perhaps a more comprehensive tutorial, Volcanoids could turn out to be a star on the stage of survival titles.

Tropico 6 involves a huge time investment and a steep learning curve, but it is a solid entry in the management/sim genre.

Aggressors: Ancient Rome decentralizes the Civilization formula, placing a heavier emphasis on combat. Couple that with an objective system and extensive mod support, and you have a game that can keep your interest for hours.

Don't expect much from the visuals, music, or story in while True: learn() and simply appreciate it for its puzzles.

Building, creating, destroying, self-detonating, designing, and restarting. Nimbatus is an Early Access space-drone design simulator that’s fulfilling to anyone who has a brain for engineering or adventurous curiosity. To put it lightly, my experience with Nimbatus has been one for the books of failure, and has required me to watch countless tutorial videos on how to make a drone that can even be stable enough to maneuver a planet surface. Having said that, my enjoyment in watching my failed little creations of destruction is great enough that I won’t be stopping anytime soon.

There are plenty of fish, yes, but there are also too many menus, along with repetitive music and odd sound effects. The devs have some upward swimming to do to reach the surface of the title’s potential.

With a few quality-of-life improvements, Two Point Hospital would be a fantastic entry-- as it stands, it’s still a charming and hilarious buy for fans of the management genre.

Grow plants, complete quests, and smack some bouncy oozes around in Deiland, the RPG farm simulator that gives you a whole planet all to yourself — albeit, Deiland admits, the smallest planet in the universe.

Conan Exiles is a survival title that successfully immerses you in Robert E. Howard’s brutal Conan setting, but delivers weak combat impact.

This house-renovating simulator provides a satisfying sense of progression and realism. Its focus veers away from architectural and interior design, letting handiwork steal the spotlight.

Ward off ravenous cannibals and... maybe… search for your son in The Forest, a brilliant open-world survival title that really and truly lets you play how you want to play.

Make Sail is a beautiful game that initially is calming, but the primary features of the game, which are building and sailing, don’t hold up and swiftly lead to frustration. This may be a title to keep an eye on, but there’s not enough there at present to satisfy for very long.

Skyrim VR translates one of the most entertaining RPGs of the previous generation to virtual reality with next to no hiccups along the way. Though there are a few minor irritants, the core experience is ludicrously fun and runs like a dream.

E-Line Media, creators of Never Alone, has announced its latest project - The Endless Mission. The Endless Mission is a sandbox-style creation game that takes players on a hero’s journey through a rich narrative world where they develop the power and opportunity to craft games and experiences of their own in the Unity engine - all while challenging forces larger than themselves.

Tempest Citadel makes large promises and misses the mark on them all. While it’s certainly playable, it’s a frustrating experience that lacks player engagement. The most redeeming part of this title is the original artwork, which may entice the unsuspecting consumer into purchasing a lackluster entry into the already crowded strategy genre.

Demolish & Build 2018 is a franchise heading in the right direction. While there could be a significant amount of development and tightening of the mechanics and controls, there are many improvements over the previous title. It’s an enjoyable, cooperative sim experience, despite an emphasis on demolishing stronger than on building. A good one to watch for patches, improvements, or to pick up during a Steam sale.

Stormworks: Build and Rescue has everything you look for in a casual (but not too casual) title. It expands on well-worn mechanics to provide a familiar but deep experience. Building is interesting and can be as simple or complicated as you’d like, with the logic system providing a wealth of possibilities. Gameplay is straightforward while still being challenging. It’s great as it stands in Early Access, so you can expect a truly great experience from the final product.

Despite the numerous problems that need to be addressed, Carried Away doesn't have the kind of bugs that make it unplayable. It has a solid foundation, promising to become a truly enjoyable building simulator with improvements. An example from gameplay makes a good metaphor for what you can expect: You can complete a level even if your skier dies because his corpse can skid across the finish line. This is either a morbidly humorous definition of passing a level, or a bug. The fact that you can't tell doesn't hinder you from laughing out loud.