Displaying items by tag: Sandbox

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.

Assassin’s Creed: Origins is an exciting addition to the Assassin’s Creed legacy, featuring new brotherhood lore and intriguing RPG elements. Crafting and a skills tree promises character customization beyond that in previous Assassin’s Creed titles, while underwater exploration and mounted combat give you fresh ways to play and interact with enemies and an expansive map. If you like assassinating people with primitive weapons, Origins is for you.

Black Day is an “Early Access” third person shooter with FPS elements.  Rather than focusing on a set story and setting, Black Day is a military sandbox where players change the parameters of their missions.  Featuring an experience-based progression system, Black Day rewards players for handicapping themselves via difficult obstacles with new equipment and maps.  Helios Productions self proclaims this title as “very ambitious,” promising that they only want to provide an excellent final product.  The promise of so many features, paired with the beauty of the Unreal Engine, begs the question; is it able to deliver on its ambition?

For an open-world, immersive experience replete with quests, fishing, farms, and more, look no further than Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. The design is apt to please any gamer interested in what Yonder has to offer, while nightfall and the gloominess of a heavy rain ensure that players who might otherwise avoid overly bright hues don’t feel left out -- a sure recipe on Yonder’s part for broad appeal. However, as an exploration-heavy title, especially one that does not offer combat, the allure is counteracted in part; ultimately, though, all -- save the hardcore -- can enjoy Yonder.

A quarter-century after nuclear war devastated the earth, a few thousand survivors still cling to existence beneath the ruins of Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro. They have struggled against the poisoned elements, fought mutated beasts and paranormal horrors, and suffered the flames of civil war. But now, as Artyom, you must flee the Metro and lead a band of Spartan Rangers on an incredible, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in search of a new life in the East.

Black Desert Online comes to the table with an intricate character sculpting tool, gorgeous graphical presentation, and a nuanced, exciting combat system overlying a less immediately apparent, but very unique, sandbox-style resource management simulation. Those looking for a rich narrative, complex or groundbreaking PvE questing, or highly unique monster design may be disappointed, but those seeking a mechanically rich, visually striking MMO will find themselves at home.

Starpoint Gemini Warlords is a fine title, though it’s not without the occasional rough edge. Solid gameplay, with smooth controls, is hampered by a frustrating camera, but an interesting (albeit sometimes compromising) mix of single-ship combat and 4X civilization management, and great graphics, seal the deal.

Everything is an extraordinary journey. It’s Salvador Dali meets Neil deGrasse Tyson meets Eastern Mysticism. It’s art and spirituality brought to life in a medium that transcends the limitations of books and paints. This isn’t the game you want if you’re looking for casual entertainment with which to unwind at the end of a long day. Yet, even though Everything challenges your understanding of self and the universe, it never sacrifices the simple joy of fun.

Given that Planet Nomads is in alpha, some of the issues get a pass, but there are other, more serious optimization problems with this title, and the building mechanic is borderline terrible. Movement felt delayed, graphics looked choppy more often than not when moving, and the game went through a serious bout of crashing until I switched to a windowed-only view.
There’s a lot of room for improvement for this title, but the foundation the devs have built is workable. Keep your eyes on Planet Nomads going forward, but be wary; your expectations might not be met if you jumped into the game now.

Clunky combat provides shallow gameplay and limited tactical variety, quests are few and repetitive, and progression brings nothing other than higher numbers on your screen. The world builder might be MyWorld’s saving grace, but in its current state, The Game Creators have yet to deliver on their basic premise. Keep an eye on as the game is in its early stage of Early Access, but the jury is still out.

All in all, The Wild Eight is a relatively inexpensive addition to the Survival genre, and it's one that comes with a lot of potential. Even as it stands, The Wild Eight is an excellent choice for players who want to face the wilderness with a group of friends, and watching your loved ones’ avatars get gored to death by wild boars certainly breaks up the monotony of foraging.

this is one of the best puzzlers I’ve seen in a LONG time, and easily since the Portal games. HFF is completely different in every single way, though. But you will laugh out loud, you will potentially cry, and you will have an amazing time.

I am disappointed with Far Cry Primal, and rate it a 6 out of 10. I had to trudge through far too much muck to find bits of satisfaction. It's playable, but has no substance to act as backbone. There are no new challenges for people to face. No story presents itself for an audience to get engaged. No advancements are in sight, making this title thoroughly undistinguished.

If you’re the type of gamer who likes their experience to feel like work, to feel like management, like another job, then Factorio might be for you. For myself, however, Factorio doesn’t necessarily do anything new or otherwise exciting.

If learning not to starve people in cozy environments with upbeat music is your cup of tea, then at its not- unreasonable price, Life in Bunker might just be the city-building quick fix you've been looking for, just be sure not to eat the moleman meat.