Recent reviews by Solar Baron

Brilliant

I was a big fan of the team's previous CitK game (of which this is remake/reimagining), but it was one of those games I couldn't recommend to anyone. The systems were way too opaque, the English translation lacking, you had to put a good deal of effort to appreciate it fully. Thankfully, the team learned and iterated well.

This game is so much more approachable without actually giving up on complexity, it allows the player to peer under the hood and make decisions appropriately. I imagine it will look a bit daunting if you've never played a sim like this before, but the tutorial is decent and will give you everything you need.

A great game for all Cold War nerds out there, looking forward to many replays and the inevitable Yugoslavia DLC.

To sit in darkness here
Hatching vain empires.
-Lines 377-378, Paradise Lost

That's us.

Pathfinder: WotR is the sequel that just goes ahead and does everything better while sticking to the formula of the original. It's the Shadows of Amn to Kingmaker's Baldur's Gate in a lot of respects that way.

Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect. It's obvious some Mythic paths got more attention than others, both scope-wise and with regards to playtesting, and some new features can feel half-baked (the HoMM-inspired army system for one).

BUT! The sheer scale, scope, and ambition of this game will make one gloss over its shortcomings without much difficulty. Or at least, I did. A 20-level adventure with what, 25 or so classes to choose from? Mythic paths that have a significant impact on the story and your playstyle? Freedom to choose between turn-based and real-time-with-pause combat? Companions that aren't paper cutouts like the ones from Kingmaker? I'll gladly suffer though some initial bugginess and wonk for the actual spiritual successor to the Infinity Engine games. Pillars of Eternity eat your heart out lol

After the USSR and the Eastern Bloc countries, the Kremlingames team decided to tackle post-Mao China. Mao's Legacy is somewhere in between Crisis and Ostalgie when it comes to complexity, which is the sweet spot as far as I'm concerned. There's also a new Politics system where you have to manage influential people in the country that represent different interests. Not a huge fan of it myself, but it works.

All in all, another worthwhile release to scratch that Cold War itch.

I've been waiting for a game like this ever since finishing Baldur's Gate 2. It's here now, shining like a diamond in all its bug-ridden glory. After some more patching, this will be a proper love letter to the Infinity Engine games (aka what Pillars of Eternity should have been).

Imagine nuXCOM but with a much more pronounced stealth aspect, and a Cold War setting (not something you see very often). Far from being an XCOM clone, Phantom Doctrine uses a familliar starting point to showcase a bunch of interesting ideas. Unfortunately, not all of those ideas were perfectly implemented, but good games in this setting are few and far between as it is. Put on a tactical turtleneck and go hunting!

This game is a history nerd's wet dream. While it's definitely rough around the edges as far as UI presentation goes, there is a real gem underneath the uninviting exterior. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who has even a passive interest in the Cold War, it's a great deal of fun, and very cheap to boot.