Recent reviews by Mushroom

If anyone ever doubts that video games are art, show them this.

A beautifully crafted game which is both fun and engaging, with some of the best artwork and atmosphere I've ever encountered in a game. This must have been a labour of love, and it pays off.

Quite simply a work of art.

I'll be honest - in general, I don't like deck building games. I can't even fully explain why, I just never find them particularly fun. So, suffice it to say that I bought this without realising that it is a deck building game. I don't regret it.

I think it's probably important to state as a caveat to the above that it's not *just* a deck building game. It's a resource management colony sim with a deck building element. I found it mercifully sparse on the part I usually hate about deck building games where you end up with a deck full of useless cards you can't shift and it hampers your progress. The wide variety of cards and the ability to discard and move on really greases the wheels in that regard.

I was further surprised to find that there is already so much progression built into the game for an early access game - completing the tutorial unlocked a tonne more content in terms of cards for future games, which might potentially add to the "deck of useless cards" problem above, but might also just make the game more interesting and add fun new elements. It does at least make me curious to play more and find out.

So basically, if you're like me and don't really like deck building games but do like chilled resource management/colony sims, give this one a try. It's pretty great, and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take it.

You don't win, you just do a little better each time...

I haven't enjoyed a game as much as this in a long time.

The world is sprawling, the story is gripping, the voice acting is spot on, and the music is fantastic, rendering it a very atmospheric game. It has just the right difficulty curve to ensure that you keep your wits about you the whole time, and I felt very involved the whole way through.

One thing I felt particularly noteworthy is that unlike some other games, each of the environments in which you quest feels unique and not copy-pasted.

There were originally a few small, niggling annoyances (e.g. quirks of the crafting and character build systems) but these were mostly ironed out with the DLCs, and anyway were nothing which detracted from an incredibly enjoyable game. Would heartily recommend.

First things first: YOU NEED 16GB RAM TO PLAY THIS GAME PROPERLY.

I had the same game-breaking stuttering issues everyone else has been describing until I upgraded from 8GB to 16GB, after which it started working perfectly.

That said, it's a great game. Just Cause 2 was excellent, and this is even more polished in terms of gameplay. If you liked the previous installment you'll love it - but ignore the suggested spec and make sure your system can handle it!

Crusader Kings II is sort of a cross between Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" and Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince". You play a dynasty, and it's your job to make sure that dynasty survives and prospers by any means necessary - and if that includes marrying your daughters to the princes of foreign lands and then ensuring an unfortunate accident befalls said princes, then so be it. Just be warned that this game turns you into a terrible person, but it's okay - it's for the good of the realm, after all...

2019 update: As CK2 is coming towards the end of its natural life, I think it worth reflecting on it. It's still my favourite Paradox game, even after all these years. In the years since its release the addition of DLC has improved it significantly, but also bloated it somewhat - one of the common criticisms of Paradox games is that the patches that come out with each DLC make playing the game without each successive DLC that bit more clunky. Even so, it remains a very solid, almost infinitely engaging game, particularly if you don't mind spending the extra to buy all its additional bits. It also has an amazing modding community. Much like my character in game, I find myself hoping its successor is every bit as good.

This game is everything 'Enter the Matrix' should have been.

The scariest game I've ever played. The graphics haven't aged well, but the work Eric Brosius did with the sound design still chills you to the core.

Name another game where you can hijack a cargo plane on the runway, attach its pilot to the back of the plane, and fly it off a cliff?