Recent reviews by Thollos

First time I've ever refunded a Civ game. Some of the ideas behind the changes they've made from 6 to 7 are solid, but incredibly poorly communicated. The potential is there, but as is it feels like an early access title, likely due to the game needing to work well on both consoles and PC.

I expect I'll be back after a few patches (and a lot of unpaid work from modders) iron out the kinks and it goes on sale later this year. Until then, back to Civ 6 and Humankind.

Jesus Christ it's John Helldiver!

Much of Branch & Claw was intended to be released with the base game, and it shows. The tokens add another layer of strategy onto an already good game, and frankly I find the base game much less balanced without them. The new power cards are top notch, the scenarios are solid, and France makes for an obnoxious foe in the best way.

Also Sharp Fangs is my favorite spirit, and the game feels much more complete with them in it! Keeper is cool too, albeit a bit lacking in the thematic department.

(In case Steam continues to show me with 0 hours of playtime, I've got just over 300 hours in the digital app, and probably about as many with the physical game as well)

I've played a good bit of the tabletop version of Spirit Island, and I absolutely love it. I'm really glad that there's a digital option, since it'll eliminate the setup/break-down time, and generally make the game easier to run.

However, there are a few caveats: there's no proper multiplayer; it currently relies on Remote Play Together to play online. I've had mixed success with other titles using the feature, so I hope it'll have full support at some point in the future.
The current edition of the game (1.0, at the time of this review) only includes the base game; while there's plenty of replay value to be found here, the lack of features from the Branch & Claw expansion (events, new tokens for the game board, etc) leaves a pretty large hole. However, the devs have said that they intend to release the rest of the content as add-ons, so I'm more than happy to financially support them in the meantime.

If you enjoy digital board games, you can't go wrong here; pick it up and get to know the Island and its spirits, and prepare for the rest of the future content!

It's a big cosmetic DLC, with punk overtones. If that's your thing, then go for it. However I feel it doesn't mesh well with the overall feel the game tries to have, and it devalues the season pass. Not recommended unless this is the style you'd like for the game.

Frostpunk is, by far, my favorite game of the past year. From the steampunk visuals, to the chilling music and sound design, the game sucks you in; the clever blend of city management and survival mechanics help to keep you engaged. It's not an easy game, but it makes it all the more rewarding as you pull your city through the various hazards thrown your way.

A fun game, and one that has been steadily improved since launch. I still need to play the Expansion, but thus far base + R&F have been thoroughly enjoyable. There's also a robust modding community, and I find that a lot of the shortcomings/complaints I have with this iteration in the series can at least be helped via the workshop, if not completely eliminated.

While I only have 20 hours clocked on Steam, I've probably played another hundred hours back on the Xbox 360.

First, let me get this out of the way: I have played a lot more of the original Left 4 Dead, and I very much prefer it over the sequel. The new special infected are a bit too disruptive to a coordinated team (while that was needed, it's a bit overkill at times), the new maps generally aren't as enjoyable, and it lacks the overall atmosphere of the original.

All that said, this is still a great game to sink some hours into with a few friends. The formula that made the first game great is still there, and the Spitter in particular is a welcome addition to the Special Infected roster for dealing with survivors that prefer to turtle up and ride out the horde. The addition of uncommon infected gives flavor to each campaign, and (most of) the finale arena's feel more dynamic and intense. The addition of Steam workshop support is a huge plus; you can make the assets as serious or as silly as you want.

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth takes nearly everything from the first game and builds upon it. It is, at its core, a remaster, but it has become so much more than that, particularly with the addition of Afterbirth. Many of the old bugs have been fixed, next to no performance issues, and the addition of hundreds of items, multiple level variations, and dozens of new enemies are sure to keep you occupied for hours on end. I've logged about 150 hours at the time of writing this review, and I've unlocked maybe half the achievements (most of which add additional content).

The one downside is the new music is generally uninteresting, but there are mods to bring back DannyB's old soundtrack :)

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