Matthew Smail 447 posts 43 comments

Most gamers will be aware of the fantastic Rockstar Games’ western; Red Dead Redemption II — but the story of Arthur Morgan and his gang wasn’t the only wild west tale to be told in 2018. Around the same time, board game fans were doffing…

The idea of taking a classic game and remaking it isn't new in either video games or board games, but few games have had the amount of makeovers as Aintoine Bauza's 2010 classic, Hanabi. This cooperative game about making a wonderful…

Whenever I hear about a videogame that sets out to be funny, I immediately think of the warning signs. Bad jokes, often in bad taste, and awful writing are typical of what I’ve come to expect from games, and in most cases, such games don’t…

It’s a sad truth that most games based on the Alien universe are rubbish — just like the majority of the films. Yes, this wonderful intellectual property has spawned more lumpy, unattractive little horrors than any xenomorph queen ever has,…

For more than twenty years now, I’ve loved rally games. Whether I go back to the seminal experience of Colin McRae Rally, or consider the likes of Richard Burns Rally, Rallisport Challenge and the Dirt: Rally series, I’ve always been keen…

Roll Player focuses purely on creating optimal characters based on a randomly chosen class, alignment and back story.

When I first played it on — I think the Xbox One — Thea: The Awakening rapidly became one of my favorite games. I played it so much, for so long, that I think I saw just about everything that it had to offer, and when Thea 2: The Shattering…

With an eight year gap since Orcs Must Die 2, fans of the series could have been forgiven for thinking that Orcs Must Die 3 would never come. As it happens, this third iteration will be the first time I’ve dipped my toe in the series — all…

I’ve been a fan of North Star Games’ Evolution games for a few years now, and Evolution: Climate was the first game I played upon introduction to my current, most prolific gaming group. Our reviewer Sara found Evolution to be a success on…

There’s always a balance to be struck in civilisation building games. Designers, I am sure, must feel a huge pull to try and cram every aspect of ancient life — from technological development and warfare to farming and animal husbandry —…