Dwarf Fortress is an incredibly detailed, complex game where you help a colony of dwarves build a settlement by carving out bedrooms, dining halls and other necessary structures from the side of a mountain. You don't control individual dwarves but instead provide instructions for them to follow, with each dwarf having their own needs and wants that you become familiar with as you play.
What we like:
Robust mouse support
New tutorial to help new players understand menus
Complex web of characters and relationships
Simulated world is full of surprises both big and small
Ability to create artifacts and engravings that tell stories
What could be improved:
Inscrutability can be off-putting for those expecting a more streamlined experience
Convoluted user interface can make it difficult to figure out what is even possible in the game or how to access the different menus
Tropico 6 is a city-building game that offers an engaging mix of elements such as ruling your own island dictatorship, sandbox mode with customizable goals, missions, and easy controller support. You can be a big picture person and make decisions that impact the entire island or get into the minute details of urban planning.
What we like:
Engaging mix of elements
Sandbox mode with customizable goals
Missions
Easy controller support:No need for mouse and keyboard or touchscreen
Project Highrise is a management sim game that allows you to build and manage your own tower. You must manage basic needs, desires of tenants, take on contracts and loans while making sure to turn a profit. The game offers two modes - Sandbox Mode, where you are given total freedom; and Scenario Mode, where you are given specific tasks with certain constraints.
Prison Architect is a management/strategy game where you must manage an unwilling and unruly population in a prison setting. You must establish order from cooperative parts, feed and house prisoners, and even "get rid of them" them if necessary. There is also an economy of contraband that you must manage, as well as a metagame of making your warden rich by selling the prison to others.
Take on the role of a tester at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center and help guide the little stick folk - Bendies - in their vehicles from their starting point to the nearby exit. Use scaffold planks, strong cables and triangles to create an appropriate structure for them to traverse each test chamber. Enjoy GLaDOS' dark humour as she guides you through your missions!
What we like:
Authentic feel with Ellen McLain's voiceover
Fun and challenging puzzles
Easy-to-use controls
In-game handbook of best practices for constructing structures
No punishment or limit to money spent on materials
Construction Simulator is back – bigger and better than ever! Take charge of over 70 machines, dozens of them brand new to the franchise, and build to your heart’s content on two huge maps – on your own or with your friends!
Poly Bridge 2 is a physics-based bridge building game where you have to design and develop bridges in order to get vehicles from point A to point B. You must account for the weight of the vehicles, as well as any obstacles like ships or checkpoints, without causing your bridge to collapse. With over 60 levels and an unlimited amount of trials, you can explore and experiment with your designs at your own pace.
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead combines the legendary and challenging puzzle gameplay of Bridge Constructor™ with the post-apocalyptic zombie universe of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Lizzy visited Horrorland with her family in the past and hardly survived it.
This time Lizzy is persuaded and escorted by Derek & Margo Strange, two presenters of “The Strange Report”.
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Return to the remote island nation of Tropico and expand your Dynasty’s reign from the early colonial period to beyond the 21st Century, facing new challenges including advanced trading mechanics, technology and scientific research, as well as cooperative and competitive MULTIPLAYER.