Recent reviews by Roo

I first played NA in closed beta but barely played the alpha and subsequent versions. I have returned to the game after recent changes brought the game back in line with the roadmap and vision that the developers had.
The addition of navigation tools to find your way round the world are very welcome - the hints are on the bottom right of the map.
Sailing is a little arcadey but to be expected in a world as large as that represented. You have to learn how each ship responds and how best to sail with regard to the wind, like how close-to it can sail at a decent speed when tacking upwind (tacking upwind means sailing against the wind in a zigzag where you periodically turn through the wind. So, if the wind is southerly, if you are going north you are against the wind and can do a NE then NW zigzag to make an average northerly progression.
I'm having a little difficulty identifying 7th rates in the open world battle quests without clicking on each ship to find out what type it is, 7th rates being lynxes and yacht and probably some traders. A little Roman numeral on the ship to tell you what rating it is would help.
You can however use the BR number when you press the (i) symbol to find out if you're stronger or weaker than the target ship.
And if you get it wrong in a smaller boat, at least you're likely to be faster and can run away when you see what it actually is.
None of the crafting was in game when I last played so all of that is new to me. It does add some diversity to the mechanics.
The boarding mechanic looks about the same. I thought by now the devs would have switched from a text based version to a GUI version that shows you all the same but visually, with the clues about what the enemy is going to do presented as visual cues rather than numbers.
It works fine, but could stand improvement in that part of the game.
I got my first rank by doing quests fairly quickly, and like all MMOs, expect progression to get more difficult the further along you get.
The economy seems to be fairly balanced, but I would like to be able to click or hover on any port on the map to see what it supplies as raw materials to plan trading better. There is a trading tool in the dropdown, but it seems a long-winded way to find which port supplies what raw material.
The battle and sailing mechanics are pretty much the same as in Ultimate Admiral Age of Sail as you'd expect. If you'd played that, you'll be fine with the core mechanics.
Do the tutorials as soon as they're available. It'll save some headscratching in the game proper later on when it matters.

I enjoyed my play through of this game. There were one or two that I wasn't sure were correct analyses, but that's to be expected unless you have a major in Philosophy with a side of Logic.
The game, in the English Language version, would benefit from further spelling and grammar fixes, and a readability pass. A few of the longer arguments come across as clunky, but they are understandable as they are.
The price is a bit on the high side for the amount of time it takes to go through the entire set of arguments at all difficulties, get all the achievements, and fill all the pages in the glossary. Hopefully, the developer will continue to maintain the game for a bit longer in between working on their next project.
Since it's educational, an indie developer, and a little bit different, I don't mind paying a little more, but others might want to wishlist it until it's on sale.

FTL is a turn based race against time that seems quite simple when you start out but ramps up quickly into a fight for survival and race against the inevitable.
There is some luck involved so be prepared to abandon runs that aren't going to pay off, and the learning curve as steeper than you'd think.
It's a good game to keep on the laptop when you're away from home but you might want to set a timer because you can get completely absorbed in the game.

My experience of the game so far is .. okay. I noted the complaints before playing, read the guides how to improve performance before playing, checked my resolution was correctly set to not melt my card, and got a smooth fps on a mid tier Ryzen 5 with a 1660 card.
With depth of field, dynamic resolution, and motion blur off, it looks ..ok.
I can only review thumbs up or thumbs down when it really should be somewhere in the middle. It shouldn't have had the settings set to high by default so that high end PC users could turn them up and revert if they didn't get the results they wanted.
But the game runs, I have no crashes to report. It looks .. ok. Not brilliant, but .. ok.
That's what I expected from this particular PC.

Prison Architect is a fantastic sim that draws you in and immerses you completely in the experience. There is a learning curve to the game to building the right facilities in a timely manner and at the right scale.
Since Paradox took over from Introversion, the free updates have continued, but to help pay for the development cycle these are accompanied with an additional DLC.
Each DLC has added depth to the game in a unique way and may benefit console players the most who don't have access to Steam Workshop and mods, though to be honest, since they're about the price of a coffee and a muffin, they're pretty good value.

Although based on a console line with some GUI ease-of-life functions, the game ramps up at a manageable pace, including a thematic soundtrack to keep the tension up and pleasing visuals that match the game style.

None of the problems you face should be too hard if you have the time to think about them, but if you do struggle there are very descriptive guides in the Community so this isn't a game you will leave unfinished.

There are a couple of difference side-chain mission you can branch down, so there is a replayability factor to get all the achievements.

Two thorough playthroughs should see you right.

The game has been improved since the launch version in the UI and with the available content. The community-made mods are also worth a look to make the game look better and provide additional content when you've got through the base game.
It's still tough and unforgiving. If you're patient, strategy-minded, and prepared to out-wait your opponents, you'll probably like it. If you're a run-and-gunner who likes non-stop action, it's probably not for you.

Production Line is a well thought out factory manager where you gradually choose between your available research options to stay ahead of the competition. Casual players, puzzlers, and simmers will all have their own approach as to how to play, since there's no "right" way - only YOUR way!

Lifeless Planet is a simplistic adventure that is to do with exploring the environment and uncovering the story of what has gone on. If you like sci-fi novels and easy going games, this is for you. If you like supporting indie devs who have invested years into building the world and story they envisioned, this game is a worthwhile investment.