Joining the surprisingly robust genre of sci-fi survival games about the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Chernobylite 2 takes the warped-landscape scrounging of the original and supersizes it, putting the player in the role of a mercenary working for an interdimensional colonial exploitation project.

In the original Chernobylite, we learned that the titular mineral, a byproduct of the Chernobyl disaster, had amazing properties which allowed for expanding human potential, creating horrible monsters, opening doorways to other dimensions, and more.

Chernobylite 2 starts the action in one of these alternate dimensions, where the cheap energy that Chernobylite offers has allowed people to build a peaceful utopia. Of course, that utopia is entirely dependent on the continued access to the aforementioned mineral, and when the dimension’s supply runs low, a project is undertaken to travel to other dimensions and raid them for their resources.

The plot kicks off when one of these raids goes horribly wrong and player’s ship crashes, stranding them and the rest of the crew on a world ravaged by the beasts and anomalies Chernobylite creates. Awakening after a stint in suspended animation, it’s up to the player to figure out exactly what happened to their expedition, and hopefully to find some way home — at least, that’s the part featured in the demo. I’d imagine the actual plot is going to feature all sorts of twists and turns, as well as an eventual indictment of interdimensional strip-mining, although that remains to be seen.

While the first Chernobylite focused as much on base management as it did survival, the demo content suggests that Chernobylite 2 is going to hew more in an action-RPG direction.

As the demo begins, players are encouraged to try out three character archetypes — a melee class that clobbers enemies with swords and focuses on parry-based combat, a ranged class that deals largely in firearms, and a mystical class that uses Chernobylite-influenced technology to warp reality. So, a fighter, archer, and mage, basically.

In addition to the combat I encountered, I ran across a few skill-checks — my high agility allowed me to squeeze through a gap keeping me from having to figure out how to open a door, but I lacked the technical knowhow to repair a turret, forcing me to use valuable resources when bizarre creatures attacked during an ersatz tower-defense sequence.

The simplified scavenging system (which has the player scrounging up types of resources en masse without strict inventory limits) is back, and it’s just as good as it was last time. Base building has also returned, with the player forced to gather enough resources to construct facilities before they can use that same pool of resources to upgrade their equipment. Is it largely a trick to give the player an excuse to head back out into the wasteland and fight monsters for scraps? Absolutely, but it’s a good one.

Chernobylite was an occasionally-punishing survival adventure that, from my point of view, made me focus too much on management when what I really wanted was to explore a genuinely fascinating locale. The developers at Mill 51 seem to have heard that complaint and are expanding on all of the best parts of the first game, giving players more of the adventure elements that worked last time, while now downplaying some of the fiddlier elements.

The glimpse I got of Chernobylite 2 offered a creepy and foreboding world full of terrifying foes that were satisfying to fight, and it was compelling enough that I’m excited to get a look at the larger world that the game will offer.

Buy Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone (Early Access) – PC

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Welcome to This Is Not A Review. In these articles we discuss general impressions, ideas and thoughts on any given game, but as the title implies, it’s not a review. Instead, it’s an exercise in offering a quick recommendation (or dismissal) after spending enough time to grasp the ideas and gameplay of a thing without necessarily playing it from A to Z.

The subject of this installment: Pathologic 3: Quarantine, developed by Ice-Pick Lodge and published by HypeTrain Digital.

The original Pathologic is a survival experience that challenged players to withstand twelve days in a small town of the Great Steppe that’s been wracked by a deadly (and possibly sentient) plague. The task is to contend with infection, obviously, but also with the societal decay that such an epidemic invites, all while searching for a possible cure and making difficult choices about whose lives to prioritize along the way. It’s survival horror in perhaps the most literal sense and a singular experiment in storytelling through mechanics and systems.

The premise is unique enough that the series’ trajectory since has been to revisit and expand upon the same setting and themes. Pathologic 2 was essentially a remake of the first entry, and it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played, but it only features one of the original three playable characters. Developer Ice-Pick Lodge originally intended to add the other two as DLC, but that project appears to have grown into yet another standalone entry in the series.

So, later this year we’ll be returning to the Steppe once again in Pathologic 3 to see how the updated engine affects the Bachelor’s side of the story. In the meantime, a free prologue, subtitled Quarantine, serves as an appetizer.

A full Pathologic campaign takes a couple dozen hours to complete and adheres to its own schedule, allowing players to largely travel where they want, when they want, even if it means missing key story events. Quarantine, which takes only a couple of hours of complete, is a much more rigidly guided experience. We’re given pieces of the story as we jump to various points on the timeline – before, after and during the outbreak – and we’re introduced to some new mechanics that differentiate the Bachelor’s path from that of the Haruspex in the previous entry.

Since the Bachelor is a doctor, his methods are more scientific than those of the Haruspex, who divines by examining entrails. As such, the standout sequence of Quarantine has us diagnosing patients by compiling lists of symptoms through both interviews and physical examination, giving us a glimpse of how we might save lives in this particular rendition of Pathologic.

The rest of Quarantine reminds me of the shortform Marble Nest that was released in the lead-up to Pathologic 2. Many of the strengths of the full game are evident here – particularly the script’s sharp wit, bolstered by an exceptional translation – but they feel somewhat muted without the chance to see Pathologic‘s systems evolve and interact on a large scale over an extended period of time. Pathologic being fatiguing is part of the experience, and it’s something we just don’t get in a prologue that can be completed in a single sitting, which is why it’s hard to judge Quarantine as a complete work.

Given that it’s short and free, though, it’s worth a look for anyone interested in Pathologic 3, if only as a vibe check — and if the third entry is successful enough, perhaps we’ll finally be able to play as the Changeling again in a prospective Pathologic 4.

Play Pathologic 3: Quarantine now for free – PC

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HIGH The meta-progress is a welcome addition

LOW The gameplay loop seems lessened

WTF An army of undead chickens is very playable

The Finnish team 10tons Ltd. entered the game scene with Crimsonland. It was a simple title, but the twin-stick controls were so tight it was clear that they had something special. Since the mid-2000s they’ve built a roster of works built on those solid foundations. Later, in 2018, 10tons delved into real-time strategy with Undead Horde. This was top-down strategy using twin-stick controls to steer a horde of undead to fight their enemies.

Undead Horde was addictive, and had wonderful forward momentum created by the fact that anything killed could then be resurrected to join the player’s army — anything from simple footman all the way up to end-level bosses. Now in 2023, Undead Horde 2: Necropolis is here, and brings with it changes that seem to have come at a cost.

The Necromancer from the first game is is back and the gameplay, at its core, is the same. The art style is also in line with its predecessor and the controls are similar — point the cursor to direct the horde and watch them engage in combat. The Necromancer itself can also cast spells and perform melee attacks. There’s a large map with multiple biomes, each with their own challenges and tricks, but new to Undead Horde 2 is a large hub world.

As levels are completed and items found, the hub grows in population. This also allows the player to invest any money they pick up during combat into upgrading their units and crafting new trinkets. This economy is a compelling reason to go back and revisit old levels — clearing them out helps power up the player, which then in turn expands the hub world even more. To tie into this, instead of resurrecting enemies, the Necromancer uses the dead bodies of fallen enemies as a pool of resources to bring back prescribed units.

All of the pieces are in place for a more rounded and polished experience, but the problem is that no longer being able to pick up fallen units and resurrect them on the fly robs it of both momentum and magic.

For example, in the original game, when a tough fight against a fierce enemy was over and my army was demolished, the upside was that I would bring that now-defeated enemy into my team to make up for the losses. In Undead Horde 2, that one boss enemy is now reduced to becoming a resource that I spend to get one or two of my regular troops back . This means sitting through a loading screen, going back to the hub, rebuilding the team and then heading back into battle as there are seldom enough dead on the battlefield to bring back a full cohort. The joy of toppling a tough foe and rolling ahead is now replaced by fewer surprises, pauses in the action and a return to base.

This shift ends up hamstringing Undead Horde 2’s flow — as much as I enjoyed it in the beginning, it soon began to feel like a chore and I’m sad to say that Undead Horde 2 is one of 10tons Ltd.’s few stumbles — it’s still addictive and sports their trademarked solid controls, but it’s sorely missing the infectious charm of their previous installment.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by 10tons Ltd. and published by 10tons Ltd. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/PS5, Switch, PC and Mac.This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBX. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Violence and Blood. The rating seems a little high to me as the violence is cartoonish and everything feels very silly. Very young children might find the animal murder upsetting.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present.   

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. In my view, the title appears to be fully playable and accessible without sound.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

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HIGH Incredibly immersive RPG experience.

LOW Persistent technical hiccups.

WTF The game can’t render as fast as my horse can gallop…

Though it caught my attention when it was released back in 2018, I was correct to assume that diving into Kingdom Come: Deliverance would demand a clear schedule. This open-world first-person adventure is a behemoth of an RPG, with a ton of systems to learn before one can truly appreciate it. As such, it’s a rare example of a title that boldly swims against the current, aiming to evolve with the player while never ceasing to offer a huge, fat zero in terms of immediate gratification. Instead, it’s up to us to carve a path through the obstacles and pay attention to the rich world that can actually meet our aspirations.

Set at the start of the 15th century in Bohemia, we play as a young lad named Henry whose destiny soon becomes dominated by the ensuing war between two princes that divide the land, both offspring of the legendary King Charles IV. In the utterly engrossing opening (and tutorial) that exceeds an hour of dedicated play, we glimpse the main foundation of Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s world – we get better only by actually performing the thing we intend to get good at.

For example, leveling the strength stat requires completing laborious tasks, upping agility equals spending more time sprinting, improving horsemanship means we’d have to get a horse first, and so on. Interestingly, gaining levels in any of the dozen categories earns us the right to pick one of the many perks that slowly unfold. Though most of them offer convenient bonuses like being able to carry more items at once or using sturdier lockpicks, some of these cancel each other out — we can either gain charisma bonuses while in the wilds or when in a village, but not both places at once. Regardless, the perks don’t funnel us into a specific ‘build’ due to Kingdom Come‘s fixation on realism above all else.

While it may seem that this attempt at strict realism can only result in a game that steps on its own toes, Kingdom Come: Deliverance wastes no time in becoming a playground for us to find appropriate joy in.

An early lesson comes when Henry’s mom interrupts his wish to sleep ’till noon, so we take control of our slightly-hung-over hero as he tries to explain (or cover for) last night at the bar. In this exchange, I quickly learned to carefully weigh how my answers may sound to the other party, since the NPCs are not simpletons and will make accurate deductions based on what Henry spits out. (Naturally, correctly assessing how to shape the conversation’s outcome will earn the player a level up in the Speech skill tree.)

Once our forgiving mother directs us to speak to our father (the local master blacksmith), Kingdom Come frees us up to tackle the first of the many story quests. Due to plot-related reasons, the passage of time and the day-night cycle are halted at that point, allowing one to wander around the beautifully-realized town of Skalitz, perched atop a small hill next to a narrow river. The quests direct us to haggle with at least three merchants of various guilds, trying to produce a sum of coins equal to what a certain local drunkard owes Henry’s father (but refuses to give to his timid-looking son.)

Personally, I headed to the nearby prairie and collected herbs and flowers, which I later sold to the correct merchant. This raised both my Herbalism and Speech stats. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance doesn’t hinder the player’s creativity in the slightest. There was nothing wrong with borrowing a few lockpicks from Henry’s mates and breaking into said drunkard’s house to rob him blind. Similarly, there was nothing stopping me from doing a favor for my three buddies before asking them to join me in a hand-to-hand fight against the poor fellow, and looting the key once we knocked him out.

This level of interactivity is the most potent quality that prevents this ambitious title from ever falling prey to mundanity. Supporting it is a superb level of writing, with characters that seem like actual people who can’t help but be themselves, and quests that evolve in organic and logical ways. I often opted to indulge the plea of a mere passerby, only to uncover a long chain of side-quests that took me for a ride.         

One of the biggest highlights I can share without spoiling the story was the time when I had to find a cure for a plague-like curse that had befallen one of the neighboring villages. Trying to uncover the root of the issue meant taking the time to interview all members of the townsfolk that were not yet bedridden. Next, I headed to another, bigger settlement to confer with the scholars before inspecting their library. There, scouring through handwritten parchments that make up the limited medicinal knowledge of the era, I was able to identify what I was dealing with. At least, I think I did? After that, a monk explained how to brew the potion that might cure the ailing villagers, but to do so I had to find an alchemy table and carefully follow his recipe, grinding the herbs and bringing the base liquid to a boil.  

Once I had the potion in my backpack, I went to the village and administered it. Still, I wasn’t sure whether I had chosen the correct medicine for a very long time. Just like in real life, several in-game weeks had to pass (or I had to progress the main quest to a certain point) before Kingdom Come presented the resolution. Until then, all I could do was hope, and that’s what made the whole affair so memorable.

Yet, even if similar adventures that led to mastering pickpocketing, alchemy, and lockpicking were all fantastic quests that demanded incredible nuance, Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s greatest strength lies in its unique combat mechanics. Swordsmanship is so vividly translated here that, at first, I had to get used to swinging or blocking from a first-person perspective – I had to learn how to fight like a medieval knight with a literal hands-on approach.

Just like Henry, I couldn’t hide my utter lack of experience in this area once events began in earnest. Trotting around the woods and stumbling upon a camp of bandits quickly spelled death, and such rapid defeats began chipping away at my spirit. Even as someone who’s platinumed most FROM Software games, I was woefully unprepared for Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s mechanics. Thus, there was no other way to pay back the grinning bandits than to beg one of the men-at-arms to show me the ropes.  

Once he agreed, I spent the next two or three real-time hours in a ring with him, practicing with a wooden sword, shield, ax, mace, and halberd. Though he never hesitated to knock me on my ass, after a while I got the gist and could hold my ground. I noticed how each weapon type differed in speed, reach and stamina consumption. Also, I had to learn how to position Henry optimally before starting the next swinging animation. This gradual change was followed by a feeling of elation and further strengthened my willingness to dig deeper. At the same time, I started paying attention to what type of armor, undergarments, and helmet I wore, since they do impede speed and vision. The result of this invested effort was being able to challenge a handful of bandits and masterfully wipe the floor with them. Pure joy!

While there’s no doubt that Kingdom Come is an incredible achievement, what bogs down the sky-high immersion level of this experience are numerous technical hiccups. Merely booting it up takes full two minutes, and while there aren’t many loading screens after that, the act of reloading a situation to try another approach is far from smooth. On top of that, we can’t even save whenever we feel like it, since creating a separate save file is tied to a drinking mini-game, and doing so in rapid succession will leave Henry in a sorry state.

Similarly, Kingdom Come (on the PS4, the version reviewed) renders at an alarmingly low pace, especially in more populated areas. This didn’t bother me much at first since I expected as much, but after I spent a lot of cash on a heroic-looking white stallion, I was disappointed to witness it galloping through empty streets as the engine struggled to make its assets pop into existence. 

Luckily, such shortcomings don’t mar Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s many strong suits. The historically accurate locations and events paint a somber and genuinely interesting tale of revenge and friendship. The fighting system is so memorable and immersive that it won’t take long before the player starts feeling like Henry and eagerly striving to make a name for themselves. This title certainly takes things slow, but it runs so deep and expands in so many directions at once that it’s hard to label it anything other than a true achievement.

I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who might consider themselves an RPG fan.    

– Konstantin Koteski

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Warhorse Studios and published by Deep Silver. It is currently available on PS, XB and PC.This copy of the game was obtained via paid download and reviewed on the PS4 Pro. Approximately 80 hours of play were devoted to the game and the game was not completed. This is a single-player only experience.

Parents: This game has received an “M” rating by ESRB, and contains Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Alcohol. The official ESRB rating for the core content reads as follows: This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the role of a man on a quest for revenge against invaders in 15th-century Bohemia. From a first-person perspective, players explore open-world environments, complete objectives, and engage in melee-style combat against bandits and enemy soldiers. Players use swords, knives, and bows to kill enemies; large blood-splatter effects occur during combat, leaving blood stains on bodies and the screen. Players can also injure/kill non-adversary characters, though this may negatively affect players’ progress via a penalty system (e.g., fines, jail). A handful of sequences depict additional acts of violence and/or gore: a prisoner executed by decapitation; an eviscerated corpse shown at a crime scene. The game depicts some nude female characters with exposed buttocks and breasts. Brief cutscenes also depict characters engaging in sexual activity: a nude woman climbing atop a man; a man in the background briefly thrusting against a woman–sexual moaning sounds can be heard. During the course of the game, players’ character can consume alcohol, resulting in drunkenness (e.g., screen-blurring effects, passing out). The words “f**k,” “c*nt,” and “sh*t” are heard in the dialogue.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: I’ve played with the sound turned off for around one hour, and it didn’t hamper my strutting around medieval Bohemia. However, some optional side quests revolve around following sound cues.  The menu text and characters’ descriptions are all easily readable, but much of the in-game banter is hard to parse due to white letters drowning in light-blue skyboxes. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: This game does not offer a controller diagram, and the control scheme is not remappable. We use the analog sticks to move and look around. The face buttons are for dodging, crouching and interacting. The bumpers are for combat (light attacks with R1, heavy attacks with R2, L1 to block, L2 to parry).

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HIGH Classic tabletop tactics with all the bells and whistles.

LOW Matches can take a while to complete.

WTF The character models are twice the size of houses.

In the so-called dark ages of history, there was little available to occupy people’s time. So naturally, people started waging war with one another. This European era is defined almost solely by the widespread conflict in the region, which has led to it being a major inspiration for war games from the period and since.

Field of Glory II: Medieval is one of the latest, setting out to emulate the tabletop experience of waging war.

Wargames tend to be intimidating beasts, with numerous rules that influence everything from what units can be used to how they can move and what actions they can perform, which is all multiplied together once two units engage each other in combat. Fortunately, FoGII:M offers three tutorial battles of increasing complexity that go into detail on nearly every aspect.

To be clear, this sort of wargame is not to be confused with ‘grand strategy’ titles of the kind that come from Paradox or Sid Meier. no, FoG is emulating old school tabletop wargames, which means battles, battles, and more battles. These battles take place between two factions on a square grid map, and combat is a turn-based affair where unit type, terrain, and tactics such as flanking must be considered in order to win. The AI is surprisingly competent and offers a challenge to newcomers even at the lowest setting.

While I had some trouble understanding everything I was doing or exactly how units interact and when they can or can’t, figuring out the puzzle of it can be satisfying. Because of the complexity, every encounter where I lost less units than the opposing forces or successfully routed a squad of enemy troops truly felt like a victory. While the overall encounters can be long, each turn can offer several victories (or defeats) to keep momentum going. 

Field of Glory II: Medieval includes five structured campaigns based on historical real-world battles from the time period. The game also includes an alternative campaign where players can choose factions to create their own alt-history scenarios.

Other single player options include quick battles, custom campaigns, history-based one-shots, and even a “Fight Now!” option if someone can’t wait even one more minute before playing. There’s also a campaign editor and an option to pull custom campaigns from other players online.

FogII:M includes a multiplayer mode as well. Unlike most traditional multiplayer, lag is never an issue this is not a ‘live’ connection where one player is waiting for the other in real time. Here, players have a personal, local file of the game and essentially ‘send’ their turns to each other, switching back and forth until a victor is decided.

Overall Field of Glory II: Medieval offers just about everything one could ask for in a tabletop wargame simulation. The odd quirks and complexity are part of the charm for fans of the genre, although there’s little here to draw in fans who haven’t already become converts.

— Mitch Zehe

Disclosures: This game is developed by Byzantine Games and published by Slitherine Ltd. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 4 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. 0 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is Not Rated. It’s a dry, historically-based game. There is combat, but it isn’t graphic and there is no visible blood.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized. As it is turn-based, there are no audio cues needed for play, this game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Certain functions are remappable in the sense that mouse controls can be adjusted for one or two buttons. The tutorial offers a full explanation of controls, and there are numerous hotkeys. The basic controls consist of left click to select units, right click to choose action for unit(s) selected. WASD and mouse scrolling can be used to move the screen. The mouse wheel can change zoom.

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