Hello Games initially Kickstarted No Man’s Sky in 2016, promising a vibrant, life-filled universe to explore. Unfortunately, under-delivery led to an initial backlash, but Hello Games has since built it into a worthy and unique game.
No Man’s Sky is an exploration-focused, survival crafting game with space simulation elements, like Astroneer or Subnautica. You play as an unnamed “traveller” who wakes up on an alien planet with a damaged spacecraft and no memory. You initially explore, gather resources then craft things. Crafting first extends survival by refilling oxygen and recharging your exosuit’s components. Eventually, you repair your ship, construct bases and build vehicles to increase your exploration speed and range.
No Man’s Sky includes activities common to space simulation games like ground combat, space combat, piracy and trading. You can adopt, ride and breed pets. The brave can explore derelict freighters. Later in the game, you can also maintain a fleet and periodically send ships on distant missions, build and oversee a town or relax into daily quests for upgrades or cosmetic rewards.
No Man’s Sky provides quests to introduce players to new mechanics and provide context and purpose. The main quest line examines existentialism. However, unlike other survival crafting games, No Man’s Sky treats this solemn theme lightly. For example, the game lacks the conviction of Subnautica’s pacificism and environmentalism or Breathedge’s self-deprecating humour.
What sets No Man’s Sky apart is its massive procedurally generated universe containing quintillions of planets. Procedural generation is not new, but No Man’s Sky‘s scale and beauty are unique. Each planet has a biome (e.g. desert, marsh, paradise, volcanic), which determines the flora, fauna and geology populating it. Some planets have seas and caves, effectively different biomes on the same planet. The player earns credits by scanning specimens and gets a bonus for finding samples of all a planet’s fauna.
Graphically, No Man’s Sky is a love letter to 1970s- and 1980s-era science fiction art. Those artists portrayed landscapes with recognizable terrain and creatures with recognizable limbs but in alien colours or orientations. No Man’s Sky harks back to the endless potential and wonder these artists captured, looking at the universe through nostalgia-coloured glasses.
A ring over a paradise planet in No Man’s Sky. This screenshot shows the beauty that Hello Games promised in 2016 but took a few more years to deliver. Captured by the author.No Man’s Sky uses bioluminescence not just to allow the player to see at night but to create beautiful grass seas with luminescent waves. Captured by the author.No Man’s Sky is also home to the bizarre, like the Giger-esque hive worlds. Some planets, like this one, use extreme palettes, emphasizing their alienness. Captured by the author.
All players share the same universe. However, it is a vast universe, so the chance of meeting another player outside the Anomaly (the central quest hub) or your friend list is remote. PVP combat is by mutual consent only. You can play offline but lose the ability to claim credit for first discoveries or interact with other players.
No Man’s Sky favours accessibility over challenge. For example, its space flight and combat are arcade-like and lack the atmospheric handling of flight simulators or Newtonian handling of more realistic space simulators. Ships have different inherent strengths and are upgradable, but the process lacks the depth and specialization found in other games. No Man’s Sky‘s simplistic trading uses static economies and routes. Landing and docking are automated.
Realism is out the window. Procedural generation sometimes produces gravity-defying floating rocks or improbable creatures. Planets do not orbit their stars. They are often close enough for their gravities to cause horrendous damage and collisions. The game’s chemistry is more comparable to alchemy than real-world chemistry, allowing easy conversion of one element to another or liquid water at high or low temperatures.
Neither of these are oversights. No Man’s Sky does not want to be a gritty, “realistic” universe like in Elite Dangerous, Eve Online or Star Citizen. It is not the game for those looking for complex ship outfitting, pouring over spreadsheets maximizing trade profit, elaborate joystick and HOTAS setups or ruthless PVP.
Instead, Hello Games designed away anything distracting from the almost meditative play. They created a game where losing hours to the self-expressive joy of building bases or the “sense pleasure” of seeing the sunrise on yet another verdant or desolate world is easy. Internal consistency and beautifully varied landscapes are what matter.
While survival and permadeath modes are available to those looking for a greater challenge, No Man’s Sky also offers expeditions. These temporary game modes increase the difficulty and provide different main quests. They feel different enough to be novel without losing familiarity, keep experienced players engaged and give unique rewards.
The most significant criticism of No Man’s Sky is that, while Hello Games has worked hard in the last six years on survival and crafting mechanics, it is still a procedural generation engine looking for a game. The designers could have shrunk No Man’s Sky into several dozen unique planets spread across a few solar systems. This choice would expose all planet types while satisfying the limited curiosity of most players.
Meanwhile, No Man’s Sky wants to be a live-service game – an ongoing online entertainment service – but it lacks end game mechanics beyond intrinsic exploration or social interaction. It degenerates into daily or periodic quests once the shallow main quest line is complete. Some game loops also deteriorate into grinding. If you want to upgrade your freighter or find that perfect-looking ship, you must keep retrying until you fluke the right one.
However, despite offering no paid expansions, Hello Games continues to expand the game with new features, including regular expeditions. They do so more frequently than comparable games like Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen. Along with the more casual appeal, these draw in a large and growing audience that loves No Man’s Sky.
The name No Man’s Sky is a play on “No Man’s Land”, the unexplored part of old maps where no kingdom or empire holds sway. No Man’s Sky presents a universe full of the unknown, ready for players to explore but much safer than the early European explorers found it.
Those looking to satiate curiosity and meditative “sense pleasure” from exploration and self-expression from building bases will enjoy No Man’s Sky. You can finish the main quest in a few tens of hours, but the game will capture your imagination for much longer.
No Man’s Sky‘s low challenge also appeals to a broader audience and may help introduce new players to the space simulation genre. It is a welcome change to one often dominated by hardcore players and niche games.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is the latest Star Wars series streaming on Disney+ in their seemingly unending desire to explore the edges of Star Wars characters and canon. It follows the fan-favourite Obi-Wan Kenobi ten years after Revenge of the Sith, covering events between it and A New Hope.
The series starts with Obi-Wan watching over a young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine and a young Leia chaffing against the life of a princess on Alderaan. While Obi-Wan’s life appears necessarily humble to avoid drawing attention to Luke, Obi-Wan’s dreary routine is more a penance as he hides from his responsibilities and abandons others in distress. Still driven by revenge, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader orders his Sith inquisitors to kidnap Leia to draw Obi-Wan out from hiding. Bound by duty, Obi-Wan hesitantly embarks on a rescue.
The series focuses on two main characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Reva, one of the inquisitors. We know Obi-Wan, Darth Vader and Leia survive, so the drama focuses on interactions and character development.
Obi-Wan follows the well-trodden path of the “hero’s journey”. Initially reluctant, he battles his self-righteous guilt at Anakin’s downfall and the inquisitors. Obi-Wan rebuilds himself and reconnects with the Force while rescuing Leia and confronting his past, namely the scene-stealing Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan spends much time with the adolescent Leia, an unexpected but welcome introduction of naive kindness, childish stubbornness and adolescent bravado that blossoms into true courage and resolve at the series end. Her lines and acting are excellent, particularly the quiet, tender moments between her and Obi-Wan.
Reva has a more nuanced and subtle storyline. Initially, she is rebellious and attention-demanding like a whiney teenager, as a colleague put it. Reva’s defiant successes make her feared by the Jedi but ridiculed by her fellow inquisitors.
Unfortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi (the series) gets bogged down in its middle episodes. The series needed to either spend more time developing secondary characters and the setting or skip them. The Path, saving the now hunted Jedi, or Haja Estree, a lovable conman with a heart of gold, deserved more screen time, but perhaps these are for future series.
Similarly, the shaky camera focuses too close to the characters during action sequences like in the Fortress Inquistories and on Jabiim. It increases the emotional intensity but loses perspective and, therefore, cause and effect. People shooting blasters or waving lightsabers seemingly randomly is less compelling and credible.
However, the climactic lightsaber duels with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader are Star Wars at its best. The choreography is distinctly different from the stilted awkwardness of the original trilogy and the energetic and frantic fights of the second trilogy.
Like the Japanese mythos that inspired it, lightsaber fights in Star Wars have always been personal battles of wisdom and focus, not just martial. The first duel between a timid, shattered Obi-Wan and vengeful Darth Vader shows Vader terrorizing, dominating and torturing. Darth Vader’s battle with Reva demonstrates how vastly he outmatches the tunnel-visioned Reva, toying with her like a cat with its prey. The flashback to the training fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan during Part V is a compelling allegory that Star Wars should use more.
The final confrontation is the series’ crux and emotional pay-off. Similar to the moment in Return of the Jedi where Luke refuses to fight Vader until Vader threatens Leia, Obi-Wan’s desire to protect finally empowers him.
The image of Anakin’s scarred but recognizable face beneath the shattered mask of Darth Vader, as he alternates between James Earl Jones’ distinctive voice as Darth Vader and the more human voice of Anakin, is horrifying and sympathetic. It personifies the battle within Vader that Anakin lost.
However, despite the satisfying gravitas, one wonders whether these events were better left to headcanon. Was this moment different to the one people expected or imagined? Does every character and moment in Star Wars need a different series and detailed explanation?
Similarly, much of Disney’s Star Wars seems to orbit the Skywalkers, fuelled partially by the current fixation on nostalgia. However, Star Wars has many more stories to tell. Reva, for example, presents a fascinating character for future development.
Many were ready to dismiss Obi-Wan Kenobi (the series). The need to unrealistically break the previously resilient Obi-Wan to give him character development, Reva’s annoying early character flaws and the slow middle threatened to render this series a profit-driven vanity project. However, the last two episodes provide the emotional punch, plot twists and satisfying albeit predictable resolution that the series and franchise deserve and fans craved. Hopefully, it will springboard new and varied stories set in the Star Wars universe.
No Man’s Sky, the survival crafting game developed by Hello Games set in a colourful, massive and procedurally-generated universe, has been around for many years. It is long enough for many to have completed its main storyline and fully explored its mechanics.
However, this is where “expeditions” come in. An expedition is a free, temporary game mode with a new storyline with altered mechanics. It is like playing a modded version of the game but with full support from the developer and only available for a limited time.
The current and seventh expedition, “Leviathan”, has five phases, each comprising eight goals. Some goals are story-focused, usually travelling to a point on a planet or using a crafted item. Some are mechanical, like collecting rare items, acquiring a pet or clearing a derelict freighter. A few are community-based and repeatable, encouraging players to help everyone.
Unlike the regular game, this expedition is rogue-like, meaning you start anew each time you die. You lose inventory, bases and upgrades. However, you can recover unlocked phases and goals, or “memories”, after restarting. Death is more a setback than a reset.
Leviathan uses survival mechanics. It limits your item stack space per inventory slot. Base building components require more salvaged data to unlock.
Leviathan is challenging. Most quest planets have dangerous conditions, mountainous terrain and aggressive sentinels. Pirate attacks are frequent when flying. Thankfully, completed goals give you the needed tools, such as a Minotaur exosuit and weapon upgrades, but you need the knowledge to use them or risk returning to the expedition’s start.
Progression is faster. Completed phases give copious new slots and almost overpowered upgrades. For example, I had multiple +10,000% scan bonus upgrades, meaning I earned millions of units for scanning one planet’s fauna, flora and wildlife.
These rule changes and restrictions focus the player toward the expedition goals and core mechanics of exploration and travel, not on the ancillary mechanics like base building. It opposed my usual playstyle of relaxed exploration, gathering, hoarding and occasional quest advancement, but it was a refreshing tone shift once I twigged.
The increased challenge is unusual for No Man’s Sky. For example, you can dogfight by pressing two keys: brake and fire. However, this expedition’s difficulty works because the rogue-like death mechanics are otherwise impotent. The expedition is aimed at a limited audience, looking for trophies, and not the broader, more casual player base.
Leviathan’s storyline examines themes of existentialism and the cyclical nature of existence. Story has never been No Man’s Sky‘s focus. However, it integrates well into the mechanics, reinforcing each other, and is consistent with the regular version of No Man’s Sky‘s storyline.
Expeditions like Leviathan invigorate No Man’s Sky, giving players something familiar yet novel. I tried out new weapons and upgrades and cleared a derelict freighter for the first time. Starting again with experienced eyes, accelerated progression and a different purpose is motivating and fun.
Beyond cosmetics, the reward for successful completion is a biological frigate for your freighter, the titular “Leviathan”. The community goals also encourage people to hang around, building a feeling of community.
No Man’s Sky‘s Leviathan expedition takes about fifteen hours to complete without external assistance, although a few goals may take longer if you are unlucky or unobservant. Old hands will find it rewarding. New players may find its challenges and rogue-like aspects unforgiving.
However, the best thing about expeditions is Hello Games’ continued experimentation, potentially leading to new game features. It also shows that Hello Games can keep delivering frequent, high-quality content for a six year old game without paid DLC. Like many of the No Man’s Sky‘s planets, Hello Games is almost unique. Let’s hope it stays that way.
The Book of Boba Fett follows the titular bounty hunter after The Mandalorian‘s second season. While fans will enjoy the Star Wars references, the series fails to reach the same heights as its predecessor.
The early episodes simultaneously tell two stories of Boba Fett trying to assert his new position as Daimyo amidst the turbulent criminal underworld of Tatooine and his escape from the sarlacc following Return of the Jedi.
The former story in the early episodes is more character- and scene-setting, reminding the audience of Boba taking over the throne once held by Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. He saves Fennec Shand, who becomes his henchman and trusted confidant, and sets up the battle for the city of Mos Espa as the series’ central conflict.
The second story in the early episodes is more interesting, portraying Boba Fett’s messianic transformation as he escapes the Sarlacc pit, loses his armour, is rescued by Tuskan raiders then finds that saving others leads to acceptance and community. Amidst flashbacks of this father abandoning him on Kaminoa, he transforms from the ruthless bounty hunter seen in the original movies to someone that wants to free “his people” from the criminal warlords that rule Tatooine.
Unfortunately, this transformation is unconvincing. Boba’s past antagonistic actions, such as capturing Han Solo, and unsympathetic stoicism make it a hard sell. Even the symbolism of Cad Bane’s death, representing the end of the bounty hunter in Boba, lacks any credible build-up from earlier episodes.
The Book of Boba Fett is at its best when political complexities confront Boba. The slimy Mayor hiring assassins to kill Boba, talking his way out of it then double-crossing Boba again shows credible intelligence and cunning. The Pykes’ betrayal shows how ruthless and uncaring Boba’s opponents are.
However, the series often oversimplifies complex issues, making their plot points less credible. While Star Wars‘ fights have always been metaphors, the series assumes a 1930’s Batman-style naivety that Boba Fett can solve crime and poverty by eliminating all the bad guys. Enemies shown mercy suddenly and unrealistically become unshakably loyal, like Gamorrean guards, Krrsantan and the hoverbikers.
The series squanders chances at character development or insightful conflict. For example, Fennec Shand could have genuinely chaffed against Boba’s new, more benevolent direction, embodying the contrast with the unforgiving ways of a bounty hunter. Boba’s enemies could have offered her a considerable incentive to betray him, driving tension to the decisive moment. Instead, the character serves merely as a competent fighter and source of exposition.
The Book of Boba Fett compares unfavourably with its predecessor, The Mandalorian.
Djin-Darin, the main character from The Mandalorian, is more sympathetic than Boba Fett. Both are armoured orphans. However, Djin-Darin’s armour hid his mysterious identity, while Boba’s was merely a tool. Djin-Darin battled for acceptance against a seemingly unfair creed, a code of honour that Boba lacked.
Both series deal with the noble theme of protecting the less fortunate. The Mandalorian brought that to the cute and relatable Grogu, a triumph of character design that appealed to parental instincts and fans longing for more Yoda. The Book of Boba Fett dealt with protecting the more nebulous and poorly supported “my people”. Thankfully, it avoided the “white saviour” trope with the Tuskan tribe, albeit under tragic circumstances.
Each series borrowed inspiration from different genres. The Mandalorian was like a Western or Japanese samurai movie, with a lone, honourable gunman/samurai wandering from town to town fleeing a tragic past. The Book of Boba Fett felt almost more cyberpunk, examining economic and technological inequality amongst powerful, mysterious criminal cartels in an urban environment.
The Book of Boba Fett‘s hoverbikers are good examples of cyberpunk impinging on the Star Wars universe. The bikers’ deliberate and overt augmentation and brightly coloured bikes feel pulled from cyberpunk. However, the bikes feel out of place amongst the grungy, rusting, third-hand technology seen elsewhere. Cybernetics has long been canon but it has been a metaphor for trauma, like Luke’s hand or Darth Vader’s suit.
Structurally, The Book of Boba Fett is an interlude between seasons two and three of The Mandalorian. The series finishes the Boba Fett subplot introduced in season two. The short but vital subplots reuniting Djin-Djarin and Grogu ensure The Mandalorian can continue as before.
There are many obscure references for Star Wars fans. They will like the Tuskan anthropology, a Wookie wrenching an arm off a Trandoshan in a cantina, Bantha riding, a rampaging Rancor, more Hutts and Luke building his Jedi school.
The special effects are also fantastic, like in The Mandalorian. Luke’s lifelike recreation shows how far special effects have progressed from the later Star Wars movies.
The Book of Boba Fett is a fun romp through Tatooine, riffing on the edges of Star Wars canon. However, the series tries to fit too much into a short season. More character development and extending more plots between different episodes would have given it the credibility, heart and sympathy that its predecessor enjoyed.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a role playing game (RPG) from CD Project Red, the same developers as The Witcher series. It had a rocky start but has since become a standout, particularly its immersive world, strong exposition and thought-provoking side quests.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a first person RPG using a similar ruleset and setting to the eponymous tabletop RPG. You play as V, a citizen of Night City, a pseudo-San Francisco or Los Angeles. V witnesses the murder of a megacorporation’s owner during a heist gone wrong. Forced to embed a stolen chip in his head while fleeing, V discovers it contains the personality and DNA of the long-dead rockstar and terrorist/freedom fighter, Johnny Silverhand. Now V must solve this mess one way or another before Silverhand takes over his body and mind.
Silverhand is V’s ever-present “lancer” and appears at pivotal moments to provide his perspective. While his self-confidence and aloofness give him superficial charisma, Silverhand is a self-righteous, narcissistic psychopath. You must decide whether V agrees with his single-minded anti-corporation and anti-establishment views, sympathizes with his deeply buried vulnerability or finds his incessant criticisms grating.
Just in case you missed the copious marketing for Cyberpunk 2077, Keanu Reeves provides Johnny Silverhand’s voice and likeness. Silverhand is the opposite of Reeve’s usual humble, softly spoken and slightly vulnerable protagonist. This typecasting sometimes detracts from Silverhand’s intended purposes: a constant reminder of V’s impending doom and a skewed moral compass fitting for an immoral setting.
Mechanically, Cyberpunk 2077 plays like most other RPGs and combines the best aspects of others. Cyberpunk 2077 uses a Witcher 3-like vision mode to scan for clues or interactable objects. The hacking and stealth feel like Deus Ex, although without the omnipresent paranoia. While it lacks police chases, it has the car driving and theft of Grand Theft Auto. “Braindances”, replaying people’s experiences, are similar to watching three-dimensional recordings in Tacoma.
The character advancement options can create unique or, in most cases, derivative characters, from stealthy, handgun-wielding assassins like John Wick to muscled, baseball bat- and minigun-wielding tanks like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator. Higher-end abilities are potent, fueling power and dominance fantasies.
Cybernetic augmentation is also vital. V starts with basic enhancements such as eyes that can zoom and a computer in his head to view mission briefings and act as a mobile phone. Early enhancements provide additional bonuses while later ones grant new forms of movement, powerful weapons or other surprises.
However, Cyberpunk 2077 goes much further. Cyberpunk 2077 uses cybernetics as a powerful exposition tool in a world where technology surpasses flesh and suppresses individuality. The alien-like dehumanizing enhancements to members of the Maelstrom gang, near interchangeable golden-skinned hotel attendants or the subtle, fashionable enhancements of the elite instantly communicate much about other characters without unnecessary dialog or explanation. Think clothes that you cannot easily change.
The residents of Cyberpunk 2077 even have slang for cybernetics: chrome. It has other jargon, too. People have “chooms” instead of buddies, pals, mates or bros. Only “gonks” (idiots) would rely on “deets” (details or information) that are not “preem” (premium or good). You get paid in “eddies” (eurodollars). The copious voice-acted dialog weaves them into conversations allowing players to infer their meaning and connotation.
Cyberpunk 2077‘sworld-building is broad and deep, and the internal consistency adds realism and believability. The frequent in-game news bulletins, for example, portray a dystopian, corrupt, technologically-dominated future similar to Robocop or Blade Runner. Amidst constant and desensitizing advertisements, radio and TV personalities openly call out the elite’s hypocrisy and power games while relishing the schadenfreude. In-game tobacco advertising has warnings probably only to comply with real-world laws.
The writing continually enforces the setting’s hypercompetitive and unforgiving nature. NPCs and factions have separate and consistent motivations, and V is usually just a tool for their advancement. A small child says your boxing opponent killed their father. Is it true or just a ruse to increase her betting earnings?
The layers of Night City’s neon lights distract from the copious, uncollected trash. The metaphor reflects how the razzle-dazzle barely hides society’s underlying malaise.
Even V’s little flat has no kitchenette. Instead, there’s a vending machine peddling whatever junk food the corporations of the moment deem fit while advertisements sprout insincere warnings about eating organic food.
Cyberpunk, as a genre, has always been more than an aesthetic or bucket for near-future science fiction. It is an avid social commentator, warning that compassion and ethics must bound and guide progress.
Cyberpunk 2077‘s world takes the ideals of right-wing political groups to absurdity. Guns are so prevalent that you can buy plastic, disposable ones from vending machines. The government merely provides services that corporations find unprofitable. Laws exist not to serve or protect society but as blunt instruments of the powerful or as proxies for corporate wars. Society is increasingly stratified. Eighty hour work weeks and forced cybernetic enhancements are considered reasonable. The natural environment crumbles, a necessary price for technological advancement and profit. As one in-game shop owner laments, open expressions of sexuality are considered a social menace, but we must accept murders on every street corner.
The world of Cyberpunk 2077 is different enough to the real world to avoid direct comparisons but is close enough for commentary to be relevant. Its cars are a good example. While there are analogs to real-world brands, all the makes and models are different. Many have a single headlight or brake light and no seatbelts, minimizing safety features to reduce cost or maximize aesthetics. Their barcode-like number plates are for computers to read, not humans. Cars lack indicators, showing a lack of empathy.
Cyberpunk 2077‘s setting is faithful to the 1980s roots of its genre. For example, Japanese corporations were ascendant in the 1980s. Many in the USA feared the conquered would become the conqueror, like in the second Back to the Future movie, and Cyberpunk 2077′sAsaka megacorporation realizes this.
However, some predictions diverged from subsequent real-world advancements and trends. Instead of adding credibility by incorporating forecasts of the future, these now further segregate the game’s setting from reality. Paper magazines with animated pages, for example, hijacked something familiar in the eyes of someone from the 1980s, showing technology’s subtle and insidious progression. However, paper magazines are becoming anachronisms, replaced by purely electronic versions. Much of the Cyberpunk 2077‘s music is 1980s-like electronic and synthpop and not the more urban hip-hop.
Thematically, Cyberpunk 2077‘smain storyline deals with questions of identity and legacy. V has to work out what to do with his (or her) remaining time. Does V go for one last grand heist, allow Silverhand to finish what he started or choose quiet life while still V? Does V rebel against a world where individuals rarely affect meaningful change, finding value in the attempt and the lives touched along the way? Multiple endings provide V with some choice about how to answer.
Beyond the unique premise offered by the setting, the storyline is suitably grand. It is unmistakably cyberpunk and could not exist in any other genre. Each step provides satisfying answers and more yearning questions. It does not always follow the “show, don’t tell” rule of storytelling, but that is more of a guideline.
However, Cyberpunk 2077‘s numerous side quests are far more interesting. For example, the series of Delamin quests deal with artificial intelligence (AI), what rights it has and how it interacts with humans. If an AI creates a copy of itself, are the two copies still one individual, or are they parts of the whole? In the game, AI has displaced many traditional human-only roles like writing novels or fashion design. Should humans fear what AIs can become?
Another recurring but subtle theme is religion and spirituality. It can be a dangerous subject, potentially offending many. However, Cyberpunk 2077 is a world where braindances provide visions as vivid as any religious miracle, moral guidance is greatly needed, and technology offers salvation more tangible than any deity’s promise.
The Sinnerman quest line is the game’s most confronting. A prisoner sentenced to death finds religion. He elects crucifixion and wants his experiences recorded as a braindance for fellow Christians to experience or endure. In a setting with commonplace and fetishized violence, this moment drove introspection more than any other in the game.
Meanwhile, a neon billboard shows a Jesus-like figure but wreathed with network cables instead of a crown of thorns. Do you want to confess your sins? Just visit your nearest automated “Confession Point” vending machine. Buddhist monks ponder whether virtualizing people is compatible with reincarnation or whether an AI can suffer. Tarot cards and imagery not so subtly steer V. AIs are god-like in their stature, facelessness and echoing voice.
Following the RPG trend, V has companions that provide side quests and potentially lead to romance options. Different companions fulfil different sexual orientations, including one that is trans, supporting modern sensibilities and inclusion.
However, some of the impactful companions share genuine vulnerability, contrasting with the setting’s uncaring and brutal reality. Letting kids win at an augmented reality shooting game, for example, has a delightful mundanity and affection that contrasts with the setting’s cynicism.
Cyberpunk 2077 has its share of imaginative and novel quests and environments. One involves SCUBA diving in a flooded town while reminiscing about the displaced inhabitants. You can ride a roller coaster, pilot a tank or riff a guitar solo while playing in a band.
References to other cyberpunk and science fiction media abound, showing light, fourth-wall-breaking humour. You can purchase Kaneda’s red bike from the anime Akira or the Rolls Royce-like FAB 1 from Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds. You can find advertisements for mnemonic couriers, similar to Keanu Reeve’s Johnny Mnemonic. The famous “tears in rain” quote from Blade Runner is a memory in the columbarium. One quest pays homage to Portal, using GLADoS’s voice actor and lines. The “baby in a bottle” from Death Stranding appears, and there is even a dig at Star Citizen‘s long development time.
Graphically, Cyberpunk 2077 is beautiful, particularly with ray tracing. I took screenshot after screenshot as the cyberpunk genre’s requisite neon signs and holographs dominated the skyline. Bright lens flares are common enough to make Michael Bay jealous. The sparse but hardy vegetation and red earth of the hills outside Night City resemble postcards of the US midwest. Rain is wonderfully dreary and leaves humble, reflective puddles.
Cyberpunk 2077 uses a “film grain” effect and vignette over its visuals. Like the gold filter used in the Deux Ex series, this effect makes the game visuals distinctive and slightly unreal. It also helps cover a few errant pixels caused by NVidia’s DLSS or similar compromises for the more demanding ray tracing.
The main criticism of Cyberpunk 2077 was the bugs present at the launch. Some were meme-worthy and game-breaking. These problems are common in the industry, especially in large, open-world RPGs or anything developed by Bethesda. However, recent updates have vastly improved Cyberpunk 2077’s quality, and my 100-hour playthrough starting on version 1.3 was practically glitch-free.
Some feel the sidewalk-infesting crowds should be persistent or that they add unnecessary clutter. Previous games eschewed clutter to reduce rendering costs and highlight the environment’s important parts. However, along with the omnipresent neon and holographic signage, the game intentionally visually assaults the player. It takes time in Cyberpunk 2077 to mentally adjust and filter out the noise of Night City, just like its inhabitants do.
Others complain the setting is unrealistic, a caricature of near-future USA. For example, the populace would rebel against corporations or that the claimed murder rate is higher than the birth rate. Debating sociology or economics is beyond the scope of this review. However, the setting provides opportunities where no one is uniquely or consistently good or evil, creating opportunities to side with or against anyone. The setting’s details are intentionally vague, meaning realism can be hand-waved or retrofitted if needed.
Similarly, the world of Cyberpunk 2077‘s technological inequality means MacGuffins and opportunities are plentiful, but society is still familiar. For example, the head of a megacorporation could live forever, while most live regular if not brutal lives. Meanwhile, the asymmetry offered by hacking allows a prodigious youngster to threaten the same megacorporation.
Some criticize the game’s mechanics as shallow. For example, having crimes without pursuing police or car chases feels unrealistic. However, this does not materially harm the game. It only means Cyberpunk 2077 is not Grand Theft Auto. People would have loved to see working trains for a deeper immersion. However, the development effort required is likely not worth the minimal increased sales or goodwill.
The sizable modding scene already addressed issues like police chases and working trains, anyway. Like Skyrim and other RPGs, many strive to fill the gaps or improve the game.
The most significant criticism I had was the awkward keyboard and mouse controls for driving. However, the racing side quests are forgiving, crashes are only minor annoyances, and you eventually compensate for the poor control scheme.
Like many long RPGs, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game you stop playing rather than merely complete. A game this long and involved becomes familiar. Leaving it is like ending a beloved television series.
CD Project Red has faithfully recreated the table top RPG’s setting in both form and spirit. It is fertile ground for many more engaging stories and insightful commentaries about modern social, economic and technology trends. It is a pity that Cyberpunk 2077‘s initial launch was so poor. Many will only recall the game’s early failures and not its world and potential for so much more.
An Elite Dangerous ship build for beginner players.
Goals
The goals are:
Build a ship for exploring. Exploration requires a long jump range to reach distant star systems, a Fuel Scoop for refuelling, a Detailed Surface Scanner (DSS) to map planets and a Planetary Vehicle Hangar to house a Surface Reconnaissance Vehicle (SRV).
The build must be accessible to early-game commanders. It should be cheap and require no engineering, rank, reputation or unlockable ships or modules.
Exploring can easily and quickly earn millions of credits, a huge boost early in the game. While not action-oriented like combat or as lucrative as trade, exploration has the lowest barrier of entry of all the main game loops. It appeals to those looking for a relaxed, self-paced playstyle motivated by seeing and discovering new things. It also gets the player out of their comfort zone by travelling long distances.
Links: EDSY and Coriolis (have your preferred one open as you read the guide for easy reference)
The Diamondback Explorer is the cheapest of the four best exploration ships, the others being the Anaconda, Krait Phantom and Asp Explorer.
This build can jump around 37 LY. While jump range is not the only indicator of a good exploration build, it helps. Unlike similar games, exploring in Elite Dangerous requires travelling long distances. Fewer jumps mean reaching the destination sooner.
If the just over 10 million credit cost is too high, B-rate the Frame Shift Drive and Fuel Scoop. This change halves the cost but significantly reduces the jump range. Upgrade as soon as you can afford to do so.
Finding a station that sells everything can be a challenge. Early- to mid-game players will not have access to Jameson Memorial station in Shinrarta Dezhra. Thankfully, both EDSY and Coriolis link to EDDB, locating nearby stations selling this build’s ship and modules.
Exploration:
Frame Shift Drive: The 5A Frame Shift Drive grants the longest jump range possible. Once you can, add the Increased Range blueprint and Mass Manager experimental effect. Even a grade one will have a marked improvement. The double engineered version from a human technology broker is even better but requires harder to find materials. The Fuel Scoop means you can keep jumping as long as scoopable stars are within range.
Lightest core internals: The rest of the core internals are as light as possible (D-rated) or even lower classes. This decision has little noticeable effect except for only boosting every 28 seconds.
Exploration essentials: A Detailed Surface Scanner (DSS) maps planets for credits, identifies points of interest and creates the geological/biological heatmap. A Planetary Vehicle Hanger facilitates surface activities like material gathering.
Empty optional internals: This build intentionally leaves several optional slots empty. They are not needed and can add weight.
Empty hardpoints and utility mounts: As with optional internals, this build runs from fights.
Artemis suit for exobiology: Not technically part of the build, but grab an Artemis suit before setting out. Exobiology is a great excuse to get out of your ship, earn a few extra credits and watch the sunrise on alien worlds.
Variations
Longer exploration trips: Add a Heat Sink Launcher to minimize heat damage when caught in a star’s exclusion zone. Advanced Field Maintenance Units (AFMU) can repair module damage caused by heat or Frame Shift Drive damage caused by fuel scooping neutron stars or white dwarfs. Two AFMUs mean they can fix each other if needed.
Rare commodity hauler: Fill the empty slots with cargo racks. This change turns this build into a passable long-distance hauler, suitable for rare commodities. The selling price of rare commodities increases the further you sell them from their point of sale. It can also help with long-distance cargo hauling for community goals.
Rescue ship: Add a Rescue Multi Limpet Controller and a Cargo Rack for limpets. This variant can refuel or repair other commanders.
Tactics
Initial exploration: If the goal is to learn exploration mechanics or early cash, find high population systems in the bubble and map earthlike words and anything terraformable using the DSS. While many systems’ bodies are already in the navigation computer, no bodies are pre-mapped. You can earn over a million credits per mapped earthlike world.
Seeing the sights: Elite Dangerous’s galaxy has many natural wonders. For example, visit a nearby black hole, like at Maia. Travel to the nearest neutron star, Jackson’s Lighthouse, then neutron jump back. Visit the famed red giant Beetlegeuse and fuel scoop outside the orbit of the innermost planet. The codex has many suggestions.
Find the lore: Elite Dangerous has lots of lore but finding it requires effort. Abandoned settlements, ghost megaships and tourist beacons are plentiful. EDDB (https://eddb.io/attraction) has an easily searchable list.
Engineer unlocks: Travelling long distances away from your starting location unlocks some engineers. Elvira Martuuk requires 300 LY and Professor Palin requires 5000 LY. An exploration build such as this is ideal for such long trips.
Dorfromantik, German for “romanticized town”, is a serene, relaxing tile placement game developed by Toukana Interactive. It follows on from their similarly causal previous games, like Townscaper.
In Dorfromantik, the player draws hexagonal tiles from a stack and places them adjacent to already played tiles. Each tile edge has a terrain type, such as buildings, forest, fields or plains. You gain points by aligning edges with identical terrain. Points track your progress and can add more tiles to the bottom of the stack. The game ends when the tile stack is exhausted, so the more points you accumulate, the longer you can play.
Besides passing the time and sense pleasure, Dorfromantik‘s enjoyment comes from having just enough of a challenge. Initially, the challenge comes from the randomized stack of tiles. Tiles with train tracks and water further restrict tile placement. Later, some tiles may give quests that give additional points for runs of identical terrain. Ghost tiles may appear that, when built on, reveal unique tiles with extra bonuses.
Long term replayability comes from achievements, such as tracking tiles placed of each type or the longest continuous train tracks, and different play modes, such as “creative” with no stack limit.
Two design choices make Dorfromantik stand out. The first is its uplifting, relaxing visuals and sound. The graphics are stylized and colours oversaturated, featuring picturesque country towns, pine forests and golden wheat fields. You get subtle animations like birds flying overhead or boats steaming down gently flowing rivers as you build out the landscape. The soundtrack is also perfect, with soft dynamics in major keys. You cannot help but smile during the first few games.
The second design choice is the total lack of pressure. There are no time limits, no need to pause the game, and you can switch to another game or start a new one without losing progress. You can undo moves, but mistakes are hard to pin down with the randomized tile order and not individually costly. There is no AI or human opponent to outsmart you. You will not have moments where you want to punch the monitor.
Unfortunately, you see most of the game’s mechanics in your first game, taking about an hour. The lack of variety or progression may dissuade some people from purchasing the game for its undiscounted price. While there are strategies to maximize points, the randomized tile stack constrains you. There is no multiplayer option.
However, if you want something meditative to wind down or want to relax while enjoying a sensual but minimal challenge, Dorfromantik is your game. It is for the player who enjoys making a gorgeous landscape over intense strategy.
Links: EDSY and Coriolis (have your preferred one open as you read the guide for easy reference)
When only considering combat, the Vulture is a giant among small ships. An unengineered Vulture is faster, more agile, has better shields, harder and thicker armour and more firepower than any other similarly outfitted and unengineered small ship, including the Viper Mk III.
Unfortunately, this build costs around 20 million credits. This cost might seem high for a beginner build. You can outfit a combat Viper Mk III for 2.5 million credits, a figure much easier to attain for an early-game player. This Vulture build’s rebuy is also high at about 1 million credits.
However, you want the best odds when you are new to combat. A Viper Mk III will struggle against all but the weakest enemies. Its smaller hardpoints have lower Armour Piercing. It has fewer utility points, so you have to sacrifice shield boosters for chaff.
You also want to be established enough to afford rebuys. The Viper mentioned above is cheap but, at that stage, a new commander may not have the experience or ships to quickly earn it back. In this build, you can earn the Vulture’s rebuy cost in under an hour of fighting in a Low-Intensity Resource Extraction Zone.
If cost is a limiting factor, B-rating the Frame Shift Drive, Thrusters and Power Distributor saves 5 million credits. You can sell the B-rated modules with no loss and upgrade when you have the credits.
Finding a station that sells everything can be a challenge. Early- to mid-game players will not have access to Jameson Memorial station in Shinrarta Dezhra. Thankfully, both EDSY and Coriolis can locate nearby stations selling this build’s ship and modules in Inara.
This build is far from original. Unengineered Vulture builds go as far back as 2015. However, the discussion below should help new pilots understand why this build works and useful variations.
Offence:
Gimballed weapons: Gimballed weapons auto-aim, but chaff confuses them. They are a good compromise between the more difficult aiming with fixed weapons versus the lower damage output of turreted weapons.
Burst Lasers: Burst Lasers compromise between the low power, damage and heat Pulse Lasers and the high power, damage and heat beam lasers. They do not require ammunition, so you can focus on flying and combat instead of watching ammunition counts.
Heat management: With four pips to weapons, these Burst Lasers can fire for 18 seconds. This time is usually more than long enough for the enemy to pass by. The weapons’ heat build-up is slow, making them quite forgiving. It is difficult to self-inflict heat damage with this build.
FSD Interdictor: An FSD Interdictor is useful for interdicting assassination mission targets, wanted ships for bounty vouchers or even powerplay ships for merits.
Kill Warrant Scanner: A Kill Warrant Scanner gives about 25% bonus credits for each kill. It generates additional, needed cash early on. Assign it to the same fire group as your Burst Lasers. The scan takes ten seconds, and the range of the 0E version is only 2000 m. However, this build fights best when up close, so that range is acceptable.
Defence:
Power management: The biggest challenge with outfitting a Vulture is its small Power Plant. It is a class too low given the power demands of its other modules. Without the Overcharged engineering blueprint, you need to make tradeoffs with your outfitting. This build moves the Frame Shift Drive and Cargo Hatch to a low power priority. They are unpowered when deploying hardpoints, meaning you have to stow them before scooping engineering materials or jumping out. The Fast Boot engineering blueprint on the Frame Shift Drive would also help with fast get-a-ways.
Shields: Bi-weave shields are generally weak when unengineered. However, they are sufficient given this build’s power constraints and the likely weak enemies. Two D-rated shield boosters give the best shield increase considering the remaining available power.
Chaff: A Chaff Launcher is the best choice for the remaining utility slot. It requires minimal power and works against all gimballed weapons.
Variations
Laser and Multi-cannons: Burst Lasers are sufficient for weaker enemies. However, Expert and better NPC pilots have noticeably better armour. This build’s pure thermal damage from lasers is less effective against them. Replace one Burst Laser with a 3C Multi-Cannon to swap some thermal for kinetic damage. Keep everything on the same fire button for simplicity or use separate fire buttons to micromanage ammunition.
Fixed weapons: If you back your flying skills, replace the gimballed weapons with fixed versions. It can be frustrating at first, particularly against smaller or agile craft, but you will improve with practice.
More hull: Replace the FSD Interdictor with a 1D Hull Reinforcement Package if you do not plan to use it. However, it is worth experimenting on a few wanted targets at supercruise, if not just to familiarise yourself with how interdictors work.
Fighting without life support: Equip a 3A Life Support, then give it a low power priority. Deploying hardpoints means fighting without oxygen. However, A-rated life support gives you 25 minutes of oxygen, which is more than long enough for an engagement. It means you have more power for better Shield Boosters or whatever you prefer. This change is an interesting take on power management, but I find no life support’s altered soundscape distracting.
Solo Tactics
Finding targets: The short sensor range required more flying around to locate targets than builds with better sensors. Look for telltale distant laser fire or explosions or follow system authority ships. Scan potential targets first to ensure you only fire on wanted ships.
Point and shoot: Flying this build is pretty basic. Speed up to get close to the target, throttle down to 50% when they get within one km, and then fire. Pulse lasers are most effective within 800 m. Turn as they fly past, then repeat the process. Experiment with thrusters and pre-turning to increase time on target.
Power (pip) management: This build works fine with the default two pips in every category. However, it comes alive when you actively manage your pips, moving points into what you need at the time.
Shield management: Start every fight with shields at 50% or better integrity. Put four pips in systems to maximize the shield protection and rebuild/regeneration rate between fights or when not firing. Putting pips in systems is faster than doing a reboot/repair when shields are down for this build.
Chaffing: Chaff when shields get low, multiple targets engage you, or you need to escape.
Fun: Once I reset my expectations for an unengineered ship, I found flying this Vulture surprisingly fun. It can almost continually kill Novice-piloted or easier ships. The multi-cannon variant can take down wings of Expert- or Master-piloted NPC ships without too much hassle.
Upgrade path: Consider the Alliance Chieftain or, reputation willing, the Federal Assault Ship or Imperial Clipper as the logical next step in combat ships. See PvE Combat Vulture Build for an end-game version of this build.
Team or Wing Tactics
Unchanged: Fly in a wing or team as you would in solo. Whether you tank depends on your teammate’s ships and builds.
An Elite Dangerous ship build aimed at beginner players.
Goals
The goals are:
Create a ship specialized for evacuating survivors from burning stations. The game loop is described below. These missions efficiently increase reputation with the Federation or Empire, useful for unlocking ships or system permits. Evacuation missions are usually offered the first week after stations are attacked.
The build should be accessible by an early-game player. This means a cheap ship with no engineering, unlockable ships or modules.
The high-level game loop for burning station passenger missions is:
Dock at the burning station. Manoeuvring can be tricky. You cannot use a docking computer and the station’s interior is dimly lit and full of debris. Heat increases quickly inside the station, so use heat sinks to prevent heat damage.
Accept passenger missions. This is pretty standard if not for the atmospheric flakey holographic display and the station interior’s fiery glow.
Undock and leave the station. The same challenges with docking apply to undocking.
Supercruise to the nearby rescue ship, usually a few megameters away.
Hand in the passenger missions, disembarking your passengers.
Link: EDSY and Coriolis (have your preferred one open as you read the guide for easy reference)
The Type-6 Transporter sits at an optimal price point, carrying 52 economy class passengers with a shield generator. The build linked above costs just over one million credits before discounts, including outfitting. See the table below for a comparison.
Ship
Cost (CR)
Size 2 Slots
Size 3 Slots
Size 4 Slots
Size 5 Slots
Size 6+ Slots
Smallest Shield Size
Total Economy Passengers
Cobra Mk III
349,720
3
0
3
0
0
3
26
Cobra Mk IV
764,720
2
2
4
0
0
3
40
Type-6 Transporter
1,045,950
2
1
2
2
0
3
52
Dolphin
1,337,320
3
1
2
1
0
3
38
Diamondback Explorer
1,894,760
2
2
2
0
0
3
24
Asp Explorer
6,661,160
2
2
0
1
1
3
56
Economy passenger capacity of selected beginner ships
The next highest economy passenger capacity ship is the Asp Explorer, carrying 56 passengers with a shield generator and costing over 6 million credits before outfitting. Some ships, like the Dolphin, carry fewer passengers but are more expensive.
Finding a station that sells everything for a build can be a challenge. Thankfully, both EDSY and Coriolis link to EDDB, locating nearby stations selling this build’s ship and modules.
Passengers:
Economy class passenger cabins: The survivors from burning stations are not fussy about their accommodation. Pack as many economy class passenger cabins as possible.
Smallest shields possible: Docking at a burning station is challenging. You cannot use a docking computer, the station’s inside is filled with debris, and the occasional dramatic explosion may slam your ship against a wall. Shields protect your ship.
Heat sinks: As its name suggests, the inside of a burning station is hot and will quickly cause heat damage to your ship. Fire off heat sinks to minimize such damage.
Docking computer: Passenger cabins do not come in a class one version. While not usable inside the burning station, a docking computer can help to dock with the rescue megaship.
Variations
Better core internals: This build intentionally skimps on core internal modules to save credits. However, a better Frame Shift Drive means fewer jumps to the burning station. Better Thrusters make manoeuvring easier. Improving these is strongly recommended if you have the credits. That said, an E-rated Type-6 handles surprisingly well.
Shieldless: Removing the Shield Generator squeezes in even more passengers at the risk of hull damage.
Gather materials and cargo: Swap out two passenger cabins for one Collector Limpet Controller and a Cargo Rack. Grab a few limpets then, once you enter the station interior, use the limpets to gather engineering materials and cargo inside the station. Such cargo can also be handed in to complete missions from the rescue ship or sold for a small profit. Passengers are easier and more time-efficient for reputation but this can be a fun diversion.
Tactics
Getting to the burning station: Burning stations are present in systems selected by Elite’s ongoing story. They have often been some distance from the bubble but always have a nearby rescue megaship. One way to get there is to take a ship with a longer jump range and then transfer this ship over. Another is temporarily equipping a fuel scoop, travelling there and then transferring over the replaced module. The rescue megaship sometimes has a shipyard, meaning you can transfer ships and modules to it. Otherwise, a nearby station may have a shipyard.
Game mode: Play in a private group or solo to minimize interruptions. Gankers congregate where lots of players will be, like burning stations. It gives them more targets. The rescue megaship has limited landing pads and you may wait on other players offloading their passengers.
Maximize reputation gain: Go for as many applicable missions as possible. Prioritize missions transporting the fewest passengers to maximize the number of missions accepted per round-trip. Prioritize missions from Federation- or Empire-aligned factions. Some minor factions may be independent. Select the highest reputation reward when completing the mission. The credit and other rewards are often small.
FAR: Changing Tides, a casual puzzle platformer developed by Okomotive, is the sequel to the popular FAR: Lone Sails. Set in the same world, you play a child on a sea journey whose purpose gradually reveals itself.
Most of the game’s controls and puzzles are straightforward and deducible by trial and error. Buttons or actionable items have a distinctive cyan colour and, later in the game, yellow lights direct the player’s focus. While movement feels unrestricted, most areas present only a few actual options to the player. Getting stuck is usually caused by insufficient exploration or wrong assumptions. “Breaking” a puzzle or losing required items is impossible.
The puzzles’ goals are usually progression, usually travelling from left to right. However, sometimes solving puzzles improves your ship, such as adding an engine or a new mode of transport. Sometimes they hint more about the world, such as revealing a diorama or a painting.
The game is short, containing about five to six hours of playtime. While that may dissuade some from its undiscounted price, the design of FAR: Changing Tides is economical and efficient. Mechanics are introduced, practised then the game moves on without overdoing them. Lengthening the game would not necessarily have made it better.
As with the previous game, FAR: Changing Tides separates puzzle areas with long stretches of travel. Your ship’s controls are puzzles themselves, like tacking the sails against the wind or powering the engine. Once the controls are mastered, these travel stretches give you short breaks, temporarily immersing yourself in the world via the backgrounds and soundtrack.
FAR: Changing Tides tells its story by implication and subtle reference. The flooded world drowned humanity’s cities and towns, but the strewn detritus shows the flood’s ferocity and suddenness. The unnamed protagonist encounters no living humans, only hints of their existence.
FAR: Changing Tides continues the retrofuturistic “dieselpunk” feel of FAR: Lone Sails, putting 1930s through 50s aesthetics on advanced technology. Desaturated colours and dull, rendered plaster buildings are typical of that era and make the world feel bleak. The rusting carcasses of humanity’s leviathan mechanical creations dot the landscape. Some are almost organic, and you can hear a faint heartbeat when nearby.
This desolation contrasts with the game’s naturalistic moments. Nature continues. The deer, birds and sea life are oblivious to your and humanity’s struggles. Glimpses of bioluminescent jellyfish or rays through your ship’s glass bottom or distant whales are wondrous moments.
FAR: Changing Tides, as implied, is about the younger generation reacting to contemporary issues like climate change. The protagonist is a child, forced to undertake a journey to build a better life. He or she finds toys like wooden stags, music boxes and stuffed ducks but cannot play with them, forced to grow up early to confront older generations’ hubris.
The protagonist demonstrates how the newer generation views the world. He or she does not blame technology – it is unclear in FAR: Changing Tides what caused the flood. Technology is something the new generation masters early and is vital to survival. The ship even looks like one a child might draw. The ending shows the new generation’s focus on each other and subversively ties it back to FAR: Lone Sails.
However, FAR: Changing Tides could have appealed to our senses more. While the game’s engine has moved from predominantly 2D to wholely 3D – and shows it off at the end – much of the extensive backgrounds are simple and blandly textured. The developers are going for a stylized, cheap-to-develop aesthetic. However, desaturated does not mean uninteresting. The soundtrack adds emotion and context to otherwise empty moments but lacks memorable motifs or consistency.
The casual puzzle platform genre also has limits. Its puzzles are too simple for someone wanting a challenge. The storytelling is too subtle for those looking for clear themes. Experienced gamers enjoy these short diversions but the gaming landscape continues to expand and diversify beyond puzzle platformers.
That said, FAR: Changing Tides is a worthy successor to FAR: Lone Sails, developing its novel vehicle operation mechanic enough to feel different but still comfortable. Those looking for a casual but not overly taxing game will enjoy it, especially if you fondly remember FAR: Lone Sails.
The Single Player 