Chaos and comedy. Death and rebirth. Luck and, uh, running out of luck. A good roguelike doesn't treat the player like other games do. Roguelikes won't guide you helpfully along a path, or let you cinematically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They're more likely to dangle you deep between the jaws of defeat and fumble the rope until you go sliding down defeat's hungry gullet. This is their beauty, and it's a part of why we keep coming back for another go. Next time everything will go right. Next time you'll find the right pair of poison-proof loafers, the perfect co-pilot for your spaceship, a stash of stronger, better ropes. Next time.

Here's our list of the 19 best roguelikes on PC you can play in 2024.

Read more

Chaos and comedy. Death and rebirth. Luck and, uh, running out of luck. A good roguelike doesn't treat the player like other games do. Roguelikes won't guide you helpfully along a path, or let you cinematically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They're more likely to dangle you deep between the jaws of defeat and fumble the rope until you go sliding down defeat's hungry gullet. This is their beauty, and it's a part of why we keep coming back for another go. Next time everything will go right. Next time you'll find the right pair of poison-proof loafers, the perfect co-pilot for your spaceship, a stash of stronger, better ropes. Next time.

Here's our list of the 19 best roguelikes on PC you can play in 2024.

Read more

Endless Legend, the superb fantasy 4X game from developer Amplitude Studios, is currently free to download and keep on Steam - and there's still almost a week to claim it.

Amplitude - which has also developed the likes of Endless Space, Dungeons of the Endless, and Humankind - released Endless Legend back in 2014. It quickly drew praise for its fantasy flavoured Civ-style strategy - enlivened by some smart twists on the formula and its highly distinctive factions - mixed with a heavy dollop of lore.

If you're still a stranger to Endless Legend's action some ten years after its release, and the above description has set your strategy nubbin a-tingling, you can permanently add it to your Steam library for the princely sum of zero money right now. And don't panic if you're currently indisposed: the offer runs until next Thursday, 23rd May.

Read more

Being offered a 4X game for free is definitely one of those cursed-monkey-paw situations. Sure, you’re saving physical currency, but at what price in terms of that most treasured and least tradeable of commodities, time? In the hours it takes to properly clean out a 4X game, you could probably build an empire yourself. OK, not a huge empire. An empire the size of the Vatican or the Principality of Sealand, perhaps. Maybe an empire that only covers the distance between your desk and your fridge. But an empire nonetheless. Go on, pronounce yourself God-Tyrant of your bedroom while you download Amplitude’s Endless Legend, which is 100% off on Steam till 10am PDT, 1pm EDT and 6pm BST on May 23rd.

Read more

Alongside the might of Firaxis Games’ Civilization 6 and the vastness of Paradox Interactive’s Stellaris and Crusader Kings 3, the 4X games of Amplitude Studios have always had a special place in my heart for their more unique, romantic approach to the world of strategy games. While its “strategic space opera” Endless Space 2 has long been beloved by many, however, some of its DLC was anything but. Now, though, both the base game and its Awakening add-on have been given hefty upgrades, and you can get it all at a big discount in this Steam sale.