Stirring Abyss
The writing of H.P. Lovecraft saw quite a resurgence in the last decade, so it is not that games started to take all sorts of inspiration from it. From Darkest Dungeon to Bloodborne, The Sinking City to Dredge, there are dozens. One game that often goes underrepresented in players’ conversations is Stirring Abyss, a turn-based, underwater exploration & combat game published by Slitherine some years ago that has the player taking command of a team of stranded submariners as they try to repair their sub, survive for as long as possible, and return to safety. As in all of Lovecraft’s stories, things take a turn for the worse when your divers come across temples that shouldn’t be there, and creatures unregistered in any encyclopedia. But, like all 7/10, the excellent premise is marred by a combat system that’s so slow, one cannot help but grow tired after a while.
Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance
Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance earns a solid 7/10 because it delivers a gripping, highly tactical RTS experience that perfectly captures the desperate, gritty atmosphere of fighting a machine war, but it is held back by mechanical rough edges. On the positive side, its combat is deeply strategic, emphasizing real-time physics, detailed component damage, and strict logistical management where ammunition, fuel, and persistent squad losses carry over from mission to mission. However, this tension is frequently undercut by clunky pathfinding, sudden spikes in difficulty that force trial-and-error reloading, and a general lack of polish in its voice acting and UI. It is a deeply rewarding, tense tactical gem for genre enthusiasts who appreciate micro-management and high stakes, but it lacks the smooth refinement needed to appeal to a broader strategy audience.
Vultures: Scavengers of Death
I’m currently taking on Vultures: Scavengers of Death, and this title exudes that 7 out of 10 vibe that mixes wild experimentation with charming clunkiness and an experience that has been impossible to drop due to how ridiculously unhinged the whole thing is. The best way to describe it is as a turn-based Resident Evil/Alone in the Dark, with PS1 and Sega Saturn graphics that are just * chef’s kiss *. And while I’m absolutely loving my time with it, the amount of times you can get soft lock and start a mission again, or restart a save is just overwhelming, and the turn-based combat can also be exploited to permanently stun and stab zombies, the lack of a rotating mini-map makes navigation way harder than it should be, and while I commend the game’s expansive missions, the constant back and forth and retreating a mission requires makes them way longer than they should be.
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