Dan Stapleton
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
Adr1ft
Getting by on strong atmosphere (no pun intended), scenic views, and an intuitive means of controlling full three-dimensional movement, Adr1ft’s repetitive fix-it missions make its second half a chore to get through. Some strong pieces of voice acting would’ve been put to better use if the story weren’t so vague.
XCOM 2
With a focus on variety and replayability, this sequel has an answer to most of my complaints about 2012’s excellent XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and aside from some mostly cosmetic bugs, it comes together brilliantly. Thanks to a new spin on the same great tactical combat, plus unpredictable maps and randomized...
Darkest Dungeon is a grim and merciless tactical strategy game whose great tension comes from its many layers of complexity, unpredictable randomization, and willingness to put our fragile characters in mortal danger if we dare to venture into its depths in search of treasure and glory. Brilliant narration and stiff...
Fallout 4
The world, exploration, crafting, atmosphere, and story of Fallout 4 are all key parts of this hugely successful sandbox role-playing game. Great new reasons to obsessively gather and hoard relics of happier times, strong companions, and sympathetic villains driving tough decisions make it an adventure I’ll definitely replay and revisit....
King-Dom
The first hours of Kingdom are a gorgeous and addictive test of city management. With elegant simplicity and an eye for charming detail, it got its hooks into me early on, and I embraced the challenge of unraveling the mystery of how its systems worked. However, just a few hours...
In some ways it’s a bare-bones game, but in the proud tradition of classics like Wing Commander: Privateer and Freelancer, Rebel Galaxy makes a lot out of a little by giving you the freedom to captain your ship as you please and pursue your own fortune in a region of...
In Massive Chalice, it’s not just random whether your hero will hit or miss, but whether your hero will die of old age or whether they’ll be born at all. As much as I enjoyed its aggressive brand of tactical combat and interesting enemy types, there are too many unpredictable...
If this is in fact the last Rocksteady-developed Batman game, the series will end on a high note. Arkham Knight is the biggest Batman game yet, not just in map size, but in the wide range of different types of gameplay, and its collection of characters. The addition of tank...
Magnetic: Cage Closed is a competent but completely uninspired physics puzzle game that owes much to its predecessors but never really builds on the concept with ideas of its own. Figuring out how to get the right box on the right buttons to navigate through its magnet-based test chambers can...
Invisible Inc is a thrilling turn-based spy game. Though it fails to tap its colorful characters for story material and personality beyond their unique abilities, its randomized maps and spy equipment make sneaking past the enemy AI for maximum profit a tough and repeatable challenge.
Sid Meier’s Starships’ battles held my attention for a handful of games, after which point the tactical AI’s behavior became exploitable and the strategic layer became too muddled and unpredictable. So I say so long to Starships after a brief time, but I’ll always remember its neato torpedoes. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Dan Stapleton...
More than anything, Cities: Skylines is about the simple joy of building. It’s a really impressive and often beautiful simulation, where an amazing number of virtual people go about their business across a huge swath of land. Getting in and creating something is easy, though mastering it will require extensive...
