Shards of Order Plays Its Cards Well

Shards of Order initially gives the impression that it may simply be another game inspired by Darkest Dungeon. The dark hand-painted artwork, grim atmosphere, and side-view combat certainly point in that direction. Fortunately, the similarities become much more superficial once the adventure begins. While the opening story takes a little time to find its footing, the world becomes a little more entertaining and engaging as you go along. The writing proved stronger than expected, balancing the darker themes with well-placed humor as the journey progressed. ...

July 30, 2026 · Cringer

Urban Strife Survives Another Outbreak

Urban Strife reaches its long-awaited 1.0 release after several years in Early Access, prompting a return visit to see how the zombie survival RPG has evolved. The result is a game that remains rough around the edges, yet consistently enjoyable underneath those imperfections. ...

July 15, 2026 · Cringer

City 20 Returns With a Living World

City 20 returns to the record following a significant period of development in Early Access with a 0.9 update. That’s right, still in early access. What was once a smaller-scale experience has expanded into a broader open-world sandbox, offering players the freedom to survive, explore, and make friends (or enemies) with a whole ton of NPCs. ...

April 8, 2026 · Cringer

Aether & Iron Gains Momentum After a Slow Start

Aether & Iron begins its journey at a measured pace, initially guiding players along a structured and linear path. Early moments feel controlled and deliberate, with limited freedom to diverge from the intended route. ...

April 1, 2026 · Cringer

Stellar Tactics Fails to Launch

Stellar Tactics arrives at full release after nearly a decade in Early Access, offering a large-scale space RPG in a giant sandbox galaxy of over 100,000 star systems. This session marked its first formal evaluation. ...

March 31, 2026 · Cringer

Solasta II Enters Cryostasis Pending Full Release

Solasta II arrives in Early Access with clear improvement over Solasta, improved in nearly every part of it. Presentation, storytelling, graphics, and voice acting all show noticeable advancement over the first title. While combat remains a solid challenge. ...

March 12, 2026 · Cringer