Recent reviews by SkyLaird Ajimahad

*sigh
The continuing pattern of devs/producers/whatever releasing games about 7 months early for short term gains... I am so disappointed. The skeleton of this game is exceptional. But skewer me and call me a spit roast, because I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥ by this half cooked release. It's tiring

Look. In about 6-9 months this game will be a full game, and probably in a state that would be considered full release. There is SO much potential in this game, but they've just shat the bed.
Quarters, awesome.
Simplified adjacency, awesome.
Leaders not tied to civs, neatly done.
Music, art, as always top tier.

However,
UI still looks garbage. Truly a dogs breakfast atm
Where are the QoL fixes from 6, the pins, lenses.
The colour design inspires a desire to gouge my eyes out with the lack of colour.
Readability of what is in a city is irritatingly difficult (some people rag on Civ6 for their overuse of colour, but christ, you could at least ell at a glance what your city is doing...)
There's no real FULL in depth post game breakdown, which was already lacking from Civ6. It's worse...
Course corrected too hard from Civ6 and now there's no colour, and no vibrancy
Criminally under-using Gwendoline Christie... Like wtf, you get a fantastic voice, and have her say 6 words when you load up a game....

Update: Flipping back to a recommend. While I'm still quite miffed about the terrible communication from Arrowhead and Sony being generally ♥♥♥♥♥♥. The game itself still is really good. Here's hoping we can move on and keep going back up.





Yea look.
Objectively speaking, gameplay wise, this is a fantastic game. However...
When you change the rules of play, by enforcing another 3rd party system, this time a PSN account. It's a bit ♥♥♥♥. Sony should have controlled where the game was sold, so that this mandatory account wouldn't be an issue for those who live in countries that don't have access to a valid PSN account.
And Arrowhead should have explicitly communicated that this would be a thing from day 1. Not what they did say, in that they said it was optional.

Will I continue to play? Yes. But probably not as much (Australia has access to PSN). This all just feels a bit ♥♥♥♥♥♥. Looking forward to seeing how they address these shenanigans in the coming weeks and a plan going forward for those who now can't play

Are you kidding? Like, for real?
Cities 1 had a dozen trees included in it's Airport Expansion, free. Bundled with the FLC component of the Airport Expansion.
The first content pack of Cities 2... You get 4 trees. At a charge. You don't have access to these trees if you don't have the DLC. Like... What the ♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥ is going feck up there Paradox.
Truly ridiculous. Why on earth would anyone be happy paying $15AUD for 108 assests (because several of the buildings aren't actually different... They're just coloured) The damn financial districts DLC added that more, for like half the price. Ludicrous. Ridiculous. And honestly insulting. You botch a launch, and instead of fixing the issues, you berate people for being upset, reduce the number of updates, then half ass a fix to a core feature of the game and slap a price tag 2-3 times that for 4 trees...
Utterly deplorable..

At the point of writing this review. I can NOT recommend Skylines 2. I really wanted to enjoy this game, I absolutely adore city builders. I spent so long on Skylines 1. But this game is, with the exception of the graphics (which, realistically you can mod to look better in Skylines 1), is a complete downgrade. Despite knowing that there's SO MUCH potential here, it is not a good game. Business is not booming Glenda...

While the crashes are fewer for me now. It's the lack of depth to the content that's an issue. Industries are bare bones, no real specialisations, same deal for Education. Can't say Tourism exists in any meaningful form either.
The simulation will sometimes go a bit cooked and I'll suddenly make 60 million profit from selling rocks (exaggeration, it's only 10 million from concrete, but still), public transport doesn't appear to make a meaningful change in congestion. And god, cars coming to a complete stop on a motorway to change lanes is the worst.
The update way to build roads is fantastic, until it comes within sneezing distance of water.

This game is frustrating. Fun, but frustrating. It's like, being given the worlds best cake to eat, only to find that some bozo ate 80% of the inside of it, and left you with ♥♥♥♥ all. Come back to this game in 6 months to a year. Maybe they'll have remade it and it'll be baked to the level that I, and I'm sure the devs, wanted.

Get it on with friends.

A VERY shaky start for this game. But the devs have been putting in the hard yards. As it stands, the game is good.

Is pretty alright

Yes. Still good! Though the DLC plan they're running seems a little exorbitant

Full review in video
Reigns – Review in 5 Minutes or Less

Reigns is a tough one to classify. It’s a card-based-decision-making-RPG type deal. You play the role of a King who has made a deal to eternally stay alive. The catch is you are reincarnated as the next king upon your death. While you rule, you’ll be presented with a card that will ask you to make one of two choices for your realm. You must balance the needs and wants of the various people living in your realm, or you will have some serious issues advancing through the game. A little bit like tinder to be honest…
The game has a nice streak of dark humour, which (if appropriate) is a huge plus in my books. The game is incredibly easy and very understandable/readable, you will not struggle to understand what’s on the cards. An excellent time waster, as you unlock more cards the further you progress into the story.
However, the early game gets repetitive, with you often having the same series of cards for multiple rulers. There have been aa couple of moments where I’ve just died no idea why, but that was how the card played out. Combat feels very odd, very much a fencing type deal of combat, you need to pick your pose to try and counter your opponent. It feels attached for the sake of existing.
Is it worth your time? Honestly, yes. Very simple idea made into a very quirky and amusing little game. Normally $4.50, so it’s cheap as chips as well if you want a chill time sink to play. If you see it on special, go for it!

If you don't have the edition that was released in 2013. Pick this one up as it's graphically superior and plays better. If you do have the 2013 edition. It's your call realistically, but I would say it's worth grabbing