Scorchlands

Summary: The volcanic satellite, Helia, is filled with resources, so the daring explorers will not only discover new magical technologies but also harvest riches and establish colonies. Great discoveries are challenging to come by - the moon's surface is full of dangerous creatures waiting to fight for their habitat. The Giwi will have to use magic not only to fend off any predators but also to sustain their economy with arcane lasers allowing them to handle resource logistics by connecting all colonies into an industrial web.

Summary: The volcanic satellite, Helia, is filled with resources, so the daring explorers will not only discover new magical technologies but also harvest riches and establish colonies. Great discoveries are challenging to come by - the moon's surface is full of dangerous creatures waiting to fight for their habitat. The Giwi will have to use magic not only to fend off any predators but also to sustain their economy with arcane lasers allowing them to handle resource logistics by connecting all colonies into an industrial web.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Skip it for now, unless you’re super into civilization-building sims. Scorchlands follows the tried-and-tested mechanics seen across most 4X strategy games but twists the formula by bringing it to the moon and by starring birds instead of humans. The results are challenging and aesthetically pleasing, but not without a few frustrating issues. TIME PLAYED I played Scorchlands for over three hours. The prologue took me around twenty to thirty minutes to complete, and the first part of the campaign took me over an hour. I had to repeat that hour-plus of gameplay, though, because of a bug that stopped me from terraforming areas.