PixlBit

I played four games before getting hooked on the fifth.

Star Wars Jedi Starfighter: Games with Gold freebie. Original Xbox title. Despite really old graphics, I was enjoying the story and the ship battles for maybe half a dozen levels. I got kind of tired of chasing star fighters around after a while. It's always the issue I have with flight combat games that you end up doing circles trying to follow the enemy ships which keep trying to get behind you. This game is pretty good though. 

Cities Skylines: Game Pass game. A serious city building sim, but I couldn't quickly figure out how to get buildings to grow around a road I had built. Thing is with sim games, I like them, but if I can't get into them quickly, I get fed up. I'm sure this is great if you can take some time with it. 

Farming SImulator 17: This sim was easy to get into. I did all the tutorials and started a map. I cleared some fields, drove a bunch of farming equipment around, deposited grain in a silo, and fed the pigs and cows. I was not up for the long grind of planting, fertilizing, and selling though. I just enjoyed driving all the equipment. There are a lot of toys available to make farming easier. I doubt many real farms have so many tools though. 

RevErsi Quest: I played a trial of this. It's pretty good. You play reversi with medieval Asian fighters, healers and magic users. Depending what characters you surround enemies with, you can do damage to the other player, heal yourself, or cast spells. It's turn-based and reminds me strongly of Culdcept, a board game meets rpg. I'll buy it when it goes on sale. It's only $15 but I'll get it when it's under $10. 

Sherlock Holmes: Devil's Daughter: Game with Gold freebie. I played the previous game in this series last year and really liked it. I've been wanting to play this one for a while now. I'm deeply into it and will finish it in a few days. It has really detailed 18th century London environments where you look for clues to crimes, follow suspects, perform environmental puzzles, pick locks, perform experiments, do autopsies, and question suspects. You do all this and then form deductions and come to a verdit about who did it and whether you want to turn them in or not. There are various ways you can end an investigation. On one in particular, I came to a verdict pretty quickly, but I wasn't satisfied with it, so I investigated further and came across more evidence that pointed to a different suspect. So it gives you the feeling you are in control of the investigation. I really like it. 

I also love the environments. You really get to explore the world of 18th century London and see all the details of life at that time. I think many more games like this could be made in different time periods and places. The nature of detective work lends itself perfectly to immersing you in those environments and learning how life was lived. It's great for learning and great for gaming. I'd like to do one in Viking times, maybe in a Scottish town recently invaded by Vikings, like the Beowulf story setting. 

That's the five.