Dark Quest 3 XSX Review 8.5/10 "oh go on...one more go..." ⚔️ 🧙‍♂️ @brainseal #IndieGames #GameDev

It has only been over the last few years that I’ve really gotten hips-deep into board games. From diving into breezy games like Dungeon! And Hero Quest to rule-laden slogs like Massive Darkness or Endure the Stars/Rules, I’ve really come to appreciate the wonderful blend of dedication and camaraderie that comes from a day of getting some snacks and drinks in, then settling down for eleven hours of arguing over the results of dice rolls and bafflingly unclear card descriptions.

It was after a recent weekend jaunt to a salubrious part of the country – where the curtains were promptly drawn and daylight not sighted for 48 hours – that I began to yearn for a single-player board game experience… but in the digital realm.

I genuinely spent a few days installing and uninstalling various games on my phone, hunting around for what I was looking for - and it was then that I stumbled across Dark Quest 3, which was due for imminent release, I can’t comment on Brain Seal Ltd’s other games, or even the preceding two titles in this trilogy, but I can certainly say that Dark Quest 3 is exactly what I needed.

Landlord's Super Ten Minute Taster PC "A Nice Little Earner" 🍺 @MinskWorks #IndieGames #GameDev

 
Landlord's Super, your quintessential construction simulator, is here. Take a dodgy loan, restore a property, move in the locals, attend to their grievances, then celebrate with a pint in this fully-simulated, open-world 1980s Britain.

Thief Simulator 2 | Preview 🦸‍♂️ @ThiefSimulator #IndieGames #GameDev

The next release in the ‘Thief’ (not that one) series, Thief Simulator 2 follows PlayWay S.A. 2018’s Thief Simulator and – my personal favourite - 2022’s American Theft ‘80s.

This 2023 entry sees you again returning to popping into various locations – uninvited - and going out on the nick. Whilst the game does not yet have a solid release date beyond 2023 (PlayWay S.A.’s release schedule is intense), it builds on the illicit thrills of the previous two entries by including various abilities, items and environmental hazards such as police officers, sleep gas, traffic spikes, ATM hacking, drones, dynamite and weather factors such as rain – to hide the thief’s movements.

The series has previously given me a lot of tension-fuelled thrills, and I’m especially a fan of the way in which the games aren’t afraid to have fun with themselves. As far as I’m concerned, this is an underdog series of games that always manages to deliver idiosyncratic fun with a touch of craziness, and I’m looking forward to diving into this next chapter!