The Shrouded Isle

The Shrouded Isle is a perfect game if looking for something quick and easy to play. With simple mechanics that only require the pointing and clicking of a mouse, a narrative that is heavy handed but deeply satirical, it’s easy to get on board. The Shrouded Isle doesn’t ask a lot from the player because it knows it’s delivering a finite ending. The beauty is that each game is relatively quick and the longest it takes to close out the three years is a little over half an hour. It would be nice if it was accompanied by a few more menus or ways to look back on certain stats but it doesn’t hinder the game. Who knew being the High Priest of a sacrificial cult could be so fun?

As a combination of both political strategy and Lovecraftian drama, The Shrouded Isle takes this idea and provides a comfortably tense experience whereby every choice should matter but with enough leeway that inexperienced players can still make mistakes. Fans of classic horror literature may be drawn to this game through its distortedly gothic art style and otherworldly premise, but the large difficulty curve may be too complicated for them, even if the repetitive gameplay structure can feel rewarding once you get the hang of it.

A delightfully tongue in cheek death cult simulator, whose excellent aesthetics stumble over a very high randomness factor. Each new game relies more on blind luck than strategy in its early stages, painfully taking you out of the “Our Fish Lord Cometh” fantasy and reminding you of the underlying mechanical structure. Still, quite a refreshing “shot” in between more demanding games.

A brilliant idea for a simple, procedurally generated strategy game, held back by repetitiveness. [11/2017, p.71]

A streamlined, easy-to-play strategy game with a uniquely dark premise that's ideal for sporadic sessions. [Nov 2017, p.83]

It’s a stylish game centered around an interesting moral dilemma. However, there just isn’t enough world-building to hammer the point home.

A winningly nasty turn-based cult sim with beautiful monochrome art and surgical orchestral audio. [Recommended]