January 21, 2014: A Dark Room

A Dark Room is an interesting thing. It's much more than it seems: part text adventure and part 4X civ-building game, and some of the most engrossing time spent watching numbers tick up as you wait for the ability to click a button again. Though it looks at first glance like a bare-bones spreadsheet simulator, the economy simulator is engaging and the text is interesting -- sometimes haunting. It's like nothing else you've ever played while simultaneously causing you to recall the various things that clearly influenced it. Go check it out.

-- Brian Engard