2019

Anno 1800

I’ve never played the previous Anno games, but playing Anno 1800 makes me wish that I had. If you’re a fan of games like Civilization, Banished, and Tropico, then you might like this game, too.

The graphics are amazing. I started on a pretty easy setting so I could get a feel for the gameplay and I’m playing a single player campaign mode but I did also try out multiplayer with my husband. It ran smooth and again the graphics were just absolutely stunning.

The voice acting is particularly well done and does a great job of getting me into the story. I won’t post spoilers here, but needless to say you’re not just building a town for the heck of it, there are reasons behind your actions, and whichever path you choose has consequences.

There’s also some ‘where’s waldo-esc’ quests in the game which may or may not be your cup of tea. Personally, I love trying to find the hidden people on my map (or someone else’ map as the case was one time). It’s a little quirk that stands out.

My town isn’t too far along yet, not everything is 100% intuitive (for me at least) and I’ve had to stumble my way around some UI elements, but needless to say, despite the price tag ($80 CAD on steam) this game makes me smile the entire time I play – and lets not even get started on the mind blowing soundtrack.

Farming Simulator 2019

I started by playing through a tutorial-esc game which introduced me to a bunch of tractors and then told me I could hire workers to complete the tasks for me (yay) making running a farm WAY more enjoyable.

Running through the world I felt like I was in an MMO. The plants all move and sway in the wind, and my character (hey I was able to make a female avatar, that was neat) just drank it all in.

I haven’t started anything past the tutorial yet, but I can’t wait to get my farm off the ground!