This was as surprise. I knew nothing about Spellforce going in. And whereas AOW4 proved a huge disappointment this proved to be great fun from the start and all the way through my time with it.

I like that's it not a traditional 4X, they took a risk with a new twist with the castle you fly around and it just works. Exploration of the map is driven by a need for resources that deplete rather than some mad rush to stake out claims to territory because if you don't the AI does. The explore portion in most 4Xs is nothing more than a land grab and all the more boring for it.

The tactical battles are just crunchy enough to make them fun but not so involved you dread playing them out. Looking at you AOW4. And it matters that you keep your troops alive because you don't have a bunch of them and ranking them up and assigning them attributes matters. Which is also where crafting ties in and makes a difference.

I can't stand crafting, I loved crafting in this game. Loved it, it's brilliant.

The three main choices for who you play are sufficiently different the choice matters in how the campaign plays out and makes it enjoyable to replay the game as each class.

The art-style in this game is superb. You can tell with your first glance someone put some heart and soul into it. And thematically it all ties together in the appearance of everything in the game.

The enemies you fight in the form of circle mages are mighty enough to prove a challenge and fit well into the lore of the game.

Net it all out: This is my Game of the Year for 2023. This feels like a development team who took chances doing something different, had a design vision they executed well and the result was something unique and refreshing. I don't know what Owned By Gravity are working on next, I hope it's DLC for this game. But I know whatever it is I'm there for it.