Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £15.99)

Verdict: Half-built

Rating:

A few years ago, one man, Tomas Sala, released a game called The Falconeer. And it really was one man. In all the ways that matter, that game was the product of Sala's ingenuity and imagination alone. A world of aerial combat between giant falcons and great airships, all pulled from a single mind.

Now Sala has returned to that world. The same birdies and airships, the same rocky archipelagos stretching out into the mournful sea. 

Except, this time, the game itself is different. Instead of exciting dogfights, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is more about real estate — you've got to build cities on them thar islands.

Actually, 'got to' might be a bit strong. Bulwark is one of the most relaxing games I've played this year — and one of the most relaxing city-builders I've ever played. It doesn't really set you much to do beyond clicking to add new buildings. You generally try to make things look nice, which they do.

Which isn't to say that there's no depth in this game. Once you've made things look nice, you start to realise that the buildings relate to each other in various special ways. The islands, too.

Bulwark doesn't tell you this so much as let you find it out for yourself.

But the strength of this particular Bulwark is also its weakness. There are lots of times when I thirsted for a little more explanation, a little less eccentricity.

Sure, it's mighty impressive that this is the singular product of a singular man's mind — but, as one falconeer once said, no man is an island. You gotta bring others along.