January was a ridiculous month for new releases—packed full of great new games, from Rise of the Tomb Raider to Pony Island. Amazingly, February was even bigger, with 10 new titles enjoying an 80+ score from PC Gamer. Plus, a few duds. (I'm looking at you, Bombshell.) If you're struggling to keep abreast of it all, here's your monthly digest of February's best—a look at its most praiseworthy games, most revelatory news, and most insightful features.

Reviews

The biggest game of the month also received the biggest score. XCOM 2 is that rarest, most glorious of sequels—fundamentally deconstructing its predecessor and rebuilding it in a way that turns weaknesses into strengths. Each moment-to-moment choice branches and branches again, creating a deep, broad tactical experience that Tom Senior awarded 94%. "We'll play this forever," he enthused. He could well be right.

A "strangely enjoyable simulator," says Andy of American Truck Simulator. He's right on the money: obeying the law across the roads of California and Nevada should be interminable, and yet, somehow, is ATS is one of the most compelling sim experiences around. Nevertheless, as noted in Andy's 80% review, it's perhaps a little too similar to its predecessor, Euro Truck Simulator 2. It also only launches with the two aforementioned states, although its landmass is set to be expanded over the coming months and years.

Andy continued his relaxation combo with Firewatch, Campo Santo's Wyoming wilderness adventure. Set in the gorgeous Shoshone National Forest, it's a game about escapism, tragedy, humour and a paunchy middle-aged man. In his 85% review, Andy praised the game's central relationship and setting, even whilst being a touch disappointed in its conclusion. Such faults aside, it does feature some of the best, most natural sounding dialogue I've heard in a game for some time.

Dying Light didn't used to have a car in it, but then Dying Light: The Following was released and it did have a car in it. Now you can play Dying Light, and drive the car that it has in it. That's not all that's notable about this expansion, which also features a new map and a bunch o' new missions, activities and story stuff. It's good, says Chris Livingston. Good to the tune of 80%. How much of that score is down to the fact that there's a car in it? Definitely some of it.

This was a surprise: The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, which James Davenport deemed to be 90% good (note: that is not how review scores work.) It's a 2D pixelated Metroidvania, as most indie games are, but this one's set underwater. You're in a submarine, chucking harpoons at some wondrously huge, ridiculously challenging boss fights. Given the need to replay many of the bosses to learn and overcome their attack patterns, I'd like to congratulate James for not comparing TAAotLH to Dark Souls.

The month's second good expansion: Cities: Skylines Snowfall. Did you love Cities: Skylines, but hate the fact that it's paints a world trapped in the unyielding hell of the endlessly temperate? Likely you didn't think much about it, but nonetheless Snowfall allows you to experience a much chillier take on urban planning. "With Snowfall, Skylines is beginning to feel a touch closer the complex simulation many have wanted," says Chris, in his 83% review. "I wouldn t say it s a complete game-changer, but it does add a few more frosty layers to your management challenges."

A dialogue-heavy murder mystery about a mechanical bear who forces high school students to play a sick and deadly game? It's Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, probably the weirdest of the month's releases. Here's what Andy had to say, while he was awarding it 86%: "Danganronpa is one of the best story-driven games on PC. The scarcity of interaction, vast quantities of text, and glacial pace will turn a lot of people off, but the story is so compelling that I barely noticed that all I was doing was clicking through lines of dialogue."

Street Fighter V has proven something of a controversial release. For fighting game pros, like our reviewer Nathan Brown, it's "a celebration of what makes fighting games tick, and what makes them exciting. It is a battle of wits, of psychology, conditioning your opponent into doing what you want them to do, and punishing them severely when they do it." But for newbies and singleplayer fans, "it is as convoluted and baffling as ever, and miserably light on content." A recommendation, then, but one that comes with a serious caveat.

SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPERHOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. 84%.

Charming Harvest Moon-a-like Stardew Valley is, as Daniella noted in her 80% review, a bit rough around the edges. Nevertheless, "Its imperfections never damage that feeling of gentle escape to the countryside." It offers a nice, gentle experience for those who want mundane escapism without the trucks. "I might be a long way off getting an actual farm," concludes Daniella, "but Stardew Valley makes for a good start."

On the next page: the best news and features of the month...

News

Remember when that thing was announced? How about when that executive said those words about that stuff? Oh ho ho, how we all laughed. Let's reminisce over February's biggest news via the medium of bullet points on a webpage.

• Rogue Ant Simulator devs blow budget on 'liquor and strippers'.
• And then! The very same Ant Simulator devs respond.
• CCP is still making an Eve FPS, just not the one they'd previously announced.
• David Gaider has joined Beamdog, to work on Baldur's Gate stuff.
• Will Hitman's system requirements—drum roll—MURDER YOUR PC?
• Cookie Clicker was updated, and it was the end of days.
• Frozen Synapse 2 is a real game that will exist!
• A new Call of Duty?! In 2016?! Sacr bleu!
• Quantum Break is coming to PC! But it won't be on Steam
• Star Citizen? More like Star Splitizen. Sorry.
• Fallout 4 DLC detailed.
• Warren Spector joins Otherside to lead development on System Shock 3.
• Bethesda is working on three "big and crazy" projects, the teases.
• It's another good STRAFE trailer.
• Would you play a tactical Dragon Age game?
• The HTC Vive costs $800.
• Good news montage makers. It's Farming Simulator 17.
• Bob Ross XCOM 2 voice pack is the most important mod of the month.
• What's going on in the SteamVR Performance Test?
• Does a trademark application for Alan Wake's Return signal Alan Wake's return?
• Ubisoft asks Canada to help them fight off Vivendi. Capitalism is weird.
• SCS Software's Truck Sims are getting Steam Workshop support.
• Battlefield 5 rumoured to be set during World War 1, which sounds unlikely.
• Valve fires Dota 2 Shanghai Major host, and Gabe Newell calls him an "ass."
• Here's some more Total War: Warhammer footage.

Features

If it's on a website, but it's not a news or review, there's a chance it could be a "feature". No, not that, that's an advert. I'm talking about these: a round-up of this month's best arrangements of words and sometimes pictures.

• Phil—that's me—dips into The Age of Decadence, an RPG that lets you play as a pacifist.
• The UK team chat about The Division. Turns out they're divided.
• Andy checks in with GTA 5's UFO hunters and finds a community in turmoil.
• Durante, on why Tales of Symphonia's PC port is unacceptable.
• PC Gamer's most loved and hated characters.
• PC Gamer readers' most loved and hated characters.
• Ben can't stop stealing in Fallout 4.
• Steven Messner looks back to the most disastrous MMO launches.
• I was on holiday when this magazine op-ed went online. When I came back, there were over 450 comments. I'm not going to read a single one of them.
• Struggling with XCOM 2? We got John "Beagle" Teasdale to offer up these soldier builds.
• Andy revisits Kane & Lynch 2.
• These are the best Dota 2 custom games.
• Can you guess the game from these Steam user reviews?
• My hot, hot Firewatch take.
• For PC Gamer Pro, Andi Hamilton explains how to watch professional Street Fighter V.
• As part of his new Overwatch column, Chris T suggests ways the game could encourage players to try new roles.
• Chris L's Enforcer: Police Crime Action diary is a must read. Here's parts one, two and three.
• Jody loves getting drunk... wait for it... and in the game.
• Andy's profile on The Long Dark studio Hinterland.
• Just Cause 2's jet propulsion gun is amazing. Amazing!
• If you like American Truck Simulator, maybe you'll also like these other things...
• James reviews Far Cry Primal's animals.
• Evan's reminder that beta and early access doesn't make you immune from critique.
• More Watchpoint: here's how to improve your Overwatch win rate.
• Finally, game developers tell us how they'd make Half-Life 3.

We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents, and this is a happy accident indeed. After the success of the XCOM 2 Governator voice pack, modder tdc733 has unleashed the Bob Ross voice pack, which is a bizarrely good fit.

Ross comes over as a seasoned battle commander, a stoic, reassuring presence on the field who brings out the sectoid slayer in everyone. "Oo, nice, nice," Bob Ross observes as he lands a headshot—not gloating or narcissistic, but satisfied with the outcome. "Today the paint salesman's in town," muses Bob Ross, letting you know that despite his placid exterior, he's about to bring the noise.

Download it here and you too can know the joy of saving the world from alien scum. For the complete Bob Ross experience, why not import our custom Bob Ross character? 

Getting off to the best start in XCOM 2 is important. The sequel has added a lot of strategic depth over its predecessor, and the extra events and resources you ll encounter on the global layer bring their own new questions—what facilities, research and resources to prioritize are all more in-depth concerns than they used to be.

There s many ways to play and you ll need to adjust and react to the unique situations your own campaign presents, so don t take my advice as the only way to do things, but more a general guide to give you direction and get you thinking about how to manage your own resistance operations.

This page: Research, Facilities

Page two: Engineering, Resources

Research

Early: Modular Weapons, Alien Biotech, Advent Officer Autopsy, Resistance Comms and Radio, Magnetic and Gauss Weapons

Mid: Hybrid Materials, Plated Armor, Elerium, Powered Armor

Late: Plasma Rifle and Weapons, finish Shadow Chamber projects

Autopsy ASAP: Muton, Advent MEC, Andromedon, Sectopod, Gatekeeper

The key to XCOM s research is knowing what you ll gain from each pathway and then beelining for the tools you need to succeed. Starting early with Modular Weapons, Biotech and Officer Autopsy grants key weapon upgrades and makes the Advanced Warfare Center and Proving Grounds available for construction while also opening up pathways to important autopsy tech. Resistance Comms and Radio lets you start establishing your global network, necessary for gaining income and operational reach and thus critical to start early. With these early techs complete, begin Magnetic Weapons as your first major project.

Once the Magnetic and Gauss projects are complete your damage takes a big step up, well timed to start dropping the new tougher enemies you ll be facing as we enter the midgame. Hybrid Materials leads into Plated Armor next, and once you ve completed these projects you ll have strong defensive capabilities to match your offensive power. There s some important autopsies to watch out for during this phase, but our next key project is Elerium which then sets us up for Powered Armor.

With our gear providing peak survivability and utility, it s time to max out our firepower. Powered Armor is a simple one-tech way to enter the late game that also gives you access to advanced heavy weapons, after which we can collect all the conventional weaponry techs—Plasma Rifle, Storm Gun, Beam Cannon and Plasma Lance all take a chunk of time to complete and will keep your scientists busy for a while as you prioritize the weapons you need most depending on your squad. As you enter the final stretch of your campaign, complete whatever Shadow Chamber projects remain and don t get overconfident as you approach the finish line.

There s some important autopsies that you should prioritize as soon as you have the option. Muton and Andromedon autopsies will give you huge boosts to your explosive power, while MEC and Sectopod autopsies are key to improving the Specialist s GREMLIN. Gatekeepers grant you the most powerful Amp for your psi troops. Faceless autopsy is important early to gain the powerful Mimic Beacon, but don t jump on it straight away—you ll need two Faceless corpses to create the item after the research, so there s no point completing the tech until you ve gained the extra bodies through your second Retaliation mission. All of XCOM 2 s autopsies help in some fashion, so don t be afraid to delay starting big technologies to quickly pick up a new trick or two first. Stun Lancer and Archon autopsies deserve mentions for providing more powerful Ranger swords, so if your squad relies on melee prowess be sure to pick these up.

The Shadow Chamber is another scientific avenue that you ll have to improvise your timing on. Without saying too much, it serves as an important way to reduce the pressure of AVATAR progress. I d recommend researching Shadow techs whenever you need some help pushing back the doom clock.

Facilities

Early to Mid: Guerilla Training School, Advanced Warfare Center, Power Relay

Mid to Late: Proving Grounds, Psi Lab, Second Power Relay, Shadow Chamber

Optional: Workshop, Laboratory

Every campaign needs to start with a Guerilla Training School, providing essential squad size upgrades and other important improvements while also allowing you to train idle rookies into squaddies (of the class of your choice) at base. The Advanced Warfare Center is a great second facility, doubling the healing of injured soldiers in its infirmary and granting extra abilities to your troops as they level. These two structures should keep your Engineers busy for the first couple of months, after which you ll need a Power Relay to support more structures.

Once that s complete, get a Proving Grounds up and begin churning out experimental tech. Your Sharpshooters will thrive with the extra ammo types (like AP rounds) you ll create, while key improvements like better explosives, experimental weapons and armor and the aptly named Skulljack device will bring your squad up to a fearsome level of flexibility. Once you re rolling along with supplies (and Elerium) to spare it s time to establish a Psi Lab and begin adding Psi Ops troopers to your squad to benefit from their fantastic talents. You ll need some more power soon—you can upgrade your original relay or build a new one on an excavated Conduit room to benefit from boosted power generation.

With all your tactical bases covered, you can finish your key facilities by establishing the Shadow Chamber, granting you access to explorative research that peels back the secrecy surrounding the alien s goals. Don t dally too long on this building, as you ll need it sooner or later to help thwart AVATAR progress and advance your own campaign goals.

Throughout your campaign it s up to you to decide when a Workshop or Laboratory are worth the investment. A Workshop grants two GREMLINs for each Engineer you station inside, and these drones can do the same jobs as engineers for any adjacent rooms. If you re short on Engies, this can be a good way to double your construction and room boosting abilities when positioned and timed properly. A Laboratory simply boosts your scientific output—I think resources are too tight early on to justify the cost of this structure, but once you start having supplies to spare you can t go wrong with unlocking tech faster. Speaking of luxuries, don t forget a Defense Matrix in the lategame, as the extra boost it gives you on any Avenger Defense missions is worth having once your income is outpacing your expenses.

Engineering

Early: Flashbang, Battle Scanner, Mimic Beacon

Mid: Dragon OR Venom Rounds, Talon Rounds, Acid Grenade, Skulljack, Skullmining, Shredder Gun

Late: Proximity Mines, Blaster Launcher, Shredstorm Cannon

Optional: Bluescreen Protocol for EMP Grenades and Ammunition

Once we ve got our facilities and research planned, it s good to know what items give us the best bang for buck. It goes without saying that you should be building upgraded weapons and armor whenever possible—in general new shotguns and pistols provide the most lethality for their price, and you should try to spread experimental armor around as quickly as possible, with light grapple gear for your Rangers and Sharpshooters while your Grenadiers get EXO Suits to bring more ordnance to bear.

Early on, a flashbang is a key purchase. On the surface its large radius and aim penalty seem helpful, but the most important detail is that what flashbangs do is disorient targets, disabling many abilities for the duration such as Stun Lancer meleeing, Muton grenading and even Codex teleport and cloning, just to name a few. But the most important enemy the Flashbang disables is the Sectoid—disoriented Sectoids can t perform psychic abilities, and abilities they ve already cast and are channelling will be broken upon the flashbang landing, cancelling nasty Mind Controls and even dispelling Psi Zombies from their reanimated existences. Having a Flashbang handy is often the difference between regaining control of your Ranger or watching them machete charge your entire squad to death, so don t leave home without one.

Battle Scanners and Mimic Beacons are both very helpful tools. The Battle Scanner is most useful early on when hidden Faceless are big ambush threats on Retaliation missions, as any fake civilians detected in their radius will be revealed as the goo monsters they are. Mimic Beacons remain indispensable throughout the campaign, providing incredibly effective distractions that will save you time and again during otherwise untenable turns.

As our Proving Grounds completes in the early to midgame we want to make the most of its capabilities. Dragon or Venom Rounds are both great ammo types for a Sharpshooter s weapons; one sets enemies aflame, the other poisons them, and both grant a flat damage boost to boot. Talon Rounds are excellent for Shotgun Rangers or anyone you want to focus on critting, and Acid Grenades are incredibly useful for shredding through armor as you meet the game s tougher enemies. Be sure to pick up Advanced Explosives to keep your other grenade types useful as you upgrade your basic frags.

A Skulljack with the Skullmining upgrade is an important boost for your Specialist as it grants a boost to their hacking stat, crucial as later missions feature fearsome robotic enemies to be stunned or controlled. It also allows you to reveal more of Advent s agenda and set back AVATAR progress, both things you need to do if you want to complete the game. Best not to leave it unbuilt for too long. As you experiment with the heavy EXO Suits you can build with Plated Armor you ll want to try and gain a Shredder Gun as a heavy weapon; the long cone of lethal armor removing damage it provides will net you many impressive multikills and help you take down the tankiest enemies you face.

Towards the lategame we re topping off our explosive power and finalizing our arsenal of heavy weapons. Proximity mines from Andromedon Autopsy are an awesome destructive package of high damage and radius and should be picked up ASAP. Shredstorm Cannons are an excellent upgrade of the Shredder Gun, while Blaster Launchers improve the Rocket Launcher heavy weapon into a guided cruise missile that can navigate any terrain and reach out to a hugely extended range. A mix of both will cripple any targets, near or far.

If you re having trouble with robotic enemies, consider Bluescreen Protocol for its EMP bombs and ammo. Both deal huge damage to bots and also apply a penalty to their hack defense with each hit—a Colonel Gunslinger armed with Bluescreen Rounds can hit a Sectopod up to five times in one turn, making your Specialist s chance to hack them significantly higher. Considering that hacking a Sectopod is about as close as you can get to guaranteeing a win, it s a tactic worth considering.

Resources

Early: Engineers, Supplies, Elerium Cores

Mid: Intel, Alloys

Late: Elerium, Weapon Upgrades, PCS Chips

With our research, facility and equipment objectives understood, our last concern is getting the resources that ll allow us to achieve those goals. Every resource in XCOM 2 is precious, but some are more critical than others and these priorities shift as your campaign develops and your situation changes.

To start with, we need as many engineers as we can find. These staff members clear out rooms, earning you supplies and allowing to you build, and without them your campaign is going nowhere fast. Consider buying them whenever they show up at Resistance HQ each month; an engineer bought with supplies will soon pay for themselves through the rewards of excavating rooms, so they re a good investment to make early on.

Speaking of supplies, we ll need as many of them as we can grab to furnish all the new facilities and items we need, so early game is an especially important time to grab as many supplies as you can. Once you ve made contact with the Black Market, check the sell tab every month to see what the buyers are most interested in purchasing at the moment; sell high to make the most of your inventory of corpses and items, giving you a big cash boost that can be critical for keeping your strategy game rolling. Just try not to sell things you still need—for example, selling all your Advent Trooper corpses will completely stall you if you need to build Plated Armor, which requires them as a component.

Elerium Cores aren t useful until your Proving Grounds completes in the midgame, but we need to start stocking up on them early as they take a while to amass. Try to grab cores through combat looting whenever it s reasonably safe to do so in your missions, as without them you ll be unable to complete experimental projects for important gear. Vulture is an important Guerilla Tactic to pick up early as it doubles your looting rewards and will bolster your Elerium Core hoard significantly.

Intel is always an important resource to focus on, but it becomes absolutely critical in the midgame where we need to start expanding to new territories quickly and regularly. Intel is also how you buy important stuff from the Black Market like top end weapon upgrades and PCS chips, so the more of this you can get the better—in many ways it s an even more important resource than supplies for gaining powerful items and boosts. Keep checking Advent towers for hack rewards that grant you intel caches and consider skullmining Advent troopers often when you re mopping up firefights, as both of these can grant you bonus income to this very important currency.

You ll also need to stock up on Alien Alloys for the midgame to build an array of Magnetic Weapons and Plated Armors. You ll need quite a lot to manufacture all this gear, and even more for lategame equipment. If you re finding yourself short, consider buying some extra Alloys from the Black Market to get that new technology built ASAP. The same is true of Elerium once you enter the lategame—you ll need tons of it to built all the Powered Armor and Plasma Weapons you want. Elerium is also important for constructing your Psi Lab and creating new Psi Amps, so keep your eye out for supply raids and buy Elerium from the Black Market as necessary in order to get your psychic program in order.

Weapon Upgrades and PCS Chips are standard loot you can find on missions, but they re also purchasable in the Black Market with new items coming in every month. It s always good to keep your eye on what comes in each month but lategame is the best time to focus on these upgrades, as the stock becomes higher in quality as your campaign progresses. With enough hundred Intel, you can outfit your whole squad with superior attachments and PCS chips, providing a massive increase to your capabilities. If you haven t already geared yourself up by lategame, it s definitely time to start boosting your troops to their fullest potential.