Skyshine's BEDLAM

Skyshine's BEDLAM sounds like a rough-edged tactics game with a punk streak, and that is the part that gives it identity. By our assessment, it is for players who can live with a harsh, scrappy interface if the world and tone feel different from the usual polished strategy package. Its strength is the mix of vehicle travel, tactical encounters, and a bleak, oddball setting; its weakness is that the whole thing asks for patience with friction. In practice, that means a game that can feel memorable in concept and a bit stubborn under the fingers. It sits off to the side of cleaner strategy games, more interested in mood and rough texture than in elegance, and its ceiling is set by how much clunk a player will tolerate.