Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.

Latest articles by Tom Sykes

A castle being beset by horrors.
Cataclismo review: Exceptional city building mechanics support a game that sometimes feels like a chore

By Tom Sykes Published

Building blocks Is the horde mode city builder a towering achievement?

Building blocks
Close up of three people at a Christmas party in The Roottrees are Dead, with picture in picture close ups of each individual's head.
The Roottrees are Dead review

By Tom Sykes Published

root cause Solving a genealogical mystery, one ancestor at a time.

root cause
A wizard and her soldiers standing in front of a castle in Cataclismo.
You'll get so engrossed building castles and barricades that you'll almost forget about the monsters in survival RTS Cataclismo, out next week in early access

By Tom Sykes Published

BLOCK PARTY Though the campaign is incomplete, there's already plenty of variety to enjoy.

BLOCK PARTY
The masked protagonist of Children of the Sun telekinetically floating a bullet in her hand.
Children of the Sun review: A killer puzzle game that tests your skill and your patience

By Tom Sykes Published

Sundowner Wipe out a cult with a single bullet.

Sundowner
Antea and Red, the protagonists of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review: This ghost story is stretched a little thin, but still well worth exploring

By Tom Sykes Published

EDEN PROJECT Death is just the beginning.

EDEN PROJECT
Paint roller in hand, a House Flipper 2 player begins painting freshly-placed drywall.
House Flipper 2 review: A touch-up of the original with an exciting new sandbox mode

By Tom Sykes Published

Flip Service Live the property fantasy, debt-free, in House Flipper 2.

Flip Service
A group of dwarves heading out on an expedition in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria review: Frustrating combat and frequent bugs undermine this dwarfy survival game

By Tom Sykes Published

AND MY PICKAXE Surviving in the long dark of Khazad-dûm is atmospheric and authentic, but too rough around the edges to be satisfying.

AND MY PICKAXE
Key art for the game ZERO Sievert.
This top-down shooter is like Stalker as a roguelike

By Tom Sykes Published

ZERO HOUR ZERO Sievert recreates much of the classic series' atmosphere—and its deadliness

ZERO HOUR
Floodland city
Floodland review: An epilogue to the traditional city builder

By Tom Sykes Published

sink of swim Beginning at the end in this soggy city builder.

sink of swim
The new combat system in action.
Endless Dungeon: Everything we know

By Tom Sykes Published

Sponsored

The latest on Amplitude’s tower defence roguelite.

dungeon diving
Repairing an arcade machine.
Fix toys, arcade machines and even your own home in the next game from the creator of PC Building Simulator

By Tom Sykes Published

Sponsored

Repair House swaps motherboards for floorboards.

Fixer Upper
Cygnus
Sci-fi base building meets action RPG in Cygnus Enterprises

By Tom Sykes Published

Sponsored

Team Miaozi and NetEase Games' genre hybrid hits Early Access on December 16.

Base race
Tactics Ogre Reborn art
Tactics Ogre: Reborn review – The grandfather of tactical RPGs has still got it.

By Tom Sykes Published

Ogre and above Graceful and steadfast, the grandfather of tactical RPGs has still got it.

Ogre and above
Potionomics
Potionomics review

By Tom Sykes Published

Brew ha ha A potion sim that’s more than the sum of its ingredients.

Brew ha ha
Soulstice
Soulstice review

By Tom Sykes Published

sister sister DMC meets Dark Souls in this grungy action adventure.

sister sister
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative review
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative review

By Tom Sykes Published

Chop chop Get weird and hunt a serial killer.

Chop chop
The Iron Oath battle
The Iron Oath is an engrossing and hugely promising tactical RPG

By Tom Sykes Published

band of bruisers Lead your mercenary band through dark dungeons and difficult decisions.

band of bruisers
Weird West
Weird West review

By Tom Sykes Published

Weird, Weird West Knee-deep in supernatural horror.

Weird, Weird West
The protagonist swimming with a woman
A Musical Story review

By Tom Sykes Published

School of Rock Funk, folk and math rock collide in rhythm game that doesn't quite hit all the right notes.

School of Rock
Far: Changing Tides review

By Tom Sykes Published

Das boot Traverse a drowned world in this atmospheric puzzler.

Das boot
An ominous blue face with red eyes
Mortal Sin review

By Tom Sykes Published

It's a sin Going out on a limb with a grungy roguelite.

It's a sin
Ruined King
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story review

By Tom Sykes Published

Kingmaker The League of Legends RPG stays in its lane.

Kingmaker
The Good Life
The Good Life review

By Tom Sykes Published

The Good Place It’s a dog’s (and cat’s) life.

The Good Place
Dice Legacy review
Dice Legacy review

By Tom Sykes Published

Die Hard In city builder Dice Legacy, you win or you die.

Die Hard
Aiko's Choice
Shadow Tactics standalone Aiko's Choice will be out in December

By Tom Sykes Published

News The gang from the first game returns.

News
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