Whilst I was playing Cossacks 3 [official site], a console-focused journalist of some reknown (TV’s famous Simon Parkin, since you ask) popped his head into the rotting cupboard above a coffee shop that I attempt to call an office. He didn’t say anything when he glaced at my screen; didn’t have to, for his face said it all. This, these tiny men, those cod-historical serif fonts and that expanse of terrain – this was what PC gamers played all the time. Our interests and stereotypes had not changed since 1997.
I sought, somewhat in vain, to defend myself, because in truth it has been many years since I played a historical RTS. Cossacks 3 is not PC gaming’s norm in 2016 any more than Mario or Sonic are consoles’, but I must admit that I found it to be something of a balm. A return to a more innocent age.