Are you starving for really good PC games to play? Of so, this list combined all the best modern PC games that are both new and engaging.
To be clear, this list does not attempt to pick out the “best” or “most influential” PC games ever made. It’s also not a list of the most popular games out there, or a list that seeks to represent the top games of every genre. No, this is a list of 5 games that we, the IGN editors and contributors, collectively recommend the most, based on our tastes, and all from within the past 10 years.
1. Half-Life: Alyx
Valve’s first Half-Life game in 13 years reminded us of the signature innovation that’s made this series so special, and why its return was so anticipated. Just as the first Half-Life proved you could tell a compelling story in a first-person game without taking control of the camera away, and Half-Life 2 pioneered physics-based puzzles and combat, Half-Life: Alyx set a new standard for polish in virtual reality shooters and is a truly unique experience. It’s so impressive, in fact, that we believe fully justifies investing in a VR headset for your PC if you haven’t already (especially now that a Meta Quest 2 can be had for $300 and connects to your PC wirelessly via Air Link).
Alyx’s full-length campaign pulls out all the stops for an amazing and horrifying battle against aliens and zombies where the simple act of reloading your weapon becomes a desperate life-or-death struggle as headcrabs leap toward your actual face. Other VR games have great shooting, but even more than a year later nothing has yet matched Valve’s level of detail. Clever three-dimensional puzzles and excellent and often funny performances from its cast break up the action, and it’s all capped off with a fantastic ending that made the decade-plus we had to wait for the third coming of Half-Life almost feel worth it.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Deep, lengthy RPGs are a staple of PC gaming, and very few have put a larger chunk of sophisticated content forward than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has. Its massive sandbox open-world areas impress, both in terms of scope and density; they’re generously dotted with great monsters to slay, tantalizing mysteries to solve, and personal stories to unfurl.
It’s also one of the most impressive overall productions in gaming history, with reams of excellently written dialogue performed by a stellar voice cast, an incredible original soundtrack, and graphics that qualify as both a technical and artistic achievement.
CD Projekt Red is working on a new Witcher trilogy, as well as an Unreal Engine 5 remake of The Witcher 1. The next-gen Witcher 3 upgrade, meanwhile, is now available — check out our Witcher 3 next-gen performance review for more.
3. XCOM 2
XCOM 2 builds on the brilliant, high-stakes tactical combat of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and its War of the Chosen expansion made it even better. It has the same tension of going from a technologically inferior underdog to powerful war machine, with the constant threat of the permanent death of your customized soldiers looming over every decision.
However, it turns the formula of defending Earth from alien invaders on its head by boldly recasting XCOM as a guerrilla force attempting to liberate the planet from alien occupation, making the situation feel even more desperate than ever. This bigger, deeper sequel adds not just complexity in the form of new and more powerful soldier classes, equipment, and aliens, but also a huge focus on replayability. Procedurally generated maps keep you from falling into a repeatable pattern in tactical missions, frequent random events on the strategic map shake up your build and research orders, and of course mods galore.
4. Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium took age-old CRPG mechanics and created something entirely modern with them. As well as transplanting the dice-rolls and deep dialogue options from Dungeons and Dragons into a lesser-seen noir-detective setting, it offers entirely original ways to play, such as such as debating against 24 different sections of your own brain, each representative of a different skill or trait.
Your down-and-out detective is thrust into circumstances where you must solve a murder, but with all great stories its not the conclusion that is solely gratifying, but the journey you took to get there as its ludicrously detailed world and cast of characters drive it along, supported by some of the best writing seen in a game. Playing Disco Elysium feels entirely fresh and pretty much unlike anything else you’ll have experienced on PC in any era, let alone this one.
Key members of the Disco Elysium development team are no longer with ZA/UM, making a Disco Elysium sequel unlikely. The fallout between those developers and ZA/UM has gotten quite messy.
5. Elden Ring
In just the few short months since its release, Elden Ring’s reputation has only grown, which is insane to even think about considering that its reputation right when it came out was one of the highest reviewed games of all time. It’s all deserved praise, because Elden Ring truly is a monumental achievement in the open world genre.
Its world is a wonder to explore, with memorable experiences, valuable rewards, and imposing boss fights covering nearly every square inch of its absolutely enormous map. The only thing that holds it back on this list is the fact that it still struggles a bit performance-wise on the PC. But that doesn’t stop it from being an easy pick for our top five best PC games of all time.
Elden Ring is one of the best-reviewed games in modern history. It was crowned Game of the Year by IGN and The Game Awards.
Read more: Top 5 hardest mobile games like Elden Ring
(IGN)
