Pc game top 10: The 25 Best PC Games to Play Right Now

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Xbox Game Pass is arguably the industry’s subscription service to beat, and within that service lies arguably the best value in terms of software with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Compiling Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and beautifully remastered versions of Halo 2, 3, ODST, Reach, and Halo 4, The Master Chief Collection includes one of gaming’s greatest sci-fi sagas spread across several of its best first-person shooters.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: 343 Industries | IGN’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection Wiki

Halo Infinite

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The latest chapter of Master Chief’s saga avoids the pitfall of its predecessor by putting the Chief back in the spotlight. Halo Infinite excellent single-player campaign sharpens the series’ existing on-foot and vehicular gameplay while introducing an open-world map and an unforgettable new traversal tool in the Grappleshot. Despite community complaints about the lack of new Halo Infinite multiplayer content, what is there is great — the free-to-play online modes feature well-designed maps and some of the tightest FPS controls to date. While there’s still room to grow — we’re still waiting on those couch co-op and Forge updates! — Halo Infinite is an encouraging return to form for Microsoft’s flagship franchise.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: 343 Industries | IGN’s Halo Infinite Wiki

Hitman Trilogy

Another extraordinary value within Game Pass is the Hitman Trilogy, which bundles every map and mission from Hitman, Hitman 2, and Hitman 3. The 20-plus thoughtfully designed assassination sandboxes are chock-full of daring and hilarious ways for Agent 47 to deal with targets: rig an exploding golfball, sabotage a family photo, feed a man to his pet hippo. IO has created deep, highly replayable playgrounds lined with hundreds of avenues for mayhem.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: IO Interactive | IGN’s Hitman 3 Wiki

It Takes Two

It Takes Two, the latest co-op-only game from Hazelight Studios (A Way Out, Brothers), is an exceptional adventure that keeps players on their toes by stitching together dozens of gameplay ideas and mechanics throughout its 10-12-hour runtime. It walks a tightrope between challenging and accessible for new gamers, ultimately serving as a great choice for those looking to introduce a friend, family member, or partner to the world of cooperative gaming.

Available on: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass | Developer: Hazelight Studios | IGN’s It Takes Two Wiki

Life Is Strange: True Colors

Life Is Strange came on the scene in 2015, mirroring the episodic format Telltale Games had popularized at the time. Like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us before it, Life Is Strange was an emotionally compelling, story-driven adventure full of player choice and branching narratives. With Life Is Strange: True Colors, the series continued that narrative legacy while abandoning the episodic format. True Colors cemented Life Is Strange as one of gaming’s best story-focused series, thanks in large part to its thoughtful diversity of characters and stories.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Deck Nine Games | IGN’s Life Is Strange: True Colors Wiki

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

One of 2021’s biggest surprises was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, an exclusively single-player adventure starring Marvel’s intergalactic team of misfits. Fitting for a Guardians adventure, the story is part comedy, part cosmic adventure. It’s got a ton of heart and a killer soundtrack.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Eidos-Montreal | IGN’s Guardians of the Galaxy Wiki

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect Legendary Edition gives The Master Chief Collection a run for its money in terms of value, bundling three of the best RPGs from the Xbox 360-PS3 era. BioWare’s space opera trilogy is now better than ever thanks to vast visual and performance upgrades. Between the Legendary Edition and Mass Effect: Andromeda, the entire series is available with Game Pass Ultimate for those looking to catch up ahead of the next Mass Effect.

Available on: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass | Developer: BioWare | IGN’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition Wiki

Microsoft Flight Simulator

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Microsoft Flight Simulator uses real-life mapping data to turn the entirety of Earth into an aerial playground. It’s a technical marvel that provides endless opportunities for exploration and discovery, with flexible settings that cater to novices and aviation aficionados alike. IGN’s reviewer Seth Macy awarded it a 10 and called Flight Simulator «the most incredible experience I’ve ever had on a computer.»

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Asobo Studio | IGN’s Microsoft Flight Simulator Wiki

Minecraft

A true digital playground, Minecraft has remained in the gaming zeitgeist for over a decade now, and for good reason: It’s an endless sandbox for creation and community. Its staying power is unprecedented — it was the most-played game of Q1 2022 — and with over 200 million units sold, it’s the best-selling video game of all time.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Mojang Studios | IGN’s Minecraft Wiki

Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate

Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is our choice for the best fighting game on Game Pass. NetherRealm’s latest features deep, fine-tuned combat; an expectedly absurd story mode; and a solid netcode that allows for smooth online play. The Ultimate version includes all 13 DLC characters and the MK 11: Aftermath story expansion.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: NetherRealm Studios | IGN’s Mortal Kombat 11 Wiki

No Man’s Sky

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Like Minecraft, No Man’s Sky possesses an endless amount of playability in its massive, procedurally generated universe. Largely considered a disappointment at launch, a steady stream of updates over the last six years have turned No Man’s Sky into a must-play for exploration and survival fans. Hello Games has released 19 major updates for No Man’s Sky so far, and according to studio head Sean Murray, it’s “not done yet by a long shot.”

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Hello Games | IGN’s No Man’s Sky Wiki

Octopath Traveler

Square Enix’s gorgeous HD-2D JRPG Octopath Traveler is worth downloading for the visuals alone. However, beyond its beauty lies a deep JRPG with a classically inspired battle system, multi-character narrative, challenging boss battles, and a wealth of side areas and activities.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Square Enix | IGN’s Octopath Traveler Wiki

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Will of the Wisps demands your attention from start to finish: It’s necessary as you slash and dash your way through its challenging platforming sections, and it’s constantly captured by the gorgeous environments, whimsical characters, heartfelt story, and excellent score. Will of the Wisps oscillates between tension and serenity, and the result is an expertly choreographed dance through the vibrant land of Niwen.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Moon Studios | IGN’s Ori and the Will of the Wisps Wiki

Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is a true adventure game, one that requires patience and thoughtful problem-solving. To say much would risk spoiling its unique cyclical structure, but suffice it to say that as your understanding of its world and history grows, so does the satisfaction of discovery and exploration.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Mobius Digital | IGN’s Outer Wilds Wiki

Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts 2 Screenshots

Double Fine’s latest adventure also happens to be one of its best. Released 16 years after the original, Psychonauts 2 continues the story of Raz and the Psychonauts as they venture into minds and uncover surprisingly affecting stories buried within the psyches of the game’s memorable characters. It’s got all the charm and personality of the original, with much-improved combat and platforming.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Double Fine Productions | IGN’s Psychonauts 2 Wiki

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is forever tied to the history of Game Pass, as it was the first Microsoft first-party game to launch day and date on the service. It suffered a rough launch, but its inclusion in Game Pass presumably kept its player count up enough for Rare to continue iterating. Those investments have paid off over the last four years, as Sea of Thieves has surpassed 25 million players. It’s become one of the best multiplayer experiences on Game Pass, and there’s even more new content to come in the months ahead.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Rare | IGN’s Sea of Thieves Wiki

Slay the Spire

“Slay the Spire takes some of the best parts of deckbuilding games, roguelikes, and dungeon crawlers and mixes them into a wholly new and extremely satisfying package,” reads IGN’s review. Like the best strategy games, Slay the Spire is easy to pick up but difficult to master, making its hundredth hour as engaging as its first.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Mega Crit

Spelunky 2

Spelunky 2 builds on the brilliance of its predecessor by expanding on its challenging 2D platforming with new areas, enemies, hazards, items, animal mounts, a less-linear progression system, and rewarding hidden levels. Visually, it retains the cartoonish charm of the original while improving the graphical quality and the fluidity of animations. Spelunky 2 earned a 10 from IGN, with reviewer Mitchell Saltzman saying it “takes everything that made the original great and expands upon each of those individual aspects without ever overcomplicating the elegant, retro simplicity of its 2D platforming.”

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Mossmouth | IGN’s Spelunky 2 Wiki

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Reveal Trailer Screenshots

One of the all-time best Star Wars games is Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order. The third-person action-adventure blends soulslike gameplay with cinematic storytelling, resulting in a galactic journey worthy of the Star Wars name. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can play Fallen order ahead of its recently announced sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, due out in 2023.

Available on: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass | Developer: Respawn Entertainment | IGN’s Jedi: Fallen Order Wiki

Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive has gone down as Xbox One’s most under-appreciated console exclusive. Developer Insomniac’s singular vision of the apocalypse is full of color, charm, and comedy. The stylistic shooter also features some of the best traversal mechanics from that generation — outdone only by Insomniac’s followup, Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Insomniac Games | IGN’s Sunset Overdrive Wiki

Tunic

Under Tunic’s whimsical charm lies a deep, challenging adventure deserving of its spot on our list of the best-reviewed games of 2022. Largely created by a single developer, Tunic’s enigmatic world design and challenging combat are balanced by intuitive instructions and responsive controls. As IGN reviewer Ryan McCaffrey wrote, Tunic is a “fantastic Zelda-style game for the Elden Ring generation.”

Available on: Xbox and PC Game Pass | Developer: Andrew Shouldice | IGN’s Tunic Wiki

Those are our picks for the best games you can find on Xbox Game Pass. Let us know in the comments what made your list that might have been left off ours!

The best low-spec PC games for low end systems

(Image credit: Innersloth)

On the hunt for something new to play on your low end PC or laptop? You may be shocked just how great some of the lower spec games look. While gaming laptops power up every year, not everyone has a fresh laptop with a GTX 2080 in it. Some people need a notebook for travel, which often means not being able to play the most demanding PC games. Fortunately, in this golden age of gaming, we have countless great low-spec PC games to enjoy, whether it’s an indie or an old classic from Steam’s bottomless buffet.

This is our selection of the best games for laptops and low-spec rigs—games that will gas you up without burning down your system. We’ve rooted through and explored all sorts of genres, so you’ll find quick pick-up-and-play games alongside complex RPGs that you can lose days in. There are choices that can become your new main squeeze, and others that are great when you just have a few minutes to kill time between meetings.

These are mostly newer games with accessible system requirements, but of course there are tons of classic PC games, from Doom to Half-Life 2, that will run smooth as silk on any modern laptop. Check out GOG’s old games or the Internet Archive’s in-browser emulation library .

Looking for a new laptop to game on the go? Here’s our guide to the best gaming laptops . 

Best laptop games: Multiplayer

Among Us

(Image credit: Innersloth)

Release date: 2018 | Developer: InnerSloth | Link: Steam

If you’re up for a bit of subterfuge with friends, Among Us is one you can be sure they’ll be able to play almost no matter how old their machine is. It even has cross-play between PCs and phones if that’s all they have handy. Among Us is a familiar format to anyone who’s played Werewolf or other similar group tabletop games. A crew of brightly-colored space engineers are stuck trying to repair a ship while discovering who among them (get it?) is the imposter trying to murder the rest. The fun is in how well you and your friends can fool one another more than fancy lighting effects, so it’s an easy one to pick up and play on a low-spec machine. 

Old School Runescape

(Image credit: Jagex)

Release date: 2013 | Developer: Jagex| Link: Steam

This oldie hails from the era when today’s low end PCs were hot stuff. Runescape has been around for a long time and there’s definitely a reason why. This MMO hails from the days when online games didn’t always guide you down a paved path of quests and leveling opportunities. The Old School version of Runescape takes you back to those early days of its online world. You may struggle to get started in this one without the wiki handy, but at least it won’t put your PC to the test. 

Untitled Goose Game

(Image credit: House House)

Release date: 2019 | Developer: House House | Link: Official site

The not titled goose game is plenty short and so are its required system specs. If you somehow went dark on the internet in the weeks following the Goose Game’s launch, you may have missed how many goose memes it birthed into the unsuspecting mainstream social media sphere. The Goose Game is a charming little stealth puzzler about being a terribly foul goose on the loose in a quaint little British village. In our Untitled Goose Game review, Luke Kemp says «I can’t remember the last game that made me laugh so loudly and so often while I was playing it.»

Portal 2

(Image credit: Valve)

Release date: 2011 | Developer: Valve | Link: Steam page

We could have included pretty much any Source engine game here, such is the impressive way it scales to lower-spec hardware. (Admittedly, that might be because it’s getting on a bit.) While Half-Life 2 shines these days with visual mods and at higher resolutions, Portal 2 remains one of the funniest, smartest puzzle games around, even if you had cause to play it at 800×600 with all the settings turned to ‘Low’. You’re not playing this one to be wowed by fancy graphical effects—you’re playing for Stephen Merchant’s, J.K. Simmons’, and Ellen McLain’s terrific voice acting, and of course for that bit with the potato.

Minecraft

(Image credit: Mojang)

Release date: 2011 | Developer: Mojang | Link: Official site

One of the main questions you see asked online about laptops is “Will it run Minecraft?”, to which the answer, for future reference, is “Yeah probably”. Mojang’s infinite block-’em-up isn’t terribly demanding specs-wise, and it’s the perfect game to mess around with on a laptop when you’re supposed to be writing features for PC Gamer about low-spec games. While it’s often played on a tablet, phone or console these days, you’re getting the latest updates and mod support if you choose to build stuff with your PC. Here’s our frequently updated list of the best Minecraft mods.

Stardew Valley

(Image credit: Eric Barone)

Release date: 2016 | Developer: ConcernedApe | Link: Humble Store

An indie sensation that brought the idyllic farm life of Harvest Moon to PC. Build your farm into a vegetable empire, go exploring, learn about the lives of your neighbors, fall in love and settle down. Simple graphics ensure this one will run like a dream on your laptop, and it’ll make long flights pass by in a snap. Stardew Valley has officially supported co-op farming for a couple years now, which is undoubtedly a great way to go back to Pelican Town.

Best laptop games: Strategy

Loop Hero

(Image credit: Devolver)

Release: 2021 | Developer: Four Quarters | Link: Steam

This tiny strategy game was one of our early favorites in 2021. «From the moment the 16-color title screen fades in alongside dramatic chiptunes, you feel like you’re playing some forgotten, VGA-era fantasy RPG, a game that still contains some of the mystery and difficulty of 1991, but gently modernized to 2021,» Evan says in our Loop Hero review. Most importantly, all that classically-inspired goodness comes in a tiny installation that shouldn’t challenge your PC nearly as much as your strategy skills.

Slay the Spire

(Image credit: Mega Crit Games)

Release date: 2019 | Developer: Mega Crit Games | Link: Steam

An instantly addictive card combat roguelike, which takes the strategic fun of deckbuilding board games and marries it with the sensibilities of games like The Binding of Isaac and Risk of Rain, where finding random «relics» can change how you play. Or, if you get a lucky combination, turn you into a murderous card god. Like the best roguelikes and deckbuilders, Slay the Spire feeds you that immense satisfaction when you find a combo that absolutely wrecks. Enemies that were once intimidating fall before you like flies. It’s a fun one to replay again and again, thanks to unlockables like more powerful cards for each deck type, and protagonists that play wholly differently from one another.

Into The Breach

(Image credit: Subset Games)

Release date: 2018 | Developer: Subset Games | Link: Humble Store

A phenomenal, bite-sized turn-based strategy game from the makers of FTL, and easily one of PC Gamer’s favorite games of 2018. It’s incredibly replayable, with different mech squads and tactics to master. As we said in our Into The Breach review: «Exacting, agonising, challenging, and intensely rewarding, Into the Breach delivers in the tiniest package the most perfectly formed tactics around.»

Civilization 5

(Image credit: Firaxis)

Release date: 2010 | Developer: Firaxis Games | Link: Humble Store

Civ is usually a safe bet when it comes to low-end machines, and you won’t need too beefy a PC in order to play the second newest entry in the series. Just don’t go blaming us when you forget to sleep, so embroiled are you in your quest to wipe the warmongering Gandhi from the face of the Earth. 4Xs in general tend to be quite kind to laptops, so if you meet the (slightly less modest) requirements, it’s worth casting your eye over Amplitude Studios’ fantasy-themed Endless Legend, and Triumph’s Age of Wonders III as well.

Magic: The Gathering Arena

(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Release date: 2018 | Developer: Wizards of the Coast | Link: Official site

Finally, the digital adaptation Magic deserves. The eternal collectible card game has gotten plenty of bite-size videogames over the years, and limped along with the bigger, messier Magic: The Gathering Online, but this one is finally the real Magic experience, and it’s still a lot of fun. And its recommended system specs belong to 2011 hardware—any modern laptop will handle it no problem.

«It’s free-to-play and generous,» we wrote in our Magic: The Gathering Arena review. «When you buy a booster pack, whether with cash or gold earned in-game, you earn wildcards which can be traded for any card of an equivalent rarity (replacing the typical dusting and crafting systems of other digital CCGs). It is much more generous than tabletop Magic. You’ll still need to drop money for whatever perfect deck’s dominating the meta, or if you can’t be bothered grinding daily quests for gold. But if you climbed out of the money hole of collecting Magic cards in a book full of plastic sleeves back in the day, this is a safe way of re-experiencing that without going broke.»

Darkest Dungeon

(Image credit: Red Hook Studios)

Release date: 2016 | Developer: Red Hook Studios | Link: Humble Store

A brilliant, stressful strategy dungeon explorer that channels Lovecraft with brilliant narration and truly terrifying quests. As your party encounters horrors in the dark, the stress piles on, and too much stress causes them to take on new personality quirks that snowball into yet more stress and loss of sanity. This creates a constant tension. What if your plague doctor is the most reliable member of your party, but insults his comrades every few minutes, raising their stress levels? Permadeath is brutal in Darkest Dungeon, but you’ll find it hard to quit even when an entire party of heroes gets wiped out.

Best laptop games: RPGs

Disco Elysium — The Final Cut

(Image credit: ZA/UM)

Release: 2019 | Developer: ZA/UM | Link: Steam

This is one of our favorite RPGs of all time, and our Game Of The Year in 2019. Disco Elysium is gorgeous in a sad, gritty way, but its painterly 2D environments won’t push your system. It’s a detective RPG that feels quite a lot like playing a classic adventure game or a visual novel. Expect to slow things down here to discover clues and secrets in its detailed environments and read a lot of fantastic writing. It’s sly, clever, and full of surprises, meaning you can get some of the best new RPG action without needing a GPU that handles ray-tracing.  

Thanks to the Final Cut version of the game that now comes standard, Disco Elysium’s installation size is a bit beefier than it used to be. If you’ve got the space to spare though, it should still run swell.

Sunless Skies

(Image credit: Failbetter Games)

Release date: 2019 | Developer: Failbetter Games | Link: Steam

Like Sunless Seas before it, Sunless Skies is part roguelike adventure, part interactive fiction. But it does both better than ever. It earned a 90 in our review, «because of how brilliantly its disparate elements combine to produce exciting stories, from scrapes you survive by the skin of your teeth, to moments where your own hubris gets you killed. It helps that death means something, because that elevates the stakes when you’re one direct hit from a yawning hole opening up in your hull and some hideous monstrosity is circling around for another attack… Beyond the changes you make, the sheer range of scenarios and potential outcomes means you’ll discover something new on every run. «

For more wonderful writing in a game that leans more heavily towards interactive fiction with fewer survival mechanics, check out the sublime 80 Days, too. A game about traveling the world is perfect when you’re traveling the world with a laptop.

West of Loathing

(Image credit: Asymmetric)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: Asymmetric | Link: Steam

The funniest game of 2017, and maybe the funniest RPG we’ve ever played. This is a game you explore for jokes, not loot. They’re in every corner of the world, and even in the options menu, and it’s a joy to discover them. West of Loathing is also a genuinely fun and clever RPG, with classes like the Beanslinger and Cowpuncher instead of genre standards.

As we wrote in our West of Loathing review: «Flush a toilet for an XP gain, search a haystack for a needle or dig through a mine cart for a hunk of meat ore (West of Loathing has a meat-based economy), and insult yourself in a mirror to gain a combat buff because you angered yourself so much. Most importantly, sticking your nose in every corner of West of Loathing isn’t just beneficial for improving your character’s stats and filling your bottomless inventory with weapons, garments, food, hooch, and hats (there are over 50 of them!). This is a funny game, and you’ll want to root out every last shred of humor before you’re done with it.»

Undertale

(Image credit: tobyfox)

Release date: 2015 | Developer: tobyfox | Link: Humble Store

2015’s breakout RPG inversion might owe a bit of its widespread success to the fact that a toaster could run it. This isn’t to say it’s not a looker or fun. For those versed in RPG and popular video game tropes, Undertale is a colorful, charming, upsetting swan ride through your habits and behaviors. Date a skeleton, pet (or kill) some dogs, think way too hard about mice and cheese. As we explain in our Undertale review, it will make you second guess every key press except the ‘Buy’ button.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

(Image credit: inXile Entertainment)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: inXile Entertainment | Link: Humble Store

A successor to Planescape: Torment? It seemed too good to be true, and yet inXile took the engine Obsidian made for Pillars of Eternity and managed to return to the world of Torment in an RPG that recaptures much of what made the original so special. Lucky for laptop gamers, it can also run on low-end hardware, which is fitting for a throwback RPG. In our Torment: Tides of Numenera review, we wrote that «a slow start gives way to a thought-provoking adventure in a remarkable setting. A fitting follow-up to a beloved RPG.»

Best laptop games: Puzzle & Adventure

Opus Magnum

(Image credit: Zachtronics)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: Zachtronics | Link: Steam

We have only good things to say about Opus Magnum, but this endorsement could really be swapped out for any of Zachtronics’ insidiously deep and clever puzzle games. If cyberpunk’s your jam, try out Exapunks instead. But why Opus Magnum? The joy of expression that comes from building simple (or ridiculously complex) machines to solve a particular problem, then sitting back and watching it all work. 

We scored it a 91 in our Opus Magnum review, writing «the magic to Opus Magnum is that while there are theoretical perfect machines, the space in which you construct your solution is so wide open that you feel like you’re piecing it all together entirely yourself, and the restrictions are entirely common sense, so frustrations are usually down to your own inability rather than arbitrary rules…  You’ll see how your Steam friends rated and a histogram showing where your ratings lie across all players; I challenge you not to feel tempted to go right back again to make your machine better, and to wonder, how on Earth was it possible to make it *that* quick?»

Baba Is You

(Image credit: Hempuli Oy)

Release date: 2019 | Developer: Hempuli Oy | Link: Steam

The best puzzle game of 2019? Certainly the one with the catchiest name. It’s about pushing blocks, but also pushing words, which then become commands. And from those simple combinations, wild varieties of puzzles unfold. It’s hard to describe but easy to understand once you play it, and in our Baba Is You review we dig into why it’s so fun to play: 

«[One] solution is to make use of the blocks which determine your avatar—they read ‘Baba is you’ in a vertical line. Don’t disconnect them, otherwise ‘you’ no longer exist in the level and cannot interact with it. But you can use ‘Baba’ as the start of a horizontal command, a bit like a programming crossword puzzle. Write ‘Baba is win’ and it makes you (Baba) the win condition of the level. There’s so much potential and it’s so satisfying!»

Unavowed

(Image credit: Wadjet Eye)

Release date: 2018 | Developer: Wadjet Eye | Link: Steam

The latest adventure game from Blackwell creators Wadjet Eye is one of its best, bringing in demons, exorcisms, and some light roleplaying elements that affect how the story plays out. Take it from our Unavowed review : «Unavowed is another fantastic adventure from Wadjet Eye, and it’s great to see studio founder Dave Gilbert back in the saddle. The humour didn’t always land for me and some of the voice acting is a little iffy, but otherwise this is a fine example of a modern point-and-click adventure. The addition of character customisation and companions doesn’t sound like much, but it massively changes the feel of the game, even if other aspects, such as the puzzles, are still steeped in the past.»

Gorogoa

(Image credit: Buried Signal)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: Buried Signal | Link: Steam

An ingenious puzzle game years in the making, hand-drawn by creator Jason Roberts. Gorogoa tells a story with its puzzles, rather than simply placing puzzles in a thematic wrapping. This is part of what makes it something special, and particularly engrossing, as we wrote in our Gorogoa review: «The story itself is an interesting, ambiguous framework through which to explore the idea of repeating patterns. You aren’t quite seeing the underpinnings of the game’s universe so much as you’re tuning into refrains that recur across time and scale—coherence rather than transparency… A fantastic feat of interlocking storytelling and design.»

Best laptop games: Action & Platformers

Terraria

(Image credit: Re-Logic)

Release: 2011 | Developer: Re-Logic | Link: Steam

Terraria is a huge game in a very tiny package. Even if you originally wrote it off as a 2D Minecraft clone, it’s grown far beyond that label in the years since. Terraria is a crafting adventure with heaps of updates to its name with new bosses, biomes, fishing, and too many other things to name. It was still getting updates in 2020. Frankly, Wes thinks it’s ludicrous that it still costs just $10. It’s also wild how little this huge game demands from your computer with its tiny install size and modest system requirements.

Amid Evil

(Image credit: New Blood)

Release: 2019 | Developer: Indefatigable | Link: Steam

In the wake of 2016’s Doom, we’ve seen a resurgence of new-but-old shooters that fully embrace the graphical styles and level design of 90s hallmarks like Quake and Hexen. Amid Evil may be the best of them: it’s the heavy metal album cover version of a 90s FPS, full of epic axes, swords that shoot green energy beams, and grenade launcher wands that fire miniaturized planets as weapons. Every area in the game has a unique aesthetic and set of enemies, so it never overstays its welcome. And because the design is faithful to its 90s inspirations, it’ll run on a toaster (a suitably hardcore toaster, anyway).

If Amid Evil isn’t quite your aesthetic, check out the also fantastic Dusk or Ion Fury.

Celeste

(Image credit: Matt Makes Games)

Release date: 2018 | Developer: Matt Makes Games | Link: Steam

The indie platformer darling of the past few years, and with good reason: Celeste combines tight, instantly satisfying controls with wonderful music and a story that may speak to you, if you’ve ever battled your way through depression. If you’re more into the jumping than the self-reflection, that’s okay too—Celeste has the snappiness of Super Meat Boy, where trying a challenge over and over again takes only seconds, and nailing it at the end leaves you pumping your fists. That air-dash. *Chef’s kiss*

Like many PC platformers, Celeste is perfectly playable with mouse and keyboard, but you might want to throw a controller with a good D-pad in your bag if you’re traveling.

Cuphead

(Image credit: StudioMDHR)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: StudioMDHR | Link: Humble Store

Quite possibly the prettiest game you can play on a laptop or low-end system thanks to its hand-drawn, classically animated 2D graphics. Cuphead channels Gunstar Heroes and other 90s platformers with tough as nails multi-stage bosses, but learnable tells and patterns make it conquerable if you keep a cool head and stick with it. It’s worth playing for the phenomenal soundtrack and art alone, but why not team up with Mugman and take down a few bosses while you’re admiring the craft?

(Image credit: Suspicious Developments)

Release date: 2017 | Developer: Suspicious Developments | Link: Humble Store

Made by former PC Gamer editor Tom Francis, creator of the also-excellent (and low-spec-friendly) Gunpoint , Heat Signature is a game about sneaking onto spaceships, braining guards with a wrench or using all kinds of gadgets to carry out a mission, and dealing with the chaos that ensues. In our review, we wrote: «Heat Signature inspires creativity through emergent complexity like any great immersive sim. I can’t stop regaling friends with my stories of heists gone bad or boasting about my flashes of brilliance in the heat of the moment. Heat Signature is brilliant at teasing these anecdotal threads out of a procedural universe.»

Best laptop games: Story games

Emily Is Away <3

(Image credit: Kyle Seeley)

Release date: 2021 | Developer: Kyle Seeley | Link: Steam

The entire Emily Is Away series looks like it’s running on a 15 year old machine, and it probably could. These fake social media games are interactive stories about a group of high schoolers navigating all their interpersonal relationships. Emily Is Away and Emily Is Away Too are made to look like AOL Instant Messenger while the third has moved along to the Facebook era. They’re all excellent stories that will take you back to the old internet days and they’ve got system requirements to match.

Her Story

(Image credit: Sam Barlow)

Release date: 2015 | Developer: Sam Barlow | Link: Steam

Her story is an FMV game about watching video tapes from interviews with a woman concerning a murder from 1994. Hunting through a database using keywords to find clips and solve the mystery has all sorts of twists and turns that make it an excellent story. «Her Story has all the drama and intrigue of the best TV crime shows, but plays to the interactive strengths of the medium in a daring, imaginative way, trusting you to make sense of the scattered jigsaw pieces at your own pace,» says our Her Story review.

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Lauren started writing for PC Gamer as a freelancer in 2017 while chasing the Dark Souls fashion police and accepted her role as Associate Editor and Chief Minecraft Liker in 2021. She originally started her career in game development and is still fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long books, longer RPGs, multiplayer cryptids, and can’t stop playing co-op crafting games.

With contributions from

• Wes FenlonSenior Editor

Top 10 PC (PC) games of all time

Which projects have become the best PC games of all time? This is a very popular question, but it is extremely difficult to answer it. In every decade, iconic games have been released that have propelled the industry forward. The popularity of the game, its contribution to the industry, cult status, replay value — there are many criteria according to which you can choose the best game. Ranking the top PC games of all time is no easy task.

We chose from thousands of games available and decided to download the top PC games to refresh our memories of some of them. We took into account factors such as valuations, sales volumes, impact on the development of the industry and their relevance today. We’ve explored free to play games that shouldn’t be ignored either, and we’ve looked at Mac games. nine0003

We decided to highlight the 10 greatest video games of all time, and here’s what we came up with. Without a doubt, these are the games that everyone should play.

The best PC games of all time

10 — PUBG (PUBG Corporation, 2017)

Let’s start with the most modern game on our list. PUBG has earned a spot on the list of the best PC games of all time. The reason for this is a huge influence on the currently popular battle royale genre. Remember the furore that the books and film adaptations of the Hunger Games cycle made? Users loved the idea of ​​pitting 100 players in an epic battle. nine0003

PUBG is used not only as a place for battles, but also suitable for chatting with friends. Thanks to this game, subsequent projects in this genre, such as Fortnite, have achieved worldwide success.

9 — Dune II: Battle for Arrakis (Westwood Studios, 1992)

Desert planet Arrakis, aka Dune. Influential space houses are fighting for power and spice — a product of the vital activity of giant worms. The creators of the game were inspired by the books of Frank Herbert and the film adaptation of the same name 1984 years old.

Fans of real-time strategy (RTS) know that this game was the founder of the genre. The projects that came out of Dune improved the gameplay, fixed the errors of the original, but we included it in our top PC games for its enormous authority. Funcom has been developing a multiplayer survival sim set in the Dune universe for several years now. It is not yet known what genres it will combine in itself, maybe a new MMORPG is waiting for us?

8 — Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar North, 2013)

A familiar story about the career of American robbers, friendship and betrayal. The game allows you to play it as you please. Gunfights, car tuning, exciting races, yoga classes, humor and music, your own psychotherapist is included. The online mode makes the game relevant to this day.

The popularity of the GTA series began in 1997. Surviving three generations of consoles, GTA 5 still boasts millions of players, which means it deserves a place in our top PC games of all time. It is also currently the most profitable game in the world based on sales volume and microtransactions. nine0003

7 — Minecraft (Mojang, 2011)

Adult freedom and building or sandbox. Swedish designer Markus Persson has managed to create a phenomenon in the modern gaming industry. In this review, we pay a lot of attention to the cult games of the 20th century, and still we cannot but include the most famous indie game in the world in our top games on PC.

Minecraft today remains not only one of the best PC games of all time, but also the best-selling game in history. 200 million copies sold — no more words needed. Became interesting? Read this review and you can download the demo version of the game to play online for free. nine0003

6 — Quake (ID Software, 1996)

Brutal adventure of a nameless soldier whose base is attacked by an enemy codenamed Quake. A story known to any person who considers himself a gamer. Many will call the project one of the best PC games of all time.

Until 1996, 3D worlds in video games were extremely limited. None of them were as detailed as Quake’s. The game also stands at the origins of esports. In 1997, a large Quake competition was held, which brought together 2,000 participants. Winner Dennis Fong won a Ferrari car. The tournament is considered the first mass esports tournament. Thus, Quake has easily secured a place in our ranking of the best games of all time. nine0003

5 — Diablo 2 (Blizzard, 2000)

This is dark fantasy. The fictional world of Sanctuary is being attacked by demons. They are opposed by the protagonist that develops over the course of the game, but the crowds of demons also become stronger and more sophisticated.

The original Diablo was fantastic in its own right. Diablo 2 took all the best from the first part and became even more perfect. The game has gained a cult status in the RPG genre. The best-selling game of 2000 has not lost popularity to this day, and subsequently it was decorated with a multiplayer mode. Therefore, we can safely rank it among the best PC games of all time. nine0003

4 — Half-Life (Valve, 1998)

What Quake has done to advance 3D in first-person shooters, Half-Life has done to storytelling, as it places a lot of emphasis on story. This game starts with a 20 minute introduction where you do nothing. At the time of its release, it was unprecedented. This is one of the games you should play if you love good storytelling.

The game showed that shooters can be a more serious genre and go beyond action. The cult Counter-Strike appeared on the game engine — another project that could well enter the ranking of the best games of all time. nine0003

3 — Mass Effect (BioWare, 2007)

Late 22nd century. In the Milky Way galaxy, mankind has mastered interstellar transitions. Captain Shepard becomes involved in a mysterious story related to an artifact of the ancient Prothean civilization, found during excavations on a distant planet.

The first game quickly became a trilogy, followed by sequels. Based on the game, books were written, comics were drawn, and in 2012 there was even an anime. Perhaps we will see a film adaptation? We just couldn’t help but include this iconic title in our top PC games. nine0003

2 — Sid Meier’s Civilization III (Firaxis Games, 2001)

Develop your own civilization from inception to the present day and into the future. Battles against artificial intelligence or online network games — everyone will find their own mode.

We have chosen the classic third part, although subsequent releases are supported by an army of fans.

Civilization III became the game of 2001. It was well received by both critics and players. The Metacritic rating for the Windows platform is still 90%. We think this is one of those games that all history buffs should play. Without hesitation, we give it the second place in our list of the best games of all time.

1 — Doom (ID Software, 1993)

Crush demons with a variety of guns. Such a simple idea and the IDDQD mantra took the world by storm. No list of the best PC games of all time is complete without Doom, and we rightfully put it at number one.

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Doom, not just for gaming, but for the entire PC market. An entire generation dreamed of buying a computer to play Doom. At some point, the number of installations of the game on computers exceeded the number of installed copies of Microsoft Windows. nine0003

Top 10 PC Games: Conclusion

Of course, no list of the best PC games of all time is perfect. As you read, you probably wondered: where is [insert the name of your favorite game]?

As with any art project, PC games are subjective. In the end, the best PC games of all time are the ones that mean the most to you. We won’t be surprised if for some it even turns out to be online flash games — sometimes we ourselves want to run the good old Pac-Man in the browser. The history of computer games continues to write itself right now, and there are still many pages ahead. nine0117 PC PS4 Xbox One 25 марта 2013 55 ↓ 74 Gran Turismo 7
PS4 PS5 4 марта 2022 55 ↓ 75 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Switch March 20, 2020 95 76 Destiny
PS3 PS4 Xbox 360 Xbox One

Values ​​updated 2022-10-31

If you recommend the game, feel free to click on the plus. If not, minus. Only registered users with a reputation higher than 1 can vote.

You can read more about our rating of the best computer games here. The editorial score can be from 0 to 100. By clicking on the title, you will be taken directly to the review of the game or to significant material from which everything will become clear.