The 12 Best Horror Games on PC
AmnesiaDead by DaylightFive Nights at Freddy’sPathologicPhasmophobia
From Phasmophobia to Visage, these are some of the scariest video games to play.
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By IGN Staff
Updated: Nov 1, 2022 9:13 pm
Posted: Oct 12, 2022 10:07 pm
PC is the evil lab where many new horror games are grown and tested. Some of the greatest modern horror games are word-of-mouth hits that began life as experimental PC exclusives. To that end, we’ve selected the top 12 horror games you can play right now on PC.
While some of these aren’t exclusive to PC, each game on this list either got its start or found its audience on the platform. Some of these are horror classics that have influenced countless imitators, while others are still hidden gems lurking in the shadows of digital storefronts. These are our picks for the 12 best horror games on PC.
And when you’re done, be sure to check out our more expansive list of the 25 best PC games to play to continue on your gaming journey.
The 12 Best Horror Games on PC
12. IMSCARED
IMSCARED: A Pixelated Nightmare is the only game on this list that breaks through its .exe boundaries and carries the scares into the real world. As you creep through IMSCARED’s low-res environments, finding keys and attempting to escape the nightmare you’re currently in, an entity known as White Face stalks your every move.
Once caught, White Face triggers a crash back to your desktop and in its wake, a folder containing a text document appears on screen, taunting your failure. It plays with your mind in other ways too: your browser might suddenly open, landing on a spooky YouTube video; elsewhere, HTML web documents appear in another folder, showing a map and the supposed exit to the area you’re in, but can you trust it? It even goes as far as requiring you to delete in-game documents to progress through certain moments. Much like Eternal Darkness, IMSCARED brings its unique style of horror outside of itself — a truly cursed game.
— Jesse Gomez
Release Date: January 31, 2016 | Developer: Ivan Zanotti’s MyMadnessWorks
11. The Cat Lady
Less than a minute into The Cat Lady, you find out the main character, a lonely 40-year old woman named Susan Ashworth, has committed suicide. Soon after, she reawakens in a mysterious world, only to be greeted by someone called The Queen of Maggots who instructs her to remove five ‘parasites’ from the world so that she may finally find peace.
The Cat Lady, despite its complex themes around mental health and serious tone, is surprisingly simple to play. You’ll explore twisted and bizarre environments, collect various items to solve puzzles and guide Susan’s decisions via dialogue choices with other characters. But beyond its traditional point-and-click adventure trappings is an affecting story, rooted in an authentic struggle of a woman who no longer wants to live. — Jesse Gomez
Release Date: December 1, 2012 | Developer: Harvester Games
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10.
Dead By Daylight
Dead By Daylight launched in 2016 as a meager but well-meaning asymmetrical slasher horror game where various bumbling teenagers avoided gnarly eviscerations from archetypal slasher movie villains. By 2021, it’s become the Smash Bros. of horror games, bringing in iconic killer characters like Freddy Kreuger and Michael Myers to legendary horror game villains like Resident Evil’s Nemesis and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head. Dead By Daylight continues to evolve on its premise, routinely adding new characters, features, and more to its rock-solid foundation. One thing remains constant, though: it’s just as fun to play the game as a group of seemingly helpless survivors in one round as it is to play as a huge, powerful, horror movie monster in the next. — Brian Altano
Release Date: June 14, 2016 | Developer: Behaviour Interactive Inc. | IGN’s Dead By Daylight Review
9. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the older games on this list, but it’s here for good reason: its gameplay mechanics helped spur a rebirth (no pun intended with Amnesia’s recent sequel) of the survival horror genre that had drifted into action game territory.
Amnesia starts off with the protagonist, Daniel, waking up alone in a dark castle, Brennenburg. He has no memory of how he got there (hence the name), and as he explores his surroundings, he realizes there’s a shadow stalking him. Wandering about the castle are other creatures that will give chase if they spot you. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if you could fight back, but you can’t. Your only defense is to run and often hide in the dark – a stark contrast to more action-oriented horror games like Resident Evil 5 which had come out the year before.
But here’s the kicker: stay in the dark too long and you’ll lose your mind. It’s not the first game to have a “sanity meter” (Eternal Darkness says hello), but its implementation in Amnesia is pretty ingenious. You’ll need to balance the game’s use of light to see what the hell you’re even doing with hiding in the darkness to avoid monsters, the same darkness that is slowly driving you insane.
Amnesia’s sequels and follow-ups all build upon The Dark Descent’s mechanics in smart ways, and other developers have taken notice.
The Dark Descent still holds up today, even if the controls and interface are a little rough on consoles, so if you’re in the mood to sit in the dark for 10 hours, take a trip to Brennenburg. Just don’t stay in the dark too long. — Jobert Atienza
Release Date: September 8, 2010 | Developer: Frictional Games | IGN’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review
8. World of Horror
Fans of Junji Ito and/or H.P. Lovecraft will want to look into adding World of Horror to their list of scary games to play this October. This “1-Bit” horror game feels like you just stumbled upon a series of eerie and extremely detailed drawings on MS Paint.
Set in Shiokawa, Japan, players are tasked with stopping the apocalypse by exploring various locations and fighting monsters inspired by Japanese horror manga and urban legends. It is, of course, a horror game, but World of Horror also adds elements from the roguelite and RPG genres.
World of Horror’s grasp of tension, perfectly paired soundtrack and overall challenge make it a must-play on PC.
— Taylor Lyles
Release Date: February 20, 2020 | Developer: panstasz
7. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Few games have successfully captured a sense of overwhelming bleakness and foreboding like the STALKER trilogy does. Whether you’re racing to the site of the world’s worst nuclear incident deep within Chernobyl or discovering the secrets hidden within the decrepit city of Pripyat, this living, breathing world is ready to sap the life from your body. So if going toe-to-toe against spirits deep underground, or zombified foes who were once your companions and bloodsucking mutants sound like your kind of thing, it’s time to pay a visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. — Jesse Gomez
Release Date: March 20, 2007 | Developer: GSC Game World | IGN’s STALKER Review
6. Five Nights at Freddy’s
There was always something inherently creepy about being in a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant as a kid, a dimly lit, rat-themed birthday party center with sad pizza, a mostly broken arcade room, and a giant animatronic animal band that would shut down in between songs to stare into the souls of children with giant, dead-eyed looks.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is an entire game about the fleeting joy and haunted magic of a seemingly lifeless collection of animatronic pizza restaurant mascots who suddenly spring to life and become horrifying nightmares, although instead of being a kid at a birthday party, you’re an employee tasked with watching the restaurant after dark and surviving the night yourself.
You’ll flip through security cameras and other various devices while unsettling mechanical faces pop up sporadically or generally go bump in the night, but what makes it all so unique is that Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of the few horror games that most kids can play without enduring a lifetime of trauma. It’s rare to have a game series that can cater to both young and adult horror fans, mostly because it features a thing we can all agree on: animatronic animals are terrifying. — Brian Altano
Release Date: August 18, 2014 | Developer: Scott Cawthon
5. Pathologic
Pathologic was ahead of its time when it was released way back in 2006.
Set in a mysterious town beset by an unknown plague, Pathologic combines horror and mystery for a truly unique experience. Choose one of three player characters who must survive for 12 days while uncovering the mystery of the ‘sand plague.’
Each day, new quests will be available that will take characters one step closer to the truth. But be warned, because these quests will only be available on a specific day, and once it passes it’s gone for good.
Pathologic and its sequel Pathologic 2 truly excel at atmosphere. While jump scares are a bit few and far between, the overwhelming sense of dread will linger through your entire playthrough, and your time in Pathologic will burrow in your mind for much longer. — Matt Kim
Release Date: August 18, 2006 | Developer: Ice-Pick Lodge
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4. Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia came onto the scene like a bat out of hell. Four players can join up as amateur ghost hunters, armed with tools like night-vision cameras, holy water, and radios.
As an early access game, there are still plenty of technical kinks to work out, but the core premise works exceptionally well. Maybe that’s why so many Phasmophobia-likes have popped up on Steam in recent months.
You’ll wander through haunted homes and abandoned prisons, calling out for spirits from the beyond. Gather enough clues and you can try and successfully identify what kind of ghost is haunting that location. Deduce correctly for a nice payday.
As the clock ticks, the chances of running into a ghost increase, and so does the danger. Nothing beats that moment when you suddenly see your friend twist and contort from getting got by one of Phasmophobia’s many evil spirits as you all scramble to the exit for a hasty escape. — Matt Kim
Release Date: September 18, 2020 | Developer: Kinetic Games
3. Chilla’s Art Games
Chilla’s Art is the name of an indie dev team formed by two brothers in Japan. Since 2018, the duo has released over 15 micro horror games on Steam priced at just a couple of dollars.
While these games might only be a few hours long, they pack a horrifying punch.
Every Chilla’s Art game is a unique experience but they’re typically played in the first-person and are centered around a mundane experience that quickly escalates into something terrible. One of the most well-known is The Convenience Store, where players take on the role of night-shift convenience store employee. As players go about their night, restocking items and checking inventory, creepy happenings such as strange customers, unexplained noises, and other horrifying encounters begin to intensify as the night goes on.
With so many Chilla’s Art Games to choose from it’s hard to recommend just one. But with such a low barrier to entry, pick a few and you’re guaranteed to have a good time. — Matt Kim
Release Dates: 2018–2020 | Developer: Chilla’s Art
2. Puppet Combo Games
Babysitter Bloodbath, Power Drill Massacre, and The Night Ripper.
.. No, these aren’t forgotten grindhouse films from the ’80s, but rather delightfully gory and downright terrifying games created by solo indie horror developer, Puppet Combo.
Via Patreon and itch-io, over 20 games in the past decade, all of which offer no shortage of intense and unforgiving moments. Whether you’re escaping from a serial killer while babysitting, taking part in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a psychotic nun in a boarding school (in the aptly named Nun Massacre) or controlling a park ranger on a cold and stormy night while something stalks them from afar, Puppet Combo wholeheartedly embraces its PS1-style, VHS horror roots in every game.
Dire situations, sleazy companions, and unrelenting killers make each and every one of Puppet Combo’s games an unforgettable nightmare. — Jesse Gomez
Release Dates: 2012–2021 | Developer: Puppet Combo
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1. Visage
When Konami canceled Silent Hills in 2015, a slew of spiritual successors and games heavily influenced by the Silent Hills’ playable teaser came out.
This includes Sad Square Studios’ first game, the psychological horror Visage.
Set in the 1980s, you play as Dwayne Anderson, a resident of a large home that is being tormented by the supernatural as he tries to find a way out of the house and learn more about what is causing all the paranormal activity in his home.
As you explore the mostly dark and quiet house, supernatural entities will taunt you by breaking light bulbs, turning on/off lights, and slamming doors. This constant barrage of sensory terror, combined with trying to maintain Dwayne’s sanity, makes Visage one of the more challenging horror games released in recent years. It’s a trial and error game, but your patience is rewarded with a fascinating story, and plenty of jump scares.
While it may not be Silent Hills, the legacy of Konami’s unreleased game courses through the veins of Visage while also maintaining its own identity. — Taylor Lyles
Release Date: October 29, 2020 | Developer: SadSquare Studio
And there you have it! Those are our picks for the top horror PC games.
Disagree with the ranking? Think another entry should have been on the list? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to vote in the poll below! You can also check out our list of the best horror movies of all time for more scares.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The Cat Lady
Chilla’s Art Games
Dead By Daylight
Five Nights at Freddy’s
IMSCARED
Pathologic
Phasmophobia
Puppet Combo
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Visage
World of Horror
The best PC games you need to play right now
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Electronics
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Gaming
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PC is the most versatile platform within the gaming ecosystem. The best gaming PCs and gaming laptops can deliver exceptional performance that bests even the latest consoles in some scenarios, and the variety of titles on the platform is mindblowing.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the best PC games you can play now, from the latest triple-A blockbusters to innovative indie experiences that’ll work on just about any machine.
Red Dead Redemption 2
GameStop
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the highest-rated and most-acclaimed games of the last console generation.
It’s a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption and follows Arthur Morgan as he and the Van Der Linde Gang survive the decline of the Wild West. It’s an action-packed game complete with fantastic characters and an emotional storyline that will have players remembering this title for years to come.
Elden Ring
GameStop
Elden Ring iterates on the classic “Dark Souls” formula, adding an open world filled with mysteries to discover. It’s a brutally difficult game, but a very rewarding one too. Whenever you can’t take down a boss, there’s always the option to go and venture out in the Lands Between to get stronger, whether by fighting more enemies to level up or finding a brand new weapon. Elden Ring has so much content that it can take upwards of 100 hours to simply explore everywhere while going through the main campaign. It’s certainly worth your money.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Sony
PlayStation has been bringing some of its biggest titles to PC and Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the first. The game follows Aloy, a young woman who is outcast from her own society. In a lush post-apocalyptic filled with robot dinosaurs, Aloy uses her bow and arrow to take them down. On her journey, she’ll discover her own destiny and the role she must play to save the planet. Horizon Zero Dawn has incredibly enticing worldbuilding as well as exciting action gameplay. It’s worth playing before you get to its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, which was just released on PS4 and PS5.
Persona 4 Golden
Newegg
Persona 4 Golden was one of the premier titles on Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld and was eventually ported over to PC.
The small town of Inaba has been struck with a serial murder case, and it involves a mysterious shadow world hidden inside a TV. The player must balance going to school and maintaining relationships with classmates, while also venturing out into the Shadow World to fight creatures, hopefully finding clues about the culprit behind the murders along the way. The mix of dungeon crawling and social simulation gameplay elements contrasts in a way that never makes the game feel stale.
In this roguelike game, Zagreus must fight his way out of the underworld in order to reach his mother. Throughout the journey, players will come across many types of weapons and abilities to help Zagreus. Each time he dies, Zagreus must start from the beginning of the underworld again. Every run has a series of randomized rooms filled with a variety of enemies and rewards for beating them.
The characters are incredibly charming and well-acted. While players will die many times, there’s always a sense of progression with its permanent unlocks that will leave them satisfied.
Halo Infinite
Amazon
One of our picks for the best games of 2021, Halo Infinite takes everything great about the long-running Halo franchise and makes it bigger and better than ever. Now capitalizing on an open-world structure, Infinite gives Master Chief a grappling hook that makes exploring the world of Zeta Halo incredibly fun. The first-person shooter tells an emotional story about trust and the ability to move on from the past. With a robust multiplayer portion too — which you can play for free — Halo Infinite will keep players coming back for more.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd
Steam
Taking place half a year after Trails in the Sky Second Chapter, Trails in the Sky the 3rd features Father Kevin Graham as he ventures into a mysterious realm with its own set of paranormal rules.
The game has an in-depth turn-based battle system with fantastic worldbuilding. The first two games in the Trails in the Sky subseries are also on PC as well, for players who want to catch up with the events of this third game.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
Bungie
This is Bungie’s latest expansion for the massively popular shooter Destiny 2, which is now free to play in the form of Destiny 2: New Light. While it is a barebones experience without the expansion packs, its first two major ones, Shadowkeep and Beyond Light, are definitely worth your money. The Witch Queen features Savathun, who is the sister of Oryx (from the original Destiny). There’s a lot of new content in The Witch Queen, including gear, raids and story. Bungie is one of the best in the video game industry when it comes to the feel of first-person shooter gameplay, and Destiny 2 is no different.
With four more planned seasons of content for The Witch Queen, players will find plenty to love with this new expansion.
Lost Ark
Amazon
This South Korean massively multiplayer online (MMO) game was released back in 2019, but Amazon Games more recently brought it over to American and European regions. Now it’s one of the most played games on PC. Players can create and customize their own characters while completing the game’s storyline. Once players hit level 50, they get access to a wide range of endgame content, including dungeons and raids. To many players, Lost Ark has a sense of longevity that many MMOs are lacking, and that’s exactly how the game stands out amongst its competition.
Opus: Echo of Starsong
Steam
Did you play Oregon Trail when you were a kid? That’s what Echo of Starsong is like, except in space.
The game switches between different kinds of gameplay like puzzles, exploring planets and resource management. The emotional and heartwrenching narrative of Echo of Starsong is its true strength. It follows a young man named Jun Lee and a woman named Eda. Together, they traverse through the planetary system, Thousand Peaks, in order to find Eda’s long-lost mentor. Players must manage their fuel while traveling through space between different planets and checkpoints. Each visit offers tidbits about the game’s overall universe and every detail is fascinating.
God of War
Sony
God of War is one of Sony’s most critically acclaimed games, and it’s not hard to see why. The story between Kratos and his son, Atreus, is a heartfelt one. After the death of Kratos’s wife, her final wish is to have her ashes scattered at the highest peak of the nine realms, so both Kratos and Atreus set out on a journey to do that.
The game has blistering action gameplay, with Kratos throwing his Leviathan Axe at enemies and finishing them off with gory, cinematic moves. The way that Kratos calls his axe back into his hand like a boomerang invokes some of the most satisfying feelings ever in a game.
Stardew Valley
Steam
Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game inspired by the likes of Harvest Moon. The player inherits their grandfather’s farm and from there, can start growing crops, raising animals and interacting with various folks within the area. While the Joja Corporation has come into Stardew Valley and destroyed its once-vibrant atmosphere, there’s a new opportunity for the player to restore it back to its former glory. It’s a very open-ended game where players can progress at their own pace, and it’s one of the most relaxing PC titles out there.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Steam
This game is often called one of the best role-playing games of all time. Utilizing an isometric perspective, Divinity: Original Sin has incredible complexity with its gameplay, story and characters. It’s hard to overstate just how much content is actually in this game. Players can customize their characters’ origins, background, skills, abilities, dialogue and much, much more.
Disco Elysium
Steam
Disco Elysium is an incredibly unique game. There’s no combat, but rather the game focuses on using words and dialogue to go through the many conflicts throughout the game. Your player character wakes up in a dirty hotel room and doesn’t recall any memories.
So players are free to shape their own character’s personality through the different dialogue choices. You can just be a bumbling idiot, or you can discuss the deep political complexity behind the poverty surrounding the district.
The Forgotten City
Modern Storyteller
This game takes place during the time of the Roman Empire, and sees its modern day protagonist traveling back in time to a city under control by the “Golden Rule.” It states that any sin committed by the city’s residents would turn them all into gold. It’s unclear what constitutes as a sin, but players are able to re-enter the portal from where they came in order to reset the time loop. It’s a fascinating story about laws and gods, and the mysteries behind the city start to unravel one by one with each loop.
Final Fantasy XIV
GameStop
This is less of a traditional game and more of what the title implies: a flight simulator. Players are able to learn how to fly, going from takeoff all the way to landing. What’s impressive here is that the game utilizes Bing Maps to simulate Earth’s entire topography. Additionally, Microsoft’s Azure AI allows the game to simulate real-world events, such as natural disasters, as they happen. It’s an absolutely gorgeous game and allows players to travel anywhere they want from the safety of their own homes.
Valheim
Steam
Valheim was a surprise early hit last year and quickly grabbed players in with its enticing open-world survival gameplay.
In this game, players assume the role of a fallen Viking and they must prove themselves worthy to be allowed access to Valhalla. The main goal of Valheim is to defeat the five bosses in the game. But along the journey, players also need to gather materials around the world to build shelter, equipment and weapons. The game has a charming low-resolution 3D art style, which is reminiscent of games from the original PlayStation era.
Observation
Steam
Observation takes place on a space station that suddenly loses power. Players control an AI called SAM, who has the ability to open doors and turn security systems around the station. By doing so, SAM allows Dr. Emma Fisher to navigate the station in order to look for her colleagues and find out what happened. Throughout the game, players will solve paranormal puzzles, as well as be able to expand SAM’s reach into areas outside of the space station.
Observation is a haunting, yet thrilling adventure that’s sure to send chills down your spine.
Paradise Killer
Steam
Paradise Killer is an enticing murder mystery game that involves an overarching group, the Syndicate, that wants to create a perfect society. However, one day, the entire Syndicate is killed and it’s up to detective Lady Love Dies to solve the mystery of whodunit. The game is filled with ecstatic characters with vibrant personalities, but they all have dark secrets that can make any of them the culprit. Paradise Killer boasts an amazing soundtrack and vaporwave aesthetics, making the game an enjoyable adventure despite its gruesome setting.
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Lost Judgment
Action
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
The Last of Us Part II
Action, Adventure
PS4
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Action, Adventure
PS4, PC, Xbox One
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
MMORPG
PC
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Action, Adventure
Switch
Elden Ring
Action, RPG
PS5, PC, Xbox One
Minecraft
Game creation system, Sandbox
PS4, PC, Xbox One, Switch
Jurassic World Evolution 2
Simulator
PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Grim Fandango
Adventure
PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Bloodborne
Action, RPG
PS4
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
RTS
PC
NieR Replicant ver.
1.22472287139…
Action
PS4, PC, Xbox One
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Action, RPG
PS4, PC, Xbox One, Switch
Red Dead Redemption 2
Action, Adventure
PS4 , PC, Xbox One
Disco Elysium
RPG
PC
It Takes Two — «Game of the Year» according to The Game Awards 2021. Here are the results of other nominations
perspectives.
Kirill Novokshchenov — thinks about the gaming heritage
Choosing the best game of each year turned out to be easier than I expected. I really only thought twice.
2011 was the year of two great games that have outlasted most and will last for decades to come. Minecraft and Skyrim appeal to gamers in different ways, and in both cases it’s both a game design and a huge marketing success. Any of the two choices will be both right and wrong at the same time — I have Skyrim, simply because its result is more surprising, and every news about the release on the toaster seems to be the last, but it wasn’t there.
In 2014, the situation is different: there are a lot of solid games that made it to the lists of my colleagues, but not a single super-top one. That’s why I chose Alien: Isolation for its breakthrough concept and uniqueness, for which the game is remembered today. It’s also pretty much the only game in the movie that works.
It is worth saying a few words about 2018. At release, God of War seemed like the most important project to me, but after many hours spent in it and in Red Dead Redemption 2, I changed my mind. GoW is a great game, but without RDR 2, the game world would be missing something very, very important.
Stas Pogorsky – torn between flashy indies and AAA blockbusters
Picking one “game of the year” is often an almost impossible task for me. First, because I always forget when and what exactly I went through. Secondly, at least one major AAA blockbuster and no less outstanding indie game is released every year, which are unrealistic to compare head-to-head, even solely on subjective impressions.
On the other hand, thanks to this, I don’t have passing years — if the whales of the industry postponed all releases, then I have more time to search for hidden gems.
Perhaps, with a claim to conditional objectivity, I can call Minecraft the game of the decade — this is the modern equivalent of Tetris, the same thing for all time, uniting different generations of gamers and captivating with the simplicity of the idea. I spent many years in Minecraft, now I have abandoned it, but from time to time I want to return — for a single-player game this is a big compliment. By the way, Fortnite could have been on the list, but only in a parallel universe — where the developers continued to develop the original cooperative mode (which I got stuck into), and did not turn the game into a battle royale. At the same time, I admire how Epic Games reinvented game-services: Fortnite hosts not just themed events, but entire cross-media cultural events.
The history of the creation of the great The Last of Us
I don’t like to be the epitome of the mainstream, but I have nowhere to go: my favorite series of the past decade was The Last of Us.
The greatest titles that I will fight for until old age — few games have made me feel so many powerful and conflicting emotions, and for them I live.
However, with all due respect to Naughty Dog, Supergiant Games has become an even more favorite studio for me. Their productions have a unique crescendo of signature visual style and music from Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett — just because of this, I look forward to every team game. What’s cool is that they don’t stick to one genre and constantly motivate me to get into new mechanics: this was the case with Pyre (a fantasy sports arcade!) and Hades (an isometric roguelike). And each studio release is a consistently personal «ten out of ten». I included the cyberpunk Transistor in the list, because after it I fell in love with the studio.
Chris Fadina — loves games to live and meme in
My gaming preferences are simple but hard to please — I need to make a world I believe in. This does not necessarily mean that it should have realism and survival (I, by the way, can not stand him).
This means that developers must make the world logical: if you choose something, you see the consequences. To the maximum, this was taken care of only in The Witcher, but in the rest of the games on the list there was something catchy.
The second, no less important part is the open world, if it is an action, racing, role-playing game or any other major project. In FNAF, an open world is not needed, I fell in love with her for her meme.
In 2018-2019, I had a lot of work and did not have a normal video card, so I didn’t really get to play. However, the console on which you can run the race saved — and I do not mind: the Forza Horizon series fully meets my requirements. At that time, I could only play Frostpunk on PC. This is a delight! I love her and Tyranny, they managed to draw a tear, making me send the kids to work like adults.
Behind all these new games is one that I return to every year. This is Skyrim, in which I come to live other lives: bandits, hunters, necromancers, or heads of some mudcrabs.
Well, sometimes I also happen to be the heroine-savior of the world, but it’s more boring than chopping wood for 8 game hours in a row.
Artem Dichenko — included in the FIFA list
2011 is an absolutely great year for games. Portal 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution are very special releases, I remember each one with warmth and dream of replaying on vacation. Few projects can compare with Skyrim at all, immersion in the world and lore of the game is unforgettable and indescribable. Only jambs characteristic of Bethesda prevent Skyrim from being called the best RPG of the decade.
This is how The Witcher 3 turned out, which is not on the list. This is a wonderful game with no shortcomings that are immediately visible, I spent 350 hours in it and for sure someday I will return. It would seem that the obvious game of the year, but only in December 2015 came out «Rainbow» — a blow to my stomach. I played it like crazy, every night for months. A short break — and again.
Before Siege, I was not interested in game-services at all, but after that I realized both their advantages and unconditional disadvantages…
In 2017, I apparently played Rainbow Six and missed all the high-profile releases of the year. I’ve never owned a Nintendo console, so I couldn’t play their exclusives that made a splash at the time. So I included FIFA in the list, since I have been hacking into it since 2004, almost without interruption. It’s sad to see the series stagnate, but the players themselves are to blame for this, providing such fat sales, and after the release they also donate regularly. I have always been disgusted by such pumping mechanisms — I calmly develop my team and improve the composition with the help of the transfer market. First of all, I’m interested in playing the best players of our time and those who have proven themselves during the season, and not strangle an online opponent with speeds and shots from the same positions.
I consider Red Dead Redemption 2 the masterpiece of the last generation of consoles, and in the generation before it, The Last of Us with perhaps the best story of any game I have ever played.
Valery Rytov — imbued with the compilation of the top
It turned out to be easy to choose the best games — there are much fewer masterpieces than it might seem. The most difficult year for me was 2011. The Witcher 2 has bypassed Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Minecraft in the personal rating, which also sunk into the soul. 2014 seemed to be the most faded year: there were too many average games that I don’t want to remember. However, I do not regret choosing The Banner Saga: sometimes indies give more emotions than games from famous studios. It so happened that there are practically no console exclusives on my list. It is impossible to go through all the games, but this does not deprive us of the right to love what we liked.
It is useful to create such ratings — you understand how differently you can look at the same things.
Victoria Kosareva — against violence, for the chill
Another top for the past decade? Another top for the past decade!
What is there? Maximum casual and meta, beloved beautiful meta.
What is not and will not be? Horror, shooters and consoles. We have here the possession of the PC-boyars. Console games, of course, also deserved their love and popularity over the decade, but they are not on this list — the author is principled, as Activision Blizzard is resistant in its scandalousness.
All games on the list meet one of two criteria: either they sink into the heart and soul deeply, for a long time and touch the very nerves, or they once made more noise and hype for the whole year or longer, and being in the spotlight provoked interesting discussions and questions.
Nikolai Lvov — reconnects with video games
Following trends is not my forte, and I have always been unlucky with good hardware. Therefore, it turns out that my GOTY is usually, to put it mildly, irrelevant. However, my favorite games don’t seem to get old.
I didn’t play much for a long time. He returned to his favorite hobby due to difficult circumstances, including the loss of loved ones.
In one of the worst periods of my life, The Witcher 3 saved me. I put it off for almost 5 years, but like all great works of art, it arrived just in time.
In 2021, I discovered the games of Hidetaka Miyazaki. I passed Bloodborne, Dark Souls: Remastered in one breath and almost reached Irithyll in Dark Souls 3. I am completely delighted with each, although I consider the first part to be a real masterpiece.
This is how my ratings are compiled. Yes, this year I played Battlefield 2042, and Resident Evil Village, and, God forgive me, GTA: Definitive Edition, checked out a bunch of great indie, but Dark Souls will stay with me forever.
Igor Larionov — found a balance in his selection
Remembering the best games of the decade by calendar years is always very difficult. I would like to include the top ten in the list, but as a result, in one season you choose from five masterpieces, and in the other you hardly look for at least something worthy. Because of this, I chose the game of the year based solely on personal emotions, discarding all objective criteria in general.
For example, in 2012 I naturally went through all the important releases and got high on many of them. The most epic, even despite the controversial ending, Mass Effect 3. One of the best third-person action games Max Payne 3. Spec Ops: The Line has a wonderful plot. Action with great Dishonored stealth. Nevertheless, I still chose The Walking Dead as the game of the year — simply because of the emotions, the memorable story and the sweetest Clementine.
In mediocre years, it is even more difficult to choose. Here’s how to highlight the best game of 2017, if all the novelties of this season seemed rather boring to me? You have to take projects that stand out at least a little — for me it’s Divinity: Original Sin 2.
In general, the list is quite diverse and reflects my gaming tastes well: a love of story-driven action games and RPGs, as well as open world games. It is a pity that there was not enough space for some racing simulator.
Sergey Korpusov — trusts impulses
My choice may seem very strange.
There are many RPGs here, but there is no The Witcher 3. Do you know that feeling when you can’t decide on a specific genre, but you play something that you really liked? I am that kind of gamer. I can get hooked on a completely unfamiliar game, or it can happen that I get stuck in a AAA masterpiece for a hundred hours.
Mikhail Lozhkov — still can’t move away from Spec Ops: The Line
It was difficult to choose, but decisions that many would have seemed difficult, I made very easily. In 2011, I did not take Skyrim, because I could not play it on release — it seemed too bland to me after the usual Oblivion. I got involved in Skyrim only 10 years later, when I once again heard it with all the additions. Minecraft is still closer to the heart.
I ran the Dubai trip in Spec Ops in a couple of days, but I still remember its meaning and horror. Of course, I wanted to vote for Mass Effect 3 or Far Cry 3, but The Line-level tragedy stories can still be counted on one hand.
There is no point in talking about The Witcher, but Stardew Valley won me over twice: the first time in Schreier’s book Blood, Sweat and Pixels, and the second time when I spent the whole New Year’s weekend in it.
Of course, 2018 was the most difficult year. These are RDR 2, «Spider» and «Detroit». All games are equally deserving of the GOTY title, but I simply have to vote for God of War. Cory Barlog is a genius, putting the story of Kratos and Atreus into words is pointless, you need to experience it yourself.
Grigory Korzhov — loves games, movies and statistics
Let’s agree right away: I don’t play much, I haven’t played most of the classics of the tenth years and I don’t pretend to be an expert.
Of the platforms, I only have a PC, I don’t perceive mobile gaming. Plus, I don’t like RPG as a genre, I love detective stories, quests and interactive movies, and I’m not a fan of shooters (with the exception of Max Payne, Wolfe, RDR and GTA).
Therefore, my top is a list of recommendations for passing, and not an expert assessment of the format “here is the top 1, everything else is worse”. Just a selection of games that I remember and liked.
I included Dota 2 and CS: GO for the obvious reason — without them there would be no Sports.ru ratings, and «Svoyak» is the favorite game of our section, so I can’t do without it either.
Alexander Timoshenko — drowns for niche and ideological games
My love for sports simulators oozes from the list. And in 10 years two top things came out: Rocket League and Hockey? v0.55. And if in the first one the whole world rolls on a cross-platform, then in the second — a couple of hundred people from the CIS with Europe and fifty dollars of Canadians. An ingenious, maximally simple and wildly underrated game.
I love humor just as much, so I advise everyone to go through South Park: The Stick of Truth and Sam & Max Save the World Remastered. It’s definitely better than watching 97% of today’s comedies.
What’s left are the all time genius games GTA 5 and Portal 2 with simply well made AAA titles in Gears 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. To be honest, the average turned out to be a decade for the industry, or I no longer buy.
Trends are again turning towards single developers and small studios that can beat the conservative giants of the industry with one idea. I believe that the juice will be ahead.
Polina Romanova — prefers good graphics and gameplay with a catchy storyline
I love three things: light and laid-back horror games that scare you with an atmosphere, twisted plot and expectation of something unknown, small indie studios that release a game with a chic promo campaign , and then they score on the first part, promising to release the second for several years in a row, and the BioShock series. So in the beginning I have a selection of not-quite-horror with a great story at the head, which is interrupted by BioShock Infinite, and after 2015 there is a jump into multiplayer games.
At that time, I was just beginning to get bored with Dota and I began to think about the fact that it was not the only one to exist, what if I was lucky somewhere else. I was unlucky, in the end, with game developers, but that’s another story.
I would prefer a good story to good graphics in 100% of cases, if only because I could only play at low settings for a long time, and the gameplay usually doesn’t bother me at all.
The most difficult year for me was 2013, but I couldn’t betray Bioshock, and for me it replaced Quantic Dream’s masterpiece. The most boring year turned out to be 2019, but this is due to the fact that I didn’t really play almost anything then. In general, in recent years it has been very difficult with games that I might like, so now I am waiting for the second Stalker and an extraordinary part of FNAF. And there, you see, in 5 years, Blizzard will inflate for the second Overwatch.
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The editors considered 2011 the most difficult year for choosing GOTY — so many great games came out then.
