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It masterfully mixes pieces of classic cRPGs with more modern mechanics and designs, feeling old and new at the same time. The sequel has improved upon its predecessor's already incredible combat by deepening its systems while simultaneously simplifying and smoothing out its clunkier bits - not to mention it introduced some brutally smart new AI.
There's also an overwhelming amount of game here to play. With six different origin characters, custom tags to make your own, and over 74, lines of fully voiced dialogue, this massive RPG has more than enough to keep you coming back to it.
Through its relaunch and subsequent four expansions, FFXIV has slowly morphed from a relatively generic good-versus-evil plot into a sprawling, political, and fantastical thriller. Story missions are intended to be tackled solo, and even instanced dungeons now have an option for you to enter with computer-controlled party members instead of forcing you into a group with strangers.
Series fans may also be interested in Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth , due out in Summer and Winter , respectively. From its exhilarating combat, to its incredible soundtrack, to its clever and well written narrative with characters that seemingly never run out of meaningful things to say, all the way to its deep and innovative post game that keeps you wanting to come back for more even after beating the last boss.
Hades is incredibly difficult, but it never feels punishing in defeat. Dying is part of the game, and actually comes with its own rewards in the form of new conversations with its fascinating cast of characters, new opportunities to purchase game changing upgrades, and an opportunity for a brand new run with a completely new set of godly boons that dramatically alter how you approach combat. Every 22 minutes, everything ends — and restarts again. The sands that had passed between twin planets go back to their original place, a planet that had fallen apart becomes whole, and you awaken to see a mysterious object in space break apart once again.
In Outer Wilds , you live through those same 22 minutes until you can successfully solve the puzzle of why you're stuck in the time loop, among other mysteries, by exploring ruins left by a long-dead civilization across multiple planets. This gorgeous, heartfelt space adventure is one of the best examples of video game exploration and discovery. Outer Wilds encourages you to hop into your spaceship and go wherever you want — or just stay on your home planet and see what's happening there.
Should you feel lost or need a hint on what to do next, all of your activities and progress are saved to your ship's log, which helpfully tells you when there's still more to discover in an area.
The only thing limiting your curiosity is time, but even that can sometimes be your ally. The short expansion's puzzles are just as enjoyable as what you'll find in the rest of Outer Wilds, but the pervasive, menacing tension in Echoes of the Eye makes each step forward in the overall mystery feel even more rewarding. Its sprawling caves open up and offer multiple paths to you at any given time, but no matter which way you go there are exciting bosses to fight and significant power-ups to make you stronger.
And even though it was already a massive game, Hollow Knight has only gotten bigger since its launch in early Developer Team Cherry released multiple free updates with new areas and bosses, each harder than the last. But whether you just want to get to the credits, find the true ending, or push even farther than that, Hallownest is a world worth exploring. A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong , will seemingly be released sometime before June Crusader Kings 3 gives you many ways to tell those stories, be it overwhelming military might, the diplomacy of a well-placed betrothal, or ending your enemies with a cloak-and-dagger plot.
The latest expansion, Royal Court, adds a zoomed-in physical space where your ruler can look their subjects in the eye, passing down individual judgements in addition to making realm-wide decrees. The expansion also weaves an intricate overhauled culture system throughout the game, giving you more opportunities to make your empire feel unique, with all the benefits and penalties that entails.
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. On top of being IGN's best-reviewed game of , Elden Ring is one of the best-reviewed games in modern history.
Not every game might be your ideal choice, sure, but rest assured that our list has something for everyone. Silt is described as a surreal underwater puzzle-adventure game, starring a lone deep diver exploring the dark depths of the ocean to uncover its mysteries.
Developed by Spiral Circus Games and published by Fireshine Games, Silt captures the experience of both awe and terror in this inventive title. The game is a single-player experience, allowing it to develop its darkly atmospheric gameplay style. If you're looking for a platformer puzzle-style game with a more methodical delivery of its plot and controls that keep things feeling fresh until the end, this is a title worth picking up.
What makes Silt stand out from most other games in the genre is the gorgeous and moody black and white graphics. The contrast between light and dark elements builds the atmosphere in such a subtle yet effective way, which perfectly represents the inherent horror and danger in exploring the deep sea while encountering terrifying monsters.
Silt is currently available on Steam, with praise from critics and fans alike. The title is about three hours long, and the length works perfectly due to its well-paced story and gameplay. Elden Ring is all anyone can really talk about these days, and for good reason.
FromSoftware's latest punishment-simulator has all the familiar touchstones of a Souls-like, but expanded out into an open world with a story crafted by Game of Thrones author George R. Martin, so you know it's not going to pull any punches. The PC version of the game has had some performance issues that FromSoftware is working on patching. Still, even with these issues, it's unquestionably one of the best games, if not the best, that the studio has ever put out.
As devoted fans of the studio's work since the original Demons' Souls on the PS3, we don't offer that kind of praise lightly, but like the Souls-like genre itself, you gotta earn it, and FromSoftware unquestionable does with Elden Ring. Read our full Elden Ring review.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is aging like fine wine. It might just be one of the best video games of all time. Ultra-violence and constant motion meet in this post-apocalyptic dystopian game. The game is set in Dharma Tower, a sort-of last refuge for humanity, where you ascend the tower through platforming and katana-induced carnage to take revenge on a ruthless ruler.
You do so by slicing up your enemies, dodging bullets, and using a number of unique abilities to continue making your way to the top. This is the kind of game that will leave you out of breath just playing it. That even opens up certain sections of the map depending on what you choose to do. And, like the original Dying Light, coop play allows you to tackle the game with up to three other players. Read our full Dying Light 2 review. Supergiant Games made a name for itself thanks to the great reception that Pyre, Transistor, and Bastion received.
The brilliance of Siege comes in learning these buildings in and out and knowing how to work with your teammates to get in and out most effectively. Map knowledge can trump twitch shooting in the most dire of situations, rewarding its players for smart thinking and careful play. Siege is available on consoles, but the definitive way to play it is on PC with a keyboard and mouse.
See our Rainbow Six Siege review. A prequel to the original game, the story delivers some eye-opening revelations about the wider Red Dead universe. The gameplay and world-building are incredible, with lots of freedom available for players to do whatever they want as they set out onto the frontier as Arthur Morgan. The game is also gorgeous , especially on PC for those with a capable enough rig. The sweeping mountain visits and bubbling rivers shine on PC, making Red Dead Redemption 2 one of the best games we can recommend on PC.
See our Red Dead Redemption 2 review. See our Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review. Only The Stanley Parable, a nearly unexplainable game where things get regularly weird and meta, could get away with hiding what amounts to a sequel within the frame of an expanded re-release of the original game. Like the original title, the strange and hilariously distracted nature of The Stanley Parable is something that you have to experience for yourself, as words simply do not do it justice. With the Ultra Deluxe edition, you're getting an experience that feels like a game within a game, adding the illusion of freedom and other surprises along the way.
It's nothing short of a clever and thought-provoking examination of video games and the relationship that we have with them. It starts with an old broken-down farm and a handful of seeds. You clear out the weeds and rocks until you get tired, and then you do it again.
You get into the rhythm of daily life--visiting friends, watering crops, occasional light spelunking. Before you know it, it's been 75 hours and you're mostly managing your complex irrigation system and planning for next season's harvest. Stardew Valley is a friendly, relaxing experience that also somehow manages to be endlessly addicting.
Fans know the feeling of assuring themselves they'll play just one more day before bed. And while it's appeared on just about every platform, PC often gets the first chance to test all of the little quality-of-life tweaks and new features that come with patches--most recently the massive 1.
Plus, there's a huge library of mods that let you tweak various gameplay elements, give the game a new aesthetic, and even add extensive new content and characters see: Stardew Valley Expanded. Keeping up with Stardew Valley on PC is the best way to make sure your farming life never gets stale. See our Stardew Valley review. It's true that since its release in , The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been ported to just about every platform that can play games, including Amazon Alexa speakers and smart refrigerators.
But the king of all Skyrim versions is the one on PC, and it's not even close. That's because the PC version gives you access to years of mods created by the Skyrim community.
From adding serious RPG story content to providing ridiculous possibilities like replacing all dragons with Thomas the Tank Engine, the PC version of Skyrim adds nearly endless options to an already expansive, enormous game.
You absolutely should play Skyrim on PC if you haven't, and you absolutely should mod it to see how the game has become so much more than it was when it was released. The Witcher 3 puts Geralt on a quest to find Ciri, a witcher in training who's like a daughter to him.
He reconnects with old flames, friends, and adversaries as he searches far and wide for her. Of course, there's an abundance of side quests and characters to meet along the way, which will undoubtedly keep you busy for hours. Many of these quests require you to slay monsters, a witcher's main trade, and you'll have to prepare accordingly to defeat them by sword, witcher magic, and potions. All this--and we didn't even get into the two excellent expansions--makes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt an essential PC game.
See our The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review. If Death's Door didn't satiate your hunger for a Zelda-like adventure, then Tunic is well-equipped to fill you up with some nostalgic and cathartic gameplay. Not just an homage to Zelda games of the NES and SNES eras, Tunic's familiar green clothing and swordplay in a vibrant and colorful world is balanced by a collection of amazing puzzles and challenges that require quick reflexes and superb wits.
Evocative of a bygone time and somehow still feeling like a completely fresh take on the subject matter, this love letter to the past was years in the making and more than delivers on its elevator pitch of exploration and wonder. See our Tunic review. The initial response to Valorant was that it's basically a mashup where Overwatch meets Counter-Strike--and yeah, that's pretty accurate.
That's also a good thing, because Valorant draws on many of the strengths of those games to make something unique. It focuses on the round-based demolition-style game mode with two teams of five attackers and defenders on balanced maps with specific lanes and sightlines and an extremely fast time-to-kill.
However, each agent or character has their own unique abilities that add another strategic layer to combat. Team composition plays a major role, and each agent affects what the team is capable of in each high-stakes situation.
It's intense and demanding, but so rewarding. Valorant is still early in its lifespan. But we've seen content updates and changes in its first year and it's been quite successful, so you can expect the game to get more support moving forward. If a competitive FPS with layered tactics, precise gunplay, and intense moments is your thing, Valorant is worth a try.
See our Valorant review. You can never go wrong with a one-two combo of RPG goodness and tactical action, something which Wildermyth excels at. An examination of the power of stories, Wildermyth delivers on an ambitious idea with flexible systems and imaginative campaigns. What starts out as stock-standard RPG fare quickly evolves along the way into something that feels grander and more personal, while challenging gameplay and procedurally-generated content adds a few extra hurdles along the way.
Finding the right balance in a strategy game is extremely difficult, as the best ones are challenging enough to necessitate smart play without being too punishing. Set after the first game, when aliens have nearly completely conquered Earth, XCOM 2 certainly casts you as an underdog, but it gives you the tools you need to take the fight to the invaders with careful planning. Moving your units around and getting a view of the whole battlefield is perfect with a keyboard and mouse.
See our XCOM 2 review. The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site. Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news gamespot. See deal at Microsoft. See at Amazon. Apex Legends. See on Steam. Before Your Eyes. Chicory: A Colorful Tale.
Civilization VI. Now it boasts one of the best stories in online roleplaying, and is truly a game for everyone — those who like to play with friends and strangers as much as those who just want to roam a fantasy world by themselves. The latest expansion, Endwalker, provides a bombastic conclusion to the Hydaelyn—Zodiark arc, somehow managing to up the stakes yet again. Get it now: Square Enix Shop opens in new tab Steam opens in new tab.
No other series has got us as invested in its characters, and some storylines span all three games, running for hundreds of hours on end. But if you can stomach some clunkiness, you should really start with the first game, because choices you make there shape what happens later. Play it now: Origin opens in new tab Steam opens in new tab. Call of Duty: Warzone opens in new tab is the best battle royale on PC right now. Apex Legends is a close second, and a better bet if you want to control ultra-mobile heroes with cool abilities, but Warzone plays like the greatest hits of the genre so far, with a few inventive twists.
When you die, you get one chance to respawn by winning a 1v1 gunfight, which creates chances for memorable comebacks. Contracts give structure to each round by asking you to find a series of chests, defend a given area to reveal the next play circle, or hunt down an enemy, their location revealed on the map.
Individual locations on the map have their own personality, and some are even based on existing maps from the Call of Duty series. You can play solo, duos, trios or in four-player squads; trios feels like the sweet spot. Play it now: Battle. You might have a heart attack trying to unhook your necktie — which itself is arguing with you — from a ceiling fan.
You can look in the mirror and convince yourself you were once a rockstar that played to screaming audiences, or discuss the complex political breakdown of a city plagued by corruption with a racist lorry driver. Disco Elysium is a game that celebrates language and characters: an RPG without combat where all your duels are verbal, and every conversation is peppered by funny asides from different aspects of your own psyche, all clamouring to have their internal voices heard.
You have a long list of choices for nearly every piece of dialogue, and what you say meaningfully impacts the characters around you. This version adds full English voiceover to the game, as well as new animations, new characters, new cinematic sequences, a new location, full controller support, and more.
You can even transfer your saves over from console. Play it now: Bungie opens in new tab Steam opens in new tab. A joyful, playful space story about a character that dies every 22 minutes.
During each life, you explore its wonderfully folksy sci-fi world and watch it change, entire planets splitting apart before your eyes.
The world is small enough that your makeshift spaceship can reach any planet in a few minutes, giving you plenty of time to delve into ruins and talk to memorable NPCs. Best of all, the conclusion is absolutely worth sticking around for. The best life sim on PC never stops improving.
We never tire of the way it can generate dynamic storylines — family dramas, love triangles or personal struggles, and those tales keep us coming back, year after year, expansion after expansion. But Subnautica is far from average. Its wilderness is entirely underwater, which changes the structure, pace, and tone of your adventure, and creates a palpable sense of dread as you descend further and further into the depths in search of materials was that a tentacle that just flicked through your peripheral vision?
Your goal is to expand your base and escape the planet, and in that sense Subnautica provides the kind of clear structure that other survival games neglect. It has a proper story and satisfying ending, and that narrative pulls you through your journey, always giving you a concrete goal.
Play it now: Steam opens in new tab. Honestly, a lot of love for Psychonauts 2 may be nostalgia. The first Psychonauts which you really should play even though Psychonauts 2 does include a short recap for its predecessor followed a medium called Razputin on his journey to join the Psychonauts, a supernatural spy organization. As such, Raz has his arsenal of different supernatural abilities such as levitation to get through the jungle of the mind.
That loss is part of XCOM 2. Arkane just knows how to deliver. Deathloop is a first-person shooter with elements governed by a time loop.
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