You’ll have a lot of options when you go to the Epic Games Store, Steam, Xbox, or any of the other digital marketplaces for PC games. In a role-playing game, do you want to level up your characters? Disco Elysium: The Final Cut and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt offers all you need. Do you wish to knuckle down to your online adversaries? Play a fighting game like Tekken 7 or The King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match Final Edition. In a nutshell, the PC gaming industry is large and varied. But don’t let yourself become ice-cold by accident; use our advice to make an informed decision.
Please keep in mind that this isn’t a look back at some of the most pioneering PC games. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain redefines stealth-based action, while the Forza Horizon series is the quintessential open-world racing franchise, yet neither of these games made it into this list solely based on those criteria. Simply said, if you own a gaming PC or laptop, this is an ever-growing library of exciting titles that you should get.
To be clear, games do not have to have been released in the same calendar year to be included in this roundup. Any game that is still available and regarded as good when compared to today’s finest is eligible. That, we believe, is the most effective method for determining which video games are worthy of space on your PC’s hard drive and which aren’t, even if their prices are reduced by 85% during a Steam sale.
We’ve added three additional games to our latest update: Football Manager 2022, Halo Infinite, and RetroMania Wrestling.
How We Pick ‘Em:
This tutorial took a long time to put together. Defining inclusion criteria was crucial because PCMag’s in-house and freelance reviewers have played an incredible number of PC games over the years. This is what we came up with after considerable deliberation. To be considered for inclusion, a game must have been reviewed by PCMag, be still available for purchase, and have a rating of 3.5 stars or above.
The first criteria are that we are able to provide you with more information about a game. Yes, this guide will tell you a little about each highlighted game, but the ability to link to a complete review is useful for those who want a more in-depth look. We’ve already discussed the second point. The final criterion required some thought. We didn’t want the star rating to be so low that practically all PC games qualified for the list, but we also didn’t want it to be so high that quality B-tier games like Dead Island and Split/Second were left out. For now, 3.5 stars is a good compromise, but as we review more games, we may need to be more selective in order to keep the list at a manageable length.
Explore Our Picks:
Because this PC gaming list presently contains over 200 titles, making navigating as simple as possible was a top priority for our creative commandos. The games are organized alphabetically by genre, with each category’s titles displayed in alphabetical order. Simply choose a genre, such as fighting games, and the page will be redirected to that section. Easy! We also have segments on action games, indie games, and role-playing games if you want more in-depth lists.
Additionally, while gaming, you should ensure that your PC is safe. Check out our roundup of the best VPNs for gaming, which includes virtual private networks that have been tested by PCMag. A VPN will not only keep persons with bad intentions from snooping on your network, but it may also allow you to spoof your IP address and play games in other countries. Learn about the VPN services that add the least latency to your gaming experiences by reading our reviews.