Horizon is a great journey that should not be missed. PC fans who want nothing less than 4K/60FPS at all times should wait for another round of performance enhancements (you can read our entire analysis of the PC port here).
Horizon Forbidden West, a sequel, was launched on PS4 and PS5 in February.
Control feels like the culmination of Remedy's design ideas from its previous games, reduced down to their greatest versions and mashed together for one dizzying, captivating adventure in many respects. Jesse Faden's tale of infiltrating the Federal Bureau of Control's offices features a fantastic set of powers worthy of any competent telepath, a fast-paced, weird story with a memorable cast and unexpected twists, and a fascinating locale steeped in history. Control's world is rich with small details that bring its bizarre concepts to life, bringing unexpected vitality to every nook of its office building front. Much more lies beneath the surface of Control, just as it does at its principal site, the Oldest House, and its mysteries are worth delving into.
Overwatch is a shooter that bobs and weaves almost perfectly between being the quick-fix adrenaline hit you might want after a long day at work, and the thoughtful, strategic multiplayer experience that becomes the center of evening-long binges with friends, thanks to an amazing lineup of memorable characters and meticulously balanced abilities. It may not have the most comprehensive choice of maps and modes, but with each new seasonal event, the offerings expand, and what's already there offers practically limitless opportunities for intense, coordinated action.
22. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an awe-inspiring journey where the fantasy world is your plaything. What its main story quest lacks in nuance it more than makes up for with its invitation to go anywhere and do anything. Set out in any direction to explore a vast kingdom filled with people going about their daily lives, warring factions, and dangerous wildlife that ranges from wild dogs to imposing giants and full-fledged dragons.
Out there you’ll find stellar sidequests that allow you to become a vampire or werewolf, join the legendary Dark Brotherhood, and countless other unexpected opportunities as you level up and unlock satisfyingly powerful spells and Dragon Shouts. And of course, with this being the PC version, you have access to a nearly unrivaled collection of transformative mods at your fingertips.
Skyrim 10th Anniversary Edition was released in November. This latest version includes all previously released content as well as some new features, including a fishing mechanic
21. Sid Meier's Civilization VI
You can’t go too far wrong with any of the main games from Sid Meier’s seminal Civilization series, but with the Gathering Storm expansion, Civilization VI has taken its seat as one of the finest. Like all five iterations before it, Civ VI lets you pave your people’s way from nomadic tribespeople to sprawling near-future empire in competition or cooperation with neighbors, this time guided by narration from the undying Sean Bean himself.
But here, a distinctive approach to city building in which major structures like specialized districts and Wonders are placed on their own tiles gives it a distinctive flavor, and the newly added climate change mechanics add new long-term environmental considerations throughout and hazards that manifest in the late game. It’s also come as close as any game in the series to giving its AI leaders definitive and interesting personalities (which is not to say they’re perfect!).
For more, check out our big Civilization interview with four of the series' lead designers.
20. Diablo 3
Think of Diablo 3, not for its infamous launch, but for the incredible action RPG it evolved into in the years afterward. While its early existence was plagued by plenty of problems (including a real-money auction house that was ultimately entirely removed and burned to the ground), Blizzard managed to reshape this revival of a classic series into an excellent and infinitely replayable co-op, demon-slaying party.
It’s a game where the piñatas are alive and the candy is shaped like swords, and it really hit its stride when its breakout Reaper of Souls expansion arrived in 2014. Diablo 3 is still lovely to look at, full of interesting choices and class synergies, and specially designed to keep you interested far, far past when the credits roll.
The series' next mainline entry, Diablo 4, will likely be released in 2023 or later.
19. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is one of the best modern Metroidvania’s around. It’s beautiful, expansive, and full of delightful secrets to discover that will keep you playing for dozens of hours. The kingdom of Hallownest is a brutal one, and Hollow Knight doesn’t ease you into it, causing a lot of people to bounce off of it initially – but when it finally gets its hooks in you it’s irresistibly hard to put down.
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 2017. 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: Silk song, is in development for PC and Switch.
18. Fallout: New Vegas16:56Autoplay setting
With its distinctive Old West-tinged approach to the post-nuclear wasteland, game-changing decisions, and flexible ways to complete its quests, Fallout: New Vegas carved out a spot as not just the best game of the Fallout series, but one of the best RPGs ever made. Obsidian took the openness and flexibility of Bethesda’s Fallout 3 to a new level with more dark humor, memorable characters, and interesting stat-dependent dialogue options that make each playthrough feel tailored to your character’s strengths and weaknesses.
And the fact that you, a nameless nobody courier, get to rise up from nothing and become the person who decides the fate of the region, gives you a real sense of control and power.
17. Doom (2016)
Just a few years ago, the Doom series was, for all intents and purposes, dead. A legend in a grave. Twelve years passed between Doom 3 – which would prove to be the final Doom from the original id Software team – and the Doom reboot in 2016. But against the odds, the new generation of id developers did it: they reimagined Doom as a fast-action modern-day demon-slaying experience while still respecting the satisfying feel of the classic originals.
Glory kills, aggressive monster mobs, big weapons, and ability upgrades, and speed, speed, and speed define the new Doom. Play this game first and then run straight for Doom Eternal, which evolves the formula is very smart, very fun ways you won't soon forget.
16. Into the Breach
Into the Breach is a puzzle game masquerading in turn-based tactics clothing. Each mission presents you with overwhelming odds and limited options – a seemingly impossible task. The twist that gives you and your team of giant robots the advantage you need to defeat the invading kaiju is that you can see every attack and another effect that will play out on your enemies’ next turn. Each turn becomes a puzzle for you to solve, using your limited actions for maximum effect. Sure, you could just attack head-on… but what if instead you use your attack to knock an enemy into another’s line of fire, blocking damage from the second and killing the first in one fell swoop.
Its tactical strategy is distilled down to its essence, with nearly infinite replayability thanks to a strong variety of unit types that each present unique and challenging ways to maximize their potential.
Into the Breach made earned a spot on our list of the 10 best roguelikes.
15. Prey (2017)
Few games will make you fear for your life upon encountering the most mundane of inanimate objects the way Prey does – and fewer still will then give you the power to become those objects yourself. It may look like a standard first-person shooter/RPG set aboard a post-disaster space station on the surface, but this immersive sim is one of the strangest of the lot.
To combat the ever-present threat of enemies that can look like anything until it’s too late, Prey fills your toolbox with a wide range of weird, unique, and often exciting tools and then lets you figure out which ones you most want to use. All of that combined with a story that channels the best of both its clear BioShock and Dishonored inspirations makes Prey a gem of a single-player PC game that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Developer Arkane Austin is now working on Redfall, an open-world, co-op vampire shooter due out this summer.
14. FTL: Faster Than Light
No game simulates the feeling of being in command of a starship flying by the seat of your pants like FTL: Faster Than Light. It's a game you shouldn't expect to survive – more likely, you'll be blasted out of the sky by a vastly superior enemy ship or boarded by a death squad of giant killer insects who massacre your crew. Maybe your life-support system will be hacked and everyone will suffocate.
But FTL’s not about winning – it's a story generator, where you get to talk about the time you got a killer beam weapon combo that cuts enemy ships to ribbons while your ship remains cloaked, or vented a boarding party into space while your crew laughed behind reinforced bulkhead doors. Its tactical combat never gets old, tons of loot and random events keep every game feeling unpredictable, and unlockable ships force you to change up your strategies on subsequent runs. And every so often, you might even win.
13. Dota 2
MOBAs have earned a reputation for being dense and difficult to learn, but immensely strategic for those who put in the time. Spend some quality time with Dota 2 and you’ll understand why. Though all matches take place on one map, and there’s only one objective, its 100+ characters and thousands of item combinations make each round feel unique.
Because every second matters, matches are always exciting even when they seem slow. Are you farming gold? Are you scouting the enemy? Or crossing the map to help out a teammate? Or heading back to base to heal? Its complexity can scare players off, but those who stick through it will be rewarded with some of the most strategic gameplay around.
12. Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
Microsoft Flight Simulator is the closest thing we've had to a near-perfect recreation of the real world in the virtual space. Using real-time Bing data to allow you to fly to and from any place on the entire planet has raised the bar for simulations to heights never seen before. Accessible to anyone, or as realistic as you want, this is open-world at its most literal. Free-flying around the globe, participating in landing challenges at some of the world's most famously difficult airports, or just sightseeing, Microsoft Flight Simulator is an unparalleled achievement. Don't forget to grab one of the best PC joysticks to make this flight-sim experience more immersive.
Flight Simulator's Top Gun: Maverick expansion is due out alongside the movie this May.
11. Red Dead Redemption 2
Arthur Morgan’s sprawling tale of loyalty, conviction, and the price of infamy is only the beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2. The marvelous PC port overhauled and further enhanced the gorgeous wild western atmosphere of Rockstar's most recent open-world adventure and added even more activities, unlockables, and impossibly fine details to its expansive map. It's possibly one of the biggest and best single-player PC games ever and it has an extensive multiplayer mode too.
The potential for hijinks within its enormous sandbox of towns, outlaws, and wildlife was already nearly limitless, but the PC version factors in new missions, treasures, gear, and more layered on top of the already 60+ hours of story content in the base game. That’s not even counting all the multiplayer bells and whistles included in Red Dead Online, to say nothing of the ability to expand and customize with mods. RDR2 on PC is handily a must-play for anyone with a rig beefy enough to run it.
Red Dead 2 earned a spot on our updated list of the best open-world games.
10. Final Fantasy XIV Online
In short, Final Fantasy XIV is not just the best MMO you can play right now, it’s a fantastic Final Fantasy game in its own right. Through its relaunch and subsequent three expansions, FFXIV has slowly morphed from a relatively generic good-versus-evil plot into a sprawling, political, and fantastical thriller. The latest expansion, Shadowbringers, serves both satisfying payoffs to some years-long character arcs, as well as a compelling self-contained story that rivals the Final Fantasy series’ best.
Don’t be scared away by the fact that it’s online. Despite being an MMO, Square-Enix has streamlined things so much that, if you don’t want to, you really don’t have to play with other people. 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. Of course, it’s also a fully-fleshed MMO with end-game raiding that ranges from totally accessible to maddeningly punishing.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, the MMO's latest major expansion, was released in November. It won RPG of the Year at the DICE Awards 2022.
9. Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium took age-old CRPG mechanics and created something entirely modern with them. As well as transplanting the dice-rolls and deep dialogue options from Dungeons and Dragons into a lesser-seen noir-detective setting, it offers entirely original ways to play, such as debating against 24 different sections of your own brain, each representative of a different skill or trait.
Your down-and-out detective is thrust into circumstances where you must solve a murder, but with all great stories it's not the conclusion that is solely gratifying, but the journey you took to get there as its ludicrously detailed world and a cast of characters drive it along, supported by some of the best writing seen in a game. Playing Disco Elysium feels entirely fresh and pretty much unlike anything else you’ll have experienced on PC in any era, let alone this one.
The acclaimed RPG was made even better with Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, which adds all-new quests and full voice acting. IGN awarded it a 10/10, saying "The Final Cut elevates Disco Elysium from an already phenomenal RPG to a true must-play masterpiece.
8. NieR: Automata
Nier: Automata is, by all accounts, a game that shouldn't exist. Director Yoko Taro's original Nier flopped back in 2010, but it nevertheless developed a ravenous fanbase – and for good reason. To put it simply: Nier: Automata does what the original sought to do, learning from its failures and building on its successes to create a blend of hardcore and fluid combat, bullet-hell shoot 'em up segments, and visual novel stylings. It all coalesces into something entirely new.
Despite a frustrating PC port that the fanbase had to fix themselves with the all-but-mandatory FAR mod, Nier: Automata's staying power is etched somewhere within its philosophical musings of humanity, the pain of existence, and ability to find the humor in between. Each of its big story moments is punctuated with a haunting soundtrack courtesy of composer Keiichi Okabe. All of that makes Nier: Automata a game that needs to be experienced from beginning to end – and not just ending A, but endings B, C, D, and E as well. Those multiple endings build to something no other game has ever dared to attempt (with apologies to the original Nier). But this one just hits a little different, you know?
A Nier: Automata anime is now in development.
7. XCOM 2
XCOM 2 builds on the brilliant, high-stakes tactical combat of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its War of the Chosen expansion made it even better. It has the same tension of going from a technologically inferior underdog to a powerful war machine, with the constant threat of the permanent death of your customized soldiers looming over every decision. However, it turns the formula of defending Earth from alien invaders on its head by boldly recasting XCOM as a guerrilla force attempting to liberate the planet from alien occupation, making the situation feel even more desperate than ever. This bigger, deeper sequel adds not just complexity in the form of new and more powerful soldier classes, equipment, and aliens, but also a huge focus on replayability. Procedurally generated maps keep you from falling into a repeatable pattern in tactical missions, frequent random events on the strategic map shake up your build and research orders, and of course mods galore.
Next up for Firaxis is Marvel's Midnight Suns, which will be released in the second half of 2022.
1. Portal 2
Portal 2 claims the top spot because, in the past decade, nothing else has struck so many chords so perfectly. No game accomplishes so much so well. Its impeccable level design, charming personality, and exceptional and varied puzzle systems make us feel smarter just for getting through it. Plus, its co-op campaign requires a different sort of smarts that remains one of the best multiplayer experiences with pals around.
Valve is a developer that, presumably because of the time it takes to make its incredible games, creates a feeling of timelessness in its design. Portal 2 – which iterated on and added to the brilliant puzzle design and world-building of its predecessor – feels just as clever and unique as it did in 2011. Simply put, if you’ve never played Portal 2, your top gaming priority right now should be to do just that.
