IGN's Top 25 Modern PC Games
Battle Royale
2019年5月29日
The PC has cemented itself as a catch-all behemoth that offers any type of experience you might be looking to play. Few console exclusives avoid eventually being assimilated into the platform’s massive catalog, and the ability to pick and customize your own setup and control scheme means games almost always play their best on PC. So naturally, choosing the games released in the past ten years which represent the best the platform has to offer was no easy task. Here are our top 25 modern PC games. Written by IGN Staff
25. The WitnessThe Witness is one of the best puzzle games ever created. Clever design makes even its toughest challenges a joy to solve, but it also recognizes struggle as an important part of the learning process. You’re encouraged to carve out your own path on its beautiful, open-world island, creating an isolating but incredibly powerful experience.
24. Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveThere’s a reason Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has maintained such astronomical popularity: it’s one of the most focused and technical first-person shooters out there. The level of depth at play in these fast-paced matches doesn’t just make it one of the toughest competitive shooters to master, but also the most rewarding.
23. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom PainIt took more than a decade for a new Metal Gear game to make it to PC, but the series came back in incredible fashion. Metal Gear Solid 5 is an excellent stealth shooter with missions that you could beat a dozen different ways and still have more to try. Its open world acts as a military playground between ops, and who doesn’t love attaching balloons to unsuspecting soldiers?
22. Rocket LeagueAll you have to do is say “Car Soccer” and people will understand what Rocket League is, but the skill behind boosting a ball through the air pushes it far past that simple idea. Rocket League has been around for years, adding modes and constant content updates to an already great game. It’s one you could play everyday and never get bored of, and many people do.
21. UndertaleUndertale is a delightfully inventive exercise in subverting our expectations of RPGs. Its design knows you're playing a game and messes with you at every turn, remembering your saving habits and constantly adjusting itself in surprising ways. An involving and emotionally charged story thematically supports Undertale’s underlying message: every choice you make matters.
20. FTL: Faster Than LightWhen you play FTL: Faster Than Light, you shouldn't expect to survive, but you should expect great, memorable stories. The times you succeed with a killer beam weapon combo that cuts enemy ships to ribbons, or fight off an enemy boarding party become even better when you realize how much the deck is stacked against you.
19. World of Warcraft: Battle for AzerothWorld of Warcraft’s sheer persistence and willingness to revamp systems both old and new create a world that millions of gamers are still happy to spend thousands of hours exploring. Recent updates and expansions get back to the heart of why World of Warcraft was fun to begin with by focusing on the world, the dungeons, and PVP.
18. Stardew ValleyStardew Valley makes the mundane seem more wonderful. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but marvelously distills the best essence of Harvest Moon's long genealogy into a simple, accessible, and incomparably addictive game. Tranquil and purposefully provincial, Stardew celebrates the simple joy of watching the fruits of your labor grow.
17. Sid Meier’s Civilization VCiv V is still the king of the modern 4X strategy genre. It takes the depth that makes 4X strategy amazing and joins it with a simplicity that allows anyone to get a lot out of it. Refined combat, an intuitive UI, and a fantastic hex-based map system all improve on previous Civ’s already-addictive formula to create something truly special.
16. Fallout: New VegasLike Fallout 3 before it, Fallout: New Vegas threw us into a harsh, post-nuclear America. It tells an excellent story where the fate of the Nevada wasteland is determined by your choices. With improved combat, and some amazing modding work by the community, it becomes far more than just more of the same.
15. XCOM 2XCOM 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 adds not just complexity in the form of new and more powerful soldier classes and aliens, but also a huge focus on replayability thanks to procedurally generated maps, tons of random events, and of course mods galore.
14. CelesteCeleste’s 2D platforming levels are as challenging to figure out as they are satisfying to complete. Hidden throughout those levels are a wealth of secrets, some of which push the skills it teaches you to the absolute limit. But its greatest triumph is how it blends that platforming with a sincere story and an incredible soundtrack that make it a genuinely impactful game too.
13. SpelunkyRarely has procedural level generation been so cleverly and expertly executed as it is in Spelunky. Every stage is a nail-biting, hair-pulling timed race to the bottom demanding the player quickly choose between new risks and rewards. Crammed with traps, deadfalls, and l secrets, Spelunky demands months of obsessive dedication to master.
12. Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2 struck a perfect balance of all the things we love about the series. No other team shined quite as brightly as the ragtag one you assemble on the second Normandy, each of whom have compelling stories to tell and problems to solve. It’s a peak the Mass Effect series may have trouble ever topping.
11. Dead CellsDead Cells offers flexibility in a way few games do. Each easily digestible run through its beautifully detailed and shifting levels goads you to push the limits of your ability, and crushes you when you get too comfortable. There are layers of strategy and tactics buried not only in the immediate choices you make, but in the grander metagame, making it one of the best action platformers around.
10. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive EditionDivinity: Original Sin 2’s Definitiive Edition has cemented it as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It masterfully mixes the feel of old school cRPGs with more modern mechanics and designs. With six different origin characters, custom tags to make your own, and over 74,000 lines of fully voiced dialogue, there’s a whole lot to keep coming back to.
9. OverwatchWith a fantastic lineup of memorable characters and meticulously balanced abilities, Overwatch is a shooter that bobs and weaves almost perfectly between being the quick-fix adrenaline hit you might want after a long day, and the thoughtful, strategic multiplayer experience that becomes the center of evening-long binges with friends.
8. Fortnite Battle RoyaleFortnite’s Battle Royale quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, but its fast and frequent updates have shown it’s more than just a flash in the pan. Its free-to-play format and relatively simple shooting mechanics make it a significantly more accessible take on the battle royale shooter. But that’s coupled with unique building tools that push its skill cap sky high.
7. League of Legends20 years down the line, the documentary that looks back on the beginning of eSports will credit League of Legends as the tipping point. League took the popular MOBA formula and tweaked it to make a more accessible game that still offers immense depth. Its 100+ heroes are fun, varied, and tough to master.
6. Dota 2Spend some quality time with Dota 2 and you’ll understand the enrapturing appeal of MOBAs. Though all matches take place on one map, and there’s only one objective, its 100+ characters and thousands of item combinations make for some of the most strategic gameplay around. Every second and every decision matters.
5. The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimThe sense of freedom Skyrim bestows on players goes beyond the open-ended nature of its main quest, seeping into its many magic and melee systems and even your character’s domestic life. On PC, that freedom extends even further thanks to a rich and sometimes hilarious modding community.
3. MinecraftMinecraft is excellent for many reasons, but the most important is that it both encourages and enables a childlike sense of wonder. You get to take a randomly generated landscape and reshape it any way you can imagine, piece by piece. Or you can dig deep into the ground to find treasure and fight monsters. It’s a bottomless pit of entertainment.
4. Grand Theft Auto 5GTA 5’s sprawling yet meticulously detailed map is the high bar to which all other open-world games aspire, and it’s incredibly dense with excellent content. With so much to do, explore, and play with, both in single-player and multiplayer, plus great creative tools and mods, it’s truly amazing on multiple levels.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild HuntThe Witcher 3 has everything: massive RPG sandboxes generously dotted with monsters to slay and mysteries to solve; nuanced, layered characters with reams of excellently written and performed dialogue; and impossibly high quality art, writing, and acting across the board. Few games can deliver quantity and quality quite like this.
