One of the many benefits of the gaming industry’s booming popularity is the range of games that players can now choose from, with numerous new titles released every week. There are few notable genres today that aren’t receiving new games at least every month, with first-person shooters and action-adventure games constantly pouring in, while indie developers have revivedoft-forgotten genresover the last decade likepoint-and-click adventuresand side-scrolling platformers.
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However, while endless choices can be great, it can be expensive to keep hopping betweenlinear and short games. Although short and concise games are great, it’s always nice to have a couple of games to sink hundreds of hours into and still feel like there’s more to do. Thankfully, PC gamers have plenty of games like this to choose from, that can save them from spending money on a new game for months.
7The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The argument as to which is the best action-RPG game of all time is one that will rage on forever and never be solved. However, it can be argued thatSkyrimoffers the quintessential action role-playing experience.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimwas first released, believe it or not, over ten years ago now, but is still one of themost played games on PC. The game’s popularity can be attributed to just how much freedom players have to choose their own path, as one player can easily sink hundreds of hours into creating a powerful warrior that fights countless battles, while another player can spend months living a peaceful and passive virtual life with market trading, house building, and material crafting being top of their agenda.
6Stardew Valley
Stardew Valleywas first released in February 2016 before arriving on a vast range of modern systems due to high demand, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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LikeSkyrim,Stardew Valleyhas a hands-off approach in the sense that it lets players embark on their own journey and create their own stories. Although the game may initially appear to be predominantly just about farming,Stardew Valleywill soon open up and become more of alife simulatorwhere players can build relationships with townsfolk and feel like a part of the virtual community.
5Civilization 6
TheCivilizationseries has been a cornerstone of the turn-based strategy genre for decades. As the name suggests, the game tasks players with creating a thriving civilization between the years 4000 BC and 2050 AD.Civilization 6almost never reaches 2050 AD, however, as players are battling it out to reach one of the game’s victory conditions which includeScience,Domination, andCulture.
Civilization 6is essentially a virtual board game with endless replayability, as there are numerous leaders to use, maps to try, and strategies to employ.
4The Total War Series
Whereas theCivilizationseries has been a cornerstone of the turn-based strategy genre, theTotal Warseries is a pillar of real-time strategy games. TheTotal Warfranchise began in June 2000 withShogun: TotalWarand has since released a plethora of gamescovering various historical periodsand recently the fantasy setting ofWarhammer.
Although the combat inTotal Wargames is real-time strategy, the game has plenty of turn-based mechanics outside of combat when players are planning their attacks, dealing with diplomacy issues, and trying to keep civilians healthy and happy.
3Football Manager 22
For those who would rather battle it out with a ball at their feet instead of a sword in their hand, thenFootball Manager 22offers the perfect solution.
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The game is an absolute dream for anyone who has everfantasized about managing their favorite team, asFootball Manager 22,like its predecessors, goes into an incredible amount of detail and lets players take charge of a huge range of management aspects, such astraining,tactics, scouting, youth development,transfers, and much, much more.
2Minecraft
Minecraftis often described as a modern take on Lego, and it’s easy to see why. The game’s creative mode lets players' imaginations run wild as they’re given all the tools tocreate stunning houses, monuments, entire cities, and numerous other wonderful creations.
Minecraft’s survival mode takes a different approach, as although players can still craft stunning creations over time, they also need to watch out for deadly enemies, mine resources, cook and eat food, build-essential items, and more. The possibilities are endless inMinecraft, with a lack of imagination often being the only constraint.
1Elden Ring
Elden Ringis the most recent game to release on this list, having hit stores in February 2022. The game had a huge weight of expectations on its shoulders due to FromSoftware’s strong track record, though the Japanese studio didn’t disappoint, and even managed to surpass the expectations of many fans and critics with its whopping96 Metascore.
Elden Ringshakes up the Soulsborne formula by introducing an open world for the first time. The world’s size is simply incredible, with numerous castles, dungeons, and of course,tough bossesto find along the way. Although unlike many games on this list,Elden Ringdoes have an ending, it’s still easy to pour hundreds of hours into the game due to how much there is to explore and how many weapons and items there are to wield and use that are practically begging the player to try multiple builds throughout numerous playthroughs.
