Hi everyone,
Family of switch and playstation gamers here (teens) wanting to try out PC gaming.
Tech savvy so fine on the building a machine front. But what about the games?
What are the classic games… what are the must plays?
PC Gaming - Which Games to Start with
Allwentmarching on 09/11/2024 - 21:17
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Just what I was looking for, cheers :) Have played a couple on console
Family of switch and playstation gamers here (teens) wanting to try out PC gaming.
What are the classic games… what are the must plays?I'm assuming they are looking for something possibly 'better' than what they have played on the consoles.
Check the published date on some of those games as many are years, if not decades, old.
You are not likely to be initially impressed by many of the games listed on metactritic - they will look very dated and uninviting.
They are classics and must plays but many are not what is going to attract a console player.
Also, it may be worth trying out different styles of games as compared to their usual on the consoles. eg if they're into platformers maybe try a FPS.
Without knowing what their preferences are it's a bit hard to recommend anything specific.
Really depends what you're into. Quite a few games are not PC exclusives
Off the the top of my head, I'd recommend -
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Control
- Tomb raider
- Portal 1/2
- Bioshock Infinite
- GTA 5
- Half Life series
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Croc Legend of the Gobbos (remaster coming out later this year)
- Factorio
- Braid
- Firewatch
Real time strategy games are always better with keyboard/mouse, Frostpunk, Age of Empires, Homeworld, StarCraft
Games with a lot of mods are great, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Stardew Valley.
IMO some RPG games are better on PC. I prefer the witcher series, cyberpunk, divinity, baldur's gate, diablo
Factorio/Satisfactory if you don't value your time and would like a game to eat up 400,000 hours of your life.
If you are new to PC Gaming then The Sid Meier Collection could be for you.
Going to be hard pressed to find more gaming for your $$$. Just be warned, you could find yourself still playing when the sun rises.
In general, I would keep an eye out for bundles. You can build your game library on the cheap.
Starcraft 2
Forza Horizon 5
Project Zomboid is good fun, especially MP
What kind of game do you like?
If I were to look at games that I sunk a lot of hours into that are also very light on PC:
- Binding of issac - Rebirth
- Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
- Powder Toy
- Fallout New Vegas
- Dragon Age Origin
- Star Wars KOTOR I and II.
- Oxygen not included
- Rimworld
I probably should also mention Dwarf Fortress, though it was something that I could never get into
Cyberpunk 2077
Red Dead Redemption 2
Witcher 3
Baldur's Gate 3
XCOM 2
Oh boy, do you have big list of games to work through here!
Is it just the one machine or are you networking and after a few multiplayer orientated games?
I would start with…
- Diablo 2 (easy to set up with the Resurrected edition)… personally i have sunk more time into D3 but D2 is the classic
- Quake 3 Arena
- Unreal Tournament (harder to get these days)
- Unreal Tournament 2004 (hard to get too)
- Command and Conquer Remastered… and then work through the other games but avoid C&C4
- Starcraft (start with the original which is free… if you guys enjoy get the sequel)
- Freelancer (need to find a freeware copy)
- Descent trilogy
- Doom 1 and 2
- Deus Ex
- Worms United… it's more addictive than it looks
Wouldn't really push vanilla Doom 1 and 2, however I would push Doomseeker (multiplayer client and it downloads wads) which uses Zandronum doom client and checkout Brutal Doom, if playing MP with family/friends coopbuildm is a great one to start off with.
Minesweeper
C'mon… you could have said Ski Free or Space Cadet :-P
I was going to suggest Nibbles but I thought it was too old school
LOL. Yeah, that would have been quite old school.
Now I feel like hunting down copies of Wizard of Wor, Gold Rush and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego… the first lot of games I played on the computer we had in primary school.
@Mugsy: I remember playing WITWICS in primary school too. They let you play games if I were 'good' - effective system really 😊
Dave the Diver is great fun and very amusing.
Vampire Survivors is fun/addictive, but may damage your dopamine receptors.
No Mans Sky is amazing now and easily to get lost in for months.
Cyperpunk and its expansion are amazing. You really want a descent Graphics card if you want this to look good and run smooth.
The Division 2 is one of my favourites, the recreation of a city dystopia in the U.S. is amazing.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is lots of fun.
Playne is cool if you want to learn meditation/relaxation techniques.
XCOM 1&2 are good.
The Portal series is fun and amusing.
Far Cry 4&5 are fun.
Days Gone is Epic and lots of fun! Being chased by the Zombie Hoard to within a inch of your life is terrifying but a joy!
The Witcher 3 is an a work of art.Wait for the Steam Sales:
Steam Summer Sale (Usually late June to early July):
This is one of the biggest annual sales, lasting around two weeks. You'll find discounts across nearly every genre.Steam Autumn Sale (Usually late November, around Black Friday):
The Autumn Sale usually kicks off near Thanksgiving in the U.S. and lasts about a week. This sale has a mix of deep discounts similar to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.Steam Winter Sale (Usually mid-December to early January):
Another major sale, it typically starts around mid-December and runs until early January, covering the holiday season.Steam Spring Sale (Newer, typically in March):
This sale was introduced recently to fill the gap in spring, usually featuring a wide range of discounts but is often shorter than the Summer and Winter sales.Also check out www.fanatical.com for good PC deals
I forgot one, Mad Max is lots of fun and can be picked up on special for a couple of bucks
Dave the diver
XCOM 1 & 2 with DLCs
Civilization series
Warcraft and Starcraft series
Black Myth Wukong (I think it's better on PC)If you're new to PC then The Orange box from Valve.
If you like shooters try Escape From Tarkov. Amazing world building and mechanics. There’s literally nothing like it on console, and it’ll punish you and you’ll love it and hate it and before you know it you’re 2,000 hours in.
Witcher 3 is just phenominal, this would be a non negotiable!
Far cry 3 was also really fun.
Kingdom come deliverance is also a fantastic game, maybe a little niche.These would be my all time favourites. These are all open world, single player games with a focus on exploration, combat and compelling narrative.
If you don't know what you like, grab the free games from Epic Games each month, and consider an Xbox Gamepass trial/subscription for a great library of games to try on PC. Lots of games on Steam also have demos.
Just to be precise, the free games from Epic Game Store is every week… don't visit once a month… one will miss out on at least 3 games. They had Ghostwire Tokyo the other week so it's not old or just indie games being given away.
Also subscribe to the Humble Bundle and Fanataical newsletters… they do some great bundles from time to time.
Thanks for that, sounds like I need to check more often haha
https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/pc/