Quite a good list, although without any real surprises, except for the cheeky inclusion of a recent fan-made PC port. I’m glad Kerbal Space Program is on it, but a few other personal favorites (and candidates for best game of all time) are absent, like The Talos Principle, BeamNG.drive, NEO Scavenger, World of Goo, Mafia, Machinarium and Gothic II. Jets’n’Guns - a very early Indie masterpiece of a 2D space shooter - as well, but it’s a bit too obscure for these kinds of lists. I’ll stop here before I accidentally create my own top 100.
Are your favorite PC games well-represented by this list?
No Terraria :(
This list is offensive to say the least. Valheim at 100 and then goes on to show like 60ish games that are shit in comparison to that masterpiece.
There are not even 10 bad games on that list. Might not be to your taste, but that does not make them shit
I didn’t say any of these games were shit. I said that many of them were shit IN COMPARISON to Valheim, which is objectively true.
What if I told you I find Valheim to be just fine, so I am surprised it is on this list? The subjectiveness of enjoying a game is a very large spectrum
Honestly, there were a TON of games I was surprised to find on this list, but Valheim was not one of them.
Multiplayer games are especially vulnerable to the subjectiveness of enjoyment because not everybody has the same set of friends or experiences with their friends in the game, assuming they played with friends at all.
That said, I’ve been playing games for decades and I would put forth that even single player Valheim with no access to multiplayer would deserve to be much higher than the 100 placement on this terrible list.
I would say that it’s offensive to put Early Access games on those lists. It clouds people’s judgment as they are valued with different standards and are expected to get better (especially if more people support the game). Any game that’s not fully released is a 0/10 in my book even if they were my favorite games.
Valheim was a better game in it’s first version than a lot of the games that are “complete” on this list.
I get where you’re coming from, and certainly some games don’t deserve to even be sold in their “early access” state. However, I think saying none of them should count at all is a bit ridiculous.
Valheim offered hundreds of hours worth of entertainment even in the early versions and has only improved since then. It only takes up 1gb of data through some miracle, and runs fairly well even on the steam deck.
Honestly it puts many of the other titles on the list to shame. Ignoring it because the dev wants to continue providing MORE free updates instead of calling the game finished and then charging for “DLC” is not a reason to punish the studio, if anything they should be looked to as an example of what other devs should do.
No Overwatch in the entire list? Final Fantasy 14 the only FF in the list? No Dota 2 or Leage of Legends? No Batman game?
I know its just opinions and fun, but I’m just very surprised, not angry or anything like that.
@thingsiplay @DdCno1 this list is actually wild. Random flash in the pan games high up but also a bunch of evergreen classics and old games that were revolutionary but largely unplayed today while also missing some of the most popular games on PC. Not sure what this list is supposed to be except maybe engagement bait.
All lists like this are incredibly subjective and by definition about engagement. I wouldn’t call it bait, but it was definitely created for engagement. That is not necessarily a bad thing since it can generate some fun discussions.
No Factorio either.
This article may as well have been written by AI.
I’m not AI and I really dislike Factorio. I would say it is a bit of a niche game, but Rimworld also seems niche. Probably just not to anyone at PC Gamer’s taste.
Factorio is not for everyone, but it’s also one of the all stars of its genre. With the upcoming expansion in a couple weeks, it’ll probably eat another few hundred of my free hours over the next few months, and I know I’m not alone on this one.
Oh, totally. But the folks making the list might not even have thought of it if none of them play it.
You wrote the article?
No, just saying it would not have made my top 100 list. Seemed like a funny thing to say it is an AI list because of not having Factorio
The Overwatch 2 update was pretty widely hated, so that might be clouding things. I supposed they did put Destiny 2 on there though. It is for sure weird to not see FFVII or an Arkham game. Or hell, Dishonored.
Edit: Whoops missed Dishonored 2.
True, OK everyone has its own preferences but indeed ff7 missing looks surprising, didn’t see lot of city builders (not mentioning wolfenstein, fable, populous, Dk…)
Regarding the FF games, I think it’s actually fine considering some of the more notable omissions. Most FF games didn’t get released anywhere near when they were relevant.
Sure, but how do you explain then Persona 5 Royal then on place 5 then? Final Fantasy 7 Remake got higher ratings, I think sold more and was surely more popular on PC, right? Red Dead Redemption 2 was also released on PC when it anywhere near its initial relevance. Metal Gear Solid 3 or Mass Effect Legendary Edition is even worse, because those games are much much older.
Also Portal behind Slay the Spire? Team Fortress 2 34 places behind Hunt: Showdown 1896? So strange! These Valve games were revolutionary and defined their genre with huge number of players and fanbase.
My point is just, that the given argumentation here doesn’t hold up to me. But that is what you get if you ask people for their opinion. It’s just that and it will always surprise you.
The list is honestly bizarre and the rank placements are all over the place. Most of your later examples of that I completely agree with. I just think that the mainline FF games not being on the top 100 list of PC games is fairly understandable, and I say that as a huge fan of the series. Ironically, FF14 is quite literally the only game in the series that I haven’t played.
How is Doom only in tenth place and the original Half-Life isn’t even close to top (edit: I just checked, Half-Life isn’t even on the list).
They set a rule that only one game from a series can be on the list. Half-Life 2 probably just beat 1 in the very subjective scoring.
On the other hand, how is doom even on the list? This isn’t a ‘most influential games’ list. Surely the 10th best game in 2024 isn’t Doom 1993? Their scoring system (Quality 60%, Importance 15%, Hotness 15%, Playability 10%) makes sense to me, but how they assign those scores is baffling.
Take doom and doom eternal for example:
Doom 1993: Q 8.41 - I 9.99 - H 6.81 - P 6.81
Doom eternal: Q 8.00 - 7.45 - H 6.09 - P 8.45How is cardboard enemies, simplest damage mechanics, story made of 2 still pictures and exposition text, and single axis camera control higher quality than any modern shooter? And in what universe could a 30 year old game be called hot??
The modding scene keeps it hot
Maybe they keep it fresh for people that already like it, but I haven’t seen anyone excited to play doom due to its mods
Fools that don’t know what they’re missing!
Quick question: have you played original Doom?
It’s grossly overrated
In which aspects?
I think the level design holds up incredibly well, and in fact is an example of what to do. It’s also not overencumbered by modern bloat.
Have you played it?
Yes?
You sound unsure.
What are your specific feelings on Knee Deep in the Dead level design? Do you enjoy inventory management?
What’re your views on original Super Mario?
I meant it as “yes why did you ask?”
I don’t have strong feelings about level design. I think the levels I enjoyed the most were in other episodes. If this is about the keys I’m neutral about them, I like exploring everywhere anyways so I’d just collect them on the way. I don’t know what else to say
I feel the same way for smb. It has historical importance but it’s not up to the quality standards of today. I like the digital movement, feels better than the analogue stick in nwerer games
That’s fair.
I’m a massive nerd for level design, and in my mind massive sprawling (especially proceedurally generated) maps/levels are a scourge on modern gaming.
I don’t think it’s hugely controversial, but I view E1M1 as possibly one of the best levels ever designed. But then again I also view Doom as more like a dungeon crawler RPG that just happens to be first person and real time, so who knows?
I think I also tend to be more into simpler games than ones with too many bolted on systems, which might also be why I tend to favour older ones (or indie ones).
Maybe that’s the point? Newer Doom games aren’t especially top tier FPSs, and you can find better examples of them (Bioshock (not so modern anymore), the alien-dinosaur-robot spaceship thing, and probably others). So they don’t make the list, and then Doom holds the classic place and genre defining status. (Hexen and Strife were never gonna make the list).
I agree that Super Mario Bros could do with a new lick of paint (and think Nintendo has given it more than a few of them) to bring it up to par. Doom, I’m less sure needs updated graphics, but I don’t think it’d hurt if it kept everything else the same.
(Favourite Doom levels are probably E1M8, E2M9, and some D2 and TNT and Plutonia levels I can’t call to mind off the top of my head.)
I’ve come to the conclusion I’m incredibly biased on this matter and also that you’re entitled to your own opinion, and appreciate that you’ve responded kindly and patiently.
I see, I don’t consciously think about the map/level design when playing something so my opinion of doom comes from its mechanics and presentation, both of which are lacking in comparison to what indie boomer shooters have today.
find better examples of them (Bioshock
I don’t know if I played it wrong or something but I really didn’t like bioshock 1. It lasted like twice as long as it was fun and as time passed enemies just got spongier. Ammo is super scarce in the beginning and super common at the end. Shooting not very satisfying. The existence of the elemental gun. Bioshock 2 was much better imo
I fully understand someone thinking x game deserves to be there instead of y but I think this is a great list that spans most genres and serves as a wonderful stepping stone for exploration within gaming.
If I give this list to someone who doesn’t know yet, what kind of games they like, this list will show them great games from all major “eras” and all kinds of dev studio sizes/budgets. And once they have played, say, KotoR 2 (since it’s in the same list that recommends new and good games like Baldur’s Gate 3, they are more likely to check out other old but great games like Gothic 1 and 2 (and, of course, KotoR 1).
The thing for me wasn’t so much the game choice but the placement. It feels like they took a big bag of 100 of the best games and randomly picked them out one at a time. If you start to ask is Y really better than X on this list then it starts to make less and less sense.
That’s a fair gripe with the list. I guess “Top 100 Games” is just more catchy than “100 Great Games In Random Order”
… Although at this point I’ve seen so many “Top x y” lists that “x Great y In Random Order” would, ironically, catch my attention more.
If the entire list isn’t outer wilds its bs.
It’s somehow not on the list? That’s actually unbelievable
Good, because it is number 90
I’m an idiot, no clue how I missed that
Nah, it is a long list. I missed Dishonored 2 on there.
KOTOR 2 on the list instead of KOTOR is an odd choice, but I do not hate it. With the missing content mod, that game is great
I prefer 2 to 1, primarily because the choices are not as blatantly good/evil and it feels like they have more impact. I also think the character creation and items are more fleshed out. Just a shame it didn’t get the polish it deserved at launch. 1 definitely feels more “Star Wars”-y, though.
Their entire list is odd choices except for the top 10 (even persona 5 is iffy as top 10 of all time)
They favor shooters and then place a game that had lost most of its audience in under a year as the best shooter other than doom 1 of all time.
I love helldivers, but it is a very niche game in comparison to so many others, even those on the list.
Not to mention KOTOR and DA:O as 94 and 95. Also prey is an extremely weird choice…
Prey kinda kicked off the immersive genre. I think the thing folks are not getting is that this is not a best game of all time list, even though they say “100 best.” It is a “100 Favorite Games of the PC Gamer Staff” list. It is going to be different than anyone’s exact taste. There are a ton of games on there that I think would not be in my top 100, but I am not mad or confused about it. It’s just something someone else is into.
Missing No One Lives Forever (2). Those games were just fantastic.
CS2 being ranked higher than Siege and Fortnite is really misguided. It’s been almost the same game since before the internet. Siege was a welcome improvement on the same formula. Fortnite continues to innovate with new games and new modes, all appealing to a wide range of people and skill groups. Even its main mode sees drastic changes with each season. It keeps things fresh, which is vital for a live service game like those three.
This but ironically.
I don’t usually give much thought to these lists but Minecraft deserves it’s place, undoubtedly.
Dave the Diver is the only game in this list that I have played and would not recommend. That game gets really grindy, but has a fun loop for the first couple of hours.
The pace drove me a bit mad. So much stuff front loaded with all kinds of things in play, then you reach a point where they want you to wait X in game days for a crucial item so it grinds to a halt
This list was really hard for my phone to view. It’s an older phone, so that’s probably why, but it kept freezing and reloading.
Interesting seeing Hotline Miami make the list since I just watched a short video essay the other day explaining how OTXO is just a better game in basically every way.
I’m still in the 80s working my way down the list, but I searched and OTXO doesn’t appear to be on the page.
Edit: Conversely, I’m pleased to see Portal included instead of Portal 2. The Portal 2 goo was unnecessary and led to more boring puzzle solutions. Portal is a more pure, timeless game. And it has a lot of amazing mods… I should probably look into how to install Portal mods on the Deck…
OTXO just might have been better than Hotline Miami if it was actually released in 2012. My personal gripe with it is how using a mouse at 60fps in [current year] just feels awful.
8th is [email protected] and 9th is [email protected]. Hell Yeah
