We’ve almost come near the end of this fantastic year for gaming, and we still see some great games being released; what a year! So, I might not be that good to tell you what are the best new PC games for You, but I’ll do my best to encapsulate all of the most notable entries from this year. Whether it’s a shooter game, RPG, racing or action game, we are going to count down the 20 best new games from PC this year. So, are you a hardcore gamer? If you are, then you are like me, and you should read what I’ve prepared for you below.
1. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
While it’s hard to decide what game is the best from this year, I’ve decided to put AC: Origins first. I really like this game, because it features a renewed combat system, gameplay mechanics and it even introduced RPG elements in its open-world environment of Ancient Egypt. The game looks phenomenal and plays very smoothly, and you can now loot, search for items, craft your weaponry and armor and much more. What’s the best of all is that AC: Origins continues its tradition, so it’s still a stealth action game, and not hack & slash game. Even if you aren’t a fan of AC series, as it’s the case with me, you’ll still enjoy this game, plus you’ll have dozens of hours of gameplay.
2. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the best Nazi-killing game you can play right now. It’s so addicting, with its great singleplayer story, that follows our hero B.J Blazkowics on his journey to once again put a stop to the Nazi’s forces. You’ll kill Nazis with your guns or use melee weapons, as well as use stealth to your advantage, as you progress through the game. The main antagonist here is Frau Engel and she’s gross and more brutal than ever, even beheading our protagonist at the half of the game. That is some badass scenery here! I’m not sure if B.J Blazkowicz is a father of Doomguy from DOOM… from what I’ve seen, he sure is!
3. Call of Duty: WWII
Call of Duty series took a wrong turn with their recent games, so they decided it’s best for them to return to the roots. COD: WWII is their newest release that promises us a great, action-packed sequences and a new singleplayer campaign. Well… they did it. The story here is great, and I’ve managed to somehow connect with the characters in the campaign, which is only six hours long. However, COD: WWII offers a great multiplayer mode and Zombie mode, which are now more “grounded”, so no Jetpacks and the other fancy stuff from the previous games. This is a pure old-school shooter for old-school shooter lovers like me. Congrats to developers, they finally did it!
4. Destiny 2
Destiny was a huge commercial success when it released, and Destiny 2 is an even better game than the last one! This amazing, online shooter brings the action-packed and fast-paced gameplay to the fullest! Here, you are able to follow an interesting story from Destiny universe and engage with your friends in completing missions, gaining loot and upgrading your characters. There’s a deep character progression system that will allow you to utilize all of your time that you spent playing, and purchase various gear, weapons and armor. However, I dislike the presence of microtransactions here, as the game is a full AAA title, so it’s kinda odd to have microtransactions here.
5. Prey
Prey is a half shooter, and half RPG game, and half stealth game. Wait, so Prey is one and a half game? Not literally. Prey combines everything that you liked about Deus Ex series and System Shock 2, in one bloody hard game, that will test your patience and your gaming skills. Here, you are fighting versus a dangerous Alien race called Typhon, which are able to morph into the objects, and use their powerups to kill you in just a few seconds. The game is unforgivable when it comes to combat, so you’ll often have to embrace your GLOO gun, to be able to freeze your enemies and blow them to pieces. The game is more than 15 hours long, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it until the ending.
6. Cuphead
Oh, my God, this game made me almost break my keyboard and mouse! You’ll have a hard time beating this game, that took the inspiration from the 30’s cartoons, and crafted one VERY hard game. It’s like a Dark Souls of the 2D genre. Here, you are a Cuphead who has the power to shoot from his finger, like we “did” when we were kids. Then, you are immediately submerged in the beautiful, cartoonish world of Cuphead, but it’s so well done that it covers the real brutality of this game. The bosses are the main highlight here, and they’ll really do their best to kill you. The other enemies aren’t kidding either; you’ll run and gun, but also jump and crawl your way through the game, in order to beat that damn hard boss! The end result is a huge satisfaction and relief.
7. Divinity: Original Sin 2
Fantasy RPGs were always the genre I liked when I was a little kid. Nowadays, I don’t seem to like them that much, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 caught my attention. The game looks phenomenal, and its gameplay mechanics are unmatched by today’s standards! Here, you’ll explore a dark, phantasy gothic world of the game, as you venture out to loot, upgrade your character and gain levels in order to progress through the game. Combat-wise, the game will really challenge you as it’s not all about running and slashing your enemies. Play it alone or with up to three friends, and remember- only one of you can become a God. Will it be you?
8. Nier: Automata
Nier: Automata is one of the most authentic games of this year, delivering a great combat mechanics, combined with the open-world nature of the game. It’s a sequel to Bayonetta, but this time, it brings a full-featured game, with lots of stuff to do, aside from slashing and killing. You’ll be able to upgrade your character and your Android friend and fight vicious bosses that will make you sweat and beg them for mercy. Although the story is a little left behind this whole exploration and combat, you’ll still enjoy hack & slash mechanics, as well as the game’s camera angles, being a third-person game at one moment, and 2D top-down game in the next moment. A masterpiece of a game!
9. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
RE7: Biohazard made its way to the shelves at the beginning of 2017, and it’s a scary and terrifying experience at the same time. You have your own guns here, that you’ll use to fight versus the enemies, but guess what? There are sections where you aren’t armed, and if you are, there are those spooky enemies that you can’t kill! You can go guns blazing here, or stay hidden, as you fight versus the infected Baker family, and the feeling you’ll get at the end is a huge relief, as you’ve finally broken free from this nightmarish experience.
10. The Evil Within 2
Speaking of the horror genre, The Evil Within 2 is here to scare the hell out of you and haunt your dreams for months after you’ve played it. It’s played from the third-person perspective, and our old protagonist Sebastian Castellanos made his return here, searching for his daughter Lilly. Here, you’ll encounter some of the ugliest and terrifying monsters in the game, displaying a great influence from Japanese horrors, which always tend to upset me, but in a good way. The game perfectly balances the stealth sequences with shooting elements, along with sections where you have to run from your enemies and save your life.
11. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
Shadow of War is a great game, with great backstory and the overall gameplay, but you’ll find it satisfying if you like a little repetitive gameplay and lots of grinding. Our protagonist Talion returns here, as he and Celebrimor are forging the new ring to beat Sauron. However, the ring is taken from then and Tallion once again fights versus the forces of Sauron to finally beat him. The game features a ton of new mechanics such as having an Uruk bodyguard and renewed stealth gameplay. The progression system is also deep, and even when you upgrade your abilities to the maximum, you’ll still be challenged and often killed. It’s a challenging, yet satisfying experience.
12. PUBG
PUBG is another multiplayer game, that boasts an interesting gameplay mechanics. Here, you are dropped into the open world, with zero gear and weapons, and you’ll have to search for them as you progress through the game. The same goes with the other players, and in this huge map, you’ll have to remain alive as a last man standing, to be the first on the spot. You can use weapons, armors, and vehicles at your disposal, and the game offers a lot of challenge, so brace yourself, and join millions of active players in PUBG.
13. Outlast 2
Outlast 2 is a spooky experience, that you’ll want to play more and more when you indulge more into the story. Our protagonist is on a mission to save his wife from the sick, infected cult trying to kill her, as they believe that she is carrying a devil. The game is terrifying because you have no weapons to defend yourself, and your only choice is to run. Also, the story is very well written here, although the ending isn’t that satisfying. From the moment you start, that girl with pickaxe Marta is going to scare the hell out of you, as she is fast and relentless, and will kill you with a single swing of the pickaxe.
14. Ghost Recon: Wildlands
While some people say that Ghost Recon: Wildlands isn’t that great game, I think it’s a solid performer. The open world of Bolivia never felt so vivid, but brutal at the same time. As you’ve probably guessed it, you are a member of Ghost team, whose mission is to put a stop to the Narco cartel in Bolivia, which you can fully explore on foot, by helicopters, cars, and motorcycles. It’s even better when you are playing with friends and go on either stealth of guns-blazing approach.
15. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Do you have a great set of headphones? If you have, then you have to play Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The game follows a story of Senua, as she ventures on a search for Dillion, her love interest. However, as the game progresses, the psychosis, that Senua has gets worse and worse, and she realizes that she is her biggest enemy. You’ll have to solve puzzles and fight your way through the game, as well as listen to those twisted voices in Senua’s head, so that’s why I mentioned headphones. It’s interesting that there is no HUD, so the voices are the only info you’ll get about your health and get hints on how to complete the task.
16. Sniper Elite 4
Sniper Elite 4 returns as a sequel to the previous game, but in a more violent and brutal way. Here, you’ll kill Nazis- a lot of them, by using your stealth or go with a head-on attack. You can use your sniper to your advantage, and admire how beautiful game looks, especially when you blow someone’s head or a nut with the bullet of your sniper rifle, and see that amazing X-Ray camera. The story here isn’t that important, but the gameplay and the presentation, in which you’ll engage in both stealth and guns-blazing missions, with improved AI and graphics. I can really see that the developer had more money to put into this effort, so Sniper Elite 4 is an AAA game, unlike the previous one.
17. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3
Another sniping game, but with a little different approach. It’s an open-world game, following a story of a soldier whose brother got kidnapped, and now he is on a path to rescue him. The story might be a little cliche, but there is a plot twist near the end. Gameplay-wise, Ghost Warrior 3 boasts a first-person perspective gameplay, with the player being able to use sniper as his primary weapon and the other weapons to his advantage. You can play as a Sniper, and snipe the enemies from a distance, you can be a Ghost and complete the missions without casualties or go aggressive and be a Warrior. It’s your choice how you’ll play it, but be sure to enjoy the game.
18. For Honor
Is For Honor a honorable mention? Well, it certainly is, as it’s one of the highlights of the year. The game boasts a realistic fighting mechanics, and looks pretty decent, although it’s not that popular right now. Nevertheless, For Honor will let you choose between factions like Vikings, Samurai, and Knights and fight versus one another in a multiplayer mode, or let you follow the story in the singleplayer campaign. Either way, I’m sure that For Honor will provide you with a lot of fun.
19. Tekken 7
Tekken 7 is a worthy reboot of the franchise that’s been with us since the Playstation was out. Oh, what a great time that was! This year’s Tekken 7 returns with the best and the smoothes gameplay I’ve seen in a Tekken game. It offers almost all of the characters from the previous games and introduces a solid singleplayer story that you can play aside from multiplayer mode, which kicks ass! If you are a newbie to Tekken series, prepare to have a lot of practice, and become a honored fighter both offline and online.
20. Observer
Last, but not least, I’ve left a very interesting cyber-punk game for you to try, and it’s Observer. This is a singleplayer experience, that puts you in a role of a policeman called Daniel Lazarski, who is on a search for his son. On your way, you’ll be getting into interactions with NPCs, solve puzzles and trying to survive the harsh in-game world, as those robotic creatures hunt you. It’s a story-driven game but still manages to remain interesting until the end, even offering two endings. On top of that, the game looks amazing, like an AAA title, but it’s just third the price, so it’s a good reason to get it, for fans of cyber-punk horrors.