PC gaming offers the ultimate experience for those who prefer using a mouse and keyboard to access games. Here are some of the top titles to keep an eye out for in 2024.
Tekken 8 pushes the boundaries of fighting game style to new heights, boasting stunning visuals and more tactical gameplay than ever.
The Witcher 3
Since its 2007 debut, The Witcher series has set a high bar for choice and consequence in role-playing games. The latest chapter in its success, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is an uncompromisingly ambitious masterpiece that pushes genre boundaries further with an incredible wealth of content and an immersive world you could spend hours exploring.
Geralt of Rivia is a monster hunter whose fate is interwoven with an entire kingdom. You navigate an expansive open world game as Geralt, roaming vast landscapes while slaying beasts and shaping civilizations’ fates while witnessing political treachery and personal tragedy on your journey – it’s also about people, so much so that following breadcrumb trails could lead to something completely unexpected!
Technical performance issues prevent it from reaching higher rankings, particularly when traversing vast landscapes. While not an irreparable barrier, such delays make it more challenging to appreciate its stunning visuals and deep gameplay experience.
The Witcher 3 is an incredible video game experience worthy of any gaming lover. Visually breathtaking and supremely satisfying to play, its immersive narrative features characters you care about while providing smooth high settings performance on powerful PCs – however, a capable GPU like GTX 980 or higher may be required to appreciate its benefits fully!
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium stands out as an isometric RPG by creating an atmosphere comparable to first-person games. A haunting score and ambient sounds, like lapping waves and rustling reeds, set the scene; unique skills like Perception give insight into what different directions sound like, or Shivers provide psychic access to people’s emotions, adding depth to conversations and exploration.
Revachol stands out among RPGs in 2024 because its creators skillfully blend gameplay and storytelling, creating one of the finest isometric RPGs available. Revachol stands out by creating an immersive world rather than just icons on a map; Revachol feels more real because its people provide details about ancient wars or supernatural encounters that add context and weight to your character’s journey through Revachol.
Disco Elysium’s main story may be gripping, but your choices make the experience memorable. Throughout the game, your decisions will shape your hero into whatever kind of miserable loser you wish, whether that be remaining drunken trash fire or becoming a self-proclaimed superstar (with self-awareness to follow). As you level up and gain new skills, you’ll see how those decisions impact the people around you.
Disco Elysium may not be the greatest RPG ever created – that honour would likely go to Deus Ex, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines or Fallout: New Vegas instead – but its PC-remastered version remains highly entertaining and rewarding.
Alien: Isolation
At Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation game developed for PS3, few video games have ever come close to recreating the horror and tension of Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic film Alien. Players assume control of Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda as they search for answers regarding Ellen Ripley’s disappearance at the Sevastopol space station.
Creative Assembly’s team has done a superb job re-creating this atmosphere visually in their game, from dim lighting to static rattling air vents, creating an intense experience.
The sound design in this game stands out, keeping players on edge even when not actively hunting down a powerful enemy. Subtle hums and hisses that drift through the air provide enough suspense to keep players intrigued when not actively stalking their adversary.
Isolation takes the time to immerse its player in the world of its film, exploring an uncertain and dismal future that seems worn and broken – an appealing change from most major movie-inspired titles with generic plotlines.
However, Alien: Isolation has some unavoidable annoyances that cannot be avoided in its scope. Save points are sometimes too infrequent, while long stretches of crouch-walking and staring at motion sensors can become irritating. Still, the gameplay more than makes up for these minor irritations -; Alien: Isolation represents one step closer to providing what has long been lacking – the true sequel that the series needed – fear and suspense being more effective than any burst of gunfire – something few other developers or even teams of talented engineers alone could achieve.
Helldivers 2
As with its predecessor, Helldivers II by Arrowhead Entertainment is an enjoyable isometric twin-stick shooter. From its third-person perspective and galactic meta game to its humorous take on war tropes reminiscent of Starship Troopers, Helldivers II offers an engaging experience. However, its co-op mode truly sets this game apart – squatting up with friends can create thrilling survival moments and amusing mishaps as you meet objectives, call down Stratagems, and battle bugs and robots for freedom!
Helldivers 2 stands apart from other modern shooters by creating an atmosphere of both fun and mastery through teamwork. Dodging an attacking bug’s attack or blowing up a machine dropship before it deploys forces feels great and is met with an instant rush; military simulation elements provide thrilling moments while balanced by lighthearted gameplay that doesn’t offer microtransactions.
Despite technical glitches at launch, hell divers two has made quite an impactful debut on PlayStation 5 and PC. It’s an engaging shooter with the potential to become one of 2024’s premier titles; provided its current teething issues can be resolved soon, Helldivers 2 could become an exciting sleeper hit that’s well worth your time – just keep in mind its squishy soldiers can die easily when charged into an army of bugs, yet that may just lead to victory as teammates respawn quicker; something bloody battlegrounds don’t allow.
World of Warcraft
WoW may have endured some tough years recently due to poorly received expansions and genre fatigue, but it’s in a much stronger place now than it’s been for some time. Dragonflight was released as an expansion that did away with Shadowlands’ time-gating and forced progression choices and gave players plenty of additional freedom; its revamped talent tree system allows players to build characters creatively while new raids, dungeons, mounts and transmog options provide plenty of entertainment value.
Experience from 10 years of MMO play is evident throughout, as tweaks to old systems prevent annoying exploits from becoming too problematic. Even the launch sequence, with its small island introduction of your character and class, feels more like Dungeons & Dragons than most CRPGs!
Cyberpunk 2077 may have had a controversial launch, yet CD Projekt Red has released updates that have strengthened many of its systems since. A more polished action RPG that gives you complete agency over how you navigate Night City is emerging. The powerful DLC features Idris Elba, making the game even higher.
This PC game stands out as one of the best-looking titles ever produced and provides an exquisite experience for those who appreciate aesthetics. Additionally, its campaign offers plenty of challenging missions while providing options between various races and factions, making this must-own RPG one of the more memorable titles released this year.