This was a challenging list for me to come up with, as I've never really been a die-hard PC gamer by any means. However, I was always fascinated by how different its library was from what I had gotten used to on consoles - for the most part, games on computer platforms, particularly in the '90s era, were a very different experience in that they had so much more ambition to them. Like most of the best-known console developers, they were always pushing technology to its limits, but they also had to contend with a huge variety of different hardware setups and operating systems, which made their games considerably more difficult to develop and run. Still, it was all worth it to play some very in-depth and interesting experiences that consoles simply couldn't deliver, whether due to a more limited player interface or just not having the technological advantages of the PC platform. And of course, it is quite nice to still be able to play nearly all of them today, even if many do require fan patches or virtual machines or some other emulation option in order to run on modern hardware.
The only criteria I chose for this list is that all of my picks must have been designed with a computer system in mind as the primary platform (and have a release gap of at least three months between any console ports), or be PC-exclusive. Oh, and they have to still be fun to play today, too.As ever, keep in mind that this are my personal picks and no-one else's. Oh, and these are by no means the only PC games I like. Trust me, I had quite a lot of trouble sticking to my rules and narrowing this down to only 100!
A few honorable mentions if that's your sort of thing.
Beginning its life as a source mod but later being remade from the ground up in Unity, Stanley Parable takes the concept of a narrative-driven "walking sim" and completely flips it on its head. Sure, you can go straight through and follow the narrator's directions and get a good story out of it, but the game's also cleverly set up to react to basically anything you do - dawdling around, taking wrong paths and such will all get a variety of amusing reactions from the narrator and lead the story in some truly bizarre (and often unsettling) directions. I always love a good fourth wall breaking gimmick and Stanley Parable does it quite expertly every step of the way.
While not the first FPS to hit the market, Wolfenstein 3D is arguably the one that popularized the genre. It also remains surprisingly fun for its more tactical design - try to run in and gun everything down like in Doom and you'll probably just get killed. Instead it's better to take a more methodical approach, carefully peeking into rooms and trying to pick off enemies one at a time, conserving your bigger guns for when you really need them (especially because they burn through your limited ammo supply much more quickly). As per all the classic Id shooters, it's also rife with hidden secrets, has numerous expansions (both official and fan-made) and a dedicated modding community that ensures it's still being played today.
The Incredible Machine franchise is one that saw a lot of iterations (and a relatively recent spiritual remake in "Contraption Maker"), presenting the player with a number of Rube Goldberg puzzle pieces and challenging them to complete goals that varied from stage to stage. Toon Machine (originally released as "Sid and Al's Incredible Toons") takes that and applies plenty of cartoon logic to everything, pitting the titular characters against one another in a series of puzzles where they try to outdo one another. To this end, you'll fire catapults, utilize lights and magnifying glasses to burn things, use elaborate systems of ropes, pulleys and conveyor belts to transport objects, and, of course, cause mayhem with anvils, dynamite and bombs. The between-level cutscenes were also a lot of fun, having Sid Mouse and Al E. Cat (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings respectively) explain your objectives with bits of animation.
A run-and-gun shooter that plays like one part Contra and one part Smash TV, Abuse was like nothing else on PC at the time. Basically a 2D platformer with 360-degree movement via the mouse, the game certainly took advantage of this by having enemies be fast and ruthless, attacking from every angle and quickly overwhelming you if you weren't quick to react, aim and fire. Of course, it also took cues from games like Doom with multiple hidden secrets and powerups to find I each stage and even a few alternate pathways to discover. Its source code has also been released, allowing it to get source ports to multiple platforms, so there's no excuse to not check out Abuse.
100. The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe, 2011/2013)
99. Magic: The Gathering (aka Shandalar) (Microprose, 1997)
Magic: the Gathering is the granddaddy of all collectible card games, and it began all the way back in the early '90s. As popular as it became, a number of video game adaptations would naturally follow, including an online game launched in 2002 that continues to this day and incorporates new expansions as they are released. But before all that started off, Sid Meier (yes, that Sid Meier) created a version of Magic that proved to be quite a bit of fun. Not only did it let you build your own decks to duel against computer opponents and feature extensive tutorials (with gloriously cheesy FMVs that combined CGI and live actors), but it even had a full-fledged RPG mode where the player tried to save the land from five evil mages, and make no mistake, it was an RPG; defeated opponents would give currency to let the player buy new cards, they would ante up new cards or clues to puzzles as a reward for victory, there were a number of dungeons to earn rewards from (usually in the form of temporary advantages for the next few duels), and one could even upgrade their own character with more starting Life Points and other advantages. There were even a few expansion sets (Spells of the Ancients, Duels of the Planeswalkers and the unofficial ManaLink) that added new card decks, online multiplayer support and fixed various bugs in the original release. Really cool stuff on the whole, and still surprisingly fun.
98. Wolfenstein 3D (Id Software, 1992)
97. Rise of the Triad: Dark War (Apogee Software, 1994)
Originally built as a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D and using a much-improved version of its engine, Rise of the Triad soon evolved into a very different beast, with much faster-paced gameplay and a crazier atmosphere in general. While you can still collect power-ups and coins that grant extra lives, they attempted to add more of a 3D element to the game with things like flying platforms and stairs to walk up and down. The weapons were similarly upgraded - you can now dual-wield pistols, as well as collect weapons like a rocket launcher or a heat-seeker to gib enemies in a pretty spectacular fashion. The game had a bit of fun with its ideas too, incorporating powerups that grant "God Mode" (making you invincible and able to hurl bouncing balls of electricity at your foes) and even "Dog Mode" (turning you into an invincible dog with a killer sonic bark). It may have been outshined by Doom and later Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, but Rise of the Triad is still a game that shouldn't be overlooked.
96. Simcity (Maxis, 1989)
The story of Simcity is a famous one - Will Wright was a developer on the Broderbund title "Raid on Bungeling Bay", but had more fun designing maps with the editor than playing the game itself. Eventually he decided to take that idea and expand it into a full-fledged city planning and building simulation, and the end result was SimCity. It doesn't sound like a particularly fun game on paper - constructing your town while managing crime, pollution, traffic, sim health and entertainment - but its addictive design and disastrous events like fires, floods and monster attacks kept it fresh and engaging. It has also since been made open-source (albeit under the name "Micropolis" due to copyright concerns) and ported to just about every platform imaginable, so you have no excuse not to check it out in some form!
95. The Incredible Toon Machine (Jeff Tunnell Productions, 1994/1996)
94. Yume Nikki (Kikiyama, 2003)
Less of a game and more of an experience, Yume Nikki ("Dream Diary"), simply put, has you exploring a dream world. There is no spoken dialog and very little legible text throughout the game, but atmosphere to spare as you explore a massive host of surreal and often disturbing locations. From underground malls to snowy landscapes to a rainy stretch of road in the woods, there is a lot to experience. A number of randomized events do too, as do various "effects" one can pick up that alter the player in various ways, like making them monochrome, shrinking the character or letting them ride a bike to move faster. There is an "ending" per se, but like almost everything else in the game, it's all pretty vague and left up to the player's interpretation.
93. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness/Beyond the Dark Portal (1995/1996)
Warcraft 1 was a pretty novel game, having you build towns and take on armies, as well as endure tougher missions with no buildings and a very limited pool of units to work with; however, it suffered from slow gameplay and a rather unwieldy UI, especially if you played the second game first like I did. I played this one a lot, both in single player and over dial-up with one of my buddies who would cheat constantly, and I was hooked for quite a while until Starcraft hit the scene. You commanded all sorts of cool units - axe-throwing trolls, death knights who could summon tornadoes and decay, battleships, flying gryphons and dragons, and would battle across land, sea and air. The AI is pretty infamously cheap - building units and seeking your bases out at a rather absurd speed but getting tripped up by mere walls - but with friends it was one of the best RTSes of the time.
92. Abuse (Crack dot Com, 1996)
91. XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis Games, 2020)
Chimera Squad is a spinoff of the series, combining its gameplay with elements of SWAT and an overall story somewhat reminiscent of X-Com: Apocalypse. Basically, you get a squad of premade characters and follow their exploits as they attempt to keep the peace in City 31, keeping tabs on various terrorist factions and thwarting their efforts with a series of raids and covert missions. As in previous games, collecting resources and researching new tech remains an integral part of the experience as enemies' equipment will quickly ramp up. Some new twists - room breaches, interwoven player and enemy turns, and some characters being able to combine their abilities for further effectiveness - ensure that it's anything but a standard cashin sequel and that it will require a very different set of tactics. It's not quite XCOM 3, but it's a very worthy side-game that's well worth the asking price.
