Top 111 PC Games #80-71

80. Beyond Shadowgate (Zojoi, 2024)

It took a decade to get done, but 2014's Shadowgate reboot finally got its sequel - Beyond Shadowgate.  Bearing virtually no resemblance to the action-adventure Turbografx-CD title of the same name, this is based on the originally pitched design document is very much a callback to the point-and-click style titles of the '80s, even recreating the familiar interface, dry sense of humor and pixel art with very limited animation of the classic titles.  There are also numerous callbacks to those titles, from lines of dialog to straight-up cameo locales returning, which I quite liked as a long-time fan. Thankfully they also avoid a lot of the annoying trappings of frustrating old '80s adventures, with logical puzzles and no ways to make the quest unwinnable (none that I could find at any rate).  If you're a fan of the classic ICOM titles, this is one you don't want to miss.

79. Kenshi (Lo-Fi Games, 2018)

An independent game in development for over twelve years, released on Steam Early Access in 2013 and finally given a proper Version 1.0 release at the tail end of 2018.  So for all that effort, it had to be good, right?  Well, yes.  In fact, Kenshi actually feels like a fully-realized version of Fallouts 4 and 76 in some respects, providing a game that feels like a well-constructed and cohesive whole instead of a mishmash of half-baked ideas in an engine that wasn't really built for them.  Basically an open world sandbox RPG with a real time strategy bent set in an expansive environment that combines low fantasy and post-apocalyptic science fiction, Kenshi is an oddity in that the player isn't a "chosen one" or anything of the sort; in fact, there isn't really even an overarching storyline.  Just a complex backdrop and several walks of life for you to start in (from being a lowly adventurer to a holy knight to an escaped slave to an exile from a strange insect-like race) and once you start, you're just left to your own devices.  As you play more and more you'll slowly build up your stats and resources, recruit allies, construct bases and steadily make your way to becoming a substantial presence in  the world from basically nothing, and that's always fun.  The strangeness of the setting and the complex, yet intuitive gameplay lend it a lot of charm, and of course, player modding only lets you tweak the experience to your exact tastes.  The kind of engrossing, endlessly deep sandbox experience only the PC platform can provide, and Kenshi does it exceptionally well.

78. Shadowrun: Dragonfall/Hong Kong (Harebrained Schemes, 2014/2015)

The second and third games in the rebooted Shadowrun franchise, and easily my favorite ones so far, expanding on everything the original brought to the table while losing nothing that made it great.  The story is nothing short of brilliant, bringing together a cast of diverse and complex characters to solve the mystery of their friend's deaths and the underlying conspiracies behind them.  Throughout the game, every choice you make seems to be the wrong one, making you new enemies and seemingly digging you deeper into a pit you can't escape from, while the combat only gets more intense with enemies bringing out bigger guns, setting up nastier traps and summoning bigger monsters to get in your way.  Stellar stuff all around, and a perfect example of how to do a grim, atmospheric game experience right.

77. Severed Steel (Greylock Studio, 2021)

A fast paced, frenetic shooter that feels like a mashup of Max Payne, Vanquish and Superhot.  Hop, slide and wall-run while mowing down waves of soldiers with head-shots and explosions.  You also get an arm cannon that lets you blast through walls to get the jump on foes or make shortcuts, so it's just pure unadulterated shooting action and fun.  Admittedly it is rather short - the campaign only runs about 4 hours - but there's daily challenges and bonus stages aplenty too, so it's great fun for just picking up for a few minutes and going on a wild power trip whenever the mood strikes.

76. Worlds of Ultima: the Savage Empire (Origin Systems, 1990)

Ultima 6 is a game as known for its intriguing story as its inventive gameplay, putting the player into a world more intricately designed and realistic than any other seen to that point - cows could be milked, doors could be lockpicked, blown up or smashed down, and virtually every object one saw could be moved around, stacked atop one another or used in surprisingly intuitive and realistic ways.  Naturally, this engine cost Origin a ton of money to develop, so they decided to try and recoup costs with some spinoff games.  The end results, while lauded by critics, were not financial successes, leading to the Worlds of Ultima franchise being cancelled after only two entries.  Savage Empire was the first of these two spinoffs and it's a pretty intriguing tale, telling the story of a prehistoric valley where several of Earth's lost civilizations have appeared and must seek a way home while uniting the tribes against a common enemy.  It's a fairly short adventure, but the addition of cutscenes (as still frame images), some clever puzzle solving and item crafting and a different but effective magic system make it a tale worth experiencing nevertheless.

75. Sid Meier's Civilization II (Microprose, 1996)

Sid Meier's Civilization is a legendary name among 4X and grand strategy titles, and for good reason - it's an ingenious concept that's executed incredibly well.  Starting as a small village, you slowly build out settlers, expand your territory, take control of natural resources research new technologies, and eventually try to achieve supremacy either through military might or by building a spaceship and winning the space race to Alpha Centauri.  Civ 2 may not have some of the additions of later entries like unique units, cultural influence, religions et al, but at the same time, it's proof of elegance in relative simplicity - having a plan and executing it immaculately is the only road to victory here.  It's not a particularly great game against AI opponents (they're dumb as bricks and have to cheat to stay competitive), but it remains a staple of online competition to this day for good reason.

74. Shadow Warrior (3D Realms, 1997)

3D Realms famously abided by a philosophy of only releasing games "When they're done", even to the point of restarting development multiple times to stay on the bleeding edge.  But while Duke Nukem Forever became infamous for this, Shadow Warrior was the first to really showcase it - prototype builds of this game dating all the way back to 1994 were made available on Steam, showing just how much was changed and added as development dragged on. By the time it finally debuted in 1997 it was just a bit too late to impress gamers, as the fully-3D Quake was out by then and Quake II wasn't far off. Still, stuff like voxel models, turrets, vehicles, dynamic environments, reflective surfaces, true room-over-room and multiple firing modes for each weapon were pretty novel at the time, and of course the game is absolutely awash in 3D Realms' irreverent and often juvenile humor. From fortune cookies full of double entendres to pervy anime references to Lo Wang's constant wisecracks (voiced by John Galt doing a bad faux-Asian accent), it's an incredibly absurd and fun experience. It's also free to play nowadays, so anyone with an interest in silly '90s shooters owes it at least one go.

73. The Incredible Machine (Jeff Tunnell Productions, 1993)

A puzzle game built on a great concept, having you solve various objectives using a collection of parts, each with unique properties and applications, to construct elaborate Rube Goldberg devices.  So something as simple as "guide the mouse to the mousehole" can involve pulleys, rope, balloons, scissors, pipes and a springboard, and that's just one of hundreds of scenarios spread across the series.  The first game later had an expanded release (The Even More Incredible Machine), two sequels that got expanded versions themselves, and a spiritual successor (Contraption Maker) that added even more goals to complete and parts to experiment with, so fans of logic puzzles had quite a lot to enjoy from this series.

72. The Incredible Toon Machine (Jeff Tunnell Productions, 1994/1996)

The Incredible Toon Machine is an offshoot of the Incredible Machine series which adds cartoon logic into the mix, pitting the titular characters against one another on the backdrop of a series of puzzles.  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, revolvers and bombs.  The between-level cutscenes in the CD release were also a lot of fun, having Sidney Mouse and Al E. Cat (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings respectively) explain your objectives with bits of animation and plenty of jokes.  Oddly the game also had a Japan-exclusive reskin for the Playstation and Sega Saturn, changing the objects and characters to ones from the Ghosts n' Goblins franchise.

71. Grim Fandango (LucasArts/Double Fine, 1998/2015)

Another highly-acclaimed tale from Tim Schafer and Lucasarts; unfortunately critical acclaim doesn't necessarily translate to strong sales, so they began to wind down their adventure game development shortly after this one's release (only releasing one more Monkey Island game after).  Still, it attracted enough of a fan following to get a remaster and remains acclaimed for its clever premise, inventive art style and strong sense of humor.  Starring Manny Vargas, a "travel agent" for the Land of the Dead, he seeks to unravel a conspiracy and restore the natural order of the afterlife.  It does use tank controls and fixed camera angles so moving and navigation takes some getting used to, but once you get it down you're in for a high-quality adventure.

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