Top 111 PC Games, #90-81

90. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (CyberDreams, 1995)

A point-and-click adventure based on the Harlan Ellison story, which sparked quite a lot of controversy for its twisted themes that depicted all the worst elements of humanity.  While the protagonists are far from innocent (one notably being a Nazi doctor with a story set in a death camp), its themes of redemption and overcoming failure won out, turning it into a very compelling story even if its puzzles were not always the best and the voice acting was, as per the period, mediocre (save for AM, voiced by Ellison himself, who is clearly having a lot of fun with the role).  It's recently gotten a number of modern ports thanks to Nightdive, and the original is playable in both DOSBox and ScummVM, so it's well worth a look for fans of good stories.

89. Epic Pinball (Digital Extremes, 1993)

While I'm not really a big fan of video pinball games, a few have managed to grab my attention over the years due to their brilliant execution.  Epic Pinball is definitely one of them; a huge mainstay on shareware discs and even having limited versions included with some OEM computers back in the day, it certainly impressed me with its high-fidelity and colorful graphics, fantastic music and the sheer variety it brings to the proceedings; the CD version of the game includes a whopping 13 tables to play on.  They also match a variety of themes, from race cars to futuristic androids to a bizarre, threadbare table called the "Enigma" that awards bonuses based on a cryptic set of conditions.  Good stuff all around, whether you're a pinball fanatic or not.

88. Organ Trail (The Men Who Wear Many Hats, 2010)

A game which is very clearly a parody of/tribute to the classic "The Oregon Trail", though it does much to set itself apart too and become a fine title in its own right.  Visually it resembles its predecessor with its low-color visuals and hatched graphics to simulate shading in particular scenes, but gameplay-wise it's a very different beast.  Instead of a wagon you drive a beaten-up car, and you'll frequently have to choose between different routes, fend off attacking bikers or hordes of zombies, and occasionally shoot it out with bandits.  Radiation, infection and vehicle breakdowns are constant threats, and scavenging enough supplies to make it to the end are an endeavor in themselves.  A game that melds humor, grim atmosphere and a constant sense of unease and uncertainty together in perfect fashion, Organ Trail is a fine homophonic homage.

87. 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 ridiculous 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.

86. Lemmings (DMA Design, 1991)

A popular puzzle game that spawned a horde of rereleases, updates, sequels, expansions, clones and parodies, Lemmings is a simple concept - get a quota of the little rodents safely to the goal.  To this end, one picks a few out of the crowd and assigns them jobs meant to help the others avoid danger or bypass obstacles - whether simply stopping and forcing them to go the other way, digging through dirt, climbing up walls, parachuting down long drops, or blowing themselves up to clear an obstacle from the others' path.  Once enough are safely through the exit door, the next stage begins.  Simple enough in concept, but many of the later stages get deviously difficult, requiring some very fast thinking to succeed.  Given just how prolific and popular the series was, if you owned basically any game platform out in the early '90s, you probably played or at least saw Lemmings or one of its sequels/spinoffs/expansions at some point.

85. Riven (Cyan, 2024)

The followup to the 2021 remake of Myst, once again keeping the design of the original largely intact while taking advantage of modern technology to immerse the player in a 3D world.  Like the rest of the series it's a rather minimalistic adventure title - there are very few inventory items and puzzles largely consist of trial-and-error using various visual and audio cues, but the imaginative steam-powered technology, gorgeous sights and subtle storytelling (as well as remixed puzzles from the original release) keep it an engaging and immersive adventure.  Seeing it redone in full 3D is quite a treat too, as it makes the experience more gorgeous than ever. 

84. Get Medieval (Monolith Productions, 1998)

A top-down action game that takes the arcade classic Gauntlet, combines it with elements of Gauntlet and tops it off with a little bit of Gauntlet for good measure.  ...Yeah this one certainly makes no secret of its inspirations, even suspiciously being released only a couple of months before Atari rebooted the series with Gauntlet Legends.  But you know what?  That's no bad thing in my book.  It's just pure hack-and-slash fun, mowing your way through hordes of enemies, finding keys to open doors, and using magic in a pinch to get waves of enemies off your back.  It does add a few new elements to the formula though, letting you upgrade your stats with powerups and adding in elements like traps that do things like reverse your controls or thieves that try to steal your powerups and vamoose.  It's not the most original game ever, but it's great fun and supports four players both over a network and in local play.

83. 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.

82. Against the Storm (Eremite Games, 2022)

Described as a city-builder crossed with a roguelike, and it's definitely a strange combination, though once you start playing the game you find it works shockingly well.  You're given a selection of several randomly-generated goals to meet, and from there it's down to managing your workforce, keeping their morale up, and harvesting and utilizing resources while facing adverse weather and hazards in the stretch of forest you're mining your way through.  It does kind of suck when you spend several hours on a goal only to fall short at the last minute, but you do at least gain experience for the effort so the next attempt can (hopefully) go better!

81. 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 head-shotting endless waves of soldiers and blow up everything in your path.  You also get an arm cannon that lets you blow 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 blasting everything in sight whenever the mood strikes.

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