Top 112 PC Games, #90-81

90. Scorched Earth (Wendell Hicken, 1991)

At a glance, Scorched Earth isn't much to look at - a game with tiny sprites and simplistic VGA graphics where tanks shoot missiles and try to blow each other up.  But then you take a closer look and find that this game is steeped in clever mechanics and surprisingly deep tactics.  From MIRVs to Funky Bombs to Sandhogs, the game has a variety of interesting weapons to utilize, some of which can devastate everything on the screen (even their user) in short order.  Further adding to the fun are defensive items like shields and options like having shots wrap around to the other side of the screen, bounce off the ceiling or radically shifting winds making aiming shots more difficult.  In short, it's a game with a lot of options and endless replayability, especially in multi-player combat.  The only real crime is that it never got an online play option.

89. 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.

88. Horizon's Gate (Rad Codex, 2020)

A game that has been described by many as "Final Fantasy Tactics by way of Uncharted Waters", and upon playing it, I can confirm that is indeed the case.  You build a character, take part in turn-based battles both on foot and by sea, unlock new classes as the game progresses, and can basically explore, trade or become a privateer at your leisure, taking part in ship battles or legitimate business to earn loot for later upgrades.  Inventory management and item manipulation is simple as can be too, using a keyboard-and-mouse interface that reminds me a bit of the classic Ultimas.  It's certainly not the deepest example of anything it attempts to be, but it is a lot of fun, and really, that's what I come to a game for anyway.  Sacrilege, I know. 

87. D/Generation (Robert Cook, 1991)

An action-puzzle game with nicely detailed isometric graphics and smooth controls, D/Generation also had atmosphere in spades thanks to its tense horror/cyberpunk setting, a surprisingly deep storyline (revealed through NPC dialog and computer files) and a huge variety of traps waiting to nail you.  At first they're relatively self-explanatory - electrified floor tiles, turrets, land mines, et cetera, but they quickly get more and more devious as you go.  Probably the worst are the shapeshifting enemies, which can disguise themselves as hostages or even mundane objects in the environment, quickly ramping up the paranoia.  One can also find the occasional bomb to blow down doors and skip some puzzles, though as these tend to be rare, they should be used sparingly.  The game never got a lot of attention in its day, though it has acquired enough of a cult following over the years to get a re-release on the Nintendo Switch (as well as a 3D remake, released at nearly the same time).  No matter what platform you visit it on, though, D/Generation is a game worth your while.

86. 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.

85. 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.

 

84. Myst (Cyan Studios, 1993/2000/2014/2021)

Myst was a pretty transformational adventure game in 1993, with minimal focus on characters, inventory and dialog and quite a lot in the way of environmental puzzles, exploration and atmosphere.  While divisive among fans of more story and dialog driven graphic adventure games, that doesn't change the fact that it sold millions of copies, got tons of ports, a remaster, a 3D remake called Realmyst in 2002, a remake of Realmyst in 2014, and another remake in 2021 using the Unreal Engine to take advantage of improving graphical capabilities and add VR support.  Regardless of the version, though, Myst is a classic for both FMV and adventure titles for good reason, and a must play among PC gaming enthusiasts.

83. Riven (Cyan, 1998/2024)

 

The followup to Myst, once again keeping the design philosophy of the original largely intact while taking advantage of graphical technology to immerse the player in a 3D world.  Like the rest of the series it's a rather minimalist 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 keep it an engaging and immersive adventure.  The 2024 remake rebuilds the whole world of the game in full 3D with remixed puzzles and makes the experience more captivating than ever. 

 

82. Claw (Monolith Productions, 1997)

Claw (also known as "Captain Claw") was a sidescrolling platformer on PC - a pretty rare sight in the time period it came out in, particularly as 3D games like Tomb Raider,  Mario 64, Spyro and Banjo were rapidly becoming the new standard.  That doesn't mean Claw is a bad game, though - it's quite well-made with its fluid animation, responsive controls, colorful stages and multiple paths and secrets to discover in every level.  There was even a DVD release later on that added animated cutscenes between levels and improved the visual quality, which was a nice bonus for those with the hardware to run it.  The game sadly hasn't ever been released on any digital storefronts so it's a bit hard to find nowadays, but if you can track down a copy, give it a go - it's solid platforming fun.

81. Plants vs Zombies (Popcap Games, 2009)

Tower Defense games as a genre can be traced back a long way, but their popularity skyrocketed with user-created maps in Starcraft and quickly expanded into a ton of standalone titles throughout the '00s.  Plants vs Zombies was a relatively novel approach to the format, being a largely cartoony take where you try to stop zombies from invading your house through your backyard.  To this end you set up plants to generate a resource (sun) and use that to place a wide variety of other plants to deal with the escalating threat; from walls to ice shots that slow down enemies to single-use traps that will clear out a single zombie or an entire row to tactical nukes that will destroy anything in their range; the zombies themselves start using some clever tactics too, like wearing helmets that make them more durable or having dangerous variants that can vault over your plants, leave behind ice where nothing can be planted, or simply blowing themselves up and destroying your plants.  Getting through the campaign definitely requires some quick thinking and creative strategies, while seeing how far you can get in Endless mode is an addictive challenge in its own right.  Plants vs Zombies is a great game;  it's just a shame its legacy is forever tarnished after EA bought out Popcap and turned all their IPs into awful pay-to-win garbage!

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