For me (I made the switch back to windows earlier in the year the games I absolutely needed to have on PC laptop are
Pillars of Eternity
Football Manager
RimWorld
If you can run it I would add No Mans Sky which has transformed from a troubled launch to, in my opinion, the best 3d Space game available today on any platform.
You guys keep recommending games that were on consoles, but he had a console the whole time. I’m sure he didn’t miss out on the Witcher 3 or Tomb Raider if he had any interest in the titles.
Now that I look at it, some of my list came out on consoles later like Wasteland 2. But I’m not going to edit my post!
Exactly why I say I doubt he missed too much. Your list also had the Xcom games, Elite and Neverwinter, just to pick a few that were also on console. The 4X and other strategy stuff are good choices but just about anything else you can play elsewhere. Hell, you can play FTL on your phone.
Subnautica
Long Dark
Grim Dawn
Age of Wonders 3
Rimworld
Overwatch
Portal 2
Faster Than Light (FTL)
Dungeon of the endless
Not sure which of those is/isn’t on console, but all solid games that I really enjoyed.
Ok fine. The Witcher 1, then. PC only!
How dare you, I did no such thing.
I meant the royal you guys.
Forget it. It’s too late for you. Just move on and play new games from here on out.
This is the correct answer. Really great PC game, not available on consoles (although I think it will be eventually).
Yeah, it’s coming out on Xbone at some point. Running behind.
I was playing Subnautica on the Xbone at least a year ago. The performance was awful at that point, I understand that’s not representative of the PC version (or maybe the Xbox version at this point either), but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
And it’s a little weird that @Vesper didn’t know Tomb Raider was on the consoles, but no harm done. As I said, I did actually pick up No Man’s Sky again on the PC even though I’ve had it for a year on the PS4 already.
So overall, excellent responses, thanks everyone, and keep them coming if you think of more!
Oops. You meant PC SPECIFIC.
Subnautica is a truly great game, at least it was for me. There aren’t many games that actually suck me in at this point, but this one surely did. The story is actually pretty good, and world is decent, the exploration and crafting are both pretty good, but the sense of physics in terms of “being” in the water is unmatched. It’s one of those games where each individual part is ok/good, but the sum of those parts is fantastic. It’s also a game that really changes dynamic as you “level”. The progression is this game is truly meaningful, and changes your gameplay and options in dramatic ways, I found that really engaging.
There are few things in gaming more satisfying than when you first unlock the seamoth. I think the game has multiple levels of that feeling, at least it did for me. Certainly worth a shot on the PC, as it’s pretty cheap.
Well, here are some suggestions. I’m trying to think of games that don’t have much if any crossover with current consoles.
PICK ONE FROM EACH CATEGORY ONLY. I’m not responsible for your health and wellbeing if you don’t!
WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN RPGs
Shadowrun (any game) - Straightfoward old fashioned isometric RPGing that’s not too demanding in time or effort. Dragonfall is probably the best one, though i like Hong Kong too. Guns, swords, magic and cyberpunk and you can’t go too wrong.
Warlock of Firetop Mountain - 80s gamebook becomes 3D isometric text adventure.
Sorcery! 1-4 - 80s gamebook becomes 2d+ isometric text adventure.
TOO CLEVER FOR THEIR OWN GOOD
Paper’s Please - Pasport checking on the clock to feed your family. Every mistake costs your family. Glory to Arztoka.
Stanley Parable - The cake is a lie, the game.
Factorio or SpaceChem - Design the production supply chains of your dreams.
YOU POINT, YOU SHOOT
Can’t think of any not on consoles, tbh.
METROIDTASTIC
Because you like these games for some reason.
Cuphead - 1930s technicolor animation meets wiz-bang soundtrack meets metrodvania meets Dark Souls.
Spelunky - The darling game all the cool kids liked for 6 months. Randomized levels.
Broforce - Everyone loves this but me because I literally cannot figure out how to start a level!
PARADOXIFICATION
You either drop them after a couple hours or play them for a thousand (literally).
Europa Universalis 4 - paint the map your color. Not much interpersonal drama. Lots of guns.
Crusader Kings 2 - paint the map your color. Lots of interpersonal drama. No guns.
Stellaris - paint the galaxy your color. Not much interpersonal drama. Some interspecies drama. Laser guns and genocide.
Cities: Skylines - A better, more boring Sim City. Very Scandinavian.
Surviving Mars - An upbeat ant farm on Mars where the ants are men.
Warlock 2 - Surprisingly not bad for a fantasy Civilization-like made by the B team.
STRATEGERY
Civilization 5 - Anyone who tells you Civ 6 is better is a pod person and can’t be trusted. Anyone who tells you Civ 4 is better may be telling the truth but also hates fun.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg - You don’t have to tell which side you play.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak - prequel to Homeworld where the spaceships are sandships.
Dawn of War 2 - The Definitive Warhammer 40k RTS. Like 15 minutes of audio barks per character it’s madness. Also arguably best RTS soundtrack ever.
Age of Wonders 3 - Downtempo fantasy 4X w/ quick tactical combat. Sprawlingly endearing?
Endless Legend / Endless Space 2 - Smart 4X strategy gaming that almost avoids being boring. One for pewpew, the other clangclang. Endless Legend is the more attractive game, but the soundtrack for ES2 is a bit more on point.
INDIEGALAGA
Atom Zombie Smasher - Pixelzombie squash patrol in Argentina?
Dungeon of the Endless - Almost too smart and stylish randomized dungeon romp / tower defense? / narrative-light adventure?
Invisible, Inc - smart stealth action
Infested Planet - Pixelzerg squash patrol.
The Curious Expedition - Pixelpithhelmet explorers of randomly generated Pixeljungles that will sometimes sink into the ocean if you pick up the jade bird. Madness is in the air.
UNCREATIVE ASSEMBLY
Most of the games released post Rome 2 are pretty much the same as each other. Yes, there are differences, but they’re like differences between 80s LA punk bands vs all possible forms of music.
Rome 2 - the most maligned, still getting updates. Honestly it’s fine now.
Attila - My favorite historical title. Raze cities, ramble on as a horde. OMG so many city towers. SO MANY. Be prepared to spend a year of your life fighting every battle manually if you want to save Rome.
Warhammer 1 - The Empire! Bretonnia! Vampire Counts! Chaos! Heros and magic make general units feel right for the first time in a Total War game. Note that the invasion of Chaos is about 10x wimpier and more disappointing than the Huns in Attila.
Warhammer 2 - Pointy ear elf things! Benedict Cumberelf! Lizard things! Skaven will kill kill them all!
Thrones of Bretonnia - Why does this exist? It’s just fine if it’s the only Total War game you have - it might even be good in that case. Compared to everything above it’s weaksauce. But, you might prefer its theme/setting, in which case it’s fine.
Great post, thanks!
THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
I do question this category title though. “Metroidtastic?” Only in the sense that they’re side-scrollers, and that’s not even true of the entire Metroid franchise at this point.
I tried Broforce on the Xbox—another surprisingly bad port that has probably turned me off to the game even if you assured me it played correctly on PC. It’s hard to reconcile this with a Metroid label, I mostly think of Metroid in the “Metroidvania” context—an interconnected world (not necessarily “open world”, although it could be) that you can explore non-linearly to the extent that your expanding inventory/move set allows. Often 2D, though as I said, Metroid itself is no longer limited to that.
Broforce was just a straightforward side-scrolling shooter.
I don’t know what to call this category instead, maybe just “hard side-scrollers?” Either way, thanks again for the recommendations, debating how we categorize things is just a bonus!
Yeah, none of those are Metroidesque. All are on consoles.
Obviously Dark Souls 1, 2 and 3. And get the SOTFS version of DS2.
If you get these you need nothing else.
Titan Quest! You need the new version!
Maybe the remakes?
Age of Empires 2, Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 and Neverwinter Nights?
Borderlands 2?
Dawn of War 1 and 2 are pretty great and hold up.
Heroes of Might and Magic 5, Tribes of the East (standalone gets you everything).
Dominions 5 (never go backwards on Dominions)
Ghostbusters The video game.
A lot of the best 4x games have already been given, but if you do hate fun, but like great games, Civilization 4 still has that awesome modding community, including Fall from Heaven mods and Dune Mods.