Recently I have started PC gaming a lot more than before, so now I'm not really on any of my other consoles. Although I do know a lot of PC games, I was wondering if you could give me ideas for what you think is a brilliant PC game, as there are simply so many out there, so all of those alternative and niche games that you think are good and worth playing/buying. Cheers!

You're asking a pretty broad question there, could you narrow it down a little?

Like what genres you are into?

What specs your computer has?

Big Rigs.

I'm going to assume the OP is referring to games that are only on PC, or games that are made to be PC games, and also that he's referring to more modern or recent games. So I'm going to throw out a few of my favourite strategy games; Crusader Kings II, Total War: Shogun 2, and Civilization V are all among my absolute favourite games from the past five years. Also Mount&Blade is dope as fuuuck.

A good starter pack for a PC gamer would be Team Fortress 2 (free-to-play and awesome), Torchlight II (brand new release, cheap, and awesome), StarCraft II, Civ V, and The Witcher. All top quality games that are quintessential PC games, and you can get them fairly cheaply these days.

Dragon Age Origins! Mass Effect! Bulletstorm is about 3 times better on PC, because of the precision of a mouse and keyboard. Dawn of War 2 is really awesome. Killing Floor is great with friends. The Witcher games are good, but if you aren't deep into RPGs and capable of looking past jank and all that, the first one is probably something you can skip. Tiny and Big Grandpa's Leftovers is really awesome. Just get on Steam, try some demos, browse the genres you like.

Quake is pretty rad.

I think you've underestimated just how many PC games there are...

Anyway, some general things to start with:

• Download Steam, if you haven't already - heaps of games, also regular big sales. Currently all Total War games are on sale.
• Check out GOG - it's mainly older games (also, some newer indie stuff). You can find a lot of great classics there - most of which are either $6 or $10. I'd recommend Planescape: Torment.
• Check out some bundles - Humble Bundle, Indie Royale, Indie Gala. These bundles are often hit or miss, but you can get a lot of games for not a lot of money.
• There are also a lot of great free games; have a look through over this thread. In terms of free games, I'd recommend Super Crate Box.
• If you have new hardware and want something that will push your computer to the limits, try Metro 2033.
• Also, in general, I'd recommend Binding of Isaac.

Tetris

Ok i am willing to try out most games to be honest, the main ones I probably wouldn't go for are racing games, although if you really think its good then suggest by all means. or you can just put your favourite PC games and ill take a look at each. But thank you for your suggestions anyway xD and yes please games that are solely on PC.

@Lighty64: Only on PC is a silly thing to constrict this by, there are a lot of games that aren't even made for PC first, yet are still a lot better there. Bulletstorm is a great example of the game feeling a lot better on PC for a number of reasons, beyond just the visuals and framerate. Plus games like Dragon Age are fundamentally different. Witcher 2 is also on 360 now, but is a PC game without a doubt.

Again, it'd be nice to know what kind of PC you're using, because otherwise you're going to get suggestions like Witcher 2 or Metro and that's gunna be hard to play without a good rig. BUt there are lots of awesome games that don't even need a great rig.

What good PC games aren't there? I mean, You probably want to play everything you missed. So if you gave us a range you are looking for, or types of games you like.

I like RPG's so I would recommend Balder's Gate 2. A lot of action, but at the same time a real thinking mans game.

You could also try some point and click adventure games like Still Life, and The Book of Unwritten Tales. Pretty much no action at all, and 100% thinking mans game.

Quake 2! The Binding of Isaac! Machinarium!

Minecraft!

The Witcher, Battlefield 3, and Trackmania 2.

Ok at the moment I only have a laptop, although at some time in the near future I hope to get a proper gaming desktop computer. As far as I am aware my laptop has 4 GB of RAM, a 512 MB graphics card. I'm really not all that knowledgeable on PC's in general in terms of its hardware and overall capabilities, as you can probably tell. Would you say it's probably best to get a desktop rather than a laptop for gaming generally?

Company of Heroes. One of, if not, THE best RTS games out there. Right next to Age of Empires II and Rise of Nations.

Crusader Kings II is a fantastic Game of Thrones grand strategy game as well, but be sure to watch the quick look to see at how it plays, as it has a bit of a learning curve. Nowhere near Paradox's other games, but it's great once you know what to do after 4 or so hours of not knowing what the hell is going on :D

It is easy, laptop is for work, desktop is base station and entertaining hub. Anyway, if you don't have a desktop then grab a console. It's cheaper than building a gaming-rig.

gog.com has lots of classics for cheap.

I dont think you can go wrong with free to play Tribes Ascend or Age of Empires Online. If you are willing to invest a small amount of money, I think The Witcher 1 is very rad.

Wii Sports

@believer258 said:

The Witcher, Battlefield 3, and Trackmania 2.

Trackmania 2 is apparently pretty much a ghost town now. Jeff was saying that their weekly server updates has killed the community.

@Butano said:

Company of Heroes. One of, if not, THE best RTS games out there.

So. GOOD. Can't wait for the sequel.

For OP: Dota 2, Counterstrike, Battlefield 2/3, Team Fortress, Sins of a Solar Empire, Company of Heroes, minecraft,

pc has no games

Tie Fighter, Nethack, Deus Ex

or TF2 if you don't like playing gamse made a decade ago...

PC exclusives everyone should have

New York, New York!

@Lighty64: So are you mostly into multiplayer games or single player experiences? Shooters or RPG's? RTS's or Adventure? Multiplatform or not? etcetera etcetera. Your question is quite broad. To me, the community is really important. That's why I played Diablo 3 for so long. Jump in for a few hours, have a blast and talk with every poor stranger that dares to join.

If you can find a good server with decent people I would recomend Battlefield 3 every day. So much fun whatever mood you're in.

ALL OF THEM

UT99.

I can't recommend the Witcher and Total War franchises enough.

SimGolf??

Freespace 2.

Lets approach this with a little more broader scope, FTL is a great starter game that can be as hard as nails, Torchlight 2 gives you the playability of Diablo 3 at a third of the price, Trine for its beautiful graphics and puzzle action (on top of local co-op). Thats a great start for 3 games that will keep you busy for a while.

Also, check out Steam and the Steam sales, lots of deals to be had and some great indie titles that one just can't get on a console.

Maybe you can try Knight Age and Dragon Nest!!!

Ok at the moment I only have a laptop, although at some time in the near future I hope to get a proper gaming desktop computer. As far as I am aware my laptop has 4 GB of RAM, a 512 MB graphics card. I'm really not all that knowledgeable on PC's in general in terms of its hardware and overall capabilities, as you can probably tell. Would you say it's probably best to get a desktop rather than a laptop for gaming generally?

Unless that laptop was explicitly marketed to you as a gaming laptop of some kind, it's likely you won't be able to play modern 3D games very well, if at all. Heat dissipation is a very big problem for high powered components in laptops, so you have to really pay through the nose for a laptop that can match even a modest gaming desktop. Gaming laptops are a rich person's toy, often very bulky with very short battery life. Not that they don't have their uses, depending on your situation. I loved my Clevo when I had it. 

Graphical memory and RAM are not the most important factors either. It's more about GPU model and CPU specs, which you'll need to check on. Keep that in mind if you're following any of the recommendations here. You should be able to play GOG.com-style classics, modern indie releases and undemanding games, and some older stuff like Source games and the Half Life series (HL1 & 2 & the episodes being my strong recommendations btw) since they scale well. Definitely check out Baldur's Gate, Planescape and Fallout if you like RPGs, they'll be no problem. But even the first Witcher game, from 2007, might be too much for your lappy since it was a very demanding game for the time.

If you're interested in playing big name titles and the common multi-format, console port kind of titles on PC, getting a gaming desktop is kind of unavoidable.

So we are playing a quick game of:

What's new on steam and gog.com this month?!

Well....time to destroy someone's life i guess.

Civilization V is pretty good, even better with the expansion.

Or you could go try out WoW, millions of people played that for a reason, and i think you can play for free up to a certain level or something, not to mention all the people going back to it right now cause of the latest expansion. Yeah, i really am trying to ruin your life.

I'd recommend League of Legends, but then you'll probably never want to play games online ever again, so i'm going to recommend avoiding it for now.

I'd recommend League of Legends, but then you'll probably never want to play games online ever again, so i'm going to recommend avoiding it for now.

League is a bad game, run by bad people. If you are going to play any ARTS, go with DotA 2. It might be a bit difficult to wrangle a beta invite if you're new to the whole PC gaming thing and haven't built up your connections so to say, but it shouldn't be that hard really. Plus, you don't have to deal with things like "play 50 games to unlock the character who everybody who paid 20 bucks for got months ago, who gets nerfed to the ground at that exact moment" because all the heroes are free.

But mostly grab Steam. Seriously. Steam is your new house, as it were.

Dishonored but too short!

Vampire The Masquerade Blodlines is an amazing game, probably my best game of all time... But it is unstable as HELL

Medieval 2: Total War is a must play if you have even the slightest interest in strategy games. Might be a good idea to start "vanilla" first and then go on to a good mod like Stainless Steel.

Quake, Wolfenstein 3D, The Legend of Kyrandia Trilogy, Vessel, Chex Quest.

If you only take the last month, there has been a ton of great game:

Torchlight 2

Borderlands 2

Dishonored

XCom Enemy Unknown

Elemental: Fallen enchantress

and a ton more ...