What PC only games in the past 10yrs, are NOT to be missed?

Currently I am having a gaming rig, my first really, built. I haven't really ever played PC games exclusively, but have kinda kept my eye on them a bit. I have a Steam account and have 195 games (Thanks Steam Sales/Humble Bundles) but I need to know what should NOT be missed. I do have a few games that don't take a beefy PC to run (Torchlight II, FTL, Gunpoint, etc.) but this new PC should be able to run pretty much anything.

On my short list is Starcraft II, maybe Guild Wars II, and a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game or two, but I don't know really what else I should definitely play.

Currently in my Steam account waiting to be played is Amnesia, Company of Heroes, and Legend Of Grimrock, and DOTA2 I guess. These I am looking forward to playing.

Help me out duders. I'm fairly new to this.

Two somewhat new games the PC crowd have gone crazy over are Crusader Kings II And Civ V. If you are into that kind of stuff.

When did Chip's Challenge come out.

@wifipirate said:

Now I feel obligated to give you the best answer I can, damn!

Mandatory PC-only games starting from 2003.. hmm. Well the beauty of the PC isn't the exclusives so much as how drastically better it runs games and how many games have PC mods and crazy awesome shit. Here goes, chronologically:

• Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - I'd include the first one too, but this game was one of the first to have real time physics, and of course the shooting, story and atmosphere are pure perfection. The late Ryan Davis played it on an Alienware when it came out and loved it, too.
• Thief: Deadly Shadows - Cornerstone of stealth PC games.
• Counter Strike: Source - The Halo of multiplayer PC gaming, but more serious business.
• Half-Life 2 of course
• The Sims 3 - Popular ass game
• Jade Empire - Bioware being excellent at a China-set RPG.
• Age of Empires III - The third of a long running and pioneering real time strategy franchise.
• Hitman: Blood Money
• Neverwinter Nights 2 - Great party-based PC RPG with well-written expansion packs.
• World in Conflict - Sleeper hit RTS game, great title.
• Team Fortress 2: Popular ass online FPS, and it's been free for a while. Massive community!
• The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - MUST play RPG franchise, those games are something else. Get them off GOG.com with extra goodies.
• Portal and Portal 2 - Must play
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl - Play it with the Complete Mod 2009, which you can download here. Then play Call of Pripyat.
• Crysis - Spiritual successor to Far Cry and predecessor to Far Cry 3. Must play open world sandbox-like shooter.
• Cryostasis: The Sleep of Reason - Extremely unique horror/survival game set in the glaciers of the north pole, from Dave Snider's beloved Eastern European Bloc developers.
• Dragon Age: Origins - Supposed to be the last real party-based PC RPG by Bioware.
• Minecraft - Um... Popular ass game.
• Civilization V - The most popular turn based strategy blockbuster of the last few years.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - On the PC with the incredible amount of impressive game-changing mods, it's a surreal experience.
• Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas - Refer to Skyrim ^
• Hard Reset - Critically acclaimed throw-back to the old style PC shooter of the late 90s.
• The Binding of Isaac - Popular ass game.
• Tribes: Ascend - Skiing and gliding multiplayer FPS, good shit.
• Dungeons of Dredmor - Popular ass Roguelike.
• Battlefield 3 - 64 player military online shooter, if you're into that kind of thang.
• Black Mesa - Fantastic remake of the original Half-Life.
• Diablo 3 or Torchlight 2 - Top-down ARPGs, they're pretty damn popular.
• Total War franchise - Popular ass strategy series.

This list is a mix of what I believe to be must-plays, and what is universally loved by players.

I excluded tens of multiplatform games that run extraordinarily better on PC, such as Far Cry 3, XCOM Enemy Unknown and Deus Ex HR.

ENJOY BRAH :D Making a list is hard freaking work.

@wifipirate: The Half-Life 2 stuff is great if you are a beginner to controlling things in a FPS with a mouse. Go into settings then turn it to easy then journey through.

Then get Hotline Miami, Portal 1& 2 then go crazy!

• Binding of Isaac
• Hard Reset
• Crysis Warhead
• Penumbra: Overture
• Penumbra: Black Plague
• Cryostasis (it used to be on Steam and Gog, but then it got removed from both - if it comes back, I'd recommend picking it up)
• The Whispered World
• Dungeons of Dredmor
• Jamestown
• Primordia
• Resonance
• Painkiller
• Dear Esther
• Bookworm Adventures Volume 2
• FTL
• Dustforce
• Deponia
• Magrunner (PC exclusive for about another monthish - also, it's on sale now on Steam)
• Endless Space
• Experiment 12

Counter-Strike

Civilization V (or IV, both are good)

Shogun 2: Total War (also any other total war games are pretty good)

Morrowind, Oblivion

The Witcher

Europa Universalis III (well I guess IV is about to come out)

Neverwinter Nights 2 is probably my favorite rpg of the last decade and better than DA:O. You don't even need to play the first one as its not a continuing story though it gets mentioned a few times.

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer just completely solidifies that for me... it happens to be one of those rare cases where the expansion is much much better than the main game.

Mount & Blade: Warband - not sure what to say other than very addictive if its your type of game. Clunky controls but work very well when you get used to it.

Arma 2 and expansion - actual game and of course DayZ the wildly popular multiplayer zombie survival mod.

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy - *shrug* it's really good once you get into it.

@beachthunder: @jouseldelka: WOW! Thanks for all the suggestions, duders. I have started a list of some of the ones that immediately caught my eye. Must Have PC Titles. Several of the ones you, and others have listed, I have in my Steam/GOG library. I knew the day would come when I would have a PC to play games on, so I've been stockpiling them. I have both Portal titles, and played through both, as well as Hotline Miami. Oddly, I don't have ANY of the Half-Life titles. Those are probably, what, a nickle now?

Keep the suggestions come though, everyone. Also, if anyone cares to add me, my Steam name is the same there. Giant Bomb Community, is the BEST community.

I love They Bleed Pixels. Also Flotilla is a really cool game if you're looking for something obscure but cool.

@wifipirate: Man... your excitement makes me wish I had the time and peace of mind to indulge in PC gaming again. I miss those days, all I do now is jump into a single game at a time, once a week.

Enjoy those games, dude, PC gaming is too fucking magical ;]

Just out of curiosity, how are you with the mouse and keyboard? Make sure to take full advantage of keyboard hotkeys and mouse options, that shit takes the experience and control to the next level.

@jouseldelka: I can barely hold my own in Torchlight II. The last BIG game I played on PC was in the era of Diablo and Warcraft 2. Yeah... you could say I'm a bit outta practice. I intend to get better, but I imagine it will take time.

The funny thing is, this excitement (for me) all grew out of me buying a 360 controller w/ dongle to play the few PC games I could play on my old rig. PC should be here first of next week. I'm totally stoked about this. With almost 200 games on steam and 40 games on GOG... I got some stuff to see.

Diablo 3

Dota 2.

@wifipirate: By built you mean you're building it or are you buying from a retailer.

10 years is a long time.

A lot of the best of that time unfortunately probably don't hold so well now, or have been updated with newer titles.

I would say Morrowind for example, but I can't see too many people being able to put 100's of hours into it when you have Skyrim right there.

Strategy is probably a good pc exclusive genre that can be enjoyed despite age, I would recommend Company of heroes - which looks pretty much as good as the recently released sequel and is probably a better game in general. If you enjoy that I would recommend Dawn of war 2.

Find out how to change the resolution and try Warcraft 3 also.

The great thing about PC games is that despite age, if they are popular games you will likely be able to find mods or tweaks to improve graphics and gameplay for systems of today. You can force AA and other graphic effects.

I would also recommend homeworld and homeworld 2 which hold up reasonably well and are some of the greatest rts ever. If you are into the space stuff, sins of a solar empire is very good.

Half life 2 is a no brainer. Also checkout left for dead.

Total war rome 2 will be out soon and creative assembly have a pretty good track record so that should be something to see, especially with a new rig.

You might hear some recommendations for deus ex, FPS really dont age well though and that might be hard to appreciate.

If you haven't played it on consoles, the witcher 2 excels on pc.

Counter Strike, Left 4 dead 2

Crysis 1 and Warhead.

Yes, you can play Crysis 1 on consoles. No, it is not quite the same. And the game still looks incredible these days.

@mikey87144: A friend is building it. Not a retailer.

Streets of Rage Remake

Heroes of Might and Magic V and VI

Whole shitload of invalid games in this thread based on the title o.O

@jouseldelka: Oh man I need to play some more game. Bring it summer holidays!

Wait...are you trying to tell me that games that were also released on Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS3 aren't PC exclusives??

Personally, I was only counting Windows, Mac and/or Linux as being PC. I think that's fair enough for the purposes of this thread...

*comes in*

*doesn't see Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines*

*leaves disappointed*

also: Metro 2033. that crappy Xbox 360 port really shouldn't be considered relevant.

Crusader Kings II is the only correct answer.

Witcher 2 aswell. CRANK DAT SHIT TO MAX

If you're going for Total Wat games, don't get Shogun 2, it's the worst Total War game. It's so fucking boring. Go for Empire or Rome or Medieval 2 or wait for Rome 2, all of them are goddam fine games (Rome 2 isn't out but it's going to be good). Also Papers Please is really good.

Civ 5 and Dragon Age Origins. I know DAO technically came out on consoles, but the combat--which is probably the reason that I adore it so much--is completely stripped of complexity and depth on the console version.

Agreed. I really miss isometric RPGs (that arent loot grinders) you could tell DAO was designed first for PC. Unfortunately DA2 wasnt.

In terms of actual exclusives I cant think of any must plays besides the original Witcher. There are a lot of good RTS's like Starcraft 2 and Dawn of War 2 but i'm not too fond of the genre so I cant recommend much. (Same goes for MMO's, MOBA's and F2P games)

More games to consider:

• DCS/any other recent flight sim
• SimCity 4
• Digital: A Love Story for nostalgia/history's sake
• Antichamber
• Magicka
• Chivalry/Mount & Blade
• Kerbal Space Program (although the game isn't technically out yet)
• Miasmata

Oh and if your hardware can take it, Mirror's Edge and Tomb Raider has some neat PC-only effects, though I wouldn't personally call them not to be missed (PhysX and TressFX, resprectively). And nobody has mentioned Just Cause 2 modding (i.e. the multiplayer mod.)

Many awesome games already presented, but I'll add from my own list:

Audiosurf - Convert your mp3's into tracks and then ride them!

Sins of a Solar Empire - @rowr already mentioned both Sins and Homeworld. Both excellent games, but I fear that time probably haven't been too kind on the Homeworlds whereas Sins is still rocking the best UI in industry.

Monkey Island - A classic, which received a facelift a few years back.

Rogue Legacy is an instant classic.

Starcraft 2. I'd add more but everyone else already posted all my other suggestions

Most CRPGs on GoG hold up, I personally love PlaneScape Torment and Icewind Dale II.

Wait. I just noticed you said last 10 years. So 2003-13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games are great, IMO.

Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 are always nuts and fun. Half-Life 2 and it's episodes are awesome, especially with the cinematic mod.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is mind blowing, I personally couldn't handle The Witcher, but peers love it, so I'm sure it's worth playing if you feel the need to. i didn't, I think the game does a good job of setting you up in the world well.

That's all I can think of off hand.

Well since you already have Company of Heroes and are interested in StarCraft, you might as well get Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2.

Can't agree more with some of these though I'd personally write off going after Diablo3 (way too short & still seemed unfinished after years of work), Torchlight2 or Titan Quest is the same style of game but much more depth to it. Not on steam yet but also good from Good Old Games: Planescape Torment. List below aren't just PC only but they're ones you might want to try as the PC versions are done quite well.

Looking through my steam library here some other fun ones:

• 10,000,000
• Alan Wake (or Alan Wake American Nightmare)
• American McGee's Alice Madness Returns
• Bully (best with gamepad)
• Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
• The Cave (looks great but short & fun little adventure game)
• Civilization V
• Cthulhu Saves the World (8 bit RPG)
• DLC Quest
• Duck Tales Remastered (not out yet but looks good)
• Endless Space (4x civilization)
• Evil Genius (fun & evil strategy game sadly needing time speeding up button)
• Guild Wars 1 (which people are still playing)
• Gunpoint
• Hotline Miami
• Just Cause 2 (listed here because the PC version has the multiplayer mode)
• Legend of Grimrock
• The Path
• Rogue Legacy
• Saints Row 3 (and Saints Row 4 when it's out but PC version has all the extra steam stuff to it)
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (adventure game that is best with a keyboard)
• Shadowrun Returns
• Sims Medieval (or Sims 3)
• Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl
• Star Trek Online
• Sleeping Dogs
• Terraria
• Titan Quest
• Torchlight 2
• Trackmania United (first one still great)
• Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

Edit-almost forgot another great PC game you can't play anywhere else & highly worth it: Frog Fractions ( http://twinbeard.com/frog-fractions )

Nobody mentioned StarCraft 2?

This. I couldn't get into the first Witcher but the second is probably one of my favourite games of the past few years.

This is gonna sound like elitism, but it's a simple fact from this industry: When a game gets ported from consoles to PC, it usually turns out to be amazing, run and look better, load faster, work with both M+KB and gamepad, and have mods that the game didn't have on its original platform.

Whereas when a game begins on PC and is ported to console later, that latter version is non-existent to anyone who owns a PC. Most of the ports I can think of are either terrible compared to the game on PC (Max Payne 2, Battlefield 2) or are simply not as good (Crysis, DA Origins, Battlefield 3, Witcher 2).

Also, some multiplatform games have clear advantages on PC. The mods for Skyrim, Fallout and GTA 4 among other games, the hotkeys, macros and mouse button possibilities for several games such as Deus Ex Human Revolution, the player count in Battlefield 3, etc..

Which is why I personally think it's OK to post games that originated on PC or ones that are universally believed to have distinct advantages on the platform.

You don't need to tell me that, I'm well aware of the advantages of PCs...

However, the thread specifically calls for "PC Only". Yes, almost everything is/has the potential to be better on PC, but that just isn't what the OP was asking...

Only if you like Multiplayer really. The story in that game is so abysmal that I stopped halfway through even though I loved the gameplay. It's the first game I think I've ever played where the story is so BAD that it turned me off of the entire game.

My list of suggestions is pretty much:

-The Witcher 1&2 (you can skip 1 if you REALLY want to, but I still think it's an excellent game)
-Analogue: A Hate Story. It's very short, maybe 3-5 hours on your first play through depending on how fast you read, but the story is very engaging, and talking to the AI companions is a lot of fun.
-Metro 2033 and Team Fortress 2 are both great, I know they are both on the Xbox as well, but the PC versions of both games are FAR superior.
-To the Moon! I don't even know if this was released on consoles, but it has a great story.
-Mount and Blade series (Get Warband, it's a standalone expansion, and it's very addictive).

That's all I've got after viewing others lists and thinking of games I'd add.

I'll echo these suggestions. Heroes VI did some things I wasn't fond of, but it's still a solid strategy game. Heroes V (with expansions) is probably my favorite of the series at this point.

I'm going to have to disagree. Heroes 3+expansion is the most superior in the series.

Oh, I just realised that RUSH is just on PC/Mac; for some reason, I thought they also released it on Wii...Anyway RUSH is a wonderful puzzle game + it has a fantastic soundtrack ^__^

I deliberately said that Heroes V was my favorite, rather than the best, but at this point there are so many little things about Heroes III that bug me (conflux being both lazy and overpowered, expert haste as a win button, some skills being practically useless, etc.) that I prefer the tweaks made in Heroes V a bit more (between alternate upgrades, caravans and the way the skill system is set up). I'm not really capable of telling if it's the best in the series, but I'm also crazy and am willing to defend a lot about Heroes IV at this point too.

You guys are amazing... Keep 'em coming. I ... I can't even keep up anymore.

I bought this for $2.50. There is an absurd amount of game in here. It's going to have a "remake" done that I am not looking forward to. They're going to take Edmund McMillen's awesome hand-drawn art and turn it into a shitty 16-bit pixel art game.

@chiablo said:

I bought this for $2.50. There is an absurd amount of game in here. It's going to have a "remake" done that I am not looking forward to. They're going to take Edmund McMillen's awesome hand-drawn art and turn it into a shitty 16-bit pixel art game.

The new graphics look all right to me, certainly no Bitmap Brothers, but definitely above average. It seems to retain the general feel of the original, so you're still getting Edmund's characters/item designs. Also, it's more than just a visual change, there's going to be a lot of gameplay changes too.

If you haven't played World of Warcraft, I think it's a must play, most people end up hating it in the end(not before they play it for 200+ hours mind you) so it doesn't get many recommendations, but it's one of the most engrossing PC experiences you can have.

Sid Meier's Civilization V is an amazing strategy game

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is the king of RTS games right now

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is great

Torchlight is definitely worth a play.

Orcs Must Die! 2 a great single play or co-op experience