PCG Article Top 100 PC Games, what would be your own wildcard pick?

[Kaamos_Llama]

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-top-100-pc-games-2022/

From the article:

There are a few rules and principles we stick to. Firstly, this is not a list of the most important PC games—you can find those here (opens in new tab). Rather, these are our picks of the best PC games to play right now. How influential a game was doesn't matter. How much we enjoyed playing it at the time is not our concern. The simple question, always, is: does this hold up today?

I like the PCG list, most of my favourites from the last few years are there, and there's quite a few I'd like to pick up in the near future too.

There's a couple that spring immediately to mind, but my wildcard would be Metro: Exodus, which I really liked and intend to play again with all graphical bells and whistles enabled. As soon as the next gen cards are available in full.

So what's a game you've enjoyed a lot over the last few years that wasn't mentioned here? If you'd like you can even post your own personal top 10. Have at it

 

[Brian Boru]

Gee, since I've only played 2 of those 100, I can give you way more than one game worth playing today—I dipped and dropped more from the list, but only 2 worth my time.

No Civ, no Subnautica, no Crysis, no Horizon Zero, no Far Cry, no Assassins Creed, no need for me to go on

 

[Frag Maniac]

I jumped to the top 10 and the only one in that category that appealed to me was The Witcher 3.

 

[Pifanjr]

Gee, since I've only played 2 of those 100, I can give you way more than one game worth playing today—I dipped and dropped more from the list, but only 2 worth my time.

No Civ, no Subnautica, no Crysis, no Horizon Zero, no Far Cry, no Assassins Creed, no need for me to go on

The only one I was missing when I finished the list was Civilization. I should really check out Old World if it knocked out Civilization from the list entirely.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was actually on the list.

Looking at my most played games on Steam, I think Terraria deserves a spot on the list too.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

The only one I was missing when I finished the list was Civilization. I should really check out Old World if it knocked out Civilization from the list entirely.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was actually on the list.

Looking at my most played games on Steam, I think Terraria deserves a spot on the list too.

I'm really tempted to get Old World, and still thinking about RimWorld, but I'm trying to wait for a good sale.

2 out of the top 3 are among my most played games of the last 10 years and Disco Elysium is a great game for sure. There is a few others of mine missing but theyre either pretty niche like Battle Brothers or were just good and solid and not necessarily ground breaking like a Deaths Door, so I understand why they arent there. Oh and I still love Banner Saga, and it would near top of my list

Yea, no Civilization at all is an interesting one, got a great review at PCG but I guess current staff arent playing it anymore. I havent played it all either, although I have it free from Epic.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm really tempted to get Old World, and still thinking about RimWorld, but I'm trying to wait for a good sale.

2 out of the top 3 are among my most played games of the last 10 years and Disco Elysium is a great game for sure. There is a few others of mine missing but theyre either pretty niche like Battle Brothers or were just good and solid and not necessarily ground breaking like a Deaths Door, so I understand why they arent there. Oh and I still love Banner Saga, and it would near top of my list

Yea, no Civilization at all is an interesting one, got a great review at PCG but I guess current staff arent playing it anymore. I havent played it all either, although I have it free from Epic.

I can recommend Rimworld. For me it's been slightly too addicting, I've played it a few times when I should have been working or sleeping and I keep thinking about when I can play it again when I can't play.

For me, both Don't Starve Together and Magicka are some of the top games I've played that I would still recommend, but they're probably too niche to include in a top 100 list.

 

[PointnClicker01]

No Civ, no Subnautica, no Crysis, no Horizon Zero, no Far Cry, no Assassins Creed, no need for me to go on

I first thought thats all games on the list you‘d never be playing until you mentioned Far Cry (I know from other threads that you play the game)… So there‘s really no Horizon: Zero Dawn? Why???

I am also quite surprised that Stray is only on the personal picks, since its one of the most unique game ideas I‘ve seen so far.

My wildcard would be The Council from 2018. This game is incredibly well done, especially when it comes to background research for the historic figures in it.
Show me another game where you can chitchat with George Washington AND Napoleon Bonaparte at the same time! Love it

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I first thought thats all games on the list you‘d never be playing until you mentioned Far Cry (I know from other threads that you play the game)… So there‘s really no Horizon: Zero Dawn? Why???

I am also quite surprised that Stray is only on the personal picks, since its one of the most unique game ideas I‘ve seen so far.

My wildcard would be The Council from 2018. This game is incredibly well done, especially when it comes to background research for the historic figures in it.
Show me another game where you can chitchat with George Washington AND Napoleon Bonaparte at the same time! Love it

There was a lot of buzz about Stray because its the internet and it had cats, but my impression from reviews and podcasts was that apart from that gimmick and great graphics there wasn't much else noteworthy about the game. It was polished and fun but not spectacular.

Horizon, I could see it over quite a few other things on the PCG list but in a top 100 obviously everyones going to be different.

Might have been a better idea to make the thread on what are peoples personal top ten games to play now. maybe I'll change OP and people can update if they like.

I'd never heard of The Council, looks interesting. Adventure games/ point and click is probably my least played genre, outside of FMV games. I'd love a little window into that world, and maybe find some other things to try in the future.

 

[Brian Boru]

Civilization … free from Epic

That's Civ6. If you're tempted to play, I recommend you get the whole package, ie with the 2 expansions and the dozens of DLC and the last patch—far superior to the original game. The second expansion and subsequent patches 'completed' the game—which is Civ's track record since 4, the 2 expansions significantly improve the whole experience.

You are probably better off getting it from Steam at the next big sale, since then you'll have access to the very simple installation of the mods of your choice from the Workshop. More info & tips here:

Civilization VI—muddling thru

Started my first real dip into Civ 6 a few days ago, after a couple of months of occasional Civ 4. Man, 6 is so much more tactical at first glance—there seem to be endless quirks and nuances to wade thru. If you spin to the right while hopping, you'll get a different outcome than if you read a...

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[Colif]

Games i have played of list:

1. Fallout NV
2. Cities Skylines
3. Path of Exile
4. Dorfromantik (I should play this again)

I was hoping to beat Brian... oh well

Games I want to play on list I haven't yet:
1.
2.
3.

I think you get picture

 

[Brian Boru]

Adventure games/ point and click … I'd love a little window into that world

Start a thread for advice, we'll pitch in

 

[ZedClampet]

Since they only have a few survival games and simulators, it misses some of the upper echelon of my personal favorites. Think I only have interest in two of their top 10, and I'd almost rather die of alcohol poisoning than play Disco Elysium.

It's not really what you asked, but the thing about "fixing" the list for me is that any game I haven't played would have to be removed and replaced with something I've played and enjoyed, and that would be a pretty daunting process. In the end, I recognize that I'm a niche player, so my own top 100 would be objectively wrong.

A few of the games in my top 100 that weren't in theirs (these are just the games I currently have installed that would make my list)
Total War Warhammer 3
Raft
7 Days to Die
V Rising
Planet Crafter
Conan Exiles
Atlas
The Forest
Ark Survival Evolved
Craftopia
Car Mechanic Simulator 21,
Solasta: Crown of the Magistor
Factorio
Project Cars 2
Grid (2019)
Forza Motorsport 7
Planet Coaster
Tavern Master
Astroneer
Barn Finders

And:
Too many horror games to list

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Start a thread for advice, we'll pitch in

Somehow you've quoted what I said under @PointnClicker01 's name.

Since they only have a few survival games and simulators, it misses some of the upper echelon of my personal favorites. Think I only have interest in two of their top 10, and I'd almost rather die of alcohol poisoning than play Disco Elysium.

It's not really what you asked, but the thing about "fixing" the list for me is that any game I haven't played would have to be removed and replaced with something I've played and enjoyed, and that would be a pretty daunting process. In the end, I recognize that I'm a niche player, so my own top 100 would be objectively wrong.

A few of the games in my top 100 that weren't in theirs (these are just the games I currently have installed that would make my list)
Total War Warhammer 3
Raft
7 Days to Die
V Rising
Planet Crafter
Conan Exiles
Atlas
The Forest
Ark Survival Evolved
Craftopia
Car Mechanic Simulator 21,
Solasta: Crown of the Magistor
Factorio
Project Cars 2
Grid (2019)
Forza Motorsport 7
Planet Coaster
Tavern Master
Astroneer
Barn Finders

And:
Too many horror games to list

Yea all of those are terrible. Youre not allowed to make any public list, begone!

Srsly tho. Thats the interesting thing about it. They did mention TW Warhammer 2 and the reason for including it over 3 was because its feature complete with all DLC's which I can kind of see. Out of the rest of yours, I've been tempted by Solasta and Factorio at some point, the others not so much.

Survival, Cars and Adventure games are probably my 3 weakest genres, never say never and I have liked some stuff but mostly theyre nopes.

What is it you hate about the idea of Disco Elysium so much? Just curious, obviously not going to change your mind about it

 

[Brian Boru]

@ZedClampet I hope you included all your boring games there!

Somehow you've quoted what I said under @PointnClicker01 's name

Ack, that's the forum doing it's rare but infamous misquoting trick! Fixed

 

[Pifanjr]

I think Horizon: Zero Dawn and Far Cry didn't make it because they specifically wanted to make a diverse list. Same reason I think Civilization wasn't included. Though I'm also not sure if Far Cry has been all that well received?

I do think they could have made it a bit more diverse. I don't think it was necessary to put two battle royale games on the list (Apex and Fortnite), for example. I think there's a couple of genres still missing (though I did start skimming at some point and I don't feel like going through it again to confirm).

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

That's Civ6. If you're tempted to play, I recommend you get the whole package, ie with the 2 expansions and the dozens of DLC and the last patch—far superior to the original game. The second expansion and subsequent patches 'completed' the game—which is Civ's track record since 4, the 2 expansions significantly improve the whole experience.

You are probably better off getting it from Steam at the next big sale, since then you'll have access to the very simple installation of the mods of your choice from the Workshop. More info & tips here:

Civilization VI—muddling thru

Started my first real dip into Civ 6 a few days ago, after a couple of months of occasional Civ 4. Man, 6 is so much more tactical at first glance—there seem to be endless quirks and nuances to wade thru. If you spin to the right while hopping, you'll get a different outcome than if you read a...

forums.pcgamer.com

I've played a lot of Civ 1/2/4 in the past and a little 5, but interest has been less and less with every iteration for me. But I'll keep that in mind if I ever find time for 6.

As for the adventure games, I dont think I'll be making a thread anytime soon. I played a little Norco yesterday, and I have Kentucky Route Zero from the list on my Switch. I think those are enough for the minute if I feel the urge. I'm too dumb/impatient most of the time for obscure puzzling.

 

[mainer]

Games that I play rarely make anyone's top 100 list, and being a "100 best PC games you can play right now" list, as opposed to a "100 best PC games of all time" list, does narrow the choices down. (Nice to see that a couple of the old classic RPGs made the list like FNOV & Skyrim).

Games that I've played from that list:
#93 Fallout New Vegas
#75 Elder Scrolls Skyrim
#61 Mass Effect Legendary
#11 Divinity Original Sin 2
#9 The Witcher 3

Games from that list that I have some level of interest in and/or wishlited:
#99 Shadowrun Hong Kong
#96 The Forgotten City
#55 Prey
#45 Half-Life Alyx (I'm not buying a VR headset just for one game)
#15 Dishonored 2
#1 Disco Elysium

Games that would be on my personal list that I've played and enjoyed in the last few years that aren't on the Top 100 List (Not listed in any particular order):

Elex 1 & 2
Dragon Age Origins, DA2, & DA Inquisition
Solasta Crown of the Magistar
Wasteland 2 & 3
Fallout 4
Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 Enhanced Editions
Grim Dawn

 

[ZedClampet]

What is it you hate about the idea of Disco Elysium so much? Just curious, obviously not going to change your mind about it

Long story short, due to personal experiences as a child, I loathe alcoholics and don't want to play as one. I tried, but as harmless and bumbling as that guy seems, I just couldn't enjoy my time in the game. I may try again some day.

 

[Zloth]

I've had a lot of fun watching the PC Gamer Top 100 list change over the years. It's a good reflection of who's currently working there. For instance, the 4X games have had an awful time on the Top 100 for the past few years. I think last year just has one or two 4Xs on the entire list. Now there's just Old World.

My personal pick would either be X4 Foundations or Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children, depending on my mood at the time.

P.S. Horizon: Zero Dawn being off the list is a surprise! H:0D is an excellent action adventure that's only been on PC for a couple of years! In fact, it didn't make it to last year's list, either! Wait, what the heck?? That URL auto-forwarded to the 2022 list!?

 

[Brian Boru]

That URL auto-forwarded to the 2022 list

Many of the "Best of…" lists are changed in situ, which is a great idea—stops a lot of link rot. They just change the title to current year or similar, and update the content as appropriate.

 

[Zloth]

They didn't used to. This article has a link to the 2020 Top 100 which also auto-forwards. Hmph. Guess we'll need to use the Wayback Machine on Archive.org from now on. Or I get out my saved magazines.

 

[Colif]

Many of the "Best of…" lists are changed in situ, which is a great idea—stops a lot of link rot. They just change the title to current year or similar, and update the content as appropriate.

and since we make the threads ourselves instead of auto, we don't have to deal with the people complaining that the comments thread it links to is 2 years old... they can complain on discuss instead.
The reusing thing has its ups and downs, its worse on forums where people actually want to reply to a post about best CPU of 2022 and find it links to a closed thread from 2020.

 

[Brian Boru]

Games in that list:

Games I've Played
Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection
Portal 2

Games I've Tried and Discarded
Cities: Skylines
Control
Dishonored 2
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Hitman 3
Into the Breach
Metal Gear Solid V: The Fandom Pain
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Titanfall 2
XCOM 2

Games I Will Purchase
Dorfromantik
Old World
Outer Wilds
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Prey

Not in List:

Games I Own and Will Play again
Adelentado trilogy
Amazing Pyramids Rebirth
Civilization 4
Civilization 5
Civilization 6
Command & Conquer: Generals + Zero Hour
Crysis
Crysis Warhead
Endless Legend
Factorio
Far Cry 4 + Yetis + Primal
Far Cry 5 + New Dawn
Firewatch
Grey Goo
Hero of the Kingdom series
Portal
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Roman Adventures Britons 1 + 2
Royal Envoy series
Sniper Elite 4
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
Subnautica
Supreme Commander + FA + 2
The Royal Game of Ur
The Talos Principle + Elohim + Gehenna
The Turing Test
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
War Robots Planet Defender
World of Goo
Zero-K

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Long story short, due to personal experiences as a child, I loathe alcoholics and don't want to play as one. I tried, but as harmless and bumbling as that guy seems, I just couldn't enjoy my time in the game. I may try again some day.

Not what I was expecting, but I hear you

 

[Zloth]

Played and "finished"

• Fallout: New Vegas
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Control
• Skyrim
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
• Portal 2 (single player only)
• Prey
• Quake (didn't really like it much)
• BattleTech
• NieR: Automata
• Outer Wilds
• Doom Eternal
• Dishonored 2
• XCOM 2 (with and without expansions)
• Death Stranding
• Divinity: Original Sin 2
• The Witcher 3
• (Stanley Parable - Katie's choice)
• (Deus Ex - Phil's choice)
• (Final Fantasy 7 Remake - Imogen's choice)

Played and bailed

• Shadowrun: Hong Kong
• (Homeworld games, but not remastered)
• Cities: Skylines (got bored before I had much of a city - I prefer Tropico games)
• Mass Effect: Legendary (done with ME1, still have 2 and 3 to play)
• Kerbal Space Program (did a lot but never landed on Mun, so I'll say unfinished)
• Guild Wars 2
• Red Dead 2

Playing soon

• The Forgotten City
• Wildermyth
• Elden Ring
• Disco Elysium (bought but haven't got to it yet)
• (Mount & Blade 2 - Jorge's choice)

Would have insisted putting on the list

• Final Fantasy 7 Remake
• X4 Foundations (sooo many bugs and weak AI, but what it does well, it does so very well!)
• Civilization 5, though I'll be willing to vote for 4 if it gets it on the list.
• Horizon: Zero Dawn
• Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries
• Saints Row: The Third
• Subnautica
• Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children
• Endless Space 2 (I've had a lot of fun with a lot of 4X games, but this seems the best balance of fun and accessibility)

Would have liked putting on the list but could do without

• Just Cause 3
• Middle Earth: Shadow of War
• The Last Remnant (old, annoying main character, hard to buy in USA, but there's nowhere else you can get its gameplay)
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
• No Man's Sky
• Wasteland 3
• Valkyria Chronicles 4

Good chance of getting on my lists but I haven't played them enough yet

• Age of Wonders: Planetfall
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous