Most downloaded free games of all time pc

My first time through I stuck to up-close-and-personal dwarf Bardin Goreksson, but lately I've played as battle mage Sienna, standing back and flamethrowing legions of low-level ratlings. The equipment system still kinda feels like fluff, but I love that each character has three classes that play differently, and styles of weapons that add even more granularity.

This is the co-op game to beat, even three years in. Steven: Caves of Qud is a near-perfect middle ground between the daunting complexity of classic roguelikes and the mind-boggling simulation of Dwarf Fortress.

It's also the weirdest RPG I've ever played. Sentient beanstalks, tinker bears, space-time paradoxes, fungal infections—it's almost impossible to describe Qud in a way that makes sense. Each time you start a new game, an entire world complete with its own cultures and history is generated for you to uncover. And within that space, you can play as anything from a desert nomad to a cybernetically enhanced half-man-half-tank.

Just play it. Wes: I've still barely just dipped my toe in Caves of Quid during Early Access, but it really was staggering; it feels like someone took on the mad idea of cramming RPG-style writing into the open-ended structure of NetHack, and actually pulled it off. Along with Disco Elysium, I think Caves of Qud is a modern reminder that good enough writing can make any game utterly captivating. Harry: What else is left to say about Skyrim? Nothing, really. A decade on The Elder Scrolls V is a fixture in the PC gaming consciousness despite looking janky and dated, even with a choice selection of mods.

Skyrim slips down the Top again this year, but don't expect it to be forgotten anytime soon. Speaking of, The Forgotten City, based on a Skyrim mod has just come out, so it remains to be seen if it makes next year's list. Jody: In my current playthrough I have my own museum, a chainsword, and fabulous hair.

The music's replaced by dark ambient and Nordic folk-metal, there are gallows and gibbets everywhere, and I have to periodically wash off blood and travel dirt. I'm accompanied by two characters from Vermintide, a blue khajiit, and the Skyrim Grandma.

The Special Edition means Skyrim handles ridiculous mod loads without instability, and I can alt-tab as much as I want without it crashing. It's better than ever. I'll be tired of Skyrim when I'm tired of life. Mollie: Skyrim is one of those games that's been there for me through a ton of high and low points in my life.

Will I ever branch out and play anything other than a stealthy archer? Hell no, but I will spend hours exploring the same old dinky caves and loading up my house with an unnecessary number of stolen books. Mollie: I've played my fair share of fighting games over the years, but few have kept me coming back in the way Tekken 7 does. Every hit, block and sidestep feels so intensely satisfying to me.

Couple that with a banging soundtrack, cinematic ultimate moves and a heart-pounding dramatic slow-mo cam, and every match feels like a full-blown theatrical performance. Though I still lament the lack of Christie Monteiro in the game, the roster is solid.

Tekken 7 is easily the best 3D fighter out there right now, and my favourite fighting game in recent memory. Also Yoshimitsu is an alien, I guess? Euro Truck Sim can take a breather. This son of a gun's packing Texas and Idaho, on the way to pick up Wyoming. You ever drive through through 'em? Vast, empty spaces. Buttes and scrub. Flimsy barbwire between state, federal, and private land.

A couple mountain ranges in the western halves, Idaho panhandle too. Feeling that small centers a person. Kanye West lives in Wyoming. A recent multiplayer update means you can drive by Kayne's yard with a friend. Nothing eases the weight of a heavy load, on the truck and the soul, like a convoy. Steady breath, eyes ahead.

We'll get to where we're going. Andy K: ATS is great. But my heart belongs to Euro Truck Simulator 2. The larger map has a lot more variety, from the mountains of Norway to the vineyards of France, making for much more exciting road trips. Fraser: Cities: Skylines continues its reign, with few urban city builders appearing to steal its crown. It remains undefeated in part because of the dearth of competition, but the many DLC additions and huge list of mods have ensured that even after five years it still has plenty to offer would-be mayors.

There's even an expansion exclusively dedicated to parks. And it turns out that flooding cities with poo doesn't get old. Sorry, citizens! Phil: The city building genre has had something of a resurgence thanks to games like Frostpunk and Anno offering up a different take on the basic formula. But if you want the best game to actually build a city in, here it is. Katie: I don't think I'll ever get tired of creating vast intertwined city-scapes, ever more intricate intersections, and long-ass roundabouts… so many roundabouts they permeate my dreams.

Help, I'm traffic managing in my sleep. After the on-rails nonsense of the intro, it pretty much sets you free to be the ultimate spy in an amazing sandbox. Rich: Simply one of the best games ever made, a unique take on open world design, and absolutely rammed with things to do. This feels like the game Metal Gear Solid was always building towards: ignore the nonsense about it being unfinished, and enjoy the finest game Kojima Productions ever made. Phil: It's let down slightly by a handful of missions that force you to fight the Parasite Unit—tedious battles that ignore almost all of the established rules of the game.

The rest of the time, though, MGS 5 drops you onto the map with a handful of gadgets and lets you figure things out for yourself. One of the most satisfying stealth sandboxes you can play. Dave: Was having an absolute blast with MGS5's open world; it felt solid, real, and deliciously brutal. But as soon as it got fully into the bloated, ridiculous exposition it immediately pulled me out of the game world and that has meant I can't face going back ever again.

Fraser: Few management games have made me feel like such a monster, but that's what happens when you become a fascist to save a few lives and they freeze to death anyway. The cold and desperation makes you cold and desperate.

Frostpunk is a challenging apocalyptic city builder with plenty of engaging systems, but it's the high stakes and brutal consequences of your decisions that makes it special. And thanks to the DLC, you can also see what life was like just before the big freeze. Spoiler: it was miserable. Chris: I remember getting absolutely furious when my city was running well, I was keeping everyone warm and fed, and I had enough resources to survive, but my citizens were still miserable because they'd heard some rumor that tanked their morale.

It seemed so unfair that I'd done everything right but people still hated me. But then it's a society simulator, isn't it? No matter what you do, you can't make everyone happy, and a portion of any society is going to be filled with people who simply won't use logic or listen to reason. A relevant lesson! Evan: Is Arma a tedious and complicated sim, or a peerless sandbox-playground for unscripted military antics? Years into its lifespan, the franchise's contradiction is potent: onboarding someone into the game means handing them a list of mods they 'absolutely' need to get started and a longer list of unusual keybinds double tap left Alt to freely swivel your neck independently of your weapon, duh.

But at the end of that not-so-basic training awaits a serious and often silly game about riding in a helicopter with a dozen of your closest Discord friends, one of whom crashes that helicopter into a tree after failing to correctly engage the auto-hover. Nat: Remember the first time you took a sledgehammer to a house in Red Faction Guerrilla?

Teardown is that, but pushed to its best extreme. A destruction sandbox where breakable buildings aren't just a backdrop to mediocre gunfights, but instead used to prop up an incredible set of heist puzzles. But oh, that smashing! Teardown may be voxelated, but everything breaks as you'd expect. Wood buckles under pressure. Plaster cracks to reveal underlying brickwork. Fire spreads as volumetric smoke billows through hallways, and a remarkably efficient approach to ray-tracing makes sure it all looks perfectly tactile.

In most levels, you're free to explore and destroy the map as you see fit. You'll have a set number of items to rob briefcases, safes, cars , and once you snag one, the timer starts.

Carve an optimal route through the map, grab the goods, and make it out before the cops arrive. Simple, but nerve-wrackingly brilliant. Beyond that, though, Teardown's exploding mod scene has turned the voxel playground into a brand new Garry's Mod.

There's a workshop packed to the brim with new maps to smash up, and a wealth of toys ranging from GMod-style physics guns to miniguns akimbo. Teardown's puzzles are decent fun, but I'll be smashing my way through fan-made maps for a long time yet. A supernatural mystery, Unavowed throws you into an ancient society of magical problem solvers after a possession ruined your life. It's got big party-based RPG vibes, evoking BioWare games especially, complete with special origin stories and a branching plot that goes to some surprising places.

But this is still firmly a 2D point-and-click, where most of your time will be spent solving mysteries and puzzles. And what excellent mysteries and puzzles they are, forcing you to use both magic and your investigative chops to solve. What lingers, though, are the charming characters and Unavowed's vision of New York—a place simultaneously familiar and utterly alien.

Robin: Unavowed feels like a treatise on how the classic style of 2D adventure game can still feel relevant in the modern games industry. Dave: We finally made it, ma! As the finest long-term RPG on any platform, I'd argue it's a bit too far down the list, but there are still many who foolishly see it as some sort of glorified spreadsheet.

Football is obviously central to the game, which does put people off. But FM is a mix of a sporting version of The Sims, marshalling and developing your little computer people to kick a ball about better than other little computer people, and a heart-wrenching RPG about success, failure, heroism, the fragility of youth, lost potential, and the inevitable decay of our own corporeal forms. Fraser: Finally! I've been trying to get CoH2 in here for years.

The RTS sequel is perhaps a controversial choice, and is certainly more divisive than its predecessor, but the first game has had its time in the sun and on this list. There are plenty of reasons to recommend the sequel, too, especially if you're tired of the Western Front. One of the main reasons I've been fighting for the swap is the fantastic Ardennes Assault expansion, which features a dynamic turn-based campaign—something Relic is taking even further in the upcoming Company of Heroes 3.

Dave: Still think the original is better, but that's probably because I got proper obsessed with the Commando units from the Opposing Fronts expandalone. Cars are cool and hot and Horizon 4 knows it. Play it as a racing simulation or turn on all the assists and play it like Lego Racer. Or just deck out a van with a Dragonball Z livery and drive it off cliff sides, capturing the poetic footage as it tumbles.

Nat: Forza lets me tear down my own backyard in the big daft Halo jeep, which makes it the best racing game ever made as far as I'm concerned. Fraser: I drove around digital Edinburgh with a friend and pointed out all the places I'd thrown up when I was at university.

Perfect game. Jacob: With a decent racing wheel, this game makes you feel like you're the world rally champion and F1 drivers champion all at the same time. James: A game that bends the rules of space also exists outside of time. Portal 2 is still one of the funniest games ever made. Even if the portal puzzles get easier to parse with every run, I'm always finding new routes and accidentally developing speedrun strats, buoyed by good humor, great performances, and excellent tunes throughout.

If you've yet to play the co-op campaign, do it now. Spec out incredibly complex solutions to simple problems, together. Harry: If you like jokes, games, and puzzles, Portal 2 is essential. It's not a looker by today's standards, of course, but it doesn't need to be. Cleverness, invention, and laughs win over graphics any day. Plus, it'll probably run nicely on your Steam Deck.

It's outrageous that Portal 2 has puzzles that make you feel so smart while you're solving them and monologues so funny they make you cackle the whole time you're doing it.

True galaxy brain stuff. Phil: Ubisoft's trade-focused city builder has grown into something remarkable. Over a handful of DLC seasons it's doubled down on the satisfaction of seeing a territory grow by adding a handful of new regions with specific quirks to overcome.

In Africa, you'll create canal systems to irrigate the land. In the Arctic, you'll build airships to circumnavigate imposing glaciers. And back in Europe, you'll expand your docks into a global hub supporting your ever-expanding trade empire. The sheer joy of turning these disparate regions into a fully-autonomous machine of growth and profit is hard to beat, at least until you move to the next tier of technology, and balk at the exponential effort required to get it up and running.

A return to form for the series. Nat: Tony Hawk might've introduced me to skateboarding, but Session understands why I've come to love it. There are no time limits and no high scores: just you, your board, and an urban sandbox to destroy.

Session manages to make the simple act of rolling around on your skateboard feel incredible. Controls can be tweaked to be as easy or tough as possible, and it's rare that a game can make the humble ollie feel satisfying. Challenges that'd be trivial in THPS become hour-long battles as you try to nail a nollie heelflip into a lipslide off the sidewalk.

Admittedly, Session is still extremely work-in-progress. Character models are a bit jank, animations bug out, and the physics are often hilariously broken. But each new update brings a new way to express your skating style, whether it's the introduction of freestyle primo and casper tricks, or a new city block featuring iconic skate spots. James: Normally, I'd hold back on recommending an early access game, but Session's impressive growth and momentum easily make up for the jank. We've already had a total physics overhaul and an animation overhaul is on the way.

New trick systems and levels show up every couple months, and with new publisher Nacon on board, we might see Session pick up even more speed on the way to 1. Harry: Don't be put off by Loop Hero's impenetrable-seeming aesthetic; It's one of the most accessible games I've played in Its nostalgic style belies an absorbing adventure that's wonderfully simple to start, but brutal to master. You decide the difficulty of your nameless knight's journey by adding monster tiles for more gear and resources, or helpful boons, colouring in the blackness with often surprising results.

Take your resources or try for one more loop? For much of I've struggled to choose. Evan: As you said, it's steeped in nostalgia, starting with that CRT "curved screen" filter you can enable in the main menu. And yet it's so different from many of the outwardly nostalgia-based games we see.

Loop Hero isn't a recreation of an old style of game like Stardew Valley. Instead it resurrects the spiritual aspects from the late '80s VGA era, the subtler sense of mystery found in some games from that era.

It's most fun if you avoid Googling your way to victory with wikis. Instead, try engaging in the kinds of school lunchroom rumors with a friend who's also playing it, trading stories about how you can summon harpies into the map by building a mountain, or the ridiculous thing you have to do to get a secret boss to spawn.

Fraser: I started playing Loop Hero because I thought it would be a distillation of RPG adventures that took only a wee while to play through. Morgan: Paradise Killer takes the most classically compelling premise in literary history there's been a murder, you have to solve it and places it in one of the strangest, most interesting videogame worlds I've ever explored. Piecing together timelines and motives while interrogating characters named Doctor Doom Jazz or Lydia Day Break never gets old.

It's a visual novel for people that don't think they'd be into visual novels. A true sleeper hit. Andy K: What makes it really special for me is its openness. This is a detective game where you can find evidence in any order and construct your case at your own pace. The order you find these clues in—and the conclusions you draw from them—can totally reshape your perception of the crime and who did it, including pinning the crime on an innocent person and having to live with your shoddy detective work.

Fraser: Chivalry 2 lets you chop off someone's limbs, pick them up, and then use them to beat someone else to death—all while you're screaming, they're screaming, everyone just won't stop screaming.

They're really screams of joy, though, because this multiplayer medieval combat romp is just so damn fun. Tyler: It's great. I love the balance of serious sword combat and silliness, where swing selection and mouse technique are being carefully considered just a few feet away from players who are smashing the 'yell' key repeatedly and chucking objects into the fray like Philadelphia sports fans. In places, Chiv 2 really delivers on the full medieval warfare experience it promises.

Climbing up a ladder and over the edge of a rampart is always thrilling. I can't wait for the horse update. Evan: It's the closest thing to a toxicity-proof competitive game I've played. The slapstick dark comedy of severed limbs and fish-as-weapons is part of it—that stuff makes Chivalry 2 feel lighthearted—but I also think that, unlike the serious, methodical, 5v5 formats in games like CS:GO, you sort of accept that a fray of dozens of people swinging their variously-long metal dicks around is going to be a messy affair.

Balance isn't the point. Prove your skill in the arenas of the future, leading your team of computer-controlled "bots" to victory in the Grand Tournament, or compete with the best of the best via LAN or the Internet in seat-of-your-pants battles. While Unreal Tournament offers the finest in classic "Deathmatch" play, right out of the box you can compete in Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag. Control strategic points on the map to rack up your score in Domination, or test your skills in Assault, as one team defends its base from the other.

Each game type comes with its own special maps and rules, for never-ending variety and challenge. Add gameplay mutators such as Jump Match or InstaGib, and Unreal Tournament will keep your wits honed to a razor edge. Legendary designer Sid Meier presents the next evolution in strategy games, with the most addictive, compelling gameplay yet.

Explore the alien planet that is your new home and uncover its myriad mysteries. Discover over 75 extraordinary technologies. Build over 60 base upgrades and large-scale secret projects for your empire.

Conquer your enemies with a war machine that you design from over 32, possible unit types. The galaxy is being consumed by the fires of war as we enter the final act of the Dread Lord saga.

New campaign detailing the final chapter in the Dread Lords wars. The Terror Star arrives, capable of destroying any star. Unique technology trees for all 12 civilizations. Unique planetary improvements for each civilization.

New 3D engine powered map editor. New Scenario Editor for creating highly detailed custom games. New Campaign Editor for players who want to create their own custom epic campaigns for themselves or to share with others.

Start a new career with Opening Day rosters of the real major or minor leagues, or span through years of history and run any club from the past! Perform drafts, trades, scouting, waivers, team finances and personnel.

Negotiate player contracts. Dive into the more hands-on management and set your team's lineups, pitching staffs, and in-game strategy. You can oversee your league at a high level, or play out each game, managing play by play or even pitch by pitch! User Score: 3.

This expansion pack is an old-school add on with 20 hours of new adventures, where players will travel to the land of Toussaint. New effects: Feel the sun, the wind, the fog and the grass as you walk TrueSwing technology: Take full control over your swing, from straight drives to hooks and draws.

Career mode: Purchase new equipment and lessons, hone your skills, and make your way to the top of the career rankings. User Score: 5. Approach each assassination with your own unique style.

Use shadow and sound to your advantage to traverse silently through levels unseen by enemies, or attack foes head-on as they react to your aggression. The malleable combat system allows you to creatively synthesize your abilities, supernatural powers and gadgets as you negotiate your way through the levels and dispatch your targets.

Improvise and adapt to define your modus operandi. As Lt. Mike Powell, member of the famed 1st Ranger Battalion, you'll battle through over 20 levels based on historical military campaigns of World War II. Fire period weapons and command authentic war vehicles as you silence the gun batteries at Port Arzew, survive the Omaha Beach landing, and more. Myth is arguably the first real-time strategy game to put the player in a true 3D landscape, with an emphasis on tactical battlefield action rather than base construction.

Myth also happens to be one of Bungie's most successful pre-Halo releases, and shows off the company's range and ability in genres outside of first-person shooters. A single player mode features an engrossing and enjoyable plot, with you battling the evil and eponymous Fallen Lords, their evil leader, Balor and all manner of undead creatures, but Myth's multiplayer is where it really stands out.

Multiple game modes including King of the Hill, Steal the Bacon and even co-op added huge variety to what was an outstanding and standard-setting game - and it still is. If ever an older game deserved another visit, it's Myth, with a huge, loyal and highly motivated following. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the next generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Test your piloting skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge.

Wrath of the Lich King adds a rich variety of content to an already massive game. Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 80 and gain potent new talents and abilities along the way. Northrend: Explore the harsh new continent of Northrend, packed with new zones, quests, dungeons, monsters, and items -- and do battle with the undead armies of the Lich King. Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings: Take the battle to another level with new player-vs. New Character Customization: Change how characters look and express themselves, with different hairstyles and dance animations.

Overwatch is a highly stylized team-based shooter set on earth in the near future. Every match is an intense multiplayer showdown pitting a diverse cast of soldiers, mercenaries, scientists, adventurers, and oddities against each other in an epic, globe-spanning conflict.

Cutting-edge technology brings you the most accurate representation of Formula One to date. High-resolution car models include details right down to the very last shut line. Circuits include real life structures, helicopters, airplanes, panoramic skies, animated grid girls, motion captured pit crews, and even bumps in the track surface as they exist in reality.

The glossy team-themed user interface puts you in the game and tracks your performance as a real life driver competing against the likes of world champion drives such as Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, and Michael Schumacher.

Immerse yourself in this quintessential medieval fantasy world, where entire nations hang in the balance of your actions, dark prophecies test your resolve, and heroic dreams can be fulfilled at last. Fly 31 types of Russian, German and American planes.

Engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground battles. Multiplay with up to 32 players in dogfight and 16 players in cooperative missions. Use custom paint schemes, squadron nose art, numbering on wings, and national markings for each plane. Thirty-two years have passed since the Great War. As Terrans and Vasudans struggle to rebuild their civilizations, civil war erupts in the Polaris system.

A rogue Terran admiral declares war against the Vasudans, threatening the stability of the Alliance. Without warning, the Shivans return, and Terrans and Vasudans face annihilation at the hands of their Great War nemesis. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has brought a new edge to the Cold War, and in , a one-eyed man with a prosthetic arm appears in the country.

Those who know him call him Snake; the legendary mercenary who was once swept from the stage of history and left in a coma by American private intelligence network Cipher. Snake is accompanied by Ocelot, an old friend who saved him from attack when he finally awoke. Snake must undertake a solo mission to rescue Miller and prove to the world that the legendary mercenary is not dead and gone.

That first step will lead to a path of vengeance against the very Cipher that slaughtered so many of Snake's men, and to a battle that will embroil the whole world What started in Ground Zeroes must finish with "V".

Factorio is a game about building and creating automated factories to produce items of increasing complexity, within an infinite 2D world. Use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into ingenious structures, and finally protect it from the creatures who don't really like you.

Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Infiltrate terrorists' positions, acquire critical intelligence by any means necessary, execute with extreme prejudice, and exit without a trace! The world balance is in your hands, as cyber terrorism and international tensions are about to explode into WWIII. Kentucky Route Zero is a magical realistic adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it.

Crysis is a next-generation PC first-person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of "Far Cry. At stake: a mysterious artifact uncovered by a team of U. The North Korean government quickly seizes the area, prompting the U. During the siege the true nature of the artifact quickly emerges, pointing to the existence of an alien presence on Earth, and ultimately the trigger for a massive-scale alien invasion.

The battle to save Earth begins as the aliens' flash freeze the tropics into a ghostly-white frozen landscape. As gamers take up arms against the aliens, they will be outfitted with customizable weapons and a high tech Nanosuit, allowing them to adapt their tactics and abilities to a hostile, ever-changing environment and a mysterious enemy.

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes?

What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?

New Player Races: New allies will join the game, expanding the story line and allowing players to develop powerful new characters within the world. Higher Level Limit: The game's level cap is being raised to 70, and with these new levels will come meaningful spell, ability, and talent upgrades for each character class. New Lands and Battlegrounds: Explore the magical realms of the Blood Elves and Draenei, journey through the Dark Portal into untamed Outland, and visit dungeons and battlefields previously inaccessible to players.

Flying Mounts: In Outland, players will gain access to unique airborne mounts that will allow for smoother travel over some of that region's more hazardous terrain. TigerProofing is a revolutionary course-altering system that allows players to modify course dynamics and create the most intensely competitive course imaginable. Alter tee-box length, width and patterns on fairways and greens, the depth of a greenside bunker, and even the color of the leaves on the trees, course moisture and the season which you play.

Eight new licensed courses and two new fantasy courses have been added for a total of 14 courses. New licensed courses for console only include Coeur d? Alene and Colonial Country Club. A sequel is set for release sometime in the future and will even include the house from Night of the Living Dead as a map. A lot of battle royale devs are trying desperately to make an impression on what is a saturated market with some pretty bad ideas.

Warzone, however, takes the well-worn formula and puts some clever spins on it offer something that feels unique. Featuring 1v1 fights for respawns, unique bounties , and even cross-play , Warzone is likely going to be around for years to come. Developer: Jagex Publisher: Jagex Microtransactions? The game that ruined many educations finally landed on Steam during the course of , leading to millions of player jumping into the rabbit hole of Runescape all over again.

Almost every single review of the game is warning other players about its addictive nature and how deeply it will consume your life.

Chat to other players and trade your way to vast riches, become a fighting god, and take on many quests across Gielinor. While free, players can purchase membership for monthly perks, which includes special outfits and even a bigger world to explore. Yes Download: Wargaming.

Ever veered around in a tank in Battlefield and wished you never had to get out? Developer: VRChat Inc. Publisher: VRChat Inc. VRChat is basically if Ready Player One had any self-restraint whatsoever, it being a pop culture hangout where people from all across the world hang out, awkwardly chit-chat, and also take part in strange games they created themselves.

Despite the name, VRChat can be played without a headset, but it really comes into its own when in virtual reality. Players are even fully embracing the second life aspects of VRChat with full body VR, tracking and all.

Remarkably, despite just how much maintenance it must take to keep it online, there are no microtransactions or hidden catches of any kind within VRChat at this time of writing. You could play for hours and not even look at the shop for the game. But the release of Fallout 4 was probably the most noteworthy, with anticipation being at an unprecedented high. Fallout 4 was the series boldest entry yet, and went on to be one of the best-selling video games of all time.

But what exactly are some of the elements that make this game one of the best PC games of all time? First and foremost, it's graphics are crisp and clean, with the photorealistic, quirky art style of the Fallout series and of the Elder Scrolls series.

There is definitely a fair share of bugs and glitches, but that seems to be standard for the Creation Engine — the engine used for titles like Fallout 4 and Skyrim. The gameplay is similar to previous titles, with open-world exploration, decision trees, and character customization being the focal points. In the world of Fallout 4, you're free to create the story as you experience the repercussions of the decisions you take. This involves joining different factions, finding and choosing between different companions, and making moral decisions that impact the plotline.

Combat is relatively standard for a third-person shooter, with a feature called VATS that allows you to aim at specific body parts and identify weaknesses. With more than hours of main and side-content not including the multiple DLCs , if you haven't tried Fallout 4 before, there's no better time than now to do so. It's a fantastic game that, aside from occasional bugs and glitches, exceeded its expectations. Jedi: Fallen Order is a game that took many players by surprise; with the disappointing releases of the Battlefront reboots, many fans of Star Wars games weren't anticipating any upcoming titles — especially in the near future.

One of the main things missing from Battlefront games was a feeling of depth; both Battlefronts at launch were relatively barren, under-developed, and lackluster. With these games taking more of a multiplayer approach, fans started to reminiscent about the older, more grandiose Star Wars titles that focused on single-player optimization.

As a result, the release of Jedi: Fallen Order truly couldn't have come at a better time. As an action-adventure title, Fallen Order focuses in on the story of a character named Cal Kestis, an apprentice Jedi padawan looking to complete his training, who begins to have to battle with the Empire main antagonists as he strives to reestablish the 'fallen' Jedi Order.

The story, as with most Star Wars titles, is phenomenal, with the world of Star Wars being as much of a main character as Cal himself. Gameplay and exploration are extremely linear, with optimization having been focused on combat systems rather than explorable locations.

Reminiscent of the fluid battle mechanics of games like the Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Souls titles, players will have to constantly test their reactions as they weave in and out of battle with endless hordes of enemies. Customize your lightsaber, learn new skills and abilities, and find your preferred playstyle as you acclimate to the beautiful galaxy of this Star Wars title. It's topped many lists as one of the best games of , and should ultimately be considered one of the best PC games made so far.

Fortnite is a game that's been nearly ubiquitous in the world of gaming and media since its release in At the time of its release, Fortnite was one of a few games that were pioneering the battler royale genre. Within less than a year, Fortnite already had acquired million players; it's overtaking of PUBG was inevitable.

But what exactly are the game elements that have kept Fortnite so popular? The art style of Fortnite is extremely unique; with more cartoonish, light-hearted character designs and visuals, the game feels equally appealing to younger and older players. The game's music is relatively standard, but definitely memorable. Fortnite is a third-person shooter battle royale where you drop into a lobby with other players, and rush to collect loot and weapons as you try to be the last player standing.

The main feature that's continued to attract players to the title is it's building feature. Collect different materials e. This intense gameplay mechanic is extremely innovative, offering a fun experience for both longtime fans and newcomers. So if you haven't had time to try Fortnite, and you're a fan of the battle royale genre, consider trying it with some friends.

It's one of the best PC games of all time, and one of the more inventive games of the past half-decade. With the substantially positive reception of the first Dishonored title, fans were curious about the viability of a sequel.

Bethesda labored diligently over the development of its sequel, ensuring that players would receive the improvements that they were looking for. As a result, Dishonored 2 was released to acclaim, with fans lauding the optimizations to combat and overall gameplay. So what exactly are the best and worst elements that comprise this cult classic title?

The most important aspects of Dishonored for most fans were the gameplay elements and the general narrative. In Dishonored 2, developers focused on adding to the 'dead air' that was felt in certain aspects of the game. After making the protagonist silent in the first title, developers chose to give the new protagonist a voice and more apparent identity.

With the art style and design of the game being directly influenced by the aesthetics of paintings, the game is visually surreal, constantly blurring the line between reality and personal perception. The game tells the story of an apparently age-old conflict between an authoritarian regime and a revolutionary paramilitary group seeking to facilitate change. This is a point of contention for many players, with fans noting the writing and detail in the narrative is lacking in comparison to the game's predecessor.

It started life as a semi-sequel to the two Knights of the Old Republic games, but some parts of the story have shown up in the new Disney canon as well. In any case, this free-to-play game lets you create your own Star Wars character — a Jedi Knight, a trooper or a smuggler, among others — and experience an original story set 4, years before the original Star Wars trilogy.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi. The best free PC games don't cost a penny, but they can still be a lot of fun. Marshall Honorof. Topics Gaming.