Please recommend awesome PC games to me!

[Beorning]

Okay, so! I have finally secured funds for a new PC. As the plan is to buy a really strong rig, I hope that I won't be having trouble with running, more or less, any of the PC games available.

So, the question for all you gamers out there is: what good games have be made in the last few years? I like RPGs, adventure games and   Civilization-like stuff. I can also play shooters, as long as the game has a compelling story. Genre-wise, I like fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I like investigating mysteries and the like.

So, what's cool? What to buy to have fun with a new PC?

[NicciKotor]

The Witcher 3. Before you play though you'll need to do extensive amounts of reading to understand what is even going on. All 6 or 7 books and YouTube videos that go through the first two games. That should take roughly two weeks if you keep at it. Once you do you'll be ready for a lore rich world on par with Middle Earth or Game of Thrones.

The game itself will take at least 150 hours to get through.

[HairyHeretic]

If you like shooters, this is my mainstay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clcbFOGhxMA

Open world, pure PvP. There's no story, you simply go where you want and play however you want. It might not be your thing, but as it's free to download and free to play, you won't lose anything by giving it a go.

For RPGs, you have the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. I've played a bit of each, but I'm not a huge fan of RPGs on the the computer, I prefer my pen and paper variety :)

And while it's not new, go have a look at www.gog.com, where you can get really old games, but some damn good ones too.

[NicciKotor]

PS2 is my main shooter as well and it's great. For a game that came out in 2013 it is still being updated with patches and new content. Just recently they added in orbital strikes, which sounds exactly what it is. Giant fucking lasers from the skies.

It is free to play, which most of the time is bad, because f2p games create too much of a barrier for newbies to have fun. PS2 prevents most of that by having most guns in the game be side grades from the default guns. The defaults aren't shit and have really good all around stats. You earn upgrades by playing the game and gaining certs, which is the built in currency that you use to upgrade class features and vehicles. You can't spend real money on these upgrades, only on purchasing weapons and cosmetics.

The learning curve is steep, but it's the only FPS that feels like you're in a full scale war. Since the enemy can come from anywhere and you're not restricted in any way.

Another thing you'll need to do is pick your server and faction carefully. There's one server for West and East coast players. Do research on the planetside Reddit to see which factions on your server has the best leadership. The differences in the factions don't matter, as finding an outfit to join that has a strict chain of command and a leader is critical. A strong leader is needed to organize 48 players into one fighting force and where the real excitement comes from.

[Beorning]

Okay, thanks :)

I may be picking up Witcher 3 at some point, as I've heard it's amazing, but... somehow, I just don't like Sapkowski's world. So, that's a bit of a problem. As for PlanetSide, I just don't like story-less shooters that much.

On the other hand, I really liked Mass Effect. I have finished the first game and I've played the second one. I also have Dragon Age on my old PC, although that game was a bit... unfulfilling for me for some reason.

As for Gog.com, I did buy some games from them already :)

Any more suggestions? I know I will definitely be picking up Tides of Numenera...

[HairyHeretic]

Have you had a look at The Secret World? It's an MMO, urban fantasy / horror, with some fairly good puzzle quests (beyond go there and kill that). It's relaunching now with a free to play version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FJu4q_wDb4

[Beorning]

Interesting! I've heard of the game, but it wasn't F2P before.

Any other games? I ordered the new PC today and I'd really like to test its capabilities once it arrives. Any great-looking F2P out there?

Also, any other good games you'd recommend in general? There has to be something...

[HairyHeretic]

At the moment my main games are Planetside 2, Eternal Crusade and Star Trek Online. They're all F2P, though you get more if you do pay. If you just want a quick game to test your machine out they'd probably be fine. I used to play Mechwarrior Online and Age of Wulin as well, and they're also F2P.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmBi5rx8IcU
Eternal Crusade - 3rd person shooter, 40k setting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqed10FOmL4
Star Trek Online - 3rd person game, space and ground based missions, some pretty good storylines. I mostly play Klingon-side, but the default is Federation. Romulans were added a while ago, I haven't played that arc really yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht7MGv4UqtA
Mechwarrior Online - Battletech game, big stompy death robots :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdPMG-6xmUA
Age of Wulin - Wuxia MMO. The open world PvP annoyed me, as you'd get people attacking you at any time, whether you wanted to PvP or not.

I used to play World of Tanks as well, it's fun. Heard good things about World of Warships, but never played it. World of Warplanes I tried the beta, but wasn't overly impressed.

Oh, and I always meant to check Wildstar out after it went F2P, mostly on the strength of this video :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5t41bqj0Y4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1yP4gxwFjg

[aouser626]

3DMark
A must for people with strong PCs, a benchmarking tool. If you do not want to pay for a benchmarking tool, download it free through Steam.


Strategy
Endless Legends, and Endless Space 2 - Fantasy
Gaining rapid popularity due to their unique take of 4X strategy games.

Total War: Warhammer - Fantasy
A turn-based strategy game, but with real-time battles. Not the best relatively in the Total War series, but the newest and thus with the greatest potential.


First Person Action Adventure
Battlefield 1 - Historical fantasy
High graphics and good gameplay mechanics for FPS enthusiasts.

Bioshock series - Fantasy
A classic.

Dishonored 2 - Fantasy, investigating mysteries
Highly acclaimed first person action adventure game that encourages stealth.

Fallout 4 - Modded - Futuristic fantasy
Put in work in modding your Fallout 4, and you may get something that no other game could compete with. Not even BF1's graphics could compete with a sufficiently modded Fallout 4.

Portal 2 - Futuristic fantasy
Another classic, you won't regret this.


Fighting
Mortal Kombat X


Telltale
The Wolf Among Us - Fantasy
The Telltale style of games involves "storytelling", where you'd navigate a character through a story. I have yet to meet a person who does not want TWAU season 2.

The Walking Dead series - Zombie apocalypse
A must.


Also, I'd love to see what your specs are, if you'd agree to it.

[Beorning]

Okay, these Wildstar videos... they are cool. Not sure if I'd play the game, but I like these trailers :)

Thank you for all the recommendations... Anything else? Anything interesting in the horror genre?

I signed up for the Secret World Legends beta. Do you guys know when it launches - and, if it's on, how long it make take to get in?

BTW. my specs are i7-7700, GTX 1070 and 16 GB RAM.

EDIT: So, I checked out Dishonored 2 and it does look amazing. Question, though: can I play this game, if I haven't played the first part? Is there some sort of ongoing storyline that's hard to get into, like in the Mass Effect games?

EDIT 2: Bioshock Infinite does look interesting, too! So does Resident Evil: Biohazard. Hmmm...

[Mathim]

Okay, these Wildstar videos... they are cool. Not sure if I'd play the game, but I like these trailers :)

Thank you for all the recommendations... Anything else? Anything interesting in the horror genre?

I signed up for the Secret World Legends beta. Do you guys know when it launches - and, if it's on, how long it make take to get in?

BTW. my specs are i7-7700, GTX 1070 and 16 GB RAM.

EDIT: So, I checked out Dishonored 2 and it does look amazing. Question, though: can I play this game, if I haven't played the first part? Is there some sort of ongoing storyline that's hard to get into, like in the Mass Effect games?

EDIT 2: Bioshock Infinite does look interesting, too! So does Resident Evil: Biohazard. Hmmm...

Watch the Honest Trailer for Resident Evil 7 (Biohazard) first, definitely made me think twice.

Is Portal a PC game? I would recommend that and Portal 2, really interesting sci-fi puzzle games.

[Beorning]

I think that Portal is available on PC.

Okay, I made some purchases today: Tides of Numenera, Dishonored 2 and, yes, Resident Evil 7. Somehow, the trailer and the review for this game really got me hooked. We'll see... I also bought a cheap collection of both Alan Wake games, as I've heard good things about them.

If I had more money, I'd also buy Rise of the Tomb Raider. Maybe some other day...

[Inkidu]

I think that Portal is available on PC.

Okay, I made some purchases today: Tides of Numenera, Dishonored 2 and, yes, Resident Evil 7. Somehow, the trailer and the review for this game really got me hooked. We'll see... I also bought a cheap collection of both Alan Wake games, as I've heard good things about them.

If I had more money, I'd also buy Rise of the Tomb Raider. Maybe some other day...

I want Tides but I can't swing the freaking gigs for the download. :(

There is a physical edition but I think it might be delayed.

[Beorning]

Really? The physical edition was released back here in the end of February...

[Inkidu]

Really? The physical edition was released back here in the end of February...

Yeah, no, apparently there was some trouble getting it to the States, so I have to wait a few more weeks to get paid. It'll be out sometime mid-April here.

[Samael]

So, the question for all you gamers out there is: what good games have be made in the last few years? I like RPGs, adventure games and   Civilization-like stuff. I can also play shooters, as long as the game has a compelling story. Genre-wise, I like fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I like investigating mysteries and the like.

Did you give Stellaris a try yet?

If not, I can heartily recommend it.

It's pretty damn fun.
I keep going back to it all the time, and it keeps getting patches and DLC (Only buy those on sale).

If you wish to manage and build an empire of the stars, this is exactly what you're looking for.
There is a heavy dose of lore, nice little "quests", and you can grow from a planet to a massively starfaring force.

[HairyHeretic]

Humble Bundle has a nice sci fi bundle on at the moment too, if you like 4X games.

[Beorning]

I'll take a peek :)

BTW. The new PC has arrived. Wheeeeeee! :)

[Nimbuscloud]

<snip> Please don't share off site contact information.  Thank you ~Staff~ Add me if you like, to the original poster, or anyone.  If you don't talk to me occasionally, or at least initially to tell me where you're from, I may delete you later, fair warning.

Monster hunter was a favorite of mine that is console exclusive, something that made me sad when I built my own rig, but you should check out Toukiden 2 on steam.  It really fills the void, and it's much faster paced, solving a lot of issues the western audience seemed to have with MH.  Plus if you get it and add me, I'll speed you thru to the late-game.

Guns of Icarus Alliance is a new installment to a game I adored.  You play as the crew of an airship and take down other ships crewed by players in an arena.  It's fairly complex... but I've been playing a very long time, and have a good idea of what I'm doing, so again add me if you want someone to show you the ropes.  As a bonus, this one is only 15 bucks!

If you played Banjo Kazooie, you might like YookaLaylee.  There's some controversy surrounding it, and to be honest the writing is a little ham-handed at times, not really surprising for a not strictly professional release, but the characters are loveable, and the gameplay is spot on...  Also, the worlds are freaking huge, which might be good or bad, depending on how much you like collect em ups.  I am very happy with it, all things considered.

Undertale.  If you haven't go play undertale.

Path of exile is a free diablo-like that breaths a lot of new life into the genre, imho.

Hex is basically F2P Magic the gathering with a couple of different PVE modes, if you like card games.  They're talking about making it an MMO in the future, with things like raid bosses several players would challenge together, but I don't know how far they've come, I mostly play an arena mode while I listen to podcasts.

I've got loads more, I probably spend too much time on these. xP  Let me know if any of those looked interesting and if you'd like to hear more from me, but I'll give someone else a chance.

[Beorning]

Thank you again :)

Meanwhile, yesterday I ran Resident Evil 7 for the first time. I can only say: wow. The graphics quality in the game is amazing... almost life-like. Seriously, my jaw dropped.

[VonHellsing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGm7LrocVuA

Duck Game.

Just Duck Game.

[Rathmus]

Conan Exiles! It's a paid alpha at the moment. Still worth it in my opinion. It's a survival game with Conan lore. You build all the stuff yourself, houses, workbenches, clothes, dyes, weapons and etc. Plus, not it's major selling point but a definitly awesome option, FULL NUDITY! That's right, I mean full pickle n' clam.

[Sain]

For RPGs (classic-RPG genre like Baldur's gate type) you could give Pillars of Eternity a try. It has a very interesting and engaging setting, great characters with good voice acting, content for a couple dozen hours, and a very fun party based combat system. The game is just simply awesome, and critics will agree.

[Beorning]

Oh, I do have Pillars of Eternity since last year. It was nice, but I didn't get too far. I might return to it someday, when I'm done with Tyranny and Tides of Numenera...