Samuel’s picks of the best PC games.
A personal list of the best games you can play right now
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
www.bit.ly/acodysseypc
I appreciate how all-in Odyssey goes on Greek tragedy. A lot of dark stuff can play out in its twisty story, but the real tragedy is how little time I have to invest in Ubisoft’s gigantic world. With Odyssey’s ludicrously sized map, Ubisoft is demanding a monopoly on my spare time, and it’s probably going to get it.
Final Fa ntasy XV
www.bit.ly/final_fantasy_ xv
I bought a new games machine, and now I want to see how nice the grass and fur look in Final Fantasy XV’s bright, lovely, and mostly empty world. No doubt turning the hair settings up super high will crater the framerate, as these things normally do, but hey, you have to try these things once.
Resident Evil 7
www.residentevil.com
Not my favorite ResidentEvil, but it’s closer to the ideal survival horror experience than any other recent entry. The first third has you underpowered, trapped in a scary, labyrinthine location with sinister enemies. The final third, though, throws most of that away, leaning into gunfire-heavy action.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
www.bit.ly/deusexmankind
Even though the Adam Jensen DeusEx games have been left unresolved in some ways, I found the latest DeusEx to feel fairly complete. I did every sidequest, broke into every building, finished the bad DLC, and racked up 50 hours wandering around Prague. It’s no Dishonored2, but I loved it for the most part.
Nier Automa ta
www.niergame.com
My biggest regret of the Top 100 process this year was forgetting to nominate Nier. I didn’t feel that bad about it, given that it crashed on me a few times, but this tale of androids trying to deal with a planet of weird robots has a surprising amount going on thematically. Platinum’s combat is reassuringly stylish, too.
September 1999
www.98demake.itch.io/september1999
This short horror game is just over five minutes long and completely free. It feels like a mood piece, with a VHS-style filter and a creepy corridor, but it does have a story that emerges by the end. I can’t wait to see what 98DEMAKE does next—this subcategory of horror is really exciting to me.
So nic Mania
www.sega.com/games/sonicmania
Like all Sonic games, I’ve enjoyed the first four levels of Mania, and now I’m suffering through the rest, which are so long and difficult that I find it vaguely upsetting. I guess that’s sort of a recommendation? I like that Mania promises old-style Sonic and delivers it, but I am swearing during its boss battles a lot.
Ho tline Miam i 2: WrongN umber
www.hotlinemiami.com
After replaying this for the fourth time, I think WrongNumber is now the superior HotlineMiami game, a couple of overly-large military base levels aside. I still have to hammer skip on all the cutscenes, but I love how challenging this sequel is for advanced players.