2015!
We're almost halfway through the year, and already the PC has enjoyed some amazing games. The second half of 2015 promises to be even better, thanks to Fallout 4, XCOM 2, Metal Gear Solid 5 and more. While we wait, let's reminisce about the best of the year so far.
Here, you'll find a list of everything we've awarded over 80% for review, along with some of our favourite in-development games from Early Access.
Kerbal Space Program
Score: 96%
Read our review.
Read our review.
KSP is a game about building and flying rockets into space—although, of course, it's not that simple in practice. Don't let the cute little Kerbals fool you: this is a bewilderingly deep simulation of space travel and engineering that employs real-world physics and makes great demands on any player that decides to dive in. You'll start with the ambition of merely building a working rocket in this massively freeform sandbox game, before setting your sights on the Moon—sorry, the Mun—and beyond. But it's those bumbling, funny Kerbals that give KSP its warm, chewy centre, making it quite unlike many of the cold, dry simulations available elsewhere
Grand Theft Auto V
Score: 92%
Read our review.
Read our review.
Nobody makes sandbox games like Rockstar—really, who else would be obsessive enough to recreate Los Angeles with this much attention to detail, and on such an enormous scale? That detail is easier to appreciate in this belated PC version of GTA5 thanks to the first-person view and new Director Mode, which allows you to make films from your probably crime-related adventures. There's a story, there's a fulsome online multiplayer mode and even co-op heists, but as a tool for generating fun—and as a place to exist in—GTA5 shows Rockstar at the top of their game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Score: 92%
Read our review.
Read our review.
CD Projekt Red's latest could easily end up being the best RPG of the year, and is certainly the most successful Witcher game to date. It's vast in scope, and filled with mysteries to uncover. The Witcher 3 doesn't go in for light-hearted fantasy; rather, it draws inspiration from the often horrific folk tales of ages past. Geralt's impassive determination in the face of such horror is a refreshing change from the grand heroism of most fantasy role-playing protagonists. The Witcher 3 is both bleak and beautiful, and one of the most atmospheric RPGs available on PC.
Pillars of Eternity
Score: 92%
Read our review.
Read our review.
Kickstarter has essentially broken game history, giving fans the world over the chance to resuscitate comatose genres and give developers the chance to reclaim their history. Pillars of Eternity is a new Infinity Engine-style RPG in the space year 2015, and that will never stop being a wondrous thing to type. Moreover, it's an Infinity Engine-style RPG made on a healthy budget, and with many of the talent from the cRPG golden era involved. We reckon it “lives up to the towering legacy of the games that inspired it”, and really, what else needs to be said?
Homeworld Remastered
Score: 92%
Read our review.
Read our review.
Homeworld never stopped being beautiful, of course, but a bunch of new high-resolution textures and fancy lighting effects are hardly going to hurt. Gearbox have exhaustively updated Relic's elegiac space RTS so that it will play—and look—lovely on modern PCs, but the emotional core of this sci-fi exodus remains intact. There aren't many strategy games where you feel this attached to your units, but then your ships are more than just units here: they're the last of a dying race, who have set out on an arduous pilgrimage to their ancient homeworld. Battles mean more when you care this much about survival, and the result is some of the most tense space battles you'll find in a game.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Score: 87%
Read our review.
Read our review.
A staggeringly beautiful Metroidvania platformer that's a lot crueller than it might appear at first glance. As a creature lost in a Studio Ghibli-esque magical forest, you have to jump and fight and puzzle your way through a spiky, enemy-filled labyrinth while oooohing and aaaahing at all the lovely animation. Thankfully, Ori's sky-high difficulty level is offset somewhat by your ability to set save points on pretty much any solid surface.
Frozen Cortex
Score: 87%
Read our review.
Read our review.
Frozen Synapse's simultaneous-yet-turn-based combat system is adapted here to form the basis for a fictional sports game, in which robots pummel each other for our amusement. There's depth to every lasting sport, and Cortex's mixture of American Football and savage robo-beatings stands up mightily to the scrutiny of turn-based play. After every five seconds there's a time-out of sorts, giving both sides a bit of time to adjust their strategies on the fly. Frozen Cortex is deep, tactical and thoroughly original.
Cities: Skylines
Score: 86%
Read our review.
Read our review.
After SimCity, this was really an open goal for Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive, but Cities: Skylines is a solid city builder in its own right. It's the offline-friendly, mod-happy city sim you've been looking for, on a huge scale that makes SimCity's boxy hamlets look like...well, like boxy hamlets. It's not perfect, but this is a fun and addictive city builder that was well-timed to welcome players left disappointed by EA and Maxis.
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