The 10 Absolute Best PC Games of All Time

Personal computers have served as a dominant platform for game development and playing video games for over 40 years. The history of PC gaming stretches from simple text-based adventures in the 1970s to recent bleeding-edge AAA games leveraging the latest computing advancements across CPU, GPU, memory and internet connectivity demonstrations. Throughout decades of relentless technical innovation, iconic PC games across many genres have captivated gamers by showcasing the creative potential and immersiveness that only this platform can deliver.

This article definitively countdowns the 10 PC games widely considered to have made the most significant impact historically. The chosen titles here introduced landmark features, technology, design paradigms or narrative techniques that drastically raised the craft of game making to astonishing new heights. These are seminal works which received incredible critical praise upon launch for their sheer technical prowess or artistic vision. Most importantly, each demonstrated extraordinary influence that plainly shaped and inspired subsequent game developers for years or even decades later.

Choose any of these 10 supreme masterpieces of PC game design, and enjoy a title of incredible significance guaranteed to compellingly transport you across time and space. Each stands tall as a testament to the dazzling creativity, depth and meaningful experiential joy possible only through this open platform.

10. Sid Meier‘s Civilization II

The original 1991 Sid Meier strategy game Civilization established the essential foundational formula of this long-running acclaimed series. Players begin in 4000 BC guiding a fledgling Stone Age settlement, slowly overseeing its expansion into an advanced nation spanning over 6,000 years of human history along the way. Yet it was the monumental sequel Civilization II released in 1996 that decisively captured the gaming world‘s imagination thanks to substantial improvements. This addictive turn-based epic built upon the rock-solid 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate) systems underpinning empire development and conquest. Series creator Sid Meier and his team at MicroProse greatly expanded the scope first game, doubling the available civilizations to rule. They assigned unique attributes to these factions alongside specialized units and buildings to encourage more diverse playstyles. Deeper trade negotiations and more advanced artificial intelligence enhanced long term single player enjoyment through more dynamic international relations systems. Upon launch, reviewers fell in love with the refined and enlarged features paired with new pixel art visuals bringing historical context to life – awarding extremely high review marks that still hold 20+ years later. Civilization II sold over 2 million copies to become a monumental hit that remains forever memorialized as one of the preeminent strategy video games ever made.

What critics said:

"It‘s the kind of game that is very hard to stop playing because you always want to try just one more thing, build the next Wonder of the world, or conquer another neighboring country. Don‘t even try to pry yourself away from it without allocating a good 10 hours out of your day." 10/10 – GameSpot

Key Features

• 21 playable civilizations spanning key historical empires
• Greater government customization over settlements
• Expanded technology trees and military units
• Enhanced trade negotiations and poltical dynamics
• Additional scenarios roughly based on landmark events
• Refined visuals bringing historical flavor

Legacy:
With over 3 million copies sold across the Civilization series by 2004, Civilization II pioneered and popularized the 4X strategy genre. Core elements of its empire building systems served as blueprint for countless sequels and similar games for decades. Well received Civilopædia encyclopedia detailing historical context around technologies and events also demonstrated educational potential of games. It remains perennially ranked among greatest games all time more than 25 years later.

9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Bethesda Softworks opened a bold new chapter for open world action roleplaying games through its acclaimed fantasy series The Elder Scrolls with 2011‘s utterly spectacular The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Dropping players into the frosty northernmost province of Tamriel utterly bursting with adventures and quests to uncover, the game built upon Bethesda‘s expertise honed through previous titles stretching back to 1994. Skyrim leaned into what the team knew best – creating a dynamic open sandbox environment rife with monsters to slay across its mountains and forests. Leveraging vastly more powerful hardware found in PCs along with the Xbox One and PlayStation 3 consoles, Bethesda crafted a lush snow-swept region. Impressively naturalistic weather effects could transform gentle snowfall into threatening blizzards on a moment‘s notice. These atmospheric locales came packed densely with content including city hubs boasting dozens of hours of stories along with over 150 handcrafted dungeons hidden throughout the wilderness. Supporting this jaw-dropping frontier was state-of-the-art graphics leveraging advanced lighting techniques like HDR along with physics enabling realistic object interactions with considerable player freedom. Skyrim‘s NPC citizens and side characters all operate on daily schedules rather than statically waiting to dispense quests. Wildlife ecosystems feature beasts big and small hunting at appropriate times. These memorable triumphs in open world design has fueled Skyrim‘s enduring popularity over a decade later. It also firmly anchored the game as both a commercial and creative pinnacle for Western RPGs.

What critics said:

"It‘s difficult to ever feel completely satisfied with a play session of Skyrim. There‘s always one more pressing quest, one more unexplored tract of land, one more skill to increase, one more butterfly to catch. It‘s a mesmerising game that draws you into a finely crafted fictional space packed with content that consistently surprises." – 9.5/10 IGN

Key Features

• Radiant AI and quest systems enabling dynamic content
• Improved melee and ranged real-time combat
• Over 300 unique dungeons across vast landscape
• Custom character appearance, skills and progression
• Sophisticated new visual presentation standards
• Environmental storytelling worldbuilding methods

Legacy:
Skyrim elevated narratives in sandbox game worlds through use of radiant AI and quest generation that created greater dynamism. Its relative accessibility yet layered RPG systems lowered barrier for entry into Western computer RPGs. Graphical showcase for capabilities of DirectX 11 technologies on PC. Inspired later open world titles across fantasy and other genres to raise worldbuilding benchmarks and offer players incredible roleplaying freedom. Over 30 million copies sold cementing The Elder Scrolls status as an RPG commercial juggernaut.

8. Portal 2

Valve Corporation struck gold in 2007 with Portal, a sleeper hit included alongside the phenomenal Half Life 2: Episode 2 within compilation release The Orange Box. Glowing receptions centered on its minimalist puzzler gameplay married to a surprisingly dark witty narrative. Portal‘s core concept explored using a futuristic gun-like tool allowing players to open linked portals across walls, floors and ceilings to warp physical space in order to overcome obstacles. The Enrichment Center‘s spartan testing facilities essentially acted as elaborate environmental puzzles. Clever writing coupled with the sarcastic musings of the institutional AI GLaDOS pushed storytelling in puzzle genres to new heights. In 2011, eager anticipation for more mind-bending portal physics action reached fever pitch until finally being gloriously delivered by sequel Portal 2. Critically, Valve opted not to drastically overhaul gameplay but rather focused on devising increasingly clever and multi-layered puzzles spanning an even more elaborate world while revealing more pieces of a surprisingly fascinating backstory. Portal 2 delivered in spades, proving Valve‘s stellar track record maintaining their astoundingly high development pedigree while never rushing releases before creative visions reach complete fulfillment. This masterful follow-up built a full narrative arc that met fans incredibly high hopes. The exceptional puzzles and characters now stand immortalized through the enduring legacy carried by Chell and her iconic companion cube.

What critics said:

"No game studio has ever created puzzles as ingeniously designed or as elaborate in scope as those found in Portal 2" 10/10 –Game Informer

Key Features

• Hundreds of challenging 3D spatial puzzles
• Multifaceted plot filled with dark humor
• Brilliant writing and voice acting performances
• Perfect gameplay length with a full story arc
• Two player local cooperative modes introduced
• Additional community designed puzzles and modes

Legacy:
Portal 2 built upon exhaustive playtesting refinement traditions established at Valve Corporation that subsequent titles across the industry followed. Its brain-twisting spatial challenges greatly expanded perceptions of 3D puzzle game potential. Excellent script and dialogue performances carefully integrated into puzzle challenges demonstrated new heights for characterizing secondary key figures in games. Multiplayer features showcased success of asymmetric cooperative play dynamics. Acclaimed as both a artistic masterpiece across facets ranging from writing to puzzle design while also selling over 12 million copies.

7. Persona 5 Royal

Developer: Atlus, P-Studio
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Units Sold: 4+ million
Metacritic Score: 95/100
Accolades: RPG Of The Year 2020 Golden Joystick Awards

The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series has garnered a cult following globally for its addictive mix of social simulation and turn-based dungeon crawling combat since the late 1990s. However, 2017‘s mainline entry Persona 5 catapulted the previously niche franchise firmly into the mainstream on the back of its lavish style blending occult supernatural elements with Tokyo‘s neon cityscapes. Rich player customization options allowed protagonists to feel deeply personal, made literal during the leap into cognitive realms hosting shadowy demons. Here a traditional yet robust RPG structures saw players fusing creatures to create ever more powerful minions. By keeping combat and systems elegant yet deep, Atlus gave opportunity for the heart of experience to thrive through relationships fostered across the bustling metropolises. These social threads prove key strategic advantages when investigating surreal dungeons.

In 2020, Persona 5 Royal emerged as an enhanced edition packing a wealth of gameplay improvements and story content into an already staggeringly stylish masterpiece. This included an additional school semester with events related to each friend framed as bitter sweet graduations approached. Critics and gamers globally responded enthusiastically, recognizing Persona 5 Royal as a modern classic perfecting the magical formula uniquely structured by this franchise.

What critics said:

"Both one of deepest RPGs and strongest overall stories in gaming…the pinnacle of Japanese game design." 5/5 – RPG Fan

Key Features

• Lavish modern anime graphic design aesthetic
• Engaging turn-based combat/demon fusion systems
• Deep yet elegantly streamlined RPG systems
• Social relationship dynamics directly impact battles
• Expanded story content and side missions
• Customizable protagonist with multiple romance options

Legacy:
Represented major mainstream breakout for Persona franchise, selling over 4 times amount of predecessors at over 4 million copies globally. Elevated benchmarks for visual splendor across literal modern cityscapes fused with occult mythos and abstract cognitive representation. Communications fostered across vibrant social links directly fuelling greater strategic capacities in combat built upon now established Persona traditions. Character portrayals tackle complex personal subject matter including societal injustices and marginalization.

6. Baldur‘s Gate II: Shadows of Amn

This seminal computer roleplaying game released in September 2000 expanded brilliantly on the acclaimed foundations of 1988‘s Baldur‘s Gate to deliver an unparalleled adventure spanning over 300 hours set within the vivid Forgotten Realms campaign world of Dungeons & Dragons. Series creators BioWare dreamed big in terms of technical capabilities and narrative scope, packing in 80 hours just focusing on critical path progression through an engaging high fantasy plot balanced with meaningful character interactions emerging organically while thoroughly exploring painterly 2D locales. Players again gathered parties of heroes and led them through challenging turn-based combat against deadly foes as well as hundreds of branching dialogue encounters with figures ranging from righteous paladins to unsavory thieves. Streamlining some lingering tedious gameplay elements from earlier computer RPG titles provided much needed accessibility without compromising mechanical complexity. Upon launch as the most expensive video game ever produced at the time at nearly $3 million, critics and gamers globally hailed Baldur‘s Gate II as an unquestionable masterwork driving the medium into a bold new era blending technical prowess guided by artistic vision. Its huge financial success sanctioned even greater ambition for the Western computer RPG revivalist movement at the turn of millennium.

What critics said:

"An expansive adventure that clearly demonstrates its developers are at the top of their game when it comes to role-playing" 9.6/10 IGN

Key Features

• Adaptations of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition mechanics
• Epic original high fantasy storyline with exceptional worldbuilding across 120 quests
• Hundreds handcrafted encounters across sprawling world map with tactical turn-based battles
• Party-based adventuring exposing RPG systems embracing nearly limitless choice
• Sophisticated branching dialogue trees bringing well realized characters to life

Legacy:
Its unprecedented 80+ hours main scenario paired with excellent writing and characters set enduring genre template that future RPGs followed for presenting non linear narratives. Intricate mechanics directly converted from 2nd Edition D&D underpinned many later RPG leveling and rules systems. Demonstrated increased viability of party based single player experiences which many RPGs emulated. Artistry across visual vistas and audio coupled with rich gameplay complexity shoved CRPG genre dramatically ahead creatively and commercially.