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The best old games and PC classics to play 2024

By admin August 30, 2024

The best old games and PC classics to play 2024, Classic games are the few that stand the test of time, so we’ve rounded up the very best old games that are still worth playing on PC today.

Looking for the best old games on PC? There are many perks to being a PC gamer, but we will save extolling them all for a day when we are feeling particularly inflammatory. For now, we will focus on just one: the best old games remain forever playable. Sometimes it takes a little more work, but it’s a lot easier than digging through your parent’s attic for an ancient console you think they still have.

Yes, even on the highest-end multi-cored rigs with the latest X-Titan Turbo Hydra Fulcrum Mk.III GPU, you can still boot up veteran strategy games, majestic ancient RPG games, trusty ol’ point-and-clicks, and other legendary games of yore. Below you will find a testament to those PC stalwarts like Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition that prove the best old games are truly timeless and deserve space on your SSD even to this day.

Age of Empires 2

It’s hard to imagine what the real-time strategy game landscape today would look like without Age of Empires 2. After all, Ensemble Studios’ 1999 classic is still played by many today – ourselves included. Even at launch, AoE 2 was hugely popular among RTS enjoyers, having shipped over two million copies within its first few months on shelves. While this isn’t a blockbusting number by modern standards, it’s worth remembering PC gaming wasn’t the monolithic entity it is today.

Age of Empires 2 has two core pillars to its gameplay. The first is its exemplary campaign, which takes you on a (dramatized) journey through the lives of historical figures like Joan of Arc, Barbarossa, and Genghis Khan – big hitters. There’s also its multiplayer offering, which allows you to progress through four ages – Dark, Feudal, Castle, and Imperial. As you develop your empire, you’ll unlock new technologies to improve everything from your economic output to your military might.

Whether you’re making a mad dash to the Castle Age to pen in opponents with fortified structures, or are looking to rush opponents with Scout Cavalry in an attempt to cripple their economy before they can even get it going, AoE 2 has remarkable strategic depth. To this day, tournaments are regularly held for the game, drawing in thousands of viewers. If you’re looking to get involved the good news is that the Definitive Edition of the game was launched in 2019, and continues to be updated to this day.

RuneScape 2

Though it can be considered the baby of the list, Runescape 2 is very much one of the best old games you can play on PC. Having arrived as an upgraded version of the original RuneScape in 2004, Jagex’s iconic MMO game has continued to thrive over 20 years after it first reached our monitors. It’s so popular today that its rereleased iteration, Old School RuneScape (OSRS), is often seen with a higher player count than the more modern RuneScape 3.

This medieval fantasy adventure will take you to the world of Gielinor – a land filled with dragons, elves, orcs, and more evil wizards than you can shake a wand at, OSRS is easily one of the best free MMO games you can sign up for today. Yes, its visuals haven’t held up in the way the likes of World of Warcraft have, but RuneScape has a certain charm to it that not even Blizzard’s glorious graphics can replicate.

The best thing about RuneScape 2 is it’s the perfect idle MMO. You can click and forget during all sorts of tasks thanks to its simple tick-based loop for many of its skills. If you’re looking to min-max your gaming time while studying for school, or working on that odious report in the office, then you can set up shop near a bunch of trees and crank up your Woodcutting XP, tabbing back in every couple minutes to click the next one. It’s an incredibly chill experience (provided you’re not trying to PvP or take down the endgame bosses), and one which you’d be remiss to miss out on.

Resident Evil

For the longest time, it was nigh-on impossible to get the original PC version of Capcom’s survival horror classic to work on modern devices. The only way to play this adventure legitimately would have been to play the admittedly amazing remake. That said, they’re completely different, not least because zombies could return if not beheaded or burned as Crimson Heads, who are significantly faster, harder to kill, and impossible to avoid.

However, in yet another surprise nobody saw coming from Capcom in 2024, the original Resident Evil PC version, complete with a handful of tweaks to circumvent some censorship, is back on GOG. Of course, everything’s intact: the tank controls, the dodgy script, and the hammy voice acting. But that’s what we love about the early 3D era of gaming. Games were becoming more of an event with the advent of CD technology giving developers more space to pop voice samples and primitive polygons.

So why is Resident Evil so revered, even in 2024? Everything that can feel restrictive is part of the design, from the tank controls and awkward aiming to prevent the game from being too easy to navigate to the fixed camera angles obscuring upcoming threats, with groans and shuffles adding to the tension. It’s also the start of a great trilogy of 90s survival horror, and the good news is that Resident Evil will be joined by the PC versions of the second and third games on GOG very soon. It’s an absolute must-play for anyone who loves horror games and now’s the best time to pick it up.

Max Payne

Despite Max Payne being Remedy Entertainment‘s second game, this incredibly ambitious action game blends elements from John Woo movies and mature storytelling to create an all-time classic. In this third-person action game, the titular former NYPD detective has access to a slowdown mechanic, similar to bullet-time from The Matrix movies. Just like Neo, Max can perform leaps in slow motion, with both hands clutching his trusty pistols to take out enemies in front of him.

Whether you’re looking to return to Max Payne after a long absence or trying the game for the first time, you’ll be surprised at how well Remedy’s third-person shooter stands up to this day. If the story manages to hook you, you’re in luck as there are two more games in the trilogy to get through.

X-COM: UFO Defense

Strategy gaming meets turn-based tactics. The first X-COM game is still one of the best strategy games ever released on PC. This excellent old PC game inspired the team that went on to make Fallout, birthed several spin-offs and sequels, and was officially remade in 2012 as XCOM: Enemy Unknown – which is itself a classic. That’s some legacy.

In X-COM: UFO Defense, much like the remake, players must defend Earth from an alien invasion. In doing so, players must manage the clandestine X-COM group, choosing where to position bases and what technologies to research to make a desperate stand against the extraterrestrial threat. Players must also win battles on the ground using a squad of X-COM soldiers in turn-based tactical combat.

The game itself has aged brilliantly where gameplay is concerned, though it’s nowhere near as pretty as its modern-day remake. Assuming total control of mankind’s final barrier against the alien menace is still a joy: progressing through the research tree, turning your operatives into psionic super-soldiers, and deploying them in the field to kick xeno-butt never gets old. Fancy some modern XCOM instead? Check out our XCOM: Chimera Squad review.

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

A 2D platformer where absolutely everything can kill you in an instant: long falls, any enemy attack, grazing past an obstacle, overcooking a grenade… the list goes on. Its puzzles are complex, its gaps between saves overly long, and its enemies nearly impossible to avoid. Frustrating? Rewarding is the word you are looking for. Probably.

At the center of all this struggle is the titular Abe, an enslaved Mudokon who discovers the meat processing factory where he works is soon to be the slaughterhouse of his entire race. Abe breaks free and begins a quest for emancipation that the player can either go along with (making their journey much more difficult) or ignore. Choosing to steer a group of your fellow Mudokons into a volley of gunfire as a means of distracting an enemy is never an easy decision to make.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri

Like any Civ game, Alpha Centauri is all about colonizing a world, growing an empire, and competing and cooperating as you see fit with other factions vying for power. The twist? Set on a distant planet in the future, this old PC game is far more story-driven, forcing you to interact with mysterious alien lifeforms and races that previously inhabited the planet.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri fits the 4X games formula of empire-building, research, war, and diplomacy with an excellent story. Featuring fascinating factions and complex leaders, Alpha Centauri offers a more focused experience than the ‘blank canvas’ of the main series. The smaller scope of the game emphasizes everything that is great about this old game’s narrative, helping Alpha Centauri remain as memorable as always.

Baldur’s Gate 2

There is something about that beautiful, seemingly hand-drawn aesthetic of the Infinity Engine that is completely timeless, and Baldur’s Gate 2 uses that to deliver one of the best role-playing games of all time. Sure, you might still be working through Baldur’s Gate 3 right now, but it’s never a bad time to go back to the next best game in the series.

Gamers brought up on modern role-players may have trouble adapting to the tactical Dungeons & Dragons combat and plethora of dialogue, but it is precisely these traits that make Baldur’s Gate 2 endure as one of the best old PC games. The dark fantasy setting of Amn is a joy to explore with your party of companions, who are unforgettable for their excellent writing and catchy soundbites (“Go for the eyes, Boo!”). From its pretty pre-rendered backgrounds to its rich, mysterious world brimming with character, Baldur’s Gate 2 is truly ageless.

Planescape: Torment

This list will not turn into an ode to the great CRPGs of the ‘90s, we promise, but… just… one… more…

In contrast to Baldur’s Gate II’s classic, companion heroics, Planescape: Torment is a lonely, personal journey to uncover the lost memories of a person who has lived and died untold lives with no recollection of them. Set in a surreal otherworld of multiple planes and bizarre creatures that defy conventional fantasy tropes, Torment is one of the oddest and greatest videogame stories ever told. Focused more on dialogue and choices than combat, Torment encourages you to uncover its world through exploration, conversations, and clever, choice-filled questing.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

When we first assembled this list Morrowind was still relatively young, but now it’s nearly old enough to buy itself a beer we think it’s finally earned ‘classic PC game’ status. No doubt this will upset the PC gaming elders, who are probably lost in some procedurally generated Daggerfall township.

Morrowind doesn’t just represent the Elder Scrolls series’ arrival on the 3D scene, it’s also the game that cemented the layout for Oblivion and Skyrim, two of the most popular videogames of all time. There are dozens of all-timer questlines and the foundations of Skyrim’s character builds, and it’s all wrapped up in what’s probably the most interesting and immersive open-world games to date.

Half-Life

Back in 1998, Half-Life’s storytelling and the conviction of its fictional world were far beyond anything else in the genre. Indeed, they were beyond anything else in gaming.

The opening in which you fly through the Black Mesa Research Facility is magnificent. Radioactive waste passes by, witty comments sound out from speakers overhead, and doors open and close all around. Valve crafted a world full of minutiae and intricacies that you could pore over in between all the alien fighting and physics-based puzzling. Seamless level transitions and a narrative that never broke away from the first-person perspective make this game not only one of the best old games but one of the finest games ever made.

We’ve spent years waiting for the mythical Half-Life 3, but with the release of Half-Life: Alyx, our hunger for new Half-Life has only gotten more ravenous. Sounds like the perfect excuse to revisit – or begin – the series. If aging visuals really aren’t for you then the fan-made Black Mesa remake is officially out and receiving just as positive reviews as the original.

Deus Ex

Visually, Deus Ex has not aged as gracefully as some of the pixel-era games on this list, but its deep RPG systems, dense hub worlds, and intriguing conspiracy crackpot plot make it proper ‘PC games bucket list’ fodder.

The number of ways in which you can tackle the game’s missions still holds up today: You have countless means of molding JC Denton to your play style. Your choices about how you interact with the world all feel significant and, as a result, Deus Ex continues to be the gold standard that immersive sims, stealth games, and RPGs strive for, and remains one of the best old games on PC. If you want to see how the Deus Ex series has modernized over the years, check out our Deus Ex Mankind Divided review.

The lack of tribute to this gunslinging wild-western shooter is no less criminal than the exploits of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Outlaws was among the PC’s best first-person shooters, sprite-based or not.

Several gameplay innovations helped Outlaws stand out, including a manual reload system, and the first-ever sniper scope used in a shooter. The orchestrated Sergio Leone-inspired soundtrack is spine-tingling, and the animated cutscenes have that lovely LucasArts touch that provides context to the tough, rootin’ tootin’ gunfights taking place across trains, frontier towns, and other environs of the Old West. Outlaws is a goldmine of excellent stylistic and gameplay features in a classic FPS package and an exceptional old PC game at that.

The Longest Journey

Coming in the twilight years of point-and-click adventure games, The Longest Journey is a poignant swansong for the genre. You are April, an 18-year-old student who shifts between two contrasting realms to restore the mysterious force that allows them to exist harmoniously.

The contrasting realms of the magical Arcadia and gritty urban Stark realm are evocatively presented, and in both, you will meet characters as strange and well-rounded as your strong, troubled protagonist. Yes, it suffers from the point-and-click pitfall of absurdly cryptic puzzles, but they are worth toughing through to experience this beautiful interdimensional adventure. The Longest Journey’s sequel Dreamfall is also worth playing, though it is not quite on par with Funcom’s original.

Diablo II

The continuation of online support and the fact that Blizzard released patches for Diablo II up to the release of the official remake attest to the game’s enduring appeal as one of the finest old PC games.

The high-intensity action RPG mechanics, which have been emulated but rarely topped by other games over the years, and its grungy, well-animated pixel art set Diablo II apart. Its loot-‘em-up gameplay is so appealing that it does not need to move with the times. Blizzard’s perfection of this formula has allowed Diablo II to completely defy the typical videogame life cycle. You don’t have to track down an old copy of this either as Blizzard released a solid remaster in the form of Diablo 2: Resurrected. Check out our Diablo 2: Resurrected review for our complete verdict.

Fallout 2

Looking at the image above, it is easy to say that Fallout has come a long way since the isometric days. But that would ignore the tremendous narrative and mechanical depth hiding amidst those pixels and pre-rendered backdrops. Fallout 2 is on Steam and, in high-res and with cloud saves, this fantastic old game is all the more appealing to revisit.

Fallout 2 is not forgiving, and bad decisions or character development can essentially ruin your experience. But ride the wave of its deep systems and you have one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The range of factions, side-quests, and characters paint a rich picture of a post-apocalyptic world that is a grim joy to explore. It is harsh, bleak, and kind of ugly, but Fallout 2’s wild wasteland came to define the series. Take a look at our Fallout 4 review to find out what the series has transformed into.

Theme Hospital

Still one of the funniest and most whimsical building sims on PC, Theme Hospital is a unique gem that no developer has even dared try to emulate. Its sense of humour ranges from excellent soundbites of the receptionists urging patients not to die in the corridors, to the emergent chaos of a mass vomit breakout in the waiting areas. AI prodigy Demis Hassabis was even involved in the project as a young boy, making this literally the work of a genius.

The cutesy visual style, so great at conveying fictitious illnesses like Bloaty Head and Hairyitis, conceals a relentless and challenging sim. Up there with the best old PC games, Theme Hospital stands in a league of its own… unless you count spiritual successor Two Point Hospital.

System Shock 2

You never forget the confused fear you feel when a mutant is apologizing to you while battering your head in with a wrench. It is harrowing, deeply unsettling, and captures the dark spirit of this lonesome story in which you are hounded by a murderous AI aboard a spaceship.

Yes, System Shock 2 was sort of succeeded by BioShock, but it is a tonally different beast – a psychological horror that drips with a cold, claustrophobic atmosphere. Grab one of the mods that updates the graphics and lighting to revive that intense technophobia you felt all those years ago.

Quake

It is hard to imagine anything dislodging Doom’s place in the pantheon of PC gaming greats (don’t worry, it’s listed here). However, we think Quake meets id’s vision of demonic corridor-shooting executed most successfully. Of the two forefathers of those great franchises, Quake proves most affecting to revisit today. Doom’s Cacodemons and Hell Knight sprites look kitsch now, but Quake’s roster of far less recognizable abominations – all lipless mouths and faceless horrors – still manages to unsettle. They are helped by flawless sound design created in collaboration with Trent Reznor, and a medieval occult aesthetic that falls somewhere between Doom and Hexen.

The culmination of those elements – not forgetting its excellent arsenal of high-impact, heavy weapons – feels like id’s best attempt to pull together the elements they experimented with throughout the ’90s. Quake and its many sequels are all available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and we’ve found that they run superbly on modern PC setups – no frustrating compatibility modes are needed here.

Doom

Sure, we’ve already got Quake on this list, but where would modern PC gaming be without its sci-fi horror-based FPS sibling, Doom? Every boomer shooter fan has their preference between the two, so in the interest of pleasing everyone, we’ve included both.

Doom’s certainly the more colorful of the two and so is generally a lot easier to navigate, and you can also move a lot faster and more freely thanks to its slightly more open levels. Monsters take a bit less effort to kill and the levels are much less stingy when it comes to handing out ammo – it’s the better pick for cheap, run-and-gun thrills, while Quake offers a little more mastery and pure horror. This is also handily available via an Xbox Game Pass subscription and runs well on modern systems.

Starcraft

Starcraft may have been somewhat left behind by its shinier sequel, but even those not looking for a competitive experience could do a lot worse than revisiting one of the finest narrative RTS campaigns ever. Along with Warcraft 3, the original Starcraft represents pre-Activision Blizzard at its creative pinnacle.

Okay, so, in the same way that Warcraft owes a lot to Tolkien, this story of space marines, space bugs, and ethereal elder beings may owe a lot to Warhammer 40k, Aliens, and Starship Troopers. Everything owes a lot to Aliens, though, and that doesn’t stop this genre classic from holding up today. Come for the pitch-perfect execution of archetypal RTS games scaffolding, and stay for the character-focused sci-fi epic stuffed with juicy plot reveals.

The Curse of Monkey Island

While the first two Monkey Island titles are genre-defining adventure games, produced at the peak of LucasArt’s heyday, that doesn’t stop them from being a daunting proposition for modern gamers curious to see what all the fuss was about. Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island may not have the best puzzles, the best story, or the best jokes, but it is the easiest to slip into for new players, and it’s still an excellent adventure game in its own right.

Featuring singing pirate barbers, a lactose-intolerant volcano god, and a giant chicken demon among its less ridiculous elements, The Curse of Monkey Island continues the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, the world’s most useless pirate. A colorful cartoon aesthetic and a jaunty, moreish soundtrack top off this hearty mug of adventure game grog.

Now that you’ve taken a historical tour of our most cherished classic videogame memories, you know what to do: turn those old games, into ‘sold’ games. Okay, we’ll stick to writing, writing more list features, that is. And, if you want the cream of the crop both new and old, here are the best PC games of all time, or if you don’t want to splash the cash, here are all the best free PC games. For now, though, we’ll be going back to embracing the sweet, sweet nostalgia of our misspent youth.

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Gaming

All the PC games scheduled for launch 2024

By admin April 19, 2024

All the PC games scheduled for launch 2024, 2024 is here, so take a look ahead at what’s confirmed for the PC release schedule. We’re well on our way through the first chunk of new games in 2024, and hey, is it just me, or are there already too many games to keep up with?

After an inarguably huge year for games, it’s possible that the 2024 schedule will wind up feeling a little quieter—but the first couple months have already been stacked with celebrated releases. January saw the all-encompassing arrival of Palworld, while February brought a pile of surprise hits like Helldivers 2, Balatro, and Pacific Drive

We’re in store for some anticipated sequels like Dragon’s Dogma 2, Homeworld 3, and World of Goo 2. There are still-to-come indies definitely worth watching as well, such as little builder Tiny Glade, witchy adventure Reka, and magical-girl inspired life sim Field of Mistria. And Hollow Knight: Silksong has to make it out in 2024. Right?

Keep up with the launch calendar for the year here as new release dates land, inevitable delays crop up, and new announcements hit the books.

NEW GAMES IN JANUARY 2024

January

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

• January 17 — Dominions 6 – Rise of the Pantokrator – God war 4X (Steam)

• January 18 — New Cycle (Early Access) – Post-solar flare city builder (Steam)

• January 18 — Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – PoP platformer spinoff (Epic)

• January 19 — Palworld (Early Access) – Open-world gun Pokemon (Steam)

• January 23 — Lil’ Guardsman – If Papers, Please was Adventure Time (Steam)

• January 24 — Anomaly Agent – 2D timewarp cyberpunk brawler (Steam)

• January 24 — Enshrouded (Early Access) – Valheim plus polygons (Steam)

• January 25 — Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – Yakuza new and old (Steam)

• January 25 — Unforetold: Witchstone (Early Access) – Freeform CRPG (Steam)

• January 25 — Phantom Abyss – Asynchronous multiplayer tomb raids (Steam)

• January 26 — Tekken 8 – next installment of the fighting series (Steam)

All the PC games scheduled for launch 2024

NEW GAMES IN FEBRUARY 2024

February

(Image credit: Inflexion Games)

• February 1 — Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Spinoff ARPG (Steam)

• February 2 — Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Cape killing (Steam)

• February 2 — Persona 3 Reload – a P3 remake (Steam)

• February 8 — Helldivers 2 – Third-person starship troopin’ (Steam)

• February 12 — SpellRogue (Early Access) – Wizard deck-building (Steam)

• February 13 — Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden – 1600s RPG (Steam)

• February 13 — Islands of Insight – Open world online puzzles (Steam)

• February 13 — Lysfanga – Time clone action tactics (Steam)

• February 13 — Ultros – Psychedelic Metroidvania (Steam)

• February 14 — Solium Infernum – Grand strategy in Hell (Steam)

• February 16 — Skull and Bones – Ubisoft’s pirate game (Epic Store)

• February 19 — Nemire – Undead army tactics RPG (Steam)

• February 20 — Balatro – Poker hand deckbuilding roguelike (Steam)

• February 20 — Nightingale (early access) – Fae realm crafting survival (Steam)

• February 21 — Last Epoch – ARPG dense with skill trees (Steam)

• February 21 — Penny’s Big Breakaway – 3D yoyo platformer (Steam)

• February 21 — Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance – RTS against Skynet (Steam)

• February 22 — Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator – Green-thumbing (Steam)

• February 22 — Pacific Drive – Road trip survival sim (Steam)

• February 23 — Promenade – Cute cartoon platformer (Steam)

• February 27 — Wrath: Aeon of Ruin – Quake-like retro shooter (Steam)

• February 28 — Brothers A Tale of Two Sons Remake – Lads redux (Steam)

• February 28 — Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster – Katarn++ (Steam)

• February 29 — Ad Infernum – Demonic gas station immersive horror (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN MARCH 2024

March

(Image credit: Capcom)

• March 4 — The Thaumaturge – Occult CRPG in 1905 Warsaw (Steam)

• March 5 — Expeditions: A MudRunner Game – Dirty trucks! (Steam)

• March 5 — Quilts and Cats of Calico – Sewing, puzzles, felines (Steam)

• March 6 — Reveil – First-person puzzle thriller (Steam)

• March 7 — Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley – Cozy Moomin game (Steam)

• March 7 — Zoria: Age of Shattering – Fantasy tactics RPG (Steam)

• March 8 — Summerhouse – Casual building designer (Steam)

• March 12 — Tribes 3: Rivals (Early Access) – Tribes returns (Steam)

• March 19 — Lightyear Frontier (Early Access) – Chill mech farming (Steam)

• March 20 — Alone in the Dark – 90s horror classic reboot (Steam)

• March 21 — BattleJuice Alchemist (Early Access) – Strongest potions (Steam)

• March 21 — Dragon’s Dogma 2 – Capcom’s open world fantasy (Steam)

• March 21 — Horizon Forbidden West – Another Aloy adventure (Steam)

• March 22 — TerraTech Worlds (Early Access) – Rover-centric survival (Steam)

• March 25 — Acolyte of the Altar – Monster-hunting deckbuilder (Steam)

• March 25 — Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the mist (Early Access – Steam)

• March 26 — Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles – Falconeer city building (Steam)

• March 26 — Outpost: Infinity Siege – FPS RTS with mechs (Steam)

• March 26 — South Park: Snow Day – The next South Park RPG (Steam)

• March 27 — Distant Bloom – Cozy alien planet restoration (Steam)

• March 28 — Omega Crafter (Early Access) – Programmable Palworld (Steam)

• March 28 — Pepper Grinder – 2D drill-based platformer (Steam)

• March 29 — Felvidek – Monochrome medieval RPG (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN APRIL 2024

April

• April 3 — Planetiles – Planetary puzzler (Steam)

• April 5 — Sons of Valhalla – Viking game that reminds of Kingdom (Steam)

• April 9 — Botany Manor – Plant-tending walking simulator (Steam)

• April 9 — Children of the Sun – Bullet-bending sniper puzzles (Steam)

• April 10 — Broken Roads – Post-apoc Australia RPG (Steam)

• April 10 — Sky: Children of the Light (Early Access) – Peaceful MMO (Steam)

• April 16 — Harold Halibut – Claymation space story (Steam)

• April 17 — Morels: The Hunt 2 – Fungus foraging sim (Steam)

• April 18 — No Rest for the Wicked (Early Access) – Ori devs’ ARPG (Steam)

• April 23 — Phantom Fury – 3D Realms shooter (Steam)

• April 23 — Rumble Club – Fall Guys with punching (Steam)

• April 23 — Tales of Kenzera: Zau – Bantu-inspired metroidvania (Steam)

• April 24 — Oddsparks (Early Access) – Pikmin meets Factorio (Steam)

• April 25 — Another Crab’s Treasure – Crab soulslike (Steam)

• April 25 — Sand Land – Vehicle ARPG based on Toriyama manga (Steam)

• April 26 — Manor Lords – Highly wishlisted medieval city builder (Steam)

• April 29 — Echoes of the Plum Grove – A Georgian-era life sim (Steam)

• April ?? — Ascent of Ashes (Early Access) – Dystopic colony sim (Steam)

• April ?? — Gatekeeper – Top-down Risk-of-Rain-like (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN MAY 2024

May

• May 2 — Abiotic Factor – Survival crafting a la Half-Life (Steam)

• May 2 — Foundry – Paradox-published take on Satisfactory (Steam)

• May 7 — Intergalactic Pawn Shop – Adventure sci-fi pawn shop sim (Steam)

• May 8 — Indika – Psychological adventure as Russian nun (Steam)

• May 9 — Animal Well – Surreal neon cave Metroidvania (Steam)

• May 9 — Crow Country – 90s nostalgia survival horror (Steam)

• May 13 — Homeworld 3 – Sci-fi space RTS classic revival (Steam)

• May 16 — Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut – Sony’s samurai port (Steam)

• May 16 — Lorelei and the Laser Eyes – Surreal Annapurna puzzle game (Steam)

• May 16 — Robobeat – Robot bounty hunter rhythm shooter (Steam)

• May 21 — Paper Trail – Puzzles in a foldable world (Steam)

• May 21 — Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Psychological action sequel (Steam)

• May 23 — Crown Wars: The Black Prince – Medieval tactics (Steam)

• May 23 — Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – Poultry PI adventure (Steam)

• May 23 — Hauntii – Gorgeous twin-stick afterlife adventure (Steam)

• May 23 — Songs of Silence – RTS with turn-based management (Steam)

• May 23 — World of Goo 2 – Slimy physics puzzle sequel (Epic)

• May 28 — Multiversus – WB’s platform fighter relaunch (Site)

• May 29 — Capes – turn-based superhero tactics (Steam)

• May 30 — SKALD: Against the Black Priory – Retro party-based RPG (Steam)

• May ?? — Mutant Football League 2 – Arcade football with mutants (Steam)

• May ?? — Sonar Shock – First person horror RPG old school style (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN JUNE 2024

June

• June 4 — Destiny 2: The Final Shape – The year’s D2 expansion (Site)

• June 4 — Killer Klowns from Outer Space – Horror throwback (Steam)

• June 4 — Life By You – Life and building sim (Steam)

• June 6 — Blockbuster Inc. – Movie studio sim (Steam)

• June 14 — Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance – Bring a fusing FAQ (Steam)

• June 17 — Vampire Therapist – Darkly comedic narrative adventure (Steam)

• June 18 — #BLUD – ’90s cartoon vampire dungeon crawler (Steam)

• June 18 — Still Wakes the Deep – Oil rig horror from Chinese Room (Steam)

• June 20 — Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – Tarnished DLC (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN JULY 2024

July

• July 16 — Cataclismo – Hand-built tower defense (Steam)

• July 18 — Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus – Okami aesthetic Metroidvania (Steam)

• July 18 — Schim – Frogger-ish shadow platformer (Steam)

• July 25 — Frostpunk 2 – Grim, snowy city management (Steam)

• July ?? — Breachway – Space dogfight deckbuilder (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN AUGUST 2024

August

• August 8 — SteamWorld Heist 2 – 2D pirate robot tactics (Steam)

• August 15 — Farewell North – Do you want to cry about dogs? (Steam)

• August 19 — Black Myth: Wukong – ARPG from controversial dev (Steam)

• August 20 — Dustborn – Future dystopian American roadtrip (Steam)

• August 21 — Enotria: The Last Song – Italian folklore Soulslike (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN SEPTEMBER 2024

September

• September 5 — Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl – The Zone awaits (Steam)

• September 5 — What the Car? – Silly golfing devs do driving (Steam)

• September 9 — Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 – Astartes sequel (Steam)

NEW GAMES IN 2024 WITH UNANNOUNCED RELEASE DATES

New PC games 2024 with dates to be announced

(Image credit: Studio Wildcard)

• 33 Immortals – Co-op roguelike with up to 32 friends (Epic)

• Alliance of the Sacred Suns – 4X Space Strategy (Steam)

• Aloft – Crafting survival in the sky (Steam)

• The Alters – What if Fallout Shelter had a story (Steam)

• Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator – life-saving sim (Steam)

• Anger Foot – Kick-heavy FPS (Steam)

• Ara: History Untold – Civ-like 4X strategy (Steam)

• Ark 2 – More dinosaurs, plus Vin Diesel (Steam)

• Avowed – Obsidian’s first-person fantasy RPG (Steam)

• Awaken: Astral Blade – Bionic girl Metroidvania (Steam)

• Baby Steps – Bennett Foddy’s next torture engine (Steam)

• Baladins – Bardic co-op RPG (Steam)

• Beastieball – Pokemon but volleyball (Steam)

• Bellwright (Early Access) – Medieval management and survival (Steam)

• Beyond These Stars – City builder on a space whale (Steam)

• Blue Protocol – Online anime action RPG (Steam)

• Bounty Star – Mech combat meets farmsteading (Steam)

• Brighter Shores – New MMO from Runescape creator (Steam)

• Broken Arrow – Real-time modern warfare tactics game (Steam)

• Bugaboo Pocket – Entomology life-sim (Steam)

• The Casting of Frank Stone – Until Dawn devs do Dead by Daylight (Steam)

• Chornobyl Liquidators – Cleanup/bureaucracy focused sim (Steam)

• The Constructors – Construction company sim (Steam)

• Corpus Edax – Immersive sim with punchy physics (Steam)

• Crab God – Crustacean strategy (Steam)

• Crashlands 2 – Open world crafting RPG (Steam)

• Creature Keeper – Real-time combat creature collector (Steam)

• Creatures of Ava – A gentler creature collector (Steam)

• Critter Cove (Early Access) – Castaway Animal Crossing (Steam)

• Crypt Custodian – Top-down afterlife Metroidvania (Steam)

• Dead Season – Zombie survival tactical XCOM-like (Steam)

• Deathbound – Character-swapping soulslike (Steam)

• Demonschool – High school demon-fighting tactics RPG (Steam)

• Demonsomnia – Co-op horror banishing nuclear demons (Steam)

• Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age – Steampunk 2v2 2D fighter (Steam)

• Dungeons of Hinterberg – Cel-shaded Alps action RPG (Steam)

• Dystopika – Cyberpunk city-building sandbox (Steam)

• Earthblade – Action-platformer from Celese devs (Steam)

• Earth Defense Force 6 – EDF! EDF! EDF! (Steam)

• Earth from Another Sun – Open world galactic scifi sandbox (Steam)

• Elin – Roguelike RPG sequel to Elona (Steam)

• Empire of the Ants – Photorealistic ant strategy (Steam)

• Europa – Ghibli-inspired platforming adventure (Steam)

• EvilVEvil – Vampire co-op shooter (Steam)

• Fields of Mistria – Magical girl life sim (Steam)

• The First Descendant – Nexon looter shooter (Steam)

• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn – Soulslike for musket fans (Steam)

• Follow the meaning – Hand-drawn point & click mystery (Steam)

• Galacticare – “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor” simulator (Steam)

• GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra – Throwback beatemup (Steam)

• Go-Go Town – 3D Stardew with town management (Steam)

• Gray Zone Warfare – an Arma-like FPS (Steam)

• Greedfall 2: The Dying World – Fantasy flintlock RPG (Steam)

• Gundam Breaker 4 – Build-your-own gunpla brawler (Steam)

• Hyper Light Breaker (Early Access) – Hyper Light Drifter co-op sequel (Steam)

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – First-person Nazi whipping (Steam)

• Iron Meat – Gnarly Contra-like side-scroller (Steam)

• Kingmakers – Change medieval history with machine guns (Steam)

• Level Zero: Extraction – Extraction horror shooter with monsters (Steam)

• Light Odyssey – Top-down boss rush Souls-like (Steam)

• Little Nightmares 3 – Frightening platforming (Steam)

• Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP – Remake of the zombie hack-n-slash

• Lost Isle – Procgen fantasy survival (Steam)

• Lost Records: Bloom and Rage – Life is Strange meets Yellowjackets (Steam)

• The Lost Wild – Dinosaur survival horror (Steam)

• Magical Delicacy – Cozy, culinary, magical Metroidvania (Stream)

• MechWarrior 5: Clans – Bad guys of Battletech (Steam)

• Megaloot – Inventory management roguelike RPG (Steam)

• Men of War 2 – WWII RTS with co-op (Steam)

• Metaphor: ReFantazio – Fantasy RPG from Atlus (Steam)

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 – Next iteration of Flight Sim (Site)

• Mika and The Witch’s Mountain – Zelda meets Kiki’s Delivery Service (Steam)

• Mirthwood – Sandbox fantasy life sim RPG (Steam)

• Nivalis – Cyberpunk slice-of-life (Steam)

• The Operator – Forensic analyst sim with bonus conspiracy (Steam)

• The Plucky Squire – Colorful storybook escape adventure (Steam)

• Pragmata – Outerspace action adventure (Site)

• Pyrene – Deckbuilding dungeon crawler (Steam)

• Reka – Witchy woods crafting (Steam)

• Remnant Protocol – Sci-fi flight sim plus rebellion management (Steam)

• Replaced – Sci-fi action platformer (Steam)

• Republic of Pirates – City builder for freebooters (Steam)

• The Rise of the Golden Idol – Detective adventure set in the ’70s (Steam)

• Simon the Sorcerer Origins – Point & click prequel (Steam)

• Skate Story – Surreal skateboarding (Steam)

• Songs of Conquest – Turn-based fantasy strategy RPG (Steam)

• Space Prison (Early Access) – Alien prison tactics RPG (Steam)

• Star Trucker – Trucking, but in the stars (Steam)

• Star Wars Outlaws – Open world scum and villainy (Site)

• Stormgate – New RTS from ex-Blizzard devs (Steam)

• Streets of Rogue 2 – Immersive roguelike sandbox (Steam)

• Sulfur – Cel-shaded goblin-blasting FPS roguelike (Steam)

• Surviving Deponia – More Deponia, now a colony sim (Steam)

• Sword of Convallaria – Final Fantasy Tactics-like (Steam)

• Synergy – Weird scifi city builder (Steam)

• Tales of the Shire – A wholesome Hobbit life sim (Site)

• Tempest Rising – Archetypal base-building RTS (Steam)

• Thank Goodness You’re Here! – Delightful English “slapformer” (Steam)

• Thrasher – Rhythm game follow-up to Thumper (Steam)

• Tiny Glade – Medieval building toy (Steam)

• Trash Goblin – Casual trinket upcycling (Steam)

• Umbratica Tactics – Vampire-hunting tactics (Steam)

• Unrailed 2: Back on Track (Early Access) – Chaotic railroad co-op (Steam)

• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 – Revamped RPG (Steam)

• Visions of Mana – A new RPG in the Mana series (Steam)

• Voidwrought – Hollow Knight with more cosmic horror (Steam)

• Voyagers of Nera (Early Access) – Ocean-going survival (Steam)

• Warside – Tactical Advance Wars-styled wargame (Steam)

• We Might Die – Mech-based roguelike shooter (Steam)

• Wild Bastards – Space western roguelike FPS (Steam)

• Windblown (Early Access) – New roguelike from Dead Cells devs (Steam)

• Worshippers of Cthulhu (Early Access) – Cultist settlement sim (Steam)

• Zenless Zone Zero – Genshin dev dungeon crawler (Site)

MORE UPCOMING GAMES

More upcoming games

While these aren’t committed to 2024, they’re headed our way and could easily settle into a 2024 release date in the future.

• Arknights: Endfield – Action RPG spinoff of the mobile gacha game (Site)

• As We Descend – Roguelike deckbuilder with a strategy bent (Steam)

• Battle Crush – Top down mythological brawler (Steam)

• Big Boy Boxing – PunchOut with progression (Steam)

• Blade – Third-person Marvel action game from Arkane (Site)

• Blue Prince – Surreal architectural puzzle adventure (Steam)

• Cart Life – Street vendor life sim (Steam)

• Chrono Odyssey – Fantasy MMO (Site)

• Crimson Desert – Singleplayer RPG from Black Desert devs (Site)

• DeathSprint 66 – Fall Guys, but cyberpunk-dystopian (Steam)

• Den of Wolves – Co-op fururistic heist game from Payday devs (Steam)

• Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero – Dragon Ball-series fighting game (Steam)

• Echo Generation – 80s voxel adventure with turn-based combat (Steam)

• Edge of Sanity – 2D lovecraftian survival horror (Steam)

• Eternal Strands – 3rd person spell-em-up (Steam)

• Everywhere – A vague metaverse dream from GTA producers (Site)

• Exoborne – Extraction shooter with a sci-fi apocalypse vibe (Steam)

• Exodus – Time-traveling sci-fi action RPG with Mass Effect vibes (Site)

• The First Berserker: Khazan – ARPG based on Dungeon & Fighter (Steam)

• Flock – Co-op sky-shepherding and bird-shearing (Steam)

• Harmonium: The Musical World – Musical adventure with deaf protag (Site)

• Hordes of Hunger – 3D “survivorslike” (Steam)

• I Am Jesus Christ – First Person Savior (Steam)

• Industria 2 – Narrative FPS in AI infested otherworld (Steam)

• Jump Ship – Co-op sci-fi FPS with seamless ship-to-ground transition (Steam)

• Jurassic Park: Survival – Action-adventure set right after original film (Site)

• Kemuri – Urban fantasy parkour from Ikumi Nakamura’s new studio (Site)

• Knights in Tight Spaces – Tight fights go fantasy (Steam)

• Last Sentinel – Dystopian action game by Lightspeed Studios (Site)

• Light No Fire – Survival exploration on Earth-sized map (Steam)

• Mecha Break – Multiplayer mech combat (Steam)

• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater – What a thrill (Steam)

• Metal Slug Tactics – classic run-n-gun goes tactics RPG (Steam)

• NAIAD – Vibrant underwater exploration as a sea nymph (Steam)

• Nighthawks – A vampire RPG from adventure game veterans (Steam)

• Nine Sols – Hand-drawn 2D Sekiro (Steam)

• No Players Online – Vintage desktop simulator horror (Steam)

• OD – Hideo Kojima’s latest, collaboration with Jordan Peele (Site)

• Off the Grid – Blomkamp Battle Royale (Site)

• Outward 2 – FAFO RPG sequel (Steam)

• QubiQuest: Castle Craft – Voxel-based castle building and defense (Steam)

• R-Type Tactics I – II Cosmos – Tactics spinoff of side-scroll shooter (Steam)

• Realm of Ink – Ukiyo-e-ish action roguelike (Steam)

• Ruffy and the Riverside – Colorful character platformer (Steam)

• She Dreams Elsewhere – Retro-surreal adventure RPG (Steam)

• Stellar Blade – Flashy scifi hack-and-slash (Site)

• Sunset Devils – Western top-down shooter (Steam)

• Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter – Rat soulslike sequel (Steam)

• Tenebris Somnia – 8-bit horror with FMV cutscenes (Steam)

• Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown – Open world driving in Hong Kong (Steam)

• Towers of Aghasba – Open world ecosystem sandbox (Steam)

• Witchbrook – Wizarding school life sim (Steam)

• Wrestle Story – turn-based pro wrestling RPG (Steam)

• Zoochosis – Mutant zoo animal body horror (Steam)

GAMES DELAYED TO 2025

Delayed to 2025

• Falling Frontier – Logistics-heavy space grand strategy (Steam)

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The best old games PC 2024

By admin January 12, 2024

The best old games PC 2024, Classic games are the rare ones that stand the test of time, so we’ve rounded up the very best old games that are still worth playing on PC today. Looking for the best old PC games? There are many perks to being a PC gamer, but we will save extolling them all for a day when we are feeling particularly inflammatory. For now, we will focus on just one: the best old games remain forever playable. Sometimes it takes a little more work, but it’s a lot easier than digging through your parent’s attic for an ancient console you think they still have.

X-COM: UFO Defense

In X-COM: UFO Defense, much like the remake, players must defend Earth from an alien invasion. In doing so, players must manage the clandestine X-COM group, choosing where to position bases and what technologies to research in order to effectively combat the extraterrestrial threat. Players must also win battles on the ground using a squad of X-COM soldiers in turn-based tactical combat.

The game itself has aged brilliantly where gameplay is concerned, though it is nowhere near as pretty as its modern-day remake. Assuming total control of mankind’s final barrier against the alien menace is still a joy: progressing through the research tree, turning your operatives into psionic super-soldiers, and then deploying them in the field to kick xeno-butt never gets old. Fancy some modern XCOM instead? Check out our XCOM: Chimera Squad review.

The best old games PC 2024

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

At the center of all this struggle is the titular Abe, an enslaved Mudokon who discovers the meat processing factory where he works is soon to be the slaughterhouse of his entire race. Abe breaks free and begins a quest for emancipation that the player can either go along with (making their journey much more difficult) or ignore. Choosing to steer a group of your own people into a volley of gunfire as a means of distracting an enemy is never an easy decision to make.

If you are not keen on jumping too far back in time in order to play this, one of the best old games available, check out the official HD remaster with the hilarious Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri

Baldur’s Gate II

There is something about that beautiful, seemingly hand-drawn aesthetic of the Infinity Engine that is completely timeless, and Baldur’s Gate II uses that to deliver one of the best role-playing games of all time. Sure, you might still be working through Baldur’s Gate 3 right now, but it’s never a bad time to go back to the next best game in the series.

Gamers brought up on modern role-players may have trouble adapting to the tactical Dungeons & Dragons combat and plethora of dialogue, but it is precisely these traits that make Baldur’s Gate II endure as one of the best old PC games. The dark fantasy setting of Amn is a joy to explore with your party of companions, who are unforgettable for their excellent writing and catchy soundbites (“Go for the eyes, Boo!”). From its pretty pre-rendered backgrounds to its rich, mysterious world brimming with character, Baldur’s Gate II is truly ageless.

Planescape: Torment

This list will not turn into an ode to the great CRPGs of the ‘90s, we promise, but… just… one… more…

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Half-Life

Back in 1998, Half-Life’s storytelling and the conviction of its fictional world were far beyond anything else in the genre. Indeed, they were beyond anything else in gaming.

Deus Ex

Outlaws

The Longest Journey

Diablo II

Fallout 2

Theme Hospital

System Shock 2

Yes, System Shock 2 was sort of succeeded by BioShock, but it is a tonally different beast – a psychological horror that drips with a cold, claustrophobic atmosphere. Grab one of the mods that updates the graphics and lighting to revive that intense technophobia you felt all those years ago.

Quake

It is hard to imagine anything dislodging Doom’s place in the pantheon of PC gaming greats (don’t worry, it’s listed here). However, it is Quake that sees id’s vision of demonic corridor-shooting executed most successfully. Of the two forefathers of those great franchises, Quake proves most affecting to revisit today. Doom’s cacodemons and hell knight sprites look kitsch now, but Quake’s roster of far less recognizable abominations – all lipless mouths and faceless horrors – still manages to unsettle. They are helped along by flawless sound design created in collaboration with Trent Reznor, and a medieval occult aesthetic that falls somewhere between Doom and Hexen.