Quake

Computer

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.

Outlaws

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.

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.

Keep Reading

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)

Keep Reading

Games

The Best FPS games on PC 2024

By admin April 2, 2024

The Best FPS games on PC 2024, FPS games are a classic PC gaming staple, and whether you’ve been playing them since the 90s or started your journey more recently with the boom in battle royales, there are plenty to choose from when it comes to the all-time greats. To help you narrow down what to play next, we’ve created this list of the best FPS games to play right now, from single-player epics to team-based shooters you can play with mates. Heck, some don’t even necessarily have guns in them at all, and you may find the odd boomerang or bow in here too.

The 25 best FPS games on PC

You can find our list of the 25 best FPS games on PC below, which you can either browse in one big gulp, or jump straight to individual entries using the links below. And if your favourite FPS isn’t here, let us know in the comments below. It was number 26, honest.

25. Severed Steel

Kicking off with a newbie to the list, Severed Steel is all about sick stunts. Wall runs, somersaults, dolphin dives, slick slides: if you want it, Severed Steel has it. As you run around each mission while pulling off stunts and completing objectives, you shoot voxel dudes with their voxel guns that you pick up on the go. As you shoot your guns and arm cannon, bodies and walls will explode in a glorious shower of destruction. Oh yeah, you have an arm cannon! It does big damage, and Severed Steel’s destructible voxel arenas (am I saying “voxel” enough?) become your playground when you start blasting through walls.

Severed Steel can feel disorienting at first, but it’s rather forgiving. You won’t take damage as long as you simply keep moving, so it’s all about chaining stunts together to close the distance between enemies and take them down before they land a single shot. It’s the complete opposite of Superhot‘s near-constant slow-mo, but it makes you feel equally badass.

24. Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village continues the journey of Ethan Winters and his unlucky hands. As he explores the titular village, you’ll fight lycans, zombies, and more with all sorts of guns. If, like me, you were also petrified by Resident Evil 7 and couldn’t muster the courage to defeat the Baker family, then rest assured that Village is a far less terrifying experience. The first run will still feel tense, and there are some horrifying moments, but overall the atmosphere isn’t as unsettling. A big reason why? Village leans into the chaotic action of Resident Evil 4 and 5, handing you plenty of powerful guns that you can use to pop heads with ease.

Village thrives on that action, and while the first half is a slower, more horror-focused experience, the latter half gives that up for an action game that fires on all cylinders. There are big boss fights, even bigger explosions, and hordes of enemies to slaughter as you see fit. If you’re hankering for more, the Mercenaries mode offers action-packed time trials that rank your combat abilities, while playing the campaign with cheats is an absolute treat. Trust us when we say infinite ammo grenade launchers are the best.

23. Boomerang X

It’s safe to say that I was blown away by Boomerang X. As I said in my Boomerang X preview, it’s the DOOM game I’ve always wanted and it may have ruined FPS games for me. Gun are overrated – boomerangs are the new hotness.

Boy does the boomerang feel good to fling, and you’ll quickly get access to a handful of superpowers that’ll only make the wooden spinner even more fun to use. Like the ability to teleport to it mid-air, or the ability to slow-time to a crawl as you line up that perfect shot. Combat is remarkably fluid and there’s barely any downtime. It’s fast, frenetic, and a whole heap of cool. String together a flawless succession of moves, and trust me, the feeling is unrivalled.

22. Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 could have been the best singleplayer FPS of 2016, if it hadn’t been for the new Doom. Nonetheless, if you want straight-up action thrills with a whole lot of flash, some particularly glorious movement and impressively stressful mech-based boss fights, this is going to make you very happy. And hey, there’s a robust soldiers vs giant robo-suits multiplayer mode in there too, building on what the multiplayer-only Titanfall 1 already established.

That is, assuming you can find opponents. Titanfall 2 suffered from something of a failure to launch, having resolutely lost the marketing wars of late 2016. It may stay alive over time thanks to word of mouth, but even if it doesn’t, definitely check it out for that singleplayer campaign. It is, however, on the brief side, so we strongly recommend playing on Hard difficulty – as well as making it last longer, it makes the mech fights particularly feel that much more satisfying once you finally claim a steel scalp.

21. Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite landed out of nowhere with a surprise multiplayer launch in late 2021, but it disappeared equally as fast. That’s a shame, because it’s one of the best free to play games on PC right now. Sure, the progression system wasn’t great at launch and improvements were slow, but that core loop of running and gunning around arenas is Halo at its finest. With the campaign dropping a few months after (paid or on Game Pass), Halo Infinite quickly became a full Halo experience – and it might just be the best one in decades.

If you’re after something a bit bigger than Halo’s multiplayer arena shooter, then check out the sprawling open world campaign. Sure, an open world Halo might not have been on your wishlist, but careening around huge spaces in a Warthog while gunning down grunts and hoovering up collectibles is like a bigger and better version of Combat Evolved’s infamous Silent Cartographer level. If you simply miss the Halo of old, then don’t panic. Halo Infinite still has plenty of linear levels sprinkled throughout that feel like traditional Halo.

20. Deathloop

In Deathloop, a puzzling plot sends you back through a repeating timeloop while you figure out how to assassinate eight visionaries. They’re a bunch of nasties on an island, and if you manage to kill all eight in one night, you can free yourself from the timeloop. The day is split into four sections – morning, noon, afternoon, and evening – and you can only enter one of four areas per chunk. The visionaries move between the four areas throughout the day, so the puzzle is finding a routine that lets you kill all eight. That usually involves finding the moments when they pair off, so that you can execute a sneaky double assassination.

Only, Deathloop isn’t actually that sneaky. Unlike its predecessors in Arkane’s Dishonored franchise, Deathloop seems to focus heavily on action, relishing in the FPS joys of headshotting a bunch of enemies. Time is a weird soup, after all, and death doesn’t really mean anything when you’re trapped in a loop. So, kill, die, and kill some more. It’s a liberating cycle that allows you to really go wild and experiment with playstyles, as you don’t need to worry about future repercussions of your actions if you never make it past today.

In that chaotic action, you’ll meet Julianna. She’s another assassin, but her target is you. Julianna can be controlled by an AI, but the real fun begins when another player takes on the role and invades your world. When Julianna invades, you become trapped in your current area until either one of you dies, or you manage to hack an antenna that allows you to escape. Invasions often result in a tense game of cat and mouse, followed by a huge firefight in which both players use every weapon at their disposal. It’s an explosive end to most missions that delivers frenetic action and memorable multiplayer moments.

19. Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Siege does what Battlefield games have thus far only pretended to do: provide a multiplayer world which is destructible at a granular level. Instead of buildings collapsing when scripted levers are pulled, in Siege almost every door, window, wall, ceiling, and floor can have a hole poked in it via gunshot, grenades, battering rams and breaching charges.

It feels like technical wizardry and the consequences ripple throughout the entire experience, creating tension from the ability to be attacked from any angle, encouraging teamwork through asymmetric missions which force one team to defend themselves against the other’s attempt to breach their compound, and forcing traditional Rainbow Six tactical awareness without a planning phase by requiring you to hold a perfect mental map of the building around you at all times.

It’s equally impressive for being a team-based multiplayer shooter that feels fresh, offering something different from the Counter-Strikes and Call of Dutys while staying true to the spirit of the Rainbow Six series.

18. Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is all about killing rat people. Slicing them with swords, whacking them with maces, chopping through them with an axe – anything goes when you’re fighting the vermin hordes. Most importantly, though, it always involves bloody carnage that feels oh-so-good. If you’re in the mood for some simple, yet chaotic melee action, then Vermintide 2 is the game for you. And, for those of you screaming about how it isn’t an FPS, every class has some kind of ranged option to try. The bow is a personal favourite of mine, but there are also spells and guns that you can use to blow the rat people to pieces.

Cutting through rat folk might seem easy at first, but when elite enemies start picking your allies off, isolating them from the group for an easy kill, you’ll realise that teamplay is the key to survival. By forcing you to stick together, Vermintide 2 perfectly captures the feeling of being part of a fantasy party. Even if you’re unfamiliar with Warhammer lore, fans of Lord of the Rings or Dungeons & Dragons should find a lot to love here. Sure, Warhammer is a little more grimdark than Middle Earth or Faerun, but when you’re cleaving through rats with an axe while your mate unleashes a volley of arrows on an incoming horde, your fantasy-adoring spark is sure to ignite.

17. Turbo Overkill

Turbo Overkill is a retro-inspired FPS following in the footsteps of Quake and DOOM, albeit with a techno twist. You’ll charge around arenas slaughtering all sorts of enemies, but along the way you find augments that you can install to gain new powers. That could be a subtle boost, such as extra armor on getting a chainsaw kill, or something a little more chaotic, such as massive explosions whenever you hit the ground. Traversing the map to find those upgrades is a treat, too, as Turbo Overkill constantly propels you forward with incredible speed through its neon-filled streets.

We gave Turbo Overkill a bestest best when it launched in early access in late 2021. But, to reiterate one of the most salient points: you have a chainsaw for a leg. Fun times follow, as you can use that chainsaw leg to skid and slide around while tearing through baddies. They explode in violent bursts of blood, but there’s no time to stop and look at your victims, as Turbo Overkill is all about delivering that huge damage with speed and style.

16. Neon White

Carrying on from Turbo Overkill, here’s another game that’s about running fast. Neon White is a speedrunning FPS in which you use cards to either kill nasty demons, or launch yourself towards the goal in hopes of shaving off half a second.

It’s that second part that’s really fun, as each of Neon White’s levels quickly become complex puzzles to solve. It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of just running the same route over and over again, sure, but taking the time to step back and wander around the level to see every avenue and secret passage will give you insight into other potential paths. And then you run it and complete the mission an entire second faster. A second! Few things feel better than that.

15. Hunt: Showdown

Hunt: Showdown‘s this mixture of PVP and PVP, underscored by serious tension. You take on the role of hunters with the express aim of assassinating an AI “boss” tucked away somewhere on the map. Trouble is, there are other squads also attempting to do the same thing. Die and you lose your equipment forever. Survive, and you’ll not only keep your stuff, but get some of the spoils too. That’s the tension for you – every single foray into the dark could spell disaster.

The audio design’s also sterling in Hunt: Showdown too, with gunshots that ring out from miles away, and the clang of chains could help you locate an enemy that’s stalking you nearby. Even swapping your weapon or reloading in quiet moments might give away your position. It’s an FPS that’s unlike anything out right now.

14. Call Of Duty: Warzone 2

Warzone 2 may not be battle royale king like its predecessor once was, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good. Far from it! There’s a brand new gunsmith which lets you tinker with weapons in even greater detail, which makes for even spicier metas. The new map Al Mazrah is – in my opinion – better than Verdansk, in the way it facilitates fights and removes a lot of boring grey in favour of some actual colour.

Warzone 2 isn’t perfect by any means, but what it offers is a free-to-play, triple A shooter with COD’s brilliantly smooth FPSing. It’s also worth noting that the game often receives free updates to keep things fresh, so it’s unlikely you’ll get bored quickly.

13. Team Fortress 2

That Team Fortress 2 is a sequel and a remake of a sober-as-a-nun multiplayer mod seems almost irrelevant now. But it’s part of what makes the game so important. Valve took years and years to settle upon a model for what has become one of the firmly-entrenched favourites of the PC gaming fraternity, and that they did so allowed it to prove that a multiplayer first-person shooter can be funny, even witty, and that constant experimentation and progression can keep a game alive and evolving long after it should have ground to a halt.

Team Fortress 2 felt like an experiment, and it still feels like an experiment, and that experiment was a success. A move to free-to-play and a hat-centric economy has kept TF2 thriving. The cost of this is that something of the original spirit was perhaps lost in this translation to gimmee, gimmee, gimmee, but we can forgive that.

12. Devil Daggers

2016 was in many ways a vintage year for first-person shooters, and the reason for that was because they understood their past. DOOM, obviously; Overwatch returned to Team Fortress rather than COD; Titanfall 2 was the big sci-fi silliness of the noughties again and Devil Daggers… well, Devil Daggers is from an alternate timeline where Quake changed everything and was never forgotten in favour of military men and careful plots.

A beautiful hellscape of big square pixels against a midnight backdrop, monstrous things looming at you from the darkness, and the dance, the endless dance. A pure test of everything that first-person shooters ever taught us. Reflex, awareness, movement, practice, true grit and no surrender. It is about your own time and only about your own time, because that is all that matters – everything else that shooters ever added is mere fluff.

11. DOOM Eternal

DOOM 2016 was a bloody and brilliant reintroduction to the demon-slaying franchise, but DOOM Eternal takes it to new heights. It doesn’t waste any time making you wait around, opting instead to hand you a shotgun and force you out into the demon crowds. Within moments, you’re platforming around chaotic arenas with an upgraded shotgun, machine gun, and a chainsaw doing what that DOOM guy does best. Namely, rippin’ and tearin’.

Sure, you might have done that just a few years ago in its predecessor, but Eternal pushes you to get faster and more ferocious. It has some new platforming elements that not everyone will appreciate, such as wall climbing and swinging from poles, but when it comes to tearing through arenas filled with hulking demons, DOOM Eternal does it best.

10. Left 4 Dead 2

Zombies: in 2008 they were still very exciting. They still are today when blessed with Valve’s magic touch, which in a few, brief, cyclic co-op skits adds more life, wit and hinted-at history to its characters and its world than most of the 8 hour+ singleplayer campaigns in this list stuck together. Including Left 4 Dead 2 in the list was complicated, however, given most of what makes it to strong was work done by the previous year’s Left 4 Dead.

It’s a sequel not that different to the original, and not a game that I felt, on its first outing, really changed anything. However, it’s clear with time that Left 4 Dead 2 was a major under-the-hood upgrade, both closer to what was intended for the zombie-blasting horror game, and also a bigger move in the direction of pure co-op, which wasn’t something that even seemed possible before the let’s-all-die-together first Left 4 Dead came along.

Another strong reason to choose this over L4D1 (which still has a more memorable cast of Survivors, to my mind) is how much it’s been expanded by mods. You can stick Deadpool in there, expand it from a 4-player game to a 16-player one, turn everyone into a dinosaur or recreate pretty much the entirety of L4D1 within it. Get thee to the Steam workshop and indulge.

9. SUPERHOT / SUPERHOT VR (2016)

There ain’t nothin’ new under the sun – a miserable claim that SUPERHOT Team disproved twice in one year. First there was SUPERHOT itself, a shooter in which time only moves when you move (or shoot) (or throw something) (or punch). Then there was SUPERHOT VR, which singlehandedly redeemed the whole concept of virtual reality and easily made it into our pick of the best VR games.

SUPERHOT is both maximum-adrenaline thrills and highly tactical – transforming the first-person shooter from a game about precision aiming and reflexive movement into one in which every twitch counted. The world is super-slow-mo until you do anything, which grants you the time to plan the move but leaves you subject to a devious puzzlebox construction in which one action leaves you vulnerable to some other threat. It is sublime, and it is impossibly cool.

Particularly in VR, where you are making those movements yourself – the ducking, the punching, the throwing, the shooting. The Matrix fantasy without any of the bilge – just superhot action. A glorious, glorious reinvention of first-person violence.

8. Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic combines drunk dwarves with some complex tunnel systems and lots of nasty subterranean bugs. The result is often sheer chaos, as four players charge into the depths to mine whatever they need for the big corporation in the sky. You pick a role, each of which has a unique weapon and traversal mechanic, and zip through the caves at incredible pace, collecting ores as you head towards a main objective.

The chaos comes when you’re trying to wrap your head around these main objectives, connecting winding pipelines or powering huge machines, while fending off those blasted bugs that just won’t stop. As you go, hordes of creepy critters will charge in your direction. A rational team might fight them together, deploying traps and getting into a strong defensive formation, but I find the fun in panickedly running away and screaming. But, whether you play Deep Rock Galactic as a true co-op shooter or as a wild romp in the caverns, it’s sure to be a good time.

7. GTFO

Hurtling down into the dark depths of GTFO‘s Rundowns (levels) is a terrifying start. What’s even more terrifying, though, is when teammates don’t work together. We tend to quickly designate a leader when I play with friends, but someone always wanders off a little too far or fails to follow orders. Lots of screaming, shooting, and swearing ensues. It’s pure chaos with a horror-filled flair, and it’s a great time online. It demands teamwork and precision if you want to survive, but that fills every encounter with a level of tension that few other FPS games reach.

That tension is only heightened by the enemy variety crawling around every level. You never know what might lie behind each door, but spotting a Scout’s tendril as you enter a new area could spell the end of a run. The thrill of needing to adapt to whatever you find, and often sneak past enemies to preserve resources, makes GTFO the best co-op survival horror on PC.

6. Half-Life: Alyx

Alright, yes, you’ll need a VR headset for Half Life: Alyx, alongside a powerful enough rig to run it nicely. But, if you’ve got both of these things, then you’re in for a treat.

Graham said in his Half-Life: Alyx review that this is “the Half-Life game you’ve been waiting for, even if it’s not the one you were expecting”. And this is because the game’s been designed with VR in mind. You’re now able to reach out and touch City 17, and the motion control shooting “feels better than Half-Life’s combat ever has”.

And Half-Life: Alyx embraces horror too, with moments where you’re cowering in corners or chucking objects to distract enormous monsters. You’re even able to cover your mouth with your actual hand, and have it replicated in-game. It’s very much been lifted by VR, and not harmed by it.

5. Half-Life 2

Of course. So much is in Half-Life 2, from an unprecedented level of architectural design to facial animation which rendered anything else obsolete overnight, to a physics system which transformed shooter environments from scenery into interactive resource, to some of gaming’s most striking baddies in the Striders and a huge step forwards in making AI companions believable and likeable.

It’s also a long, changeable journey through a beautifully, bleakly fleshed-out world, and although of course you are on the hero’s journey, it’s careful to keep you feeling like a bit player in a wider conflict. That this, plus the cliffhanger ending of Episode 2, left so much more to be told leaves PC gaming in a perpetual state of frustration that the series has, publicly at least, ground to a halt. I don’t think all of it is as striking as it once was – particularly, much of the man-shooting feels routine and slightly weightless now – but Half-Life 2 gave us more than any other first-person shooter before, and maybe even since.

4. Dusk

DUSK is a retro-styled FPS that’s retro, but doesn’t get stuck trying to mimic retro. It has the gut-spilling impact of the genre, yet mixes it with modern twists: like picking up items to create impromptu climable routes to hidden areas, or just slinging saw blades and soap at foes.

There’s a lot of coloured-key collecting to open doors in DUSK, but it’s spread across loads of complex, batshit maps that only get better as you barrel through through its campaign. There is, of course, a metal soundtrack paired with a level of spookiness designed to make you both enjoy the riff and jump out of your chair within five seconds of one another. Please don’t skip out on this.

3. Valorant

There’s no elegant way to put this: Valorant is Counter: Strike but with wizards and ninjas. One team wants to plant a bomb, the other needs to stop this from happening. How? By inching around corners, having decent aim, and making strong callouts in the team chat. Patience is rewarded here, as is coordinating with your team to control each map.

If Valorant sounds like Counter: Strike, that’s because the gunplay is pretty similar. However, where it differs is in ability usage. You can choose from a roster of Agents who each have special powers that’ll let them do stuff like teleport across short gaps, flashbang around corners, or heal allies. If this sounds aggressively unbalanced, don’t worry, almost all of these abilities feel like useful tools, as opposed to pain-bringers.

I’d say I prefer Valorant to Counter: Strike nowadays, purely because it feels more current. There’s regular updates and some invaluable tools – like an aim training map – are baked into the game, as opposed to being buried away in a “community creations” section of a store.

2. Apex Legends

Oh my, Apex, what excellent bumslides you have. What solid shootsing you offer. What a delightful bunch of canyons and swamps you’ve plonked us in. We should have known better than to doubt the makers of Titanfall 2’s robot antics. Since its launch Apelegs has added plenty of new characters, new maps, and even a new Arenas mode.

It’s a solid murder hike every time you dive into Apex Legends, and there really is nothing that matches its pace in the Battle Royale realm.

1. Destiny 2

Destiny 2 is an incredibly fluid MMO FPS with some of the best shooting around, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Whether you want to team up with others to topple big bosses, turn on your fellow players and slug them with a shotgun in Crucible’s PvP modes, or play through epic stories that span the solar system, Destiny 2 has something for everyone.

Whichever activity you prefer, you can easily sink hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into it, and the brilliant gunplay makes it a constant joy. Not only is the best FPS around, I’ll wager that Destiny 2 is also the best superhero game right now. There’s something I love about swinging electro swords and firing off a golden gun imbued with solar energy to kill massive raid bosses in a bid to save the solar system.

Destiny 2 has so much to love, but that doesn’t mean it’s without fault. The onboarding experience is incredibly awkward for newbies, with the removal of the original Red War campaign and subesquent Forsaken expansion making the story completly incomprehensible without watching oodles of lore videos. That proves a chore for even the most dedicated of Guardians, and it’s a roadblock that’s almost guaranteed to alienate new players who try to hop in for a new expansion.

However, it’s a testament to Destiny 2’s strengths that we still recommend it so highly. It’s a masterful FPS with so much fun to be had, regardless of whether you prefer PvE or PvP. And, with so much content available for free, there’s no really no reason not to give it a go. So, off you pop, go decrypt some engrams, get some snazzy armor, and start shooting aliens. Eyes up. Guardian.

Source : Rock Paper Shotgun

Keep Reading

Android

The best Android phones in 2024

By admin March 5, 2024

The best Android phones in 2024, Finding a bad Android phone is a rare occurrence these days. However, with so many options available, it can be daunting to choose the best one in 2024. In this article, we aim to help you find the Android phone you’re looking for.

When looking to buy a new Android phone, there are many factors to consider. Do you prefer a large screen? How important is camera performance to you? Are you someone who enjoys gaming on your phone? Or do you need long-lasting battery life? To assist you, we have compiled a list of Android phones that cater to everyone’s needs.

If you’re also open to non-Android devices, see our list of the best phones overall. Otherwise, keep reading for our picks of the best Android phones in 2024.

OnePlus 12

The best Android phone overall

Formerly known as the “flagship killer” for offering killer specs at a lower price, OnePlus has since shifted its products up the price scale. But it hasn’t lost sight of what made its phones great to begin with, and as a result, the OnePlus 12 is a flagship smartphone that can take on much more expensive smartphones at their own game.

The OnePlus 12 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the latest processor from Qualcomm, which is likely to find itself at the heart of most Android flagships in the coming year. It’s a monster of a chip, and it’s happily trounced any test we’ve put it through. Even the most demanding 3D games can barely faze it, and it’s backed up by some other impressive specs too. RAM starts at 12GB, the same that you’ll find in the S24 Ultra, and rises to 16GB. That’s more than a smartphone needs in 2024, and shows just how committed OnePlus is to making sure its phones are some of the most powerful around.

That drive is also evident in the display and design. The OnePlus 12 is a striking phone. It’s similar-looking to OnePlus’ previous phones, but its identity is so distinct from every other phone brand, and it just looks fabulous. The display is a huge 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 1Hz to 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and a crazily bright maximum brightness of 4,500 nits. Again, that peak brightness is way beyond anything you’ll ever need, but it really highlights OnePlus’ philosophy.

The camera setup has similar high numbers, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 48MP ultrawide camera. There’s also a 32MP selfie lens around the front. The actual performance doesn’t live up to the strong numbers though, and it’s not the camera king of this list for sure. However, it’s still a solid performer that consistently creates good looking images and videos.

The 5,400mAh battery is capable of going for two days on a single charge, and wired charging of 80 watts also means it won’t sit on the charger for long when it finally does run down. There’s also 45W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging, that go far beyond what the competition is offering.

At a price of just $800, there’s no doubt the OnePlus 12 offers an enormous amount of bang for your buck, with performance that’s more than able to duke it out with the $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — and come out on top. It’s the best Android phone you can buy in 2024.

The best Android phones in 2024

Google Pixel 8 Pro

The best Android phone runner-up

We described the Google Pixel 8 Pro as the best Pixel we’ve ever used, and for good reason. This new smartphone boasts exciting features, such as improved cameras and photo-editing tools, Google’s latest Tensor chip, and more.

Let’s discuss the design of the Pixel 8 Pro. Despite closely resembling the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Google has made significant changes to the device. The rear glass features an impressive, smooth matte finish, and the phone’s rounded corners have also been increased, making it more comfortable to hold. Additionally, the dual camera cutouts found on the Pixel 7 Pro have been replaced with a single cutout that spans the length of the camera bar.

The display on the Pixel 8 Pro has also seen some nice upgrades. The 120Hz refresh rate has been tweaked so that it can scale down to 1Hz, not 10Hz, as needed. This means less energy gets used. The display is also much brighter, rising to 1,600 nits for HDR and 2,400 for peak brightness.

The primary camera on the Pixel 8 Pro has a resolution of 50 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.68, which makes it more light-sensitive. Additionally, it has a 2x optical zoom. The new ultrawide camera has a resolution of 48MP and an f/1.95 aperture, significantly improving its light sensitivity and macro mode. Also, the telephoto camera has a resolution of 48MP, an f/2.8 aperture, and a 5x optical zoom, resulting in improved light sensitivity. Furthermore, the front-facing camera has an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus support.

The Pixel 8 Pro has new camera software tools that are pretty impressive. One is Best Take, which is heavily advertised in Google’s latest television ads. This feature automatically stitches together multiple photographs so everyone in the shot appears smiling. Additionally, a Magic Editor feature allows you to erase and move objects from existing photos, even those not taken with the Pixel 8 Pro.

The Pixel 8 Pro has a new Tensor G3 chip, which has been well received. The previous versions didn’t perform well, so this one had much to prove. The Tensor G3 chip can handle various tasks such as gaming, live video streaming over a 5G connection, and capturing photos. The best part is that the Tensor G3 chip doesn’t overheat like its predecessors.

Simply put, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is a standout Android phone that has earned its place as our best runner-up for many reasons. Not only does it boast a stunning design that is sure to impress, but it also features an improved camera system that delivers stunning photos and videos. With its large and vibrant display, lightning-fast processor, and long-lasting battery life, the Pixel 8 Pro is a true workhorse that can keep up with even the most demanding users. Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who wants a reliable and powerful smartphone, the Pixel 8 Pro is worth considering.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

The best big Android phone

With a massive display and all the power of its more expensive sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is a fantastic choice if you want a very capable device with more power than you can shake a stick at, an excellent camera, and two-day battery life.

It’s on this list because of its size, so we’ll start with that. The design is largely unchanged from last year, with the same minimalist back and sleek body — with one exception. The sides are now flat, mimicking similar changes over in iPhoneland. It’s a great change, and it makes this big phone much easier to handle. The display itself is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. It’s as bold and beautiful as Samsung’s screens always are, and you won’t regret spending time staring at it.

It’s powerful too; The core of this power is our old friend, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it’s as powerful as it is in other phones. Backing this up is 12GB of RAM, and the combination of the two is enough to make most games quake in fear. The big addition this year is Galaxy AI, and while some features are good, (like the image editor), some of these AI features are a bit feeble, and not something you’re likely to use regularly. Use them a few times and enjoy the rest of an excellent phone.

The camera is great, and though it can struggle with movement, it’s going to produce results you’re happy with most of the time. The battery is a standout though, with two days of performance with moderate use, and it also comes with a very welcome boost to 45W fast charging.

Prices start at $1,000 for the S24 Plus, so it’s not the most reasonably priced of phones, but when you consider how close it is to the $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra, it’s a real bargain. With seven years of updates, this phone is sure to last you for a long time, so you can consider the price an investment.

Samsung Galaxy S24

The best small Android phone

There’s one reason to pick up the Samsung Galaxy S24 — you love everything the S24 Ultra and S24 Plus are doing, but you want it in a much smaller package. Thankfully, you’re not sacrificing anything by picking up a smaller phone, as the Galaxy S24 is a worthy entry in Samsung’s latest range, and a very good phone to boot.

This year’s smallest S-range phone has all the new additions we loved in the Plus-sized model, including the flat edges that make handling the phone much easier and the utterly gorgeous display, now shrunk down to a relatively diminutive 6.2-inches. But the real magic here comes from the fact that the small size doesn’t mean a downgrade in power thanks to the same hyper-powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 nested within.

It’s not perfect, of course. While the camera is strong, lowlight shots aren’t as good those taken by its siblings or the competition, and fast charging is limited to just 25W. Thankfully, the battery is still impressive, which helps to compensate for that slight downside as it commonly gets more than one day on a single charge.

At $800, it’s well-priced, though it does go up against the phenomenal OnePlus 12 at the same price. Thankfully, it has its smaller stature to really press an advantage, meaning this is the phone to buy if you want a smaller smartphone that still packs a strong punch.

OnePlus 12R

The best value Android phone

We’ve already highlighted how the OnePlus 12 isn’t really a flagship killer anymore since it’s actually a flagship now. But there’s another OnePlus smartphone on the prowl, and it really is a flagship killer. The OnePlus 12R is basically a 2023 flagship smartphone, but priced at $500, and that makes it an unmissable bargain.

The root of this lies, as ever with OnePlus, in the spec sheet. Last year’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can be found inside the 12R — and it’s the very same processor you’ll find in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, OnePlus 11, and other flagship phones from last year. Combine that with a very respectable 8GB or 16GB of RAM, and the OnePlus 12R flies through tasks and games alike. Performance looks even faster thanks to the 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate on the 6.78-inch AMOLED display, and the resolution is clean and crisp with 450 pixels per inch.

It’s not let down with a bad design either. The 12R evokes the same design spirit as the OnePlus 12 and the OnePlus 11 before it, and it looks great as a result. It even has an alert slider and an IR blaster, which are things you’d be hard-pressed to find on any phone these days.

The camera is technically a triple-lens setup, but it’s better that you only think of it as having the single 50MP main lens. The 8MP ultrawide lens is OK, but nothing special, and the 2MP macro lens is so awful it might as well not have been included. Thankfully, the 50MP main lens is good, even if it struggles with movement and sometimes returns slightly off colors.

The 5,500mAh battery is the biggest OnePlus has ever used, and it shows its size with some very strong battery life. Two days is more than possible with this phone, and moderate use may see it stretch to a third. It has the same 80W fast charging as its more expensive cousin, so you can give it a fast 10-minute charge and be sure of having hours of extra juice.

A phone this good shouldn’t cost $500, but it does. Admittedly, OnePlus’s phone don’t come with a lot of extra features, which makes a lot of this possible, but considering how easy it is to live without even the best special features out there, the OnePlus 12R is a real steal.

Samsung Galaxy A54

The best midrange Android phone

No, we haven’t accidentally listed one of the Galaxy S23’s colorways, that’s actually the Galaxy A54. Samsung’s new midrange phone is a dead ringer for the 2023 flagship, and that’s a very good thing. In fact, the A54’s design differs from its more expensive cousin in just a few ways, and the most important is the range of bold colors. The Violet and Lime variants have a lot of character, and they’re well worth picking over the more standard black or white versions. The chassis is made from plastic instead of aluminum, but it’s covered in Gorilla Glass 5, so it still feels like a premium product.

The Galaxy A54 has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ certification, and a 1080p resolution, which largely puts it on a level with the A53 5G’s excellent display. The A54’s display is brighter than its predecessor though, giving it an edge under strong lights and outdoors.

It’s powered by the Exynos 1380, a Samsung-made chip that does a good job of keeping everything running. It might start to show its age as this phone ages, though, especially if you’re a mobile gamer. While never slow, sometimes we did experience some slight lag in opening apps, especially the camera. The internal storage options of 128GB and 256GB are good, especially when there’s room for a microSD card as well.

The camera is a solid affair, especially since it’s ditched the A53’s useless depth sensor. There’s a 50MP main lens, combined with a 12MP wide-angle and 5MP macro lens, and it takes good pictures — with one, pretty jarring exception. The stills it produces are almost always enormously oversaturated, to the point where it can seem comically so. Samsung’s phones have long been known for turning up the saturation a little too much, but it’s the first time it’s done so way too far, and it’s a bit of a disappointment here.

Two-day battery life was starting to become the norm for Samsung’s phones, but that’s not the case here. You’ll get only a single day out of this battery, and while that’s acceptable, it’s a little disappointing if you’re used to much longer battery life.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 has some downsides, but ultimately, they’re on the more minor side when compared with what you get: A capable smartphone that looks great, has a day-long battery life, and scores well in pretty much every area. Even if it doesn’t excel, it doesn’t need to, and the $450 price means it’s a great choice for anyone looking for a mid-range phone.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

The best cheap Android phone

There are $200 phones that really feel like $200 phones, but the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G isn’t one of them. Samsung has done an incredible of keeping the A14 from feeling too cheap, and that starts with the design. Admittedly, it has a plastic body, but it has a unique texture that feels nice and offers grip, something often missing from slippery glass phones. There’s no water resistance, but there is a headphone jack, which is a nice bonus.

The 6.6-inch LCD display has a 1080p resolution, but it’s hampered by not getting bright enough. It also has some relatively chunky bezels. But even with that in mind, it’s an impressive display for a $200 phone, thanks largely to the 90Hz refresh rate. While not as smooth as the same refresh rate you’ll find in more powerful phones, this is still impressive in a phone this cheap, and a really strong point in its favor when you consider the iPhone 15 is still using a 60Hz refresh rate.

We did come across small stutters during use, and that’s likely down to the relatively modest specs. Still, the Galaxy A14 5G has excellent performance when compared to other devices at this price point, and the 64GB of storage is also good enough at this price too. You’ll want to clear out running apps to keep it running smoothly, but it also comes with 5G, meaning it should be futureproofed enough for the next few years at least. The battery is a solid two-day affair, thanks to the modest specs and 5,000mAh capacity. Recharging isn’t particularly fast at just 15W, but when it lasts this long, it doesn’t matter too much.

The camera is also surprisingly good. Ignore the two additional lenses, though, as they’re 2MP and don’t do much — instead, focus on the 50MP main lens, which takes some decent shots. Images are clear, bright, and avoid oversaturation. Nighttime shots are also good, though with some visible noise when zoomed in. They’re all generally still good enough for social media, though, which is a big test for camera phones at this price.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a stellar phone for just $200, and if you’re looking for a serious budget bargain, then you’ve found it.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G

The best cheap Android phone runner-up

Cheap phones sometimes struggle to excel in some areas without cutbacks in others, and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a prime example of this. OnePlus’s latest $300 phone is great in a number of areas, but has some serious setbacks in others that may or may not impact whether you want to buy and use it.

We’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room, and it’s the camera. The Nord N30 has a triple lens rear camera setup, and while impressive on paper, the combination of a 108MP main lens, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth sensor don’t deliver the goods. The 108MP lens lacks optical image stabilization so a lot of stills come out blurred. Low-light shots are blurred and noisy, while even images in good lighting tend to be bland and characterless. The 2MP macro lens is acceptable, but it can’t rescue what is a poor overall showing.

Thankfully, other areas of the phone are a lot better. The design is a little boring, but it feels and handles very well. It’s well weighted, meaning one-handed use is possible despite the large size, and it has a headphone jack and microSD card as well. The 6.72-inch LCD display is excellent, and has bright colors and a 1080p resolution. Most impressive though, is the refresh rate. The Nord N30 sports a 120Hz refresh rate, putting it on the level of 2023 flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 7 Pro.

It’s no gaming phone, but performance is still good. The Snapdragon 695 can handle most modern games, even if you may need to drop graphical quality if you want to experience the higher refresh rates the display is capable of. Battery life is similarly strong, and you can expect over a day of use most of the time. The Nord N30 also supports up to 50W of super-fast charging too, making it one of the fastest charging phones at this price point.

Yes, the camera is a letdown — but that’s only important if you’re the sort of person who likes taking pictures and videos. If you’re not much of a photographer, then there’s a lot to appeal to you here. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an excellent display, good performance, and a great battery life, and is a solid phone for just $300.

Nothing Phone 2

The best designed Android phone

Aside from folding phones, all smartphones are starting to look the same in terms of design. However, Carl Pei’s Nothing has done something different with the Nothing Phone, and the latest Nothing Phone 2 continues to stand out from the crowd with the clear glass back and Glyph lighting system.

The Nothing Phone 2 is slightly bigger than its predecessor, coming in with a 6.7-inch OLED display, while the first phone had a 6.5-inch display. The 6.7-inch screen has 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution and a dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz. Colors are bright and vivid on the display, everything looks crisp and sharp, and the speaker system is pretty decent for the price.

Even as a second generation device, the design for the Nothing Phone 2 is still unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s a glass slab, yes, but it feels very light and manageable, despite the large size. The flat edges are part of the aluminum chassis, the clear back is made of glass, and the front screen is covered with Gorilla Glass. The Glyph lighting on the back is still present, though the LED strips are broke up into more segments this time around. However, the glass back also makes the phone very slippery, so be careful.

The Glyph lighting is also improved over the first generation. As mentioned earlier, it’s broken up into sections, giving it more functionality for various purposes. You can use the lighting as a visual timer, highlight priority notifications by having a persistent light, a fill-light for the camera in low light environments, and certain patterns can be set for incoming calls, accompanied by a sound effect. There’s a lot of customization here with the lighting system, and it is one of the standout features of the Nothing Phone 2.

Camera-wise, there aren’t a lot of change from the Nothing Phone 1. You have a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra wide. The selfie camera is 32MP. During the daytime, the Nothing Phone 2 will take some great photos. It struggles a bit in lowlight environments, but it’s a very solid performer across the board.

The Nothing Phone 2 comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, which is a slightly older processor. However, it offers fantastic performance and efficiency, so the Nothing Phone 2 should handle anything you need it to with ease. You get Android 13 with Nothing OS 2.0 layered on top. It’s similar to Android on a Pixel, though with some added customization features — including the ability to personalize folders and give all of your app icons a monochromatic paint job.

Battery life on the Nothing Phone 2 is also very good, as it has a 4,700mAh battery inside. Even with heavy use, you should be able to get through the day just fine without having to charge up mid-day. And when you do need to charge, it supports up to 45W PPS charging, which is a little under an hour for a full charge.

Considering the price, the Nothing Phone 2 is one of the best phones you can buy starting at $599. Not only is it one of the most unique looking smartphones around, but the day-to-day experience of using the phone is also rock solid. There’s very little to seriously complain about.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

The best gaming Android phone

Asus has been making big changes to the ROG Phone; Horrifically, it’s made a phone that looks normal! But on the plus side, nothing that made the ROG Phone so special has been lost in the process, and it means the new Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is the best choice for a gaming phone in 2024.

Let’s touch on those design changes first. Basically, the ROG Phone 8 Pro looks a lot more normal than previous versions. Out are the distinctive gamer chic design and the large cooling vents, and in is a much more sleek, black design that’s not too dissimilar to the styles of other flagship phones. There’s a LED array on the back, yes, but it doesn’t show up when it’s not in use, meaning the ROG Phone 8 Pro is downright subtle compared to what came before. Is it a positive change? On the whole, yes. It’s slimmer, lighter, and thinner, meaning it’s easier to use, but it has lost some of that mad charm gaming phones used to have.

What’s that processor? Why, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 again! You know the drill; it’s fast and extremely capable, and it’s paired with some other impressive specs. You either get 16GB or 24GB of RAM, plus 512GB or 1TB of storage, providing plenty of power and room for even the biggest games. But this phone’s performance only starts at the spec sheet, as it offers a boost to 165Hz for supported games, the Asus X Mode to supercharge gaming performance, and the range’s excellent AirTriggers on either shoulder. Add the optional AeroCooler X accessory to keep it cool, and you have a phone that’s thoroughly at home blasting the most challenging games available.

The beefy 5,500mAh battery offers a long-lasting battery life too. With only small amounts of use, the battery could last three or four days thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s energy-sipping — but really take the gaming mode for a spin, and it’ll still last a solid day. It also comes with 65W fast charging to get it charged right back up again.

Even the camera has been improved. It has a 50MP main lens, a 13MP wide-angle lens, and a 32MP telephoto lens, making this one of the more technically impressive Asus camera systems. Shots are pretty decent, and given how bad previous gaming phone cameras have been, this is something of an achievement. Sure, it won’t end up on the best camera phones list, but the camera no longer a reason to avoid the phone.

All of this doesn’t come cheap though, and throwing a “for gamers” sticker on any product has always meant a hike in price. Thankfully, given the specs and performance on offer here, the initial asking price of $1,199 isn’t that bad. It’s more than the equal of other phones in this price range, and plays games better than any of them. And while it can’t match most others for camera performance, the battery life means there’s still a place for this device. If you’re an avid mobile gamer, this should be your next phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The best foldable Android phone

The fifth generation Galaxy Z Fold shows that Samsung knows what it’s doing in the foldable market. The Z Fold 5 has some great improvements over its predecessor, making it one of the best folding phones you can buy, as well as a great smartphone overall.

One of the big flaws of the previous Z Fold 4 was the visible gap when closed. The Z Fold 5 fixes this with the new Flex Hinge design, which means an overall better look and ergonomic feel when you use it closed. It also means less dirt and debris can get in between the inside screens.

Despite the hinge change, the size of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the same. You still have a 6.2-inch cover display with 2316 x 904 pixel resolution, and the inner display is 7.6-inches with 2176 x 1812 resolution. Both screens have a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, so everything looks great. You also get Flex Mode when watching videos, and this time you get the controls on the lower half of the screen for convenience.

The cameras include a 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto. Like most Samsung phones, the colors will be very bright and saturated in direct sunlight. However, if you take photos that aren’t in harsh lighting conditions, they actually look more natural and realistic than other Samsung phones, which is very nice. Optical zoom is better too, but it may have some issues with focusing close in on 1x or 3x mode.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy for the best performance and efficiency possible. You also have 12GB RAM and your choice of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB internal storage options. It comes with Android 13 and One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. Some improvements with the software include a better taskbar, which now shows up to four recent apps rather than two. There is also the ability to have three apps at once on the screen, along with a floating window.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has enough battery power to get through a day on a single charge. It also supports up to 25W fast charging, so it goes from zero to 100 in about 80 minutes. There is also support for a stylus with the new S Pen Fold Edition, which is improved from the predecessor as well with 4,096 pressure levels, IP68 water and dust resistance.

The $1,800 price will prevent plenty of people from buying, but if you have the cash to spare, it’s hard to find a better foldable experience than the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

OnePlus Open

The best foldable Android phone runner-up

The OnePlus Open is an extraordinary device that comes as a surprise. As the company’s first-ever foldable device, it is built with meticulous attention to detail, using lightweight materials like titanium to create a truly compact and user-friendly device. It is an excellent choice for those who value innovation, performance, and portability.

Let’s start with the phone’s cover and inner displays. The former is sized much better than something like the Galaxy Z Fold, which offers tall and narrow cover screens. Here, things feel less cramped, making the experience much more positive. The inner display is gorgeous, with colors that are bright and saturated. Meanwhile, text is always sharp, scrolling is smooth, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate, and the anti-reflective display makes it a joy to use even outside.

The OnePlus Open comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, an Adreno 740 GPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage. There’s also OnePlus’ custom OxygenOS 13.2 OS that sits on Android 13. The OnePlus Open will receive four major Android version upgrades plus five years of security updates. These promises don’t match what Google’s offering on its new Pixel 8 lineup, but they aren’t disastrous either.

Performance-wise, the OnePlus Open works very well. We didn’t detect any performance issues during our tests, even when multiple apps were open.

Open Canvas is one of our favorite OxygenOS features. It provides a new way to multitask and was designed from scratch. Its goal is to allow you to increase everyday productivity with multi-window efficiency on a larger display.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

The best flip phone Android phone

Want a foldable but think the Z Fold 5 isn’t compact enough? Then you should consider the Galaxy Z Flip 5 instead, which is also a huge improvement over its predecessor.

With the Z Flip 5, you get a 3.4-inch cover display, which is much better than the Z Flip 4’s 1.9-inch cover display. This larger window lets you see bigger clocks, widgets, and even run full apps on the cover screen. The display is shaped like a folder so it doesn’t interfere with the cameras, and while the 60Hz refresh rate could be better, it looks fine in almost every situation.

The inside display of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED with 2640 x 1080 resolution and it has a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, you get bright, vivid colors that pop, and sharp text with smooth scrolling animations. However, the crease is definitely visible.

The cameras are similar to the Flip 4, as you have a 12MP main shooter with f/1.8 aperture and OIS, plus a 12MP ultrawide camera with 123-degree field of view. But the Z Flip 5 has better color reproduction than before, and there is a clear lens coating to help prevent lens flare. The selfie camera also has a larger sensor.

Like the Z Fold 5 and S23 series, there is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor in the Z Flip 5, giving you optimal performance and efficiency. It also has 8GB RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage options to choose from. It comes with Android 13 and Samsung’s One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. Battery life is about one full day with a 3,700mAh battery, and you get 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless.

Motorola Razr (2023)

The best cheap foldable Android phone

The Motorola Razr (2023) has captured the attention of many because of its compact and sleek flip design. Its simple yet reliable design keeps the price low, making it a budget-friendly option for daily use.

The phone boasts three standout features: its camera system, fast battery charging, and dust and water resistance. The main module consists of two cameras: a 64-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and laser autofocus, and a 13MP wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view. The wide-angle camera is also capable of taking macro shots.

The Razr’s main camera is surprisingly solid. Our testing revealed photos that are lively and colorful, with just the right amount of saturation and HDR. However, in some scenarios, the photos appear washed-out and artificial. There is also a lack of consistency in exposure between the main and wide-angle cameras. Nevertheless, we appreciated the dramatic tone of the wide-angle camera.

There are a few drawbacks to the Razr (2023) that users should be aware of. The cover screen does not display notifications and time all the time, which may be inconvenient for some. Additionally, the wireless charging feature is not top-of-the-line, and the phone’s processor may struggle when handling heavy loads.

Despite these minor issues, the Motorola Razr is still an outstanding purchase for anyone seeking an affordable folding phone or simply wanting to stand out from the crowd. It is one of the most cost-effective methods of experiencing the newest foldable smartphone technology, making it an ideal choice for those who want to stay ahead of the curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which brands make the best Android phones?

Samsung is a strong player in the Android scene, but it’s far from the only brand around. While Samsung makes some excellent smartphones, there are plenty of other great phones from other brands that you can pick from. The Google Pixel range has matured into a powerful and very capable phone line, with particularly exceptional camera capabilities. OnePlus has been a consistently solid performer for a long time now, and even the newcomer Nothing has a lot to offer if you’re tempted by its phones.

There’s a lot to be said about sticking with brand names you recognize, of course, but don’t just trust that a specific brand will always make great phones. Every phone brand releases a stinker every now and again, so it’s important to read reviews of individual models before you buy, as a even a good phone’s particular strengths may not match what you want.

How do you choose the right Android phone for your needs?

It entirely depends on what you need from your phone. Price point, size, camera abilities, durability, battery life, and processing power are all common factors that play into many people’s choices. If you’re an avid gamer, or have a fast-paced job, then you need a phone with fast and snappy performance. Away from a charger a lot? Make sure your phone has solid battery life of at least over a day. Always snapping pictures? Make sure your phone has an excellent camera.

How do Android phones differ from iPhones?

Android phones use the Android operating system, while iPhones use Apple’s iOS — but that’s only the start of the differences. The two operating systems have grown closer together over the years, but Apple’s iOS is generally praised for having a clean interface, not much bloatware, a strong emphasis on privacy, and the ability to interact closely with other Apple hardware, like iPads and MacBooks. Android, on the other had, has many more customization options, can integrate with Windows and other devices, more innovative design, and have many more affordable options for buyers.

How long should an Android phone last?

The days of two- or three-year smartphones are now behind us, thanks to some of the most prominent Android manufacturers. Samsung now offers seven years of operating system updates and security patches on its new phones, though it was beaten to the punch by Google, who also promises seven years of operating system updates. While there’s no guarantee your phone will last that long, it’s good to know that if you look after it and it does last, it will stay relevant for longer.

Which Android Phone has the best camera?

This is a tough question, as there’s no correct answer. A lot of Android phones have excellent cameras, but many excel in slightly different areas. If you value versatility and a feature-rich snapping environment, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus’s packed camera system will appeal to you. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time fiddling with options, then check out the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s snap-and-forget approach where the phone’s AI handles all the hard work. Maybe budget is important, in which case, the OnePlus 12R is worth looking at.

Which Android phone has the best battery life?

Battery lives have continued to improve, and the standard you should be aiming for with any smartphone is at least a day of solid use, and most of the phones on this list will hit that goal. Some will even stretch to two days — but keep in mind this will rely on your personal use. High-intensity games, constant music or media streaming, videoconferencing, and other activities that work the processor will cause drain the battery faster, and if that’s your life, make sure you pick a long-lasting phone, or invest in a portable charger or charge throughout the day.

Keep Reading

Android

The best Android phones in 2024

By admin February 25, 2024

If you’re also open to non-Android devices, see our list of the best phones overall. Otherwise, keep reading for our picks of the best Android phones in 2024.

OnePlus 12

The best Android phone overall

Google Pixel 8 Pro

The best Android phone runner-up

The best Android phones in 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

The best big Android phone

Samsung Galaxy S24

The best small Android phone

OnePlus 12R

The best value Android phone

Samsung Galaxy A54

The best midrange Android phone

Keep Reading

Featured

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.