In the world of video games, you either play on a console or PC. You play on a console if you’re okay with experiencing games at less than their full potential, or on a PC if you want to take gaming to the next level. But what about games that are exclusive to PC?
There is only a handful of games that are PC exclusive, but make no mistake, these are the games that aren’t suitable for the average gamer. These are the games that demand more from players, offer more in terms of depth, and in general don’t cut corners as far as graphics or complexity are concerned.
If you’re a PC gamer, you’ll want to check out the top 5 PC exclusive games. Keep in mind that some of the games on this list require a decent PC. Though most will even run on a fairly cheap laptop.
Total War Franchise
The Total War franchise is amongst the most notorious PC-exclusive franchises available. Going back decades, every entry tackles a different era of history, including the American Revolution, the Japanese feudal era, and others. You take on the role of an empire-managing deity, running your civilization, preparing for war, and eventually engaging in brutal, decade-spanning conflicts.
What makes the games so appealing is that each battle, no matter how big and how complex, plays out in real-time. If your army consists of thousands of soldiers, you’ll take those troops onto the battlefield. Needless to say, battles this large, and this rich in detail, are more than a console is capable of handling. If you own a modern PC, and haven’t yet seen a Total War game in action, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Escape From Tarkov
Prefer your action up close and personal? Perhaps a PC-exclusive first-person shooter is more your style. Escape From Tarkov is a brutally realistic, unforgivingly difficult shooter that doesn’t cut any corners. You’ll micromanage your gear to a ridiculous degree, face enemies that aren’t afraid to put you down instantly, and ultimately experience first-person shooter beyond anything available on a console.
Though, fair warning, Escape From Tarkov certainly isn’t going to hold your hand. Hardcore difficulty is, after all, what PC gaming is all about.
STALKER
Much of Escape From Tarkov’s unforgiving difficulty is traceable to another franchise of games; the STALKER series. Many even consider Escape From Tarkov a spiritual successor to STALKER, though that is debatable.
The STALKER games take place in a fantastical, alternate universe version of Chernobyl, one where the radiation from the power plant created mutants and other anomalies. You, as a STALKER, venture into the radiation zone, attempting to survive as you complete various quests. The key to the STALKER games is, above all else, that your chances of survival of vanishingly slim. Gunplay is brutally realistic, enemies are extremely unforgiving, and radiation poisoning is a matter of when, rather than if. If you like Escape From Tarkov, but want bigger areas and more monsters, you can’t go wrong with STALKER.
Age Of Empires
A bit afraid of the Total War franchise, given the staggering depths of detail and complexity? Perhaps you can check out Age Of Empires instead. The Age of Empires games go back many decades, with many considering the early versions the starting point of the gaming industry as we know it. The franchise offers tactical battles, city building, and a whole lot of resource management, but never gets to the levels of complexity seen in Total War.
If you find even Age Of Empires overbearing, you can head over to Big Dollar and check out some classic casino games instead. Online casino games aren’t PC-exclusive, but it sure is nice to enjoy the games on a big gaming monitor.
Project Zomboid
What if there was a zombie apocalypse game so deeply realistic, and so true to life, that you got lost in it for months at a time? We’re talking about a game where you can explore a literal entire town, inside and out, while scavenging for weapons, building forts, and killing plenty of zombies along the way. Yes, Project Zomboid is a notoriously deep and realistic game, so much so that it can get extremely overbearing. Especially since, at any time, a single zombie bite can still kill you.
Some gamers complain that Project Zomboid is frustratingly difficult, but they’re overlooking that this sort of difficulty and realism is exactly what makes PC gaming so appealing.
StarCraft 2
What a shame that the StarCraft franchise is now more or less dead. The games back in the day were extraordinarily popular, offering a science fiction version of the fantasy-focused Warcraft formula. Sadly, a new entry hasn’t come out in decades, leaving many fans wondering if StarCraft is gone forever.
Even still, the classic StarCraft 2 is still available, and still just as good as it was decades ago. Yes, a remaster, or better yet a remake, would certainly make the game much more playable. But check StarCraft out if you’re into real-time strategy, and enjoy exploring grandfathers of the gaming industry. With luck, you’ll even still find a few players online.
World Of Warcraft
Last, but certainly not least, is World Of Warcraft. No list of PC-exclusive games is complete without a mention of World Of Warcraft. Especially because, unlike some other games on this list, World Of Warcraft is still very much alive and well. In fact, the game is doing better than ever, with new updates dropping frequently.
If you know PC gaming and MMOs, you’ll know that MMOs owe their entire existence to World Of Warcraft. The game literally brought the MMO genre to the masses, introducing gamers to the idea that it is possible to play with hundreds of other players, no matter where they are in the world. There are many other MMOs now, but few match the extensive history and enormous community still hanging out in classic World Of Warcraft.
