Best PC Games 2018: What your rig needs right now

Developer: Studio MDHR

After years of development, Cuphead is finally here, and it was definitely worth the wait. Presented with utterly gorgeous hand-drawn animation that feels straight out of the 1930s, Cuphead’s beauty is something only matched by its unforgiving difficulty.

Combining traditional platforming stages with a series of challenging boss battles, Cuphead demands keen precision and patience from those who wish to succeed. Luckily, its lovable visual charm and razor-sharp controls will keep you pushing forward.

Developer: Machine Games

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a bloody beautiful first-person shooter. Despite being a game about murdering as many evil Nazis as humanly possible, it manages to tell a truly enthralling narrative filled with spectacular set-pieces and genuine emotional highs.

Machine Games has, somehow, transformed B.J. Blazkowicz into one of the more compelling leads in recent years, fleshing out his backstory alongside an excellent ensemble cast that really brings the world of Wolfenstein to life.

Developer: Larian Studios

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a spectacular RPG positively brimming with new races, locations, quests and more just waiting to be uncovered by the player.

20 hours in, you’ll still be discovering new mechanics you never knew existed. In this respect, Original Sin 2 is a little daunting for newcomers, requiring a bit of persistence to penetrate.

That being said, the quality of writing and world-building here is almost unmatched in terms of its sheer scope and detail. An experience not to be missed.

Developer: Creative Assembly

The second chapter in Creative Assembly’s Warhammer trilogy is here, and it’s yet another fantastic RTS featuring epic, sprawling battles and incredibly deep gameplay systems.

Bringing with it an assortment of new races and mechanics, Warhammer offers an experience fans of Games Workshop will find difficult resist. While somewhat overwhelming to newcomers, veterans of the genre won’t be able to resist the intense level of depth of offer here.

Prey is yet another triumph from developer Arkane stuiods in the realm of level design and creative puzzle solving.

Players are given almost complete freedom to explore the Talos 1 space station, with the ability to solve any of its problems and gain access to its locked rooms and blocked pathways using so many abilities including alien powers, creative thinking, weaponry and even simple exploration.

Buy Prey now from Amazon UK | Amazon.com

PC players are in for a treat, too, with this version being far and away being the superior adaptation, PS4 and Xbox One offerings trailing in its wake.

With so many ways to explore this station, and so many abilities to unlock, this will certainly be a game that demands multiple playthroughs, too.

Battlefield 1 is a breathtakingly-gorgeous first-person shooter, and it looks unbelievable on a good PC. EA and DICE have always pushed the boat out on PC, and this World War 1 epic is no different. If you want an incredibly immersive first person shooter with intense battles and incredible multiplayer for your new rig, it doesn’t get any better than with BF1.

Related: Call of Duty: WW2

Resident Evil 7 is a glorious return to form for the iconic survival horror series. Switching the action to a first-person perspective, the infected horrors and gross environments have never felt so tangibly real.

You play as Ethan, a man searching for his missing partner in rural Louisiana. He soon stumbles upon The Baker Family, a group of strange people infected with some form of deadly virus.

Making his way through sprawling mansions, filthy swamps and other strange locales, Ethan will have to solve puzzles and best horrifying enemies if he hopes to survive. This is essential for horror fans, and a masterful reboot for the troubled franchise.

Buy now from Amazon UK

Platinum has delivered another rock-solid combat experienced but seeped it into a deep and rewarding RPG, and brilliantly strikes the balance between the two. It also delivers a very intriguing story that only offers more layers the further in you get.

If you enjoy smashing robots into lots of tiny pieces, then this is definitely a game you need to add to your library.

Buy now from Amazon UK

Dishonored 2 is arguably the finest stealth title of 2016. Arkane Studios has taken everything that made the original so great and refined it. The art of sneaking and stabbing through the streets of Dunwall have never felt so good. You also have a new city to explore in Karnaca, a coastal metropolis filled with corrupt politicians and paranormal danger.

Playing as either Emily Kaldwin or Corvo Attano, you have access to a range of incredibly fun tools and abilities. How you use them is up to you. You could finish the entire journey without harming a soul, or murder every idiot in sight. Of course, your actions will have moral consequences, so be sure to look before leaping.

Related: Star Wars Battlefront 2 review

Dishonored 2 is worth picking up for the setting alone. The possibility for further adventures in this broken world is staggering, and that’s without touching upon the heaps of replay value each character offers. For stealth fans, this is nothing but essential.

Buy now from Amazon UK | Buy now from Amazon.com

Codemasters has built the best Formula One race experience yet with F1 2017, and of course it looks absolutely gorgeous on PC.

A brand new R&D system means the management of your engine is more in-depth than ever before. Throughout every Grand Prix weekend you’ll have to carefully manage every component of your engine as well as the gearbox, balancing speed and durability in order to get the best finish possible for your team.

The long-awaited return of classic cars, now embedded into the career mode as one-off race weekends also makes this the best single player experience for race fans Codemasters has put together.

Forza Horizon 3 is one of the best racers of 2016, presenting a truly breathtaking open world stretching across the vast Australian Outback. You’ll cruise throgh cities, beaches, forests and deserts before your final race rolls around, and every single moment is an unparalleled blast.

Instead of competing, you are now in control of the annual Horizon Festival. All of the events taking place across Australia can be customized by you with new rules and cars. The rewards for scoring first place are plentiful, dripfeeding you with all new vehicles and events as you discover more of the beautiful, sunny countryside.

Related: Forza Motorsport 7 review

Boasting over 350 unique cars at launch, Forza Horizon 3 is the most ambitious game in the franchise yet, and it’s only going to get better with the addition of downloadable content further down the line. Whether it be the lovely new Lamborghini Centanario or a beaten down Dune Buggy, the thrill of racing against your friends has never been so fun and accessible.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Developer: Rockstar Games

While it’s hardly exclusive to the platform, there’s no doubt that the best version of Grand Theft Auto V is on PC. Better visuals and more comprehensive editing tools mean that even when you’re done with the main campaign, you can spend months modding and creating your own set-pieces with the surprisingly robust movie editor component.

Related: GTA 6 news and rumours

Almost limitless in scope and entertainment, we can see this appearing on “best PC game” lists for many years to come. A masterpiece.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £34.99 | Amazon.com from $39.99

At time of review GTA 5 was available for £44.99.

Developer: CD Projekt Red

Previously a PC-exclusive, the Witcher series has since found fame on consoles but if you wish to experience the definitive version, you really need a PC. Set in a nightmarish fantasy world where assassins rub shoulders with undead monsters and mythical beasts, The Witcher picks up where PC classics like Ultima VII left off, offering the player a vast and highly detailed world and – to a certain extent – allowing them to tackle it in whatever manner they see fit.

Related: The Witcher 4 wishlist

You can lose yourself for hours in the lush countryside, or seek out adventure and side-quests in order to raise your experience and gain gold. Or, if you prefer, simply stick to the main story, which involves the titular Wild Hunt and its sinister quest.

A truly remarkable RPG which raises the bar for the genre.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £27.99 | Amazon.com from $39.99

At time of review The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was available for £44.99.

Giant robots are awesome. Aliens are awesome. Swords are awesome. Respawn Entertainment has combined all three of these wonderful things in Titanfall 2, and the end result is what could arguably be the finest shooter of 2016.

The single player campaign follows a pilot named Jack Cooper and BT-7274, a Vanguard Class Titan who must remain loyal to its pilot, whomever they might be. This bond proves to be a fantastic emotional hook in a short yet explosive solo adventure.

Related: FIFA 18 hands-on

Of course, the multiplayer from the original Titanfall is back and better than ever. The basic practice of shooting enemies across a vast battlefield is faster and more in-depth than before, giving you an endless variety of weapons to experiment with. Prepare for Titanfalll!

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £37.99 | Amazon.com from $59

At time of review the Titanfall 2 was available for £39 / $59.

Developer: Firaxis Games

Civilization VI is the best Civilization game to date. That’s no mean feat for a franchise with such a revered lineage, but the changes, refinements and additions that developer Firaxis has made to Civilization VI create a game that’s not only complex and deep; it’s fun, exciting and unpredictable over the course of dozens of hours.

Despite its various changes, it’s still Civilization. You still establish cities, expand an empire and grow an army. You still research scientific and cultural upgrades in order to plot a custom-made path through history, all the way from the ancient era to the space-age. Diplomacy, religion, trading – it’s all here at launch, making for the most feature-packed Civilization game, perhaps ever.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £41.99 / Amazon.com from $59.99

At time of review the Civilization 6 was available for £44.99 / $59.

The latest entry in Microsoft’s ultra-violent shooter franchise could very well be its best yet. Developed by The Coalition, Gears of War 4 marks the beginning of a new trilogy with all new characters, enemies and gamplay mechanics.

As always, you’ll be clinging to chest-high walls as locust and robots rain down bullets upon you. It’s your job to pick the perfect window of oppurtunity to peek out and take a few precise shots. Few thrid-person shooters play better than Gears with its beautiful mixture of tight cover shooting and truly breathtaking set pieces, and its debut on Xbox One more than proves this.

Related: Gears of War 5 wishlist

Fans of the series’ chaotic online multiplayer and addictively challenging horde mode will find a lot to love here, as both return with refreshing new iterations. Sure, Gears of War 4 doesn’t exactly rewrite the rulebook of modern shooters, but it certainly has what it takes to be the best.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Developer: Firaxis

The sequel to the 2012 reboot of Julian Gollop’s famous turn-based tactical masterpiece, XCOM 2 is set 20 years after the events of the original game but showcases the same deep and engaging strategic gameplay.

New to the mix is faster combat and the introduction of secondary mission objectives which add a bit of variety and extra challenging to proceedings – as if XCOM wasn’t tough enough already.

Outside of combat, researching and building new weapons and gadgets plays a major part in ensuring success, and you’ll spend hours mastering all of the character classes and their respective load-outs.

It’s rare that a sequel manages to improve so comprehensively on the title which precedes it; this is one of those cases.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £19 | Amazon.com from $39.99

At time of review the XCOM 2  was available for £44.99.

Developer: Jonathan Blow

Easily compared to the seminal ’90s puzzle title Myst, The Witness places you on a mysterious island packed with puzzles but short on direction. It’s up to you to slowly but surely feel your way around this location.

Director Jonathan Blow – famous for the superb Braid – decided to adopt a non-verbal approach for The Witness, challenging the player with exploring and learning about their new environment via other means. Over 650 different puzzles are featured, and while not all of these need to be completed to “finish” the game, they nevertheless assure plenty of brain-teasing gaming sessions.

Related: Best PS4 Games

Digging deeper into the world of The Witness is one of gaming’s most rewarding pleasures, and the game is every bit as essential as Braid was back in 2008. A must-have, even if you’re not a fan of puzzle games.

Developer: Blizzard

Blizzard’s Warcraft card spin-off has ironically become a more addictive experience than the title that spawned it.

Build a deck and challenge other players for glory and powerful new cards, all the time mastering new techniques and strategies which make use of each card’s unique abilities as well as spells and other buffs.

Related: Overwatch Review

It’s little wonder that for many players, Hearthstone has become something of an obsession – it’s impossible to have “just one game” with this compelling and dangerously addictive title.

Developer: Kojima Productions

Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece may feel more at home on consoles, but the PC version offers superior graphical fidelity and the chance to mod the game.

The stealth-heavy gameplay of the original Metal Gear Solid titles remains, but this time you’re placed in an enormous sandbox where you can tackle missions, search for items or focus on forcibly recruiting enemy soldiers to grow your private army, which can then be used to invade the bases of other players.

See also: Metal Gear Solid 5 tips and tricks

The scope is staggering, with each task presenting multiple possible solutions. Add in the usual bonkers Metal Gear storyline and eccentric characters and you’ve got an unmissable experience – and one which we may never see again in this franchise, given that Kojima has now parted company with Konami. A modern classic.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Developer: Sam Barlow

Full motion video gaming is making a comeback, but forget the terrible CD-based titles you played 20 years ago – Her Story is a complex and compelling narrative which will impact you in a way that few other games can manage, irrespective of their real-time visuals or freedom.

Related: Best iPad Games 2017

Based around a series of video interviews with the wife of a missing man, the game is a fascinating example of how live-action footage can be used to deliver a narrative that both confounds and entertains. Excellent writing and stellar acting ensure that you’re sucked into a murky and often disorienting world, fighting your initial assumptions on exactly what has happened to this woman’s partner.

So much of the game’s impact comes from the fact that it uses a real person as its main character, proving that despite the advanced nature of 3D graphics these days, nothing can replace a living, breathing human when it comes to delivering a deep, nuanced performance.

After Dirt Rally proved an excellent and addictive sim, Codemasters finally gave us a true Dirt sequel and delivered a much more meatier proposition.

With multiple race disciplines, an extensive career mode, online multipler and a brand new track generator offering near-countless variants of dirt and asphalt to drive, this is every racer’s dream.

Buy Dirt 4 from Amazon UK | Amazon.com

For PC gamers you are, of course, getting the premier experience, and if you’re enough of a race fan to have a race wheel you’re in for an absolute treat.

Developer: From Software

FromSoftware’s punishing fantasy series was once called a cult classic, but its incredible mainstream success would suggest that it’s no longer a niche franchise.

Related: Dark Souls 3 character class guide

The unique approach of the series – which combines action with typical RPG elements such as levelling and a multitude of different weapons, armour, items and spells to collect – has endeared the brand to millions, and the online elements allow for co-op and competitive play, allowing skilled players to invade each other’s worlds for rewards and bragging rights.

As ever, the PC version trumps its console counterparts in terms of visuals and frame rate, making for the definitive experience.

Buy Now at Game.co.uk | Amazon.com

Developer: id Software

id Software has made the game Doom fans have been waiting 20 years for. With fast, frenetic combat with plenty of gore.

With three distinct modes: Campaign, Multiplayer and Snapmap – a mode where you can create your own bespoke solo, co-op and competitive experiences to be shared online – there’s certainly plenty of game here to enjoy.

Glory Kills also add a new way to take out the demons of hell too, with several new executions to enjoy.

While it may not present a completely new way of playing, Doom modernises a classic for fans young and adult to enjoy.

Buy Now at Amazon.co.uk from £25.99 | Amazon.com from $39.99