By Oliver Brandt
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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Video games didn't necessarily start on the personal computer, but it's hard to argue that the PC wasn't instrumental in making gaming into the behemoth industry it is today.
PC gamers love the platform for many reasons — its flexibility with different hardware configurations, its openness and modability, and the ability to push hardware and software to the absolute limit to get astonishingly good-looking games are all reasons to pick PC. Another reason to go all-in on the PC platform is that it has almost 40 years of backwards compatibility, and while not every game will work entirely out of the box, there are tens of thousands of games that, maybe with a few tweaks, will be totally playable, no matter how old.
We've put together this list of the best PC games of all time, as told by their scores on Metacritic, a review score aggregator that collects all of the scores for professional reviews of games and compiles them into one single "Metascore."
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Disco Elysium
Score: 97/100
Disco Elysium is a masterclass in storytelling, and it's no surprise that it's the best-reviewed PC game of all time. You roleplay as an amnesiac detective in the midst of a murder mystery, and it can truly go in just about any direction imaginable. Disco Elysium has near endless possibilities as you progress through the game, with countless fail states and conversations to partake in, and some of the sharpest and most engaging writing in any video game.
Half-Life 2
Score: 96/100
Half-Life 2 is an absolute classic, and over 20 years later remains one of the best games of all time. It's a first-person shooter with a fantastic physics system and some of the most memorable storytelling, gameplay, and level design in gaming history. Fans have been waiting for a follow-up for literal decades, in part because it's so good that everyone who plays it just wants to play more.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Score: 96/100
GTA 5 is essentially the biggest game on the planet, with tens of millions of players logging on every day to partake in the game's extensive online mode. It's more than just an online multiplayer game though, GTA 5's single-player mode is fantastic, with three playable characters that are all very enjoyable and Rockstar's sharp wit is on full display here. If you somehow haven't played GTA 5 yet, you should definitely consider checking it out.
Baldur's Gate 3
Score: 96/100
Baldur's Gate 3 spent a long time in Steam Early Access, where it was shaped and refined by community feedback into one of the greatest games of all time. Even when it was released in full, developer Larian Studios didn't stop there — it's been updated and added onto countless times since its launch, making it by far one of the biggest, greatest, and most in-depth role-playing games of all time.
BioShock
Score: 96/100
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The BioShock series skyrocketed in popularity with its very first game, and arguably got better with every single entry. The first game in the series is still incredible, though, and many consider it to be one of the best games of all time. Part first-person shooter, part action-adventure game, BioShock delivers on immaculate art direction, top-notch gameplay, and a morality system that, while simple, is still very enjoyable to engage with.
Persona 5 Royal
Score: 95/100
Persona 5 Royal is the absolute pinnacle of the Persona series, and one of the best modern turn-based RPGs. Like other games in the series, Persona 5 Royal follows a group of teens up against a supernatural threat.
Players have to split their time between dungeon-crawling RPG goodness and a calendar-based social life, making the most of the latter to get perks and bonuses in the former. It's an extremely clever system that forces players to think in both the short term and the long term. Throw in a very slick UI, a combat system with a huge amount of depth, dozens of creatures to collect, and a fantastic story, and you've got a phenomenal game that's well worth playing.
Portal 2
Score: 95/100
Portal 2 is a phenomenal game that takes the physics-based concepts introduced in games like Half-Life and the original Portal game and dials them up to 11. It's got an incredible story with witty writing and some very funny performances, and an incredible co-op multiplayer mode that everyone should play, but it's mostly remembered for its mind-bending puzzle design that's still unmatched to this day.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Score: 94/100
The Elder Scrolls series slowly bubbled up in popularity in the leadup to the fifth game in the series, Skyrim, where it absolutely exploded and became one of the biggest and most popular games ever. It's an action role-playing masterpiece, with endless replayability and, on PC, lots of modding capabilities, making it a perfect choice for anyone who wants a game that will last effectively forever.
Mass Effect 2
Score: 94/100
Mass Effect 2 is the hit sequel to the first Mass Effect from BioWare, one of the most legendary role-playing game developers of all time. It's a bit shorter than the first game, and each game in the series has its pros and cons, but Mass Effect 2 finishes with a final sequence that is by far one of the best endings in games history. It's well worth playing, as is the rest of the Mass Effect series.
Sid Meier's Civilization 2
Score: 94/100
The Civ series has long been a key part of the PC gaming landscape, and no game in the series better encapsulates that longevity than Civilization 2. Every game in the series that followed Civ 2 brought with it big changes to the formula, but Civ 2 itself was the core experience introduced in the first Civ game, just refined to a mirror finish. It still holds up to this day, almost three decades later, and but unfortunately, it's the only game on this list that isn't easily accessible on a platform like Steam. Maybe someday.
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