My dad has been a gamer longer than I’ve been alive. His main genres are strategy (AoE, CoC) and narrative (Halo on easy mode). I have vague memories of him in his office late at night, with what I now know is Age of Empires II up on the screen. Oddly enough, those memories actually originate from long after I started playing games, because he set me up with an old beige box and Lego Racers years before. Nowadays, I’m the tech guy for the family, and set him up with a gaming PC about a year ago. It hasn’t quite been used the way I was hoping it would be, so here we go: a list of PC games, all massively more interesting than Clash of Clans, Dad.
The first and biggest game on this list. Where to start – massive story, super casual gameplay (or super hardcore, you choose), lovable characters. The full rollercoaster of emotions from disgust, to awe, to laughter, and right back to horror. Play it, and once you’re done, play the Blood and Wine DLC!
My one tip: If you like Keira, don’t go to Fyke Isle until you have a different reason than the obvious quest.
Pure space battling gameplay bliss, with just the right amount of randomness and roguelike. Infinitely replayable, runs on just about anything except Android. Easy to learn, hard to master, and you’re gonna have a bad time. Start on easy mode, and don’t expect to win for a while!
My one tip: If you time it just right, you can shoot enemy drones with your weapons.
A stealth game with an amazing story and a world from the designer that made Half-Life come alive. It’s not steampunk, it’s whale-oil-punk. Important distinction. The story will take you by surprise, just like the intricate structure of levels that makes it less a hack-and-slash and more a puzzler.
My one tip: Samuel doesn’t like killing, and you don’t like grumpy Samuel.
If Age of Empires had gigantic factories. And aliens. The game turns into this giant optimization problem, with bottleneck after bottleneck in production to solve. One of only a few games where I can completely lose track of time. See you at 4AM!
My one tip: If you have a surplus of stone, try making some concrete. You move faster on it!
Rutger Hauer stars as a detective who can read minds in a cyberpunk future. This is technically a horror game, but the story and quantity of memorable characters push it well beyond cheap jump scares. Not that they’re absent, but Observer_ also has a good chunk of beauty to it.
My one tip: Rudy is your best friend.
Much more a horror game, but if you liked Observer_, you’ll like Soma. I can’t say much more without spoiling the experience.
My one tip: Go in blind. I was glad I did.
Another fantastic story, this is also a good one to learn mouse and keyboard aiming properly. It’s a mostly low-pressure environment, but encourages precision. Also will break your brain occasionally, pick up Portal 2 when you’re done for more mind melting puzzles!
My one tip: GlaDOS sees everything.
This is an oddball compared to the rest of this list. It combines some seriously old mechanics like text-based adventures, point-and-clicks, etc. into an enthralling series of episodes. A bit like if Black Mirror had a proper video game equivalent, but with even more 80’s nostalgia.
My one tip: GET OUT THE CAR GET OUT THE CAR GET OUT THE CAR
A deeply PNW-flavored, three hour story with worldbuilding that punches above its weight class. In space.
My one tip: Nothing wants to eat you. Relax.
The campaign is easily on par with the early Halo trilogy. Need I say more? Oh, wait, GIANT ROBOTS. (also a great one to learn M+KB)
My one tip: You can skip Titanfall 1.
There’s a solid few years of gaming in there. All of these games are 8+/10 for me. It’s not in any particular order, literally any of these are fantastic places to start. I can’t wait to talk to you about this stuff!