The Most Epic PC Games to Play in 2022

Pros:

• Exhilarating combat
• Good graphics and beautiful cinematics

Cons:

• Harsh on the player
• Unpredictable enemies

Synopsis

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice takes place in Japan’s Sengoku period. It follows a one-armed shinobi named Wolf, who wants to seek revenge against a samurai clan who abducted his lord.

Details

This game is from the creators of Dark Souls. Gameplay is very much alike with the Dark Souls series, with a few slight differences. For one, enemies do not have health bars. What adds to the challenge even more is that boss fights rely on pure combat. A boss only gets damage when you attack their posture or balance. Another integral part of gameplay is stealth. Taking groups of enemies head-on more often than not leads to death. As such, the game prompts you to go stealthy and pick off enemies one by one.

Pros:

• Beautiful setting
• Good writing
• Character portrayal is realistic

Cons:

• Uneven combat gets in the way of experience

Synopsis

This game is set in an alternate future where in 1901, U.S. President William McKinley was never assassinated by Leon Czolgosz. Because of this, Theodore Roosevelt did not succeed him and business trusts were never dismantled. As time passed, megacorporations were established. In the future, the said megacorporations were able to expand operations to interplanetary colonization. The player character (dubbed only as “The Stranger”) takes on various quests in order to better life on the star system Halcyon.

Details

Fans of Fallout: New Vegas will surely love this game, as both games are made by the same developer (Obsidian Entertainment). It’s a far cry from New Vegas’ Mojave Wasteland, but gameplay is the same in spirit. Players can use various weapons in combat, such as melee and firearms. Firearms are divided into three categories: light, heavy, and energy. The game’s weapons can be customized by the player to add elemental damage. Speech checks can be done by the player to various NPCs to gain experience points. The experience points obtained by the player can be used to level up and get new skills.

Pros:

• Immersive
• Realistic graphics

Cons:

• Draggy

Synopsis

Set in 1899, Red Dead Redemption 2 tells the story of Arthur Morgan. Arthur is a member of the Van der Linde Gang. The game’s story follows the gang’s decline. To add, they are pursued by lawmen, rival gangs, and Pinkerton agents. 

Details

From Rockstar Games (the same creators of the acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series) third installment in the Red Dead franchise. Despite having the number “2” in the title, it acts as a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption. 

The gameplay is about as what you’d expect from a Rockstar game. It’s set in an open-world environment with third-person perspective. There are several improvements that are worthy of note. One of these are the use of new weapons, such as a bow and arrow. Players can also choose to dual wield weapons, such as two revolvers.  Dialogue choices towards NPCs can range from friendly to threatening.

The game itself is immersive. One such instance is that players are able to choose decisions that affect a storyline mission and the story as a whole. Another point of immersion is that players are prompted to take care of their equipment, such as cleaning their guns. Perhaps the best point of immersion in this game is that the player must maintain Arthur. Arthur’s hair and beard grows out, and is up to the player to cut it off or simply leave it be. To add, he can also be overweight or underweight.

The best thing about this game is none of the above details, but something else entirely. John Marston, the protagonist of the previous game, returns and is playable in the game’s epilogue.

Pros:

• Stylish
• High production value
• Amazing boss fights

Cons:

• Pacing is uneven
• Edginess is sometimes out of place
• Tiresome

Synopsis

The story takes place 5 years after Devil May Cry 4. It follows the story of Dante, Nero, and a new protagonist, V. The story revolves around the Demon King Urizen and his desire to destroy the human world, and the efforts of the three protagonists to stop him.

Details

Gameplay is very similar to previous releases. It retains the hack and slash inspiration. Style has to be implemented as the player has various choices when battling enemies. A style rating is given to the player depending on the moves used, combo length, and dodging attacks.

The characters themselves have different skill sets from each other. Nero has the Red Queen sword for melee combat, and the Blue Rose revolver. As an improvement, Nero does not have his demonic arm from the previous game, but has an assortment of arms called “Devil Breakers”. These arms do a variety of attacks in battle, such as grabbing them from afar. 

Dante’s combat style mostly remains the same, such as retaining his Rebellion sword and his demonic sword Sparda. However, there are a few improvements. Dante gets two new Devil Arms, that transform into the Cavaliere, a motorcycle. He also gets a set of gauntlets and boots called the Balrog. A stronger version of the Cerberus nunchaku makes its way into his possession, which is originally introduced in Devil May Cry 3. 

As for V, he wields a book and a silver cane. He can summon three demons to attack. The first is Griffon, an eagle that attacks with ranged lightning-based attacks. The second is Shadow, a panther that forms blades and spikes from its body. The third and final demon is Nightmare, a large golem. Nightmare uses a combination of melee and laser attacks. For a final attack, V uses his cane to finish. If you’re looking for a game with great production value, check out Devil May Cry 

Pros:

• Amazing visuals
• Well rounded characters
• Exploring is fun

Cons:

• Combat can be frustrating
• Technical issues

Synopsis

The action-packed game takes place in the current Star Wars canon: 5 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, 9 years before Star Wars Rebels, and 14 years before Rogue One and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis has been hiding on the planet Bracca since the execution of Order 66 by Emperor Palpatine. Events are set in motion when Cal saves a friend from certain death using the Force, and is reported to the Empire. The story follows Cal as he evades capture from the Empire across several planets.

Details

The developers of Jedi Fallen Order have admitted that the game’s combat is heavily inspired by the Batman: Arkham series. The player controls Cal from the third-person perspective. He wields a lightsaber but no firearms. On some missions, however, he can pilot combat vehicles. 

The Stormtroopers that Cal can fight are divided into three distinct categories. The first are those that are armed with blasters, whom Cal can deflect using his lightsaber. The second are Scout troopers that are armed with electric batons. Fighting Scout troopers need intricate strikes. Some Scout troopers are armed with rocket launchers, which Cal can deflect using the Force. The final variant are Purge Troopers, which are the meanest of the bunch. There are times that Cal will face Imperial Inquisitors in battle, who like him uses lightsabers and the power of the Force.

At some points throughout the game, Cal will get new abilities which he can use to access places that are previously inaccessible.

Pros:

• Thrilling gameplay
• Forces you to be cooperative with your team

Cons:

• Bad Ubisoft servers
• Bugs and glitches

Synopsis

Set three years after the Rainbow Program’s deactivation, there has been a resurgence in terrorist activity. Of all these terrorist groups active, the group known as the White Mask is the most prominent. A new director for the Rainbow Program, Aurelia Arnot a.k.a. Six, reactivates the program. She assembles a group of spec ops operatives to counter the rising threat. Some time later, the White Mask launch a chemical attack on a university. Six’s agents combat the threat and was successful, albeit with casualties. Six then affirms the need for a team such as Rainbow to combat such threats.

Details

Rainbow Six Siege comes with different operators (playable characters) for the player to use. Each operator is of different nationality, with varying weapons and gadgets. There are several Counter-Terrorism Units that you can play as. These include the FBI SWAT (America), SAS (British), GSG-9 (German), Spetsnaz (Russian) and the GIGN (French). There are several game modes to choose from, such as:

• Hostage – Attackers are to extract a hostage from the defenders. Defenders are then prompted to keep the extraction from happening by killing the opposing team or defending the hostage until the time expires. A match can also be won by the manner of accidentally attacking the hostage. If either team causes the hostage to “down”, the opposing team is then prompted to revive the hostage. If the opposing team prevents the hostage’s revival, they win the round.
• Bomb – Attackers are to defuse one out of two bombs. The defenders are then prompted to eliminate the opposing team or by destroying the defuser. If the defuser is put in place even if the opposing team is eliminated, the defuser must still be destroyed to ensure victory.
• Secure Area – Defenders must protect a room with a container where the attackers must fight their way in and secure it. The game ends when the attacking team is eliminated or the biohazard container is obtained by the attacking team with the defending team eliminated.
• Tactical Realism – The “realism” in the title is an understatement. This game is a standard PvP match, save for a few things. It removes most of the HUD, opponents’ marks, and teammates contours through walls. It relies heavily on teamwork and strategy.
• Terrorist Hunt – Attacking or defending teams must fight through waves of AI enemies, combined with various modes such as Bomb, Hostage, or Elimination.
• Situations – The game mode that acts as the player’s introduction and tutorial.
• Outbreak – Exclusive to Operation Chimera, it pits the player’s team against an extraterrestrial threat. The enemies in this mode are humans infected with said alien parasite.

Pros:

• Exhilarating combat
• Free

Cons:

• No cross-platform support
• Only has one game modes

Synopsis

 Apex Legends is set in the Titanfall continuity. It’s set after Titanfall 2, with the playable characters fighting for turf in a place called “The Outlands”.

Details

Being a Battle Royale game, it’s combat heavy. All playable characters are referred to as “Legends”, and each of them have different skills. Being set in the Titanfall universe, it retains some elements from the series. Said skills include the ability to climb over short walls, zip-lining to travel quickly, and sliding over inclined surfaces. Players who get knocked out in the middle of a game can be revived by a teammate. A teammate must get a ko’d player’s respawn banner that appears in the place they died. The banner then has to be placed at one of the many becaons in the map. A time limit is in place, otherwise if the time expires, the ko’d player gets fully eliminated.

Pros:

• Many game modes to play
• Longevity

Cons:

• It takes a while to enjoy

Details

The gameplay remains mostly the same as previous Counter Strike titles. In Counter Strike: Global Offensive, opposing teams (dubbed Counter Terrorists and Terrorists, respectively) are tasked with eliminating each other to score points. A standard game involves the Terrorist team planting bombs, with the Counter Terrorists tasked to defuse said bomb. There are 5 categories of weapons:

Sub-machine guns (SMGs), Rifles, Heavy, Pistols, and Grenades. Grenades come in different types and have different effects. For example, the HE grenade deals explosive damage, and the smoke grenade places smoke for quick getaways.

The game itself has 9 game modes:

• The Casual and Deathmatch modes are not that serious, compared to Competitive mode. The 2 former game modes do not have friendly fire with teammates. The Casual and Deathmatch modes are usually used as a practice tool, while the Competitive mode is a standard PvP match. 
• Arms Race involves players fighting to upgrade their guns by killing enemies. 
• Demolition involves players to plant and defuse the bomb. Players only receive gun upgrades at the start of new rounds if they killed an enemy the previous round.
• Wingman is a bomb defusal game taking place for over fifteen rounds, with a two-on-two team setup.
• Flying Scoutsman is a game where players are equipped only with a SSG 08 and a knife in a low-gravity environment.
• Danger Zone is a battle-royale game. All players start out with a knife and a tablet and have to search for supplies, weapons, ammunition, and money. The tablet is used to purchase other supplies. Money can be found around the map, such as inside buildings. It can also be earned by completing objectives such as bringing hostages to safety. 
• The Weapons Course is a practice mode designed to help new players learn their way around weapons. 

Pros:

• Building mechanics
• Constant updates

Cons:

• Spam guns are too many
• Bugs and glitches

Details

The game uses the standard format for battle royale games. There are two teams in a match with up to 100 players. Players are prompted to find supplies, such as weapons when grounded. In a match, the goal is to eliminate the opposing team to ensure victory. What does stand out with Fortnite is that players can build platforms or structures. Most objects in the game’s map can be destroyed and its remains are usable as resources when building. Microtransactions are in the game, and in-game currency are referred to as “Vinderbucks”. If you know how to download Steam games, you should check this out.

Pros:

• Fast-paced yet balanced action
• Engaging

Cons:

• Few game modes
• Loot system is random

Synopsis

Overwatch has no concrete narrative, but has a solid backstory. It’s set 60 years into the future of a fictionalized Earth, and 30 years after what is only known as the “Omnic Crisis”. Before the crisis happened, humans are at a point where they prospered and technological development has flourished. Humans developed super sophisticated robots with an AI called “Omnics”. Referred to as “Omniums”, these robots are treated as equal as humans. The crisis started when the robots turned against humanity. In a swift response, the United Nations formed Overwatch to combat the threat of Omniums.

Two soldiers were put in charge of Overwatch: Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes. Overwatch was successful in eliminating the Omnium threat, but a rift between the two occurred. Morrison became the head of Overwatch. Reyes, on the otherhand became the head of Blackwatch, Overwatch’s covert ops division. In what was known as the “Overwatch Generation”, peace was maintained. Over time, the beef between Reyes and Morrison worsened. Allegations of wrong conduct shook the Overwatch organization, culminating in an act where the organization’s headquarters were bombed. Both Reyes and Morrison are believed to be dead. After the attack, the UN passed the “Petras Act”, which dismantled Overwatch for good and prohibited any type of Overwatch-esque activity.

Some time after, corporations have taken over. Fighting and terrorism is rampant across the globe. Despite the Petras Act, the old members of Overwatch decide to reform. It’s revealed that Morrison and Reyes didn’t die; Morrison became a masked vigilante known as Soldier: 76, who aims to uncover the reason why Overwatch was shut down. Reyes, on the other hand, joined the criminal organization known as “Talon”, operating under the name “Reaper”.

Details

The standard gameplay consists of two teams, with 6 players each. For the playable characters, there are 3 types of classes. First is the Damage class, which deals damage by attacking. Second is the Tank class, characters that can absorb damage. The third is the Support class, characters that can provide healing and other buffs. Each character has a different skill and an ultimate ability.

Synopsis

Smite has no concrete narrative, but has stories told during various in-game events.

Details:

In Smite, the characters are based on well-known mythological figures. Players can choose playable gods from 14 different mythological pantheons. These are:

Arthurian, Chinese, Voodoo, Japanese, Egyptian, Hindu, Greek,  Norse, Mayan, Polynesian, Slavic, Roman, Celtic, and Yoruba. Each character is classified in the following classes: Guardian, Hunter, Assassin, Warrior, and Mage. 

A standard match consists of two teams on opposing sides, with 5 members each. Before the match starts, players are given 1,500 gold to buy starting items to improve their characters upon the start of a match. Each defending tower per lane in the map is accompanied by a Phoenix. Towers and Phoenixes deal huge damage when opposing players get to close. To win a game, a team must destroy Phoenixes and towers. The Titan, at the center of the opposing team’s base, has to be defeated in order to secure victory.

Synopsis

Set in the Nexus, combatants are fated to fight. The Nexus is under threat from forces unknown.

Details

Heroes of the Storm is a crossover MOBA game. All characters and maps are from Blizzard Entertainment’s owned properties, such as Overwatch, Diablo, and Starcraft, to name a few. Players work as a team to destroy the opposing team’s base, known as the “Core”. Forts and keeps are placed in the map for protection, and must be destroyed for a team to get to the opposing team’s core. As of December 2019, there are 88 playable characters divided into 6 classes: Bruiser, Tank, Ranged Assassin, Melee Assassin, Support, and Healer. Each hero has a different skill set. A notable feature of leveling in-game is that experience points gained when killing enemies are shared by the entire team. There are many game modes to choose from when playing.