For fans of Factorio I highly recommend Dyson Sphere Program. It’s a beautiful factory building game. It’s been in early access for a while now but can already be played like a finished game. There is a combat system coming but that will be totally optional. The only downside is that it’s far more demanding than Factorio when it comes to CPU, especially in the late stages of the game as your factory grows.
If someone else didn't say it I was gonna recommend DSP. It's galactic scale Factorio in space and 3D. If Factorio automation and interstellar logistics sound fun then get this game.
For late game do e of the hardcore players take ticks per second and such into consideration so there is a sort of meta think to the game with that regard. You can still just slap automation chains together and get the job done tho. I was getting 15 fps at end game with a RTX 3060 lol.
It is demanding but the devs seem very dedicated to optimization. I have never read a dev blog post entirely about CPU optimization that sounded so excited about it. For an early access game, it really is super polished.
I haven't tried scaling to super late game production levels, but you can easily finish the non-repeatable techs before noticing any performance hitches.
Factorio is one of those few games (rim world too) that I can sit down and not realize that HOURS are flying by.
For that alone, Factorio is a must have for anyone who enjoys base building aspects in other games. Also, there is multiplayer on PC. At least with mods it's possible.
Honestly if you don’t know where to start just play the bog standard free play with default settings. Maybe increase mineral deposit richness a bit if you’re just starting out.
If you want to make your life a little easier look for a starting map with lots of trees and deposits close together but not overlapping.
My time available for gaming is severely limited, so I'd timebox some time to play, set up a timer and build AFK factories. I noticed that I'd start to find excuses to go to the desk to check an email or pay a bill and would "just check in on my factory" which would turn into "just a quick replenish of my turrets" or to fix an idle driller, then an hour later I'd realize I was 'ate to an appointment.
Later, I set up a private multiplayer server that wouldn't pause on disconnect so that the game wasn't even running on my primary computer.
It's been a while... I should go check on my factory... BRB
Cyberpunk. They fixed most of the issues the game had at launch. There's a dlc coming out soon too that will add a bunch of hours, and with it they are reworking loads of mechanics for free. Can't recommend it enough.
I've got a 1070ti and it runs very smooth on medium-high. Obviously not doing ray tracing or anything, and no mods, but I dial back some of the stuff like anti-aliasing too. Definitely worth giving it another shot if you already have it
I ran medium to high with 2080 super, 32 gigs of ram, and a ryzen 3600. Frames stayed above 60 in most cases drops in the 40s happened in populated areas.
The problems I have with cyberpunk stem more from the story. It's depressing and has no real happy ending, just an array of at best bittersweet possible endings. Maybe the new DLC will fix that but otherwise it's a bit too much art imitating life for me.
Ahh I love that part. Feels like a nice change of pace that the best ending (for me) is open ended with a little bit of hope. Don't want to spoil for anyone else reading which ending I mean, but I like that it doesn't wrap up in a fully positive way
I've reeeaaaally gotten into the rogue-like/lite genre. Dead Cells, Hades, Slay the Spire, FTL, Vampire Survivors... Just endlessly fun and entertaining.
Also for all you Vampires lovers, I just picked up a game called Halls of Torment during the Steam sale for cheap. Super fun "vampires-like"
Witcher 3 wild hunt. Game was released in 2015 and we are still getting regular patches 8 years later. Patch 4.03 was just released last May. Engaging storytelling, a vast open world along with 2 expansion pack, deep role-playing elements to create a memorable and immersive gaming experience.
I haven’t been following the Witcher fan discussion group for a while, but what I recalled was that the Netflix show has deviated drastically from the source material (books) which many fans are pissed about, even the main star and fan expert of the material, Henry Cavill left in season 3.
The game dev CD Projekt Red definitely has no rights to Netflix’s Witcher universe and it doesn’t matter. Fans are anticipating the release of Witcher 4 (code name Polaris) which will be a first of a trilogy.
Same here, donated to Toady and played for years before moving to masterwork DF, and years there too. Once the keyboard only mode is added to the steam version I'm sure I'll be playing for years there too!
When I first played back in 200...8? I accidentally stayed up all night. I'm itching to try out the Steam version but I know, I KNOW, that I can't afford the time I will spend on it right now.
Love the game but I'll need them to fix the fps issue before I get back into it. Would be great to have a fortress with more than 100 dwarfs without grinding the fps to a halt.
It's kind of funny because I bounced off the game hard the first two times I played it. What really did it for me was the Ideology DLC, gave it a shot on a whim and the amount of structure it gave me for RPing colonies was exactly what I was missing.
Hundreds upon hundreds of hours in now, and it is the game I keep coming back to. Not to mention one of the biggest modding communities I have ever seen in a video game. The only video game subscriptions I maintain currently are to a few Rimworld modders whose work I really enjoy. When I am not playing it, I am working on ideas of themed mod packs to put into it.
Dyson Sphere Program is a close second, it's my favourite factory-builder. It is still in early access but is a VERY polished experience already. Amazing dev communication too.
I put over 30 hours into this game and ended up not recommending it on steam.
Weird progression in that game. The sushi segments just turned into me cleaning dishes and grating wasabi...and I thought the entire sea people quest was bland... Also, Nexon is a pretty crap company but that's not so much a comment about the game. Another comment about the game is the forced fetishizing of shark murder. It made me deliver a shark head to a customer on a plate and watch them cry from happiness while they ate it. STOP MURDERING SHARKS???
There's no game I don't eventually get tired of, but here are three that are fantastic and I can recommend playing for hours and hours:
FTL
Slay the Spire
Darkest Dungeon
All indie titles, none of them new, still fantastic and well worth it if you haven't played any on this list. Also all challenging roguelikes, so be warned. =P
I haven't see Horizon Zero Dawn in the comments so far. This is probably the best (by graphics, game play, characters, story lines) game I've ever played. I really hope that Horizon Forbidden West is released for PC soon.
Horizon is a great game, it's probably one of my favourite game series of all time at this point. Zero Dawn hit all the storytelling tropes that I typically enjoy in games, and had amazing dynamic combat too. It reminded a bit of monster hunter with the preparation you went into big fights with, but also there was a degree of improvisation when stuff didn't go according to plan.
As someone who didn't think Zero Dawn needed a sequel at all, I actually really enjoyed Forbidden West. I think you'll be in for a good time when you get a chance to play it.
I have launched this game several times and always end up wandering around aimlessly before getting killed in the wilderness. Is it possible to get into without following a wiki?
It absolutely is but getting some beginner tips could be a good idea.
For instance if you get bandits to chase you into a shop the gaurds will deal with them. You can then loot all the bodies.
Getting hit trains toughness and defense. Likewise hitting people trains your attack.
So getting beaten up is good but you need to make sure you don't get knocked out (you'll most likely bleed out with low toughness) or have a second person ready to heal you with med kits after the fight hiding somewhere.
Outside of towns is super dangerous until later in the game.
Also running is a very good option if you are out powered. You train your athletics by running. It trains faster if you aren't over encumbered.
I didn't use the wiki until 50+ hours in. You need to make your own goals. I started by making a thief and just stealing my way to the top.
You can fairly easily make money and skill up by just running around carrying and selling shit. Specialize your first characters, make the next companions workers.
It's very much a sandbox where you make your own story.
I kind of had the same experience with it, except I actually managed to get really into it one time. I started as a prisoner in a giant mine, and had a shitload of fun trying and failing to escape. After many hours, I finally did it, and lost interest shortly afterwards because things got too confusing again.
I recommend https://openrct2.io/ - it's a fan made open source reimplementation that adds many changes, among them multiplayer, mods, UI improvements, bugfixes and so on. For installation you'll need a copy of the original RCT2 game. It also supports RCT1 scenarios and graphics.
Cyberpunk2077 at the moment. Got more than 250 hours on it. Before that I played Dishonored a lot and that before the very first Deus Ex. The story was just incredible and IMHO still is one of the best in video game history.
I got Slay the Spire recently from the steam summer sale since it’s so cheap. I haven’t been able to put it down. It’s such a time suck, and I normally don’t even like card games. I would 100% recommend it.
I'm in the middle of my first AB playthrough. I'm currently trying to figure out yellow science and it's like like I'm living in a dream world trying to juggle all these fluids. I almost need to start over I've got such a crazy spaghetti mess with all these fluids and minerals
This game is so good, and the mods make it even better
I'm flabbergasted we're getting no metroidvania love in here so I'll list my two favorites: Hollow Knight and Blasphemous. Both with sequels coming out this year which I'm so excited about!
Civilization for me... I don't mind the newer versions but I'm old enough that I've played it since Civ I and I do sort of feel like it's lost something as the graphics have improved and animations were introduced.
Still, irrespective of the version, every game is a little different and eats hours like nothing else.
I didn't care about the hype before it was released, then I waited when I heard about all the bugs and tried it in 1.6. The game is really good when you take it for what it is, rather than what you or others think it should have been.
I bought at the same time as you. Waited it out. for me, it was pretty true to the pen and paper game - which I enjoyed. And I loved the story. 10/10 for me.I rarely stick with games. I'm not much of a gamer. The only games I've played through start to finish are Super Mario 64, Neverwinter Nights (PC), CP2077, and Hogwarts Legacy. I tend to play sports or shooters, so it takes a lot for me to stick something out to completion.
While they do now have multiplayer modes thanks to their corresponding open source projects, I still think the spirit of these games is firmly in the single player pc game category. Best of all they're both free and available on any OS!
It just keeps on giving. I had so many playthroughs on my old Xbox before getting into the PC modding in college.
Thankfully, this will run on basically anything now, so I have all the nice stutter fixes and unofficial performance patches on my laptop. Beats the hell out of restarting the game on console every time it crashed.
I heard good things about the New California story mod and recently set that up, so I'm pretty stoked.
Haven't played around with Fallout 3's mod scene as much but I'd guess they may have some story mods that might be worth looking into as well.
It just keeps on giving. I had so many playthroughs on my old Xbox before getting into the PC modding in college.
Thankfully, this will run on basically anything now, so I have all the nice stutter fixes and unofficial performance patches on my laptop lol beats the hell out of restarting the game on console every time it crashed.
I heard good things about the New California story mod and recently set that up, so I'm pretty stoked.
Haven't played around with Fallout 3's mod scene as much but I'd guess they may have some story mods that might be worth looking into as well.
Total: Factorio. Though I do think I need to put that one on hold after I'm finally done with my current save - which is not far out anymore. Also, this game has multiplayer so it may technically not count.
Recent: Derail Valley, a very down-to-basics train simulator, focusing on cargo rail in a fictional rendition of an area in the Balkans. They recently put out a major update, which makes all kinds of simulation features much more expansive.
A bit more than once a decade I play them on emulator and try to 100% them. Great fun. I also try to make sure to visit the locations in the real world if I'm on holiday nearby where they based a level.
It's kind of sad that the Venice Beach area hasn't existed since the 90s.
Edit: I did just realise this thread is about PC games, but I do play them on PC albeit through a PlayStation emulator. I do believe the games are available on PC.
Since nobody has mentioned it, I'll throw in "X4: Foundations". The X series is janky in places but oh so satisfying if you can get past the jank. Build a military empire to take over the galaxy, or maybe a trading empire. Or maybe you want to become an industrialist and build huge stations to print money. You can be a pirate or a salvager or any combination of the above. And there are tons of interesting mods if you get sick of the vanilla game.
I understand that this game is popular and has a significant fanbase. However, I've never played it. Could you share the features that drew you into playing this game? I'd like to enjoy it, but simply watching the gameplay didn't suffice to persuade me.
The random generated dungeons and amount of different items do it for me. The game might have a steep learning curve initially though until you figure out the core mechanics
Neverwinter Nights is the 2002 Bioware game, remastered a few years ago with its Enhanced Edition, can be bought in GOG or Steam. Pretty good still for those that liked Baldurs Gate I and II
Dying Light, absolutely fantastic pakour zombie smasher with one of the best cities in gaming. Bought it originally (on a disc) many years ago and played it so much the disc died and I was inconsolable until Epic gave away the ultimate edition and I was finally able to play The Following DLC.
Now I go and look at Dying Light 2 on Steam and wish my stupid country wasn't so damn expensive, even on sale at 50% off it still costs almost as much as a brand new AAA game in the states. Regional pricing my ass, we always get stung so hard for tech down here.
Since you seem to basically be me, I would recommend Dyson Sphere Program if you haven't tried it yet. My favourite of the factory games, and they have their big combat update coming in soon too.
Heard so many good things about it, but I just couldn't get into it. Played it for one evening and haven't picked it up again. It was frustratingly hard sometimes and while the complete absence of clues was a refreshing change from the extensive handholding in contemporary gaming, I think just some more bread crumbs would have improved the overall experience.
My go to would be Skyrim, but i actually stopped playing about a year ago. My current one would be cyberpunk but i'm waiting for the dlc and playing diablo 4 atm.
Cassette Beasts, it's like Pokémon far more different than other pokeclones, and far higher quality imo. The beast designs are great, and there's a cool fuse mechanic you can use to fuse any two Beasts, with unique art (over 16,000 possible fusions). Also the shiny-equivalent is better done and actually useful.
Definitely Civilization in general. There’s a lot of other games I like that are completely different, but year after year I come back to the Civilization series. And even though they peaked at Civ5, it’s still one of the few games I’ll preorder as soon as the next one is available.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice made me gain a deeper understanding of what my BFF went through, almost 13 years ago, when she took her life after battling with psychosis and not able to fight her delusions.
It's an incredibly deep storyline, and they did an amazing job at captivating the essence of how some minds work. I cried when I played, and cried when I completed it, yet they were beautiful tears all the same. Very well made game, and I actually came to this post to give it a mention as well.
Yeah but once gearbox bought the franchise they stopped doing anything to support it on consoles, they were supposed to do the survivor dlc forever ago and still nothing, it appears they gave up on it in pursuit of the risk of rain remake.
There was never any support for consoles to begin with tho, the only thing going for consoles have been slightly better aimbot settings for controller.
I love to start a new round of Civ 6 or a create a new city in City Skylines, because i learned so much from my previous mistakes and this time i will create a perfect civ/city... only to make super stupid mistakes nonetheless and fail miserably.
It's still great fun though.
I've also recently began playing Spacebourne 2. It's janky and unpolished as fuck, but it's proving really interesting thus far. Considering it's done by a single dude, it's a miracle it even works.
For real. I was already over 400 hours logged before I got my Index, and now with the help of Wabbajack, I'm at a number that would likely get an eyebrow from my therapist. 🤪
For a long time it was Heroes of Might and Magic 4 for me -- I know it's the "black sheep" of the series, but I really like that heroes are actual parts of your party (I also played a lot while growing up, so nostalgia plays a role and that's what I got used to)
Such a good game.
I played it so much in hotseat with my brothers when we where kids.
Still playing it, when my brother visits, on the big TV.
Last time we got us 1kg of Mett and some Roles, and played it the whole day. 😅
The Sims 2. I’ve played a fair amount of all four Sims games including their mobile editions, and Sims 2 remains my favorite after a near (yeeesh) 20 years.
The modding community is still relatively robust, especially for a game that’s so old and out of the four, I feel like I can enjoy even the basic gameplay as a storyteller in Sims 2 more than in 3 or 4. In Sims 3, the focus was less on playing multiple families, so it had to be modded right out of the gate to get back to its foundation and I never liked the way the sims looked. Sims 4 “feels” a lot more like Sims 2, which a lot of people hated, but its expansion and content packs are a complete joke. It costs like $2K to have everything, and they’re still releasing packs. I know it’s just the state of gaming these days, but it just sucks the fun out of a lot of the game.
Half the fun these days, though, is just getting the game up and running on modern PCs. I installed a new hard drive a few months ago and it took the better part of a weekend to get the game fully installed and running. I do have Ultimate Collection, but the less time I have to spend in that stupid EA app, the better.
This is probably my second choice, I have actually never made it to the "endgame" of ONI despite that. Never actually lost a colony, but I just particularly like those first 50 cycles of scrapping things together the most.
I love the Klei art style, and the more engineering style approach to colony building is one I don't see that much.
Same here. Great game. If you've finished everything the Gungeon has to offer, check out Voidigo. It just released not too long ago and scratches that itch while still being very unique in its own right.
It's not really a single single player game, more a set of specific genres: "Ubisoft open world", "Immersive sim" (especially Arkanes), "Bethesda RPG" (Even 76 which ye cna play pretty much solo), "Walking Sim" (a genre I fell in love with this past year)
Most of them that I play since I'm not big on multiplayer. Lots of RPGs (Mass Effect Legendary), colony sims (Rimworld), city builders (Banished), and grand strategy games (Stellaris)
Ring of Pain. It's a creepy dungeon crawler roguelite.
I don't know why, I've seen everything the game has to offer and somehow I keep coming back to it.
Crusader Kings, Europe universalis and imperator Rome. I know this is three games but it's the same general idea, as a history fan, this game scratches a very specific itch for me
There's also bannerlord/warband, amazing experience, sorta like ck3 on a micro level
I tend to get bored of games fairly quickly. I'll hop from game to game to game, over and over again, never (rarely) beating a game before moving on to the next. Sometimes I come back to these games I've abandoned and start over, only to repeat the cycle. There's only one game that I keep going back to again and again. The Sims. I do wish there were other competing life sim games that offered a similar amount of content and mod support, but alas, there's nothing out there quite like it yet.
In the category of "bullet-heaven" / vampire survivors I have been putting a lot of time into Bio-Prototype. It has a really amazing upgrade/combination system for your weapons. And it also only costs like $4
Almost perfect "simple" rts. Nothing terribly complicated about how it works. Really the only thing that keeps me from saying it is perfect is the lack of ability to set rally points for units or select multiple planets to move all the seedlings(units) all at once.
Spelunky (HD/2) is my goto chill game. Put Spotify on and just start going for the hard end. It's a 2D, roguelike platformer about exploring a series of caves, and shouldn't be as addicting as it is.
I have no idea why, but I cant get enough of it. 200 hours in HD, 250 in 2, and I also had it on X360 a while back that didnt track time.
Some of mine have already been said, so I'll bring up Barotrauma as one of mine! Give me some mods for extra content and I'll be able to play for many many hours.
I tried a couple of times but I can't seem to progress anywhere past Joppa. I think I've seen red rock once. Anyway, I Either die or I get lost or somehow lose interest in it. Would be really cool if someone could tell me how to actually play the game, what to do when and how and what the overall goal/story is
I've always had a soft spot for Caves of Qud, I love exploring in games and it never disappoints :)
Just don't go to Red Rock straight away, it's way too tough to do that one. Talk to the inventor guy (Argive I think?) and do some quests for him.
Also, there's no shame in playing the easier Roleplay or Wanderer modes. It's all about having fun in the end!
Talk to the zealot in Joppa, get the quest to go to the Stilt, then kill the zealot (you won't get in trouble for it), take his book, then raid the three chests in the enclosed rooms (shut the door behind you first!)
That'll give you some stuff to trade.
Then go up to the Stilt - it's a long trek but you get like four levels worth of experiencre from that quest just for showing up!
Civilization 4: Fall from heaven: Ashes of Erebus. It can be played multiplayer of course, but I almost exclusively play single-player. The lore is fun, the event system can be interesting, the combinations of awesome Civs+Leaders+Religions+Magic really up the replayability. The end game with hundreds of units amongst a large number of factions with hell terrain encroaching makes for a very dynamic endgame.