August brought plenty of new games with it, among them a new entry to our 30 best PC games list. But for those that didn't make the cut, we've got a tried and tested selection of the top games to check out right now. But, if you want the very best,30 top PC games on page 2. Whatever you’re looking for, there's likely something for you here, so let’s have a look at the latest releases.
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Top PC games to play right now
Plenty of recent releases haven’t quite made our top 30 list – which starts on the next page – but are well worth having a look at. If you want to stay on top with new releases or our top 30 PC games list isn’t quite for you, here are some recent top picks.
Road 96
Fans of narrative games, this is one for you – in Road 96, you take the role of a person trying to flee their home and its corrupt regime. You hitchhike, walk and drive others. Just like in real life, how exactly the trip turns out is up to chance, as the game puts different people in your path via procedural generation. That method of story delivery isn’t always smooth, but there are plenty of different characters to meet. Road 96 offers some deep conversations about freedom and asks you to make some choices that will reflect on the people you meet. It’s a timely game, even if some of it is slightly clichéd, it asks several interesting questions about power and society.
Get it now:
Steam
Epic Games Store
Humankind
Humankind caused quite a stir, seeing as 4X games are moderately rare these days – like RTS, the genre seems mined and the winner is clear - you can find the best 4X game in our 30 best PC games list. With the Endless games, developer Amplitude previously released two instant 4X classics itself, so the studio knows what it's doing. Humankind's most important innovation is its changing epochs, for each of which you can also switch nations. Unlike other genre colleagues, it doesn’t believe in survival of the fittest, so while you will of course lead a nation into battle, you need to think of the social and political consequences of war, beyond simply winning it, and find alternatives where you can.
All-in-all Humankind is certainly close to Civilization, but that is to be expected – whether it's better or worse will be a matter of personal taste, but Amplitude knows its competition and audience well and delivered something any 4X fan should enjoy.
Get it now:
Steam
Epic Games Store
Aliens: Fireteam Elite
It likely won’t be a huge surprise to hear that this co-op shooter has as much to do with Alien as the original Aliens movie it is based on has with Alien, so don’t go expecting any Alien: Isolation-type thrills – Fireteam makes use of the lore and the Xenomorphs, but you wouldn’t play this for the story.
However, and our detailed Aliens: Fireteam Elite review makes this clear, too, the shooting in Fireteam is genuine fun. That's the most important bit in a horde shooter, and the amount of information you receive and of course enemies you have to watch out for make things feel frantic in a good way. This is a game made to be enjoyed together, in the same vein as Left for Dead 2 or World War Z, and it’s just as much fun as those two.
Get it now:
Steam
Twelve Minutes
Time loop thriller and adventure game in one, Twelve Minutes tells the story of – you guessed it – 12 minutes in the life of an unnamed man. Of course, you're not witnessing any old 12 minutes, but a dramatic event that results in the man’s death – again and again. In order to break the loop, he has to uncover his wife’s secret and fight a “policeman” who suddenly enters his home.
You will work against the clock to find new leads and try new ways to continue with the story, enjoyably presented by Hollywood actors James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Wilem Dafoe. This is a deeply human drama in the guise of a point-and-click adventure game.
Get it now:
Steam
Black Book
Black Book is a turn-based RPG inspired by Russian folklore, and played with cards. You take control of Vasilisa, a young woman who sold her soul to the devil in order to become a witch. Vasilisa is a good witch, in as far as a witch can be, she may command demons, but she does this in order to fight other demons in a Russia plagued by all kinds of supernatural entities.
This isn’t only a good game for fans of spooky, mystical stories, but also a solid card game, with pretty large decks, although it takes a while to open up. Black Book offers up tales that you don’t find all too often in games, and adds an alternative to weapon-based RPG combat. It’s definitely one of the big surprises of the summer, a game with a uniquely captivating atmosphere.
Get it now:
Steam
Epic Games Store
GOG
The Big Con
Its eye-catching visuals are certainly the first thing you’ll notice about The Big Con, an interactive homage to all things 90s. It looks like a 90s cartoon, it makes more 90s references than you can shake a stick at, and it’s got the coolest anti-establishment heroine since Night In The Woods. As Ali, you choose a life of crime (more like a summer’s worth of crime, but still) in order to help your family fend off loan sharks. You start pickpocketing, and dressing up in “smart” disguises.
If you can get past how people who were teenagers in the 90s are now officially old enough to get nostalgic adventure games made about a time they swear was only yesterday, The Big Con is good fun, even though its references are US-centric.
Get it now:
Steam
Epic Games Store
Turn to page two for our full rundown of the 30 best PC games you need to add to your wishlist immediately...
