The most atmospheric games. What are some atmospheric games with a delightful storyline? Top 10 games with a great atmosphere

Games should be entertaining - this is the general opinion about them, but, in fact, this is not always the case. Mobile gamers are often looking for light and unobtrusive time killers for their devices, allowing them to pass the time between any active activity.

However, serious games, sometimes even depressing ones, also exist and find their fans - this is evidenced by Banner Saga 2, which recently appeared on iOS. It offers picturesque locations, engaging characters and the most incredible life situations that make your heroes feel anger, melancholy and disappointment - and these feelings are sure to be transmitted to you during the game.

But not only Banner Saga 2 has such an influence on the mood of gamers - we offer you a selection of the most depressing games on mobile platforms.

Limbo

Here you will play the role of a little boy making his way through dark and gloomy locations inhabited by nightmarish creatures. The only people your hero will encounter will be other victims, or hunters no less dangerous than those terrible creatures that lurk in the darkness. Your destiny in this game is inevitable death, which awaits the character at every step, and gets to him in every possible way. Limbo's black and white color palette complements its storyline into an overall, frightening and hopeless picture. This atmospheric puzzle-platformer is worthy of both praise and attention.

This War of Mine

Many video games present war as something similar to Hollywood blockbusters, where everything happens easily and beautifully. This War of Mine shatters this illusion by challenging you to survive in a city that has become the scene of war. You have to look for food and water, get medicine and clothing, strengthen your shelter, and avoid collisions with the inhabitants of the city, who are embittered and aggressive. Its gameplay is incredibly addictive, creating in players a rather painful and sad feeling of no way out.

Papers, Please

The role of a customs inspector in some totalitarian Eastern European country, a small cog in a huge bureaucratic machine, is not at all fun. You will have to prevent citizens from crossing the border, citing their nationality, surname or lack of necessary documents. Sometimes, for a certain amount, you can get angry and make an exception for someone, but this is a risk for you and your family, which is not funny at all. As you can see, the authors of Papers, Please do not promise you a good mood.

The Walking Dead: The Game

It is not difficult to understand that there is something depressing in The Walking Dead game - the television series and comics of the same name leave you with no hope for a joyful plot. Traveling through a world full of zombies will be both difficult and unoptimistic. Now it is you who will have to make difficult decisions, sometimes leading to someone’s death, and it is you who should not become attached to any of the heroes - it is not known which of them will survive to the end of the episode.

Heroes Reborn: Enigma

The mix of puzzle and action will not necessarily be purely entertaining, especially if the heroine of the game has superpowers, and she is kept in the territory of a gloomy scientific complex, experiments are carried out on her. Escape will require serious effort from you, remarkable ingenuity, caution and the development of your own skills. Depressive mood, stress and a feeling of hopelessness are guaranteed.

Past Memories

The authors of the game are convinced that even a runner can be dark and atmospheric, especially if you keep it in black and white, add appropriate voice acting and carefully thought out gameplay with an interesting but sad storyline. Your heroine here will be a woman who finds herself in the world of her own memories, and bad memories haunt her like monsters from nightmares.

Knock-knock

Your hero in this dark and atmospheric game is a strange nameless guy who lives in a house in the middle of the forest. He suffers from insomnia and is forced to wander through the corridors and rooms of his house instead of painfully trying to sleep. But the most interesting thing is that every time he wakes up in the middle of the night and sees that his house looks completely different, and strange sounds are heard around him - growling and grinding, rustling and knocking.

Why atmosphere?

For me, the most important thing in games is the atmosphere.

The atmosphere in games is a combination of surroundings, supported colors and soundtrack with a unique sound pattern in the context of the game's plot.

I decided to make a selection of games that seemed to me the most atmospheric. The games are in order, there will be no ratings or comparisons, because each game is good in its own way.

For the entire impressive set of advantages of the Metro shooter series, and first of all the unique atmosphere - so thick that you could eat it with a spoon - there is one big minus.

Whatever one may say, the shooters from these games turned out so-so. There are no normal ballistics, the enemies are stupid and do not react to hits, the weapons are unconvincing - a set of symptoms is generally typical for shooters made in the post-Soviet space, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. suffered from the same disease. Neither the interesting arsenal nor the ability to attach the stock and optical sight to a regular revolver helped.

But timid hope still glimmered, especially considering that the developers, without being modest, stated that, following the graphics, the gameplay would be improved in the updated version.

In addition to the visual part, the developers have tidied up the gameplay. Metro 2033 was a good shooter, but there were frequent stealth episodes and no possibility of normal silent kills. Now everything is as it should be, that is, as in Last Light. We can sneak up on the enemy from behind, kill him or stun him - the karmic system, we can’t live without it these days. Your decisions do not affect the ending: we still make the final choice at the very end of the game. Convenient throwing knives are still a great help in difficult situations when it is desirable to complete levels quietly. There are no problems with the warriors, but the monsters could be weaker: even at the basic (“normal”) difficulty level you need to land 3-4 machine guns to kill some of the reptiles.

The developers clearly wanted to emphasize the difficult life in a post-apocalyptic world and even divided the game into two styles: “Spartan” and “Survival”. The latter speaks for itself: emphasis on quiet passage, little ammo, enemies are accurate and sensitive, it is strongly recommended to play only in stealth mode. “Spartan” is more suitable for fans of noisy gunfire and explosions: there is enough ammunition, and first aid kits are not a problem to find either. Although situations where you are left with virtually no ammunition are very real. In addition, do not forget that one type of bullet is considered currency here, and it is better not to waste money in the literal sense of the word. These rounds in Metro 2033 Redux are now incendiary, as implemented in Last Light.

If “Survival” doesn’t seem enough, welcome to the “Ranger Hardcore” difficulty level: plus devilish difficulty, minus the interface. The only thing that helps is the initial machine gun, which can be used to determine the number of cartridges in the clip by eye - the magazine goes into the barrel as you fire.

What we have left is a well-remade Metro 2033, which is still interesting, and a couple of changes in Last Light purely for fans. It makes sense to purchase both parts only if you have not played Last Light before.

The universe of the game "Stalker" is large and vast, full of secrets and mysteries that fill every corner of the Forbidden Zone. The primary source is, of course, the work of the Strugatsky brothers “Roadside Picnic”. The idea existed - it was loneliness, a feeling of deep melancholy, dull colors and constant danger, because of which you had to be on guard everywhere.

The first part of the saga about Marked, the lone stalker, came out back in two thousand and seven. At that time, the little-known company GSC Game World released a game, the setting of which was not the surroundings of Chernobyl and Pripyat. Sights were present: the fourth power unit, the Prometheus cinema, a dump of abandoned equipment and much more. The player was told the story of a tramp who had lost his memory, a hunter of the wealth of the Zone - artifacts. On behalf of the hero, the gaming community observed a new, unlike any other world after the apocalypse in the north-west of Ukraine.

The seemingly lifeless landscape was diluted with millions of small details. The flora was noisy, the fauna was running about its business, both could do harm! People went about their daily lives - mostly sitting safely in improvised bases, occasionally making forays into dangerous parts of the contaminated territory. The picture that opened up was captivating; there was a sense of the reality of what was happening. Melancholy could penetrate to the depths of the soul if the player happened to fall under acid rain in one of the buildings of the Zone. The atmosphere of loneliness was conveyed with rare skill. Despite this, I didn’t want to quit the game. For eight whole years, “Shadows of Chernobyl” has not lost its relevance, forcing fans of the series to return to familiar places.

Two thousand and eight was marked by the release of the second part - the prehistory of the first part, in which they explained to us how the Zone became the way the players saw it a year ago. The developers managed the impossible - to show a completely different show on the old map, the development of the plot and the atmosphere of which still fit perfectly into the world of the Zone. A relatively densely populated area where a war is being waged for areas of influence, terrible thickets of forest, new secrets, the disclosure of which could lead to far from happy consequences. The picture of the history of the contaminated area began to be put together into a bizarre mosaic, the plot developed, and the players, having completed the second part, waited with even greater hope for the appearance of the third. What can you do if the writers, having answered all the questions of the first part, accidentally dropped a dozen more, forcing loyal fans to scour the Zone in search of answers that could not be found.

The final, third part, being a sequel to the first, was released in two thousand and nine, immediately recouping the development costs. The player was placed in the very center of the contaminated area - the vicinity of the ghost town of Pripyat, again left alone with a seemingly simple mission. The third adventure lasted much longer than the first two - three huge locations allowed fans to unfold in full force. The developers should also be given their due. Few third parts can boast such rapid development and such high quality content. New opportunities, interesting tasks, old acquaintances and the unique, but nostalgic spirit of “Stalker” has returned, allowing the gaming community to once again enjoy the game that has sunk into the souls of many.

The Elder Scrolls series is unique in its own way - among old-school Western role-playing games, it is almost the only one that continues to live and develop. You can only name the post-apocalyptic saga Fallout, but at some point it almost sank into oblivion, and it was Bethesda, the developer of The Elder Scrolls, who saved it from this fate. The most surprising thing is that the series is also extremely in demand. The release of a new episode is a global event. Almost no other modern game comes close to what The Elder Scrolls offers. The player is given a huge fantasy world where he is free to do whatever he wants. Of course, there is an ultimate goal, you must certainly prevent some ancient Evil from causing another dirty trick for everyone, but the emphasis is not on this, but on various kinds of side activities. They are available in abundance in any Western RPG, and in The Elder Scrolls they are completely placed in the foreground. Sometimes you can’t even call them side stories - they are, rather, alternative storylines. They are less epic, but certainly no less exciting.

The action of the fifth part takes place in the northern province of the Tamriel Empire - Skyrim. This meteorologically unfavorable region is inhabited mainly by Nords - stern, blond warriors who are clearly based on the Vikings. The situation in the region is deplorable: a war is raging there between the nationalists and the imperial legion that has arrived to pacify them. Freedom fighters believe that the Empire infringes on the rights of the Nords on their own land, and the authorities of Tamriel have decided that the law is the same for everyone. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a criminal. The game begins when the hero, along with the leader of the rebels, is led to execution. At the most crucial moment, it turns out that his name is not on the list of those sentenced, but this hesitation does not bother the imperial officers. To avoid bureaucratic red tape, they decide to behead the stranger anyway. The unfortunate man's life is saved by a dragon that suddenly attacks the settlement. In the chaos, the hero frees himself and escapes, after which the player is left to his own devices.

Once you get out into the vastness of Skyrim, you can go anywhere, even to the opposite edge of the virtual world. There are plenty of places to visit: forts, castles, huts, ruins and caves. Initially, only cities are marked on the map; other locations are displayed as you visit. The game allows you to move freely between known places, which significantly saves time. A compass is an indispensable aid in navigation. It shows in which directions nearby houses and attractions worthy of the hero’s attention are located. In addition, the compass marks destinations for active quests. Thus, despite the impressive size of the game world, it is difficult to get lost in it.

Quests - both large and small - await you literally at every turn. In the nearest large village, Whiterun, they will try to lure you into a squad of werewolf mercenaries. Their elderly captain is concerned about finding a cure for lycanthropy: he is afraid that after the death of such a bloodthirsty beast like him, they will not be allowed into the paradise for Sovngarde warriors. You can move to the separatist stronghold, Windhelm, and join the ranks of the rebels, fortunately the hero had the opportunity to meet their leader on the scaffold. The headquarters of the Imperial Legion is located in the capital of Skyrim. The Imperials are tough but pragmatic people, and for the sake of promising cooperation they are ready to forget the “misunderstanding” that happened. Riften in the southeast has a bad reputation - a thieves guild is located in its sewers. She once held the whole of Skyrim in her fist, but for several decades she has been haunted by a series of failures. For some unknown reason, its patron, the goddess of shadows, turned away from the guild. If you are attracted to the witchcraft path, your path lies to the north - to the college, where warlocks teach the basics of magic to everyone. Don't forget about the main plot related to the return of dragons after centuries of sleep. After completing several assignments, it turns out that the hero is the reincarnation of the legendary dragon slayer. Revelation unlocks a special type of magic powered by the souls of defeated dragons.

Where The Elder Scrolls has always differed from other role-playing games is its hands-on approach to character development. There is no distribution of points according to parameters; all qualities improve themselves as they are used. The degree of mastery of a certain type of weapon increases in parallel with how the hero shreds enemies with this weapon. To master any school of magic, you need to regularly use spells related to this school. Unlocking locks becomes a little easier with each broken master key. Unlike Oblivion, where the hero’s level increased only by leveling up basic skills, in Skyrim all skills without exception are counted. As you level up, you can improve your health, stamina (consumed when running and swinging strikes), or your magic reserve, as well as choose one perk. So, when you bring your oratory to “30”, a perk is unlocked that allows you to bribe guards. The system is simple: in most role-playing games everything is much more complicated, if not more complicated. For The Elder Scrolls, however, it is optimal, since the dominant place in the series has always been occupied not by numbers, but by the virtual world.

“I dreamed of money, cars, women, respect, freedom. I think I got it all... more or less” - these words of Vito Scaletta, the protagonist of Mafia 2, best express the essence of the game. Even if there is not so much (or rather, not at all) freedom here, there are women, money, good music, enemies and especially cars - even freight cars.

The cars in the game are made almost better than anything else. Besides the fact that the era itself is conducive to this (be sure to check out our material comparing game models and their real prototypes), it is also a pleasure to drive them. Driving on a slippery road in slow and heavy cars is somewhat reminiscent of balancing on a tightrope: if you make a slight mistake, your out-of-control suitcase will already end up in the oncoming lane. Of course, in order not to deprive yourself of this pleasure, you need to enable “simulator” physics in the game settings. There are not so many car models this time - only 37, but each is designed with manic attention to detail (the only thing missing is the view from the cockpit) and is recognizable even by its sound. In a word, if we consider Mafia 2 as a simulator of cars from the era of the 40-50s, then it has no equal in this.

As, indeed, in the attention to detail. For some reason, some blame the game for the complete lack of activity and side quests in the city, but who needs to deal with driving stolen cars and robbing stores if every gateway, every facade in Empire Bay is sculpted by hand? During missions, you look around every now and then, amazed at the detail of the interiors, and going down the stairs, you can meet a cleaning lady listening at the door, who is immediately embarrassed by our appearance. It is clear that all these mise-en-scenes are calculated in advance and occur almost exclusively on our way, but you never cease to be amazed at the meticulousness of 2K Czech even the second and third time.

The only thing that gives the Czechs away is the typical Eastern European approach to polishing the game - in this regard, Mafia 2 differs from GTA 4 about as much as a Skoda differs from a Volkswagen. The camera in rooms often shows only a piece of the ceiling instead of the hero’s back, checkpoints are placed in such a way that the same mission has to be completed several times due to a stupid design error, and people are killed in the game quickly and unexpectedly (enemies are often not visible due to cover ). It's a shame that Take-Two Interactive's huge budgets were spent just on creating a beautiful world, amazing cars and licensing all the best music from the 50s.

The plot is well done, the characters are well done, and their animation is satisfactory. But there is no desire to break down Mafia 2 into its components, because its main advantage is its era and history. Which, however, is about an errand boy. If we put aside both the plot and the fashionable decorations, we have to admit that Mafia 2 does not fully meet the expectations of the best game of the year, and even more so of the decade. But whatever one may say, they waited for it for so long that the ratings hardly matter.

Over the course of several years, CD Projekt RED managed to accomplish something that other development companies can only dream of - creating a gaming analogue of “Game of Thrones” and achieving worldwide recognition, expanding the target audience of The Witcher from a group of fans of the brainchild of Andrzej Sapkowski to everyone gaming community. In addition to the unique world in The Witcher, there is something that radically sets it apart in the RPG space - this is the stunning naturalism of everything that happens. The developers do not conform to the toothless norms of artistic expression, which dictate that naked bodies and pools of blood should be bashfully hidden, that women and children should not be offended, and, of course, that as many representatives of all kinds of races and minorities as possible be included in the frame, even where they are inappropriate.

Both in terms of plot and the severity of the questions raised, the authors remain faithful to the spirit of the original. There is no good and evil here, the ideals of justice give way to real social problems. Tyranny, infringement of the rights of population groups, widespread cruelty and, of course, the struggle for power - politicized fantasy is very popular in popular culture today, but in the world of role-playing games it is a rare bird. The Witcher is tightly integrated into the artistic framework and confidently uses its resources. Did the developers manage to finally reveal the potential of the universe in the final chapter of the story of Geralt of Rivia?

Both in terms of the degree of elaboration of the plot, characters and voiced social problems, and geographically, the world of “Wild Hunt” has become larger and more holistic than in previous parts. In this case, it would be quite correct to compare not even with them, but with the standard of “large sizes” - The Elder Scrolls. However, unlike the latter, scale in The Witcher is not a goal, but a condition for immersion in what “The Scrolls” is precisely lacking - in the spiritual atmosphere of the Slavic epic.

Galloping on horseback through dense forests and endless plains, strolling through the streets of local villages, climbing the snow-capped mountain peaks of the Skellige Islands, you not only receive aesthetic satisfaction from the grandiose landscapes and incredibly beautiful graphics, but also feel the scale and significance of what is happening. Every frame of The Witcher 3 is filled with life: trees sway from gusts of wind, village children frolic by the lake, bandits and warriors pass along the roads. In the tavern you can play Gwent (this is a local card game) and drink beer. In Novigrad you can listen to a sermon by a priest, and in a tavern you can reminisce to the delightful song of Priscilla. The living world of the game, full of romantic adventure, is beautiful.

Dark Souls is an action RPG that uses a simple but fair combat system based on focusing the camera on an enemy, circling around them, waiting for the right moment to attack, rolling, blocking and parrying. The fame and popularity of Souls came from its complexity, which never exceeded reasonable limits, but always kept you in suspense. Every enemy dies in just a few hits, as does the hero. Death threatens the loss of souls, which are both money and experience for leveling up: caution will not hurt, but no loss will be truly critical, since everything can be replenished.

The feeling of hopelessness and despair has been firmly associated in the minds of the series before, but in Dark Souls 3, in every grain of the story it is felt that this journey is the last. We have never seen this world in such a deplorable state. But we should not forget that the history in the games in the series does not tolerate superficial study. It reveals itself only to the most meticulous. You need to look very closely. Peer into the abyss for a long, long time. Everything is not as it seems to you. The next chosen dead will follow the paths of his heroic predecessors, but it is not so easy to discern familiar outlines in new lands. Time is merciless - impregnable fortresses have long since turned to dust, new walls have grown in place of majestic castles, once blooming gardens are drowning in poisonous liquid, and where the sun once shone, a merciless cold reigns. Today these lands and kingdoms are called completely differently, but we will remember their true names. Or is it just an illusion? An evil joke of the abyss, which has been trying to devour the world for centuries? In Dark Souls you need to look with all your eyes, but, as before, do not blindly believe everything you see.

The possibility of inadvertently “messing up” your passage hasn’t gone away either. For example, I played through the game as a mage, and the only NPC teaching new spells, after I killed the next boss, for no apparent reason, disappeared forever because I did not bring him a single scroll of those that he was looking for. A wizard armed with only variations of the Soul Arrow is truly a pitiful sight. And I had to either start the game over, or put up with the inferiority of the character. However, be that as it may, among Dark Souls, the third part is, perhaps, still the best. It focuses on the right things, it learns from the experience of its predecessors, it offers what many games cannot do. This is a long, intense and exciting journey through vibrant and memorable places. This is a wonderful, beautiful and truly three-dimensional world that is extremely interesting to explore. These are all battles that are growing in complexity, forcing you to act more carefully, quickly, and cunningly.

On the other hand, DS3 has the main thing that distinguishes the entire Souls series - mystery. The developers of modern blockbusters are accustomed to not just putting all the most interesting things on display, but actually poking the player into this “most interesting” face. Here, on the contrary, all the most delicious things are hidden from inattentive eyes; the game is filled with secrets, non-obvious moments, and even entire plot branches that are easy to miss if you play through it carelessly. And for such a unique approach and technical roughness, you can once again forgive. The graphics in the game are not very good, but the atmosphere does everything for it, and in general the game is not about that at all. A funny paradox emerged with DarkSouls: the third part became exactly like this, which at one time they wanted to see the second, but from the triumphant conclusion of the trilogy they still wanted more. A repetition of what has been done, even if more or less justified, remains a repetition. The series is marking time, and this is not the best solution with so many rough edges and elements that frankly need a major overhaul.

For a game to be remembered for a long time, it requires not only an exciting plot, stunning graphics and interesting gameplay. IT.TUT.BY has compiled the top 10 games that attract gamers with the extraordinary atmosphere of a fictional world.

10. Red Alert

Red Alert is loved by gamers not only as an excellent strategy, but also as a game that has collected the largest number of stereotypes about Russians. An alternate world in which the Soviet Union launched a full-scale attack on Europe through tank hordes and fighting bears. Add to this pretentious music, the destroyed Statue of Liberty and, of course, a Soviet general raising a glass of vodka for Comrade General. Here is the perfect recipe to make the Russian-speaking part of the gaming community smile.

9. Dark Souls

Dark Souls is remembered not only for its “old-school gameplay,” but also for its dark fantasy world, saturated with loneliness and death. The hero has to go through a difficult path, where one wrong move can end his life, and a meeting with any monster may be his last. A few encounters with NPCs and respites around fires are perceived as a small ray of light in the kingdom of darkness. Dark Souls is a constant game of death, but that's what gamers love about it.

8. The Elder Scrolls

The Elder Scrolls series has created one of the most memorable worlds in the classic fantasy genre. Huge maps, strewn with small details, a history comparable in scale to the universe of Tolkien's Middle-earth, full libraries of books and full taverns of rumors, cunning political games of mortals and endless intrigues of immortals. And one hero, free to go wherever he wants.

7. Machinarium

The quest from Amanita Design tells its story in the scenery of a rather strange city inhabited by intelligent machines. Mashinarium is remembered by players not only for its riddles and history, but also for the world of robots, thoroughly saturated with machine oil, rust and touching stories of living pieces of iron. The game won the Excellence in Visual Art category at the 12th annual Independent Games Festival and is considered one of the standards of independent games, and by many who played it, a work of art.

The post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is remembered not only for the endless desert, but also for the atmosphere of the 60s of the last century, or rather the world that survived a nuclear war in the minds of the inhabitants of the times of the “Cubbie Crisis”. It's as if Nuka-Cola, car and weapon designs came straight out of the pages of magazines from a bygone era. Radioactive sand, gangs of marauders, the Chosen One, in whose hands is the salvation of the world. Black Isle Studios has given us a game imbued with the spirit of Mad Max and Roger Zelazny's Valley of Damnation. And of course, the player will long remember the image of the game symbol, the smiling guy from the educational pictures and videos, cheerfully holding his thumb up.

5. Aracanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

The world of steam and magic. Troika Games was able to successfully combine the industrial revolution of the Victorian era and a classic fantasy setting with orcs and elves in one game. The era of steampunk is coming, guns and guns are replacing swords and spells, the first Zephyr airship is proudly soaring into the sky, but the world is still full of ancient and powerful artifacts, and any enterprising necromancer can establish his own manufactory using the labor of raised zombies. A huge world, music filled with the cry of a violin, and complete freedom for the explorer-adventurer.

4. Bioshock

A first-person shooter made in the dystopian genre and based on the philosophical views of the American writer Ayn Rand, set out in the book “Atlas Shrugged”. The player watches the fall of the ideal world created by millionaire Andrew Ryan. Irrational Games was able to accurately convey the atmosphere of a dying city, thoroughly saturated with human vices. Bioshock is a smart, frightening shooter that tells us a tragic story set in the 1950s. In 2013, Bioshock Infinite was released, moving the action from the underwater world to the skies and telling a story in the spirit of a classic science fiction novel.

3. Silent Hill

One of the most famous game series created by Keiichiro Toyama. A deserted city capable of bringing to life the dark essence of the people who fall under its influence. The gray fog that shrouds Silent Hill conceals monsters created by the subconscious of the heroes. The musical score composed by Akira Yamaoka adds even more gloom and hopelessness to the atmosphere of the game. " Some things we forget, and some we never forget.“, says one of the characters in the game. This phrase could fully characterize Silent Hill. A city of nightmares from which you don’t want to return.

2. Max Payne

We say Max Payne - we mean noir, we say noir - we mean Max Payne. Remedy Entertainment was able to create an almost perfect game. The tragic story of a policeman, told through stylish comic book cutscenes, shootouts in the best traditions of John Woo action films, main theme song and the final credits of the second part of the game, which made the Poets of the Fall group world stars. The combination of these factors easily forced gamers to be transported to the snowy streets of New York and watch the fall of Max.

1st place - Elite

The game, which won thousands of hearts back in 1984, with a minimal plot and a fairly simple graphical component, is capable of immersing gamers in the cockpit of a spaceship and giving maximum freedom of action. Players could easily engage in trade, piracy, be explorers and pioneers of deep space. The game engine could generate 281,474,976,710,656 unique galaxies, each of which could have 256 stars, while the game weighed 22 kb. However, the publishers felt that users were unlikely to believe in such game capabilities, so a limit was introduced to 8 available galaxies.

Elite was able to acquire numerous myths and legends. Just look at the story about the mythical planet Raxxla, which fans persistently searched for, despite the creators’ statements that this planet is a fiction. The helm of a spaceship, endless space and a feeling of complete freedom - Elite gave all this to its fans back in 1984.

Games are countless virtual worlds that allow us to become what we want, but cannot in real life. However, among these worlds there are those that have earned the title of the best, both from gamers and from impartial critics.

To select the best games on PC, we studied popular Russian-language resources, such as Iwantgames, Stopgame And Kanobu, and also read reviews of popular games on Metacritic. This is how a list of 20 best PC games of all time which we present to your attention. Game ratings are based on data StopGame.

Genre: MMORPG.

Release date: 2004-present.

Platform: Mac, PC.

One of the best online games for PC offers not only an epic confrontation between two opposing alliances - the Alliance and the Horde, but also a beautiful, very large world, interesting quests, a carefully crafted story and raids.

In them you will be able to fully demonstrate your talent as a healer, melee or ranged fighter, or a powerful defender. Or just kiss squirrels in the nearest forest, if your soul lies only in peaceful pursuits.

The game is quite old by today's standards, but additions are regularly released to it. Next up – Battle for Azeroth will be released on August 14th.

19. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege

Rating: 8.8.

Genre: Shooter, addon.

Release date: 2015

Platform: PC, PS4, XONE.

According to many players, this is the most realistic and intense tactical first-person shooter. The game does not have a solo campaign, but there is exciting team play. The task of the attacking side is to take the opponents by storm, and the team playing on defense must strengthen its positions as much as possible and set cunning traps for the enemy.

The plot is based on real events that took place during counter-terrorism operations.

Rating: 8.8.

Genre: Shooter.

Release date: 2011

Platform: PC, PS3, X360

As bullets whiz overhead and explosions hurl you to the ground, the battlefield feels more realistic than ever before. In Battlefield 3, players will temporarily transform into elite US Marines. Dangerous missions await them, both solo and cooperative.

Excellent graphics, a wide variety of vehicles, a well-designed environment and pleasant rewards for good team play - this is what even very picky gaming publications praise Battlefield 3 for.

Rating: 8.8.

Genre: Arcade.

Release date: 2015

Platform: PC, X360, XONE

This is perhaps the most beautiful platform arcade game in our game rating. From the very first minutes, its unusual graphics attract attention and do not let go until the game is completed. An atmospheric world, a pleasant and unobtrusive soundtrack, RPG elements, a cute hero who will appeal to both young and adult gamers - what else is needed to while away a couple of evenings in front of the computer?

Rating: 8.9.

Genre: Strategy.

Release date: 2017

Platform: Mac, PC.

For many people, the sci-fi strategy game StarCraft represents one of the greatest computer games of all time. And StarCraft: Remastered lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor. With stunning new Ultra HD visuals, re-recorded audio and updated online support, this game comes highly recommended.

15. Assassin's Creed 2

Rating: 8.9.

Genre: Action

Release date: 2009.

Platform: PC, PS3, X360.

The product of more than two years of intensive work and part of the popular Assassin's Creed franchise. In a vast open world environment, the game invites you to play as Ezio, a young nobleman living during the Renaissance. An interesting story of revenge and retribution is successfully complemented by a variety of missions, unusual gameplay elements, a wide selection of weapons and character development, which fans of the original Assassin’s Creed love so much.

Rating: 9.0.

Genre: Shooter.

Release date: 2007

Platform: Mac, PC, PS3, WII, X360.

This game was amazing for its time, thanks to the atmosphere of a real war, a clear plot, an exciting multiplayer mode, hundreds of beautiful scenes and a meticulous design of the game environment. Even now, the military blockbuster Modern Warfare can provide several hours of exciting gameplay.

Rating: 9.0.

Genre: Action

Release date: 2012

Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XONE

The main character of the game is Jason Brody, a man stuck on a mysterious tropical island. In this wild paradise, where lawlessness and violence reign supreme, Brody will determine the outcome of the war between rebels and pirates for control of the island.

Rating: 9.1.

Genre: RPG.

Release date: 2017

Platform: PC, PS4, XONE

Twenty hours into this RPG, you'll still be discovering new mechanics you never knew about. In this regard, Original Sin 2 is not very friendly to beginners, and requires some persistence and patience from them.

At the same time, the huge number of quests and secrets, the non-linearity of the game, and its world, which is almost unparalleled in terms of scale and detail, are an experience that should not be missed.

Rating: 9.2.

Genre: Action, RPG.

Release date: 2010

Platform: PC, PS3, X360.

This exciting space saga takes players to unknown alien civilizations and battles with aliens, mercenaries and sentient robots. Additionally, it offers one of the most interesting and well-designed characters in RPG games.

Rating: 9.2.

Genre: RPG.

Release date: 2011.

Platform: PC, PS3, X360.

Bethesda Game Studios' open-world adventure doesn't boast the best combat or magic systems, or even better graphics, than the competition. Instead, it offers something much more - one of the biggest, richest and most immersive worlds you've ever seen.

Traveling through locations in Skyrim will take so much time that you can lose sleep, take time off from work, and test the patience of family and friends while playing.

Rating: 9.2.

Genre: Action, racing

Release date: 2013

Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XONE

The best games of all time would not be complete without this superbly optimized, atmospheric game. Its action takes place in the sunny city of Los Santos, in which a criminal trio operates:

• Franklin, a young thief looking for an opportunity to get his hands on some serious money.
• Michael, a former bank robber whose retirement wasn't as rosy as he thought it would be.
• Trevor, a violent guy suffering from a mental disorder.

Players can switch between characters at any time, and it's definitely worth doing. After all, each character has his own set of quests, as well as primary and secondary skills that help him survive and get the most out of the world of GTA5.

Rating: 9.3.

Genre: Strategy.

Release date: 1999

Platform: PC.

This legendary game has become the most popular title in the Heroes of Might and Magic series. Compared to previous parts, it offered new types of cities, seven small story campaigns for each faction, and at the same time ran even on low-power computers. Thanks to good localization, The Restoration of Erathia was a huge success in Russia.

Rating: 9.3.

Genre: RPG.

Release date: 2009

Platform: Mac, PC, PS3, X360.

As the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, one of the most successful role-playing games in the industry, Dragon Age: Origins combines the best elements of fantasy with stunning visuals. It cannot be called a revolution in the RPG genre, but rather an evolution.

The story of Dragon Age: Origins is exciting and action-packed, the characters are unforgettable, and the journey through the game world inhabited by people, dwarves and elves is something that will captivate you and will not let you go until the very end.

Rating: 9.3.

Genre: Puzzle.

Release date: 2011

Platform: Mac, PC, PS3, X360.

Valve has created a fun puzzle game with excellent gameplay mechanics. It offers players not only a single-player game for the main character Chelsea, who has to escape from the Aperture laboratory, but also a co-op mode for two players. The main characters in it will be the robots Atlas and P-Body. The storyline of the co-op mode does not intersect with the plot of the single-player mode, which leads to unexpected endings.

Rating: 9.3.

Genre: Action, racing.

Release date: 2002

Platform: PC

One of the best games in history still evokes warm and nostalgic feelings among those who played it. And those who did not pass can do so for three main reasons:

1. The huge map of Lost Haven is filled with diverse and magnificent places. Each area has a unique appearance, has its own unique atmosphere and even musical accompaniment.
2. The core gameplay can be summarized by simply saying that it consists of shooting and driving from a third-person perspective. However, in reality it offers much more: from a variety of missions to dialogues and interactions with many NPCs that inhabit the streets of The City of Lost Heaven.
3. An unusual and very beautiful main musical theme, created under the direction of the Czech composer Vladimir Simunek, and with the participation of the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra.

The only weak thing in the game is the imperfect AI of the heroes' enemies and companions. On the other hand, the fact that Los Have Haven's police officers are not geniuses further enhances the realism.

Rating: 9.3.

Genre: Shooter.

Release date: 2004

Platform: PC.

This game was very loved, and fans of the series are still waiting for the release of the third part. Half-Life 2's graphics engine was so realistic that players felt like they were in the movie. Excellent character animation, an original way of presenting the plot, a variety of environments and ways to interact with them, and most importantly, a charismatic protagonist made the first-person shooter Half-Life 2 what it is to this day. Namely, one of the most popular games in history.

Rating: 9.4.

Genre: RPG.

Release date: 1998

Platform: PC.

An amazing atmosphere, great music, and an exciting story make Fallout 2 a diamond of the RPG genre. This is a real non-linear game that allows you to do whatever you want in a world full of mutants, radiation, and hundreds of other dangers.

Rating: 9.5.

Genre: RPG.

Release date: 2015

Platform: Mac, PC, PS4, XONE.

The game about the adventures of Geralt of Rivia set a new standard for quality in open-world RPG games. Diverse and exciting locations, full of important decisions, interesting characters, and cruel enemies, excellent graphics and music, a thoughtful plot, funny and dramatic moments - all this gave players more than 100 exciting hours of gameplay.

For anyone who doesn't know the magical universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher 3 explains the history of all the important characters and what connects them to Geralt. This way, even beginners quickly get up to speed.

Rating: 9.6.

Genre: Addon, RPG.

Release date: 2016

Platform: PC, PS4, XONE.

The Witcher 3 is one of the highest rated games on PC. And its Blood and Wine addon is better made than most games released in 2016. Even players who have spent hundreds of hours in The Witcher greeted the new addition with an interesting storyline with surprise and delight. It is an excellent ending to the story about the White Wolf.

The quantity and quality of content in this addon is simply stunning, making it a full-fledged game. Many quests, dialogues and, of course, monsters await you in the new Toussaint location.