A lot of games these days are built to be played in short bursts: brief encounters, designed for worlds with very few hours a day, and lots of digital distractions. And that’s fine! Blasting through a few rounds of Valorant or Rocket League matches is a great way to spend some time.
But sometimes, you want something else something non-vegetarian. Whether you’re looking for an entertaining way to take a long run at home or just want to wrap your head around a satisfyingly complex experience, these 10 deep, complicated, and just plain great PC games will keep you going for hours and hours. And will keep for hours on end.
They’re some of the best long PC games you can play, and better yet, in times where it’s hard to get your hands on a new graphics card, many of them can also be streamed via the cloud streaming of GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass. Can – no GPU required.
1. Terraria
Imagine what Minecraft might be like if it were made with pixel art sprites and released in the SNES era. It sums up the overall vibe of Terraria very well. It also explains why I can’t seem to wean myself off the darn thing.
This devious little indie sandbox title borrows so many ideas from Notch’s game that it’s essentially Minecraft in 2D, but it also enhances familiar gameplay in exciting ways.
There are too many creepy creepers to kill, and the staggering number of doodads you can do to kill MacGyver with a single lethal weapon is mouth-watering. Tell me what will you do? There’s some damning fun in these unknown depths.
2. cities skylines
God Damn! This game is absolutely majestic. Cities Skyline is a city simulation game that you can do anything you’d like. You will start off with some budgets and use it efficiently to grow the city, of course caring about all the details such as parks, educations, traffics and etc; the factors that effect the real life.
I mean, the fact that they have brought a real life problems to a game is just absolutely incredible, while not hurting any of the gameplays. And as I said, you can do anything you’d like, from just simply chilling and building a city, to the point where you are building an already existing city and refer it in game. Build districts, control policies and taxations for the city you care for.
This game is just an example of how gaming came nowadays, and if you ever want to, you can hop into the steam community and download what others built and learn from it.
I honestly feel like you have to try this if you are fan of gaming. Lastly, if you just want to build your city without any limitation of money, you can change your setting so that you will have unlimited money. Have a great time playing this game and hopefully your day will be better!
3. dota 2
dota 2 is like a good game of chess that has done acid and decided to invite all of its ‘friends’ over to brutalize and torment the other team. However, instead of tormenting the other team these ‘friends’ just decide to rail on one another until each ‘friend’ has to quietly put themselves into offline mode before playing any game on steam.
Honestly though, contrary to popular opinion DotA is a very fun game. It is just not a fun game for stupid people or people that are not willing to take some time to learn the game. This game will not spoonfeed you on how to play, nor will it easily allow you to catch up if you make mistakes. Like in the real world if you make mistakes in battle you will suffer.
4. warframe
Warframe is a beautiful, intriguing, fun game that showcases the proper way to execute f2p. Their f2p model is nothing short of perfection, so well done that I feel joy for supporting DE every time I buy something for/from Warframe. I’ve essentially quit playing a few months ago, mostly because when I play Warframe, I only want to play Warframe, and my hundreds of other games all get thoroughly neglected. Warframe is full of great content, with more constantly being developed and released.
If I could recommend only one game, it would be Warframe. You don’t even need Xbox Live Gold membership to enjoy Warframe (though it’s necessary for online coop). They offer us gorgeous graphics and professional quality audio, interesting quests and stories, a veritable plethora of ever-expanding content, and the most fluid, dynamic, exciting and visceral 3rd person combat experience you will find anywhere.
It’s impossible to praise Digital Extremes enough for their masterpiece of digital art that is Warframe, but I’m voting Warframe for President 2022 as a write in. There’s nothing, no possible reason or justification for you not to try Warframe. Give it a few hours, ask for help when you invariably begin drowning in the almost-too-much content, and once you’ve done yourself the best favor of your life by starting Warframe, other games will always pale in comparison.
5. Monster Hunter World
World is one of my favorite games because although the game is based off of just hunting monsters, it has lots of other aspects to it too! You can capture endemic life, including fishing, you get to have your own personal room back at HQ known as Astera and Seliana which you can place your various pets and customize it to your needs, and most of all, Capcom does a great job with keeping all the players of the game entertained.
They update the game to where the game has festivals along with new quests and monsters! This game never fails to amaze me!! 10/10!! Also, the music is AMAZING!! (Another one of the things you can customize in your room!) The Monster designs in MHW is very awesome too. Thanks, Capcom!
6. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
I would have never thought that the developers could live up to the very high expectations that were set by Ori and the Blind Forest, let alone supersede them. The different worlds we had to explore were all very varied and were associated with different skills and powers, and so many features were added, such as battle shrines and pedestals for racing against time, therefore enhancing the gameplay. The graphics and the soundtrack are the best I’ve ever seen in any video game and the storyline is very touching (although the ending broke my heart).
There were minor bugs, such as the game freezing for a couple of seconds or getting stuck in places where you wouldn’t be able to go, yet that doesn’t take away anything from this wonderful game and I’m sure they can easily be patched! I definitely recommend getting this game and playing the first one if you haven’t! I just wished we could have gotten more games to this wonderful series! The whole team working on this game did an outstanding job!.
7. Death Stranding
I love this new genre that Kojima created, for some people they may be confused at the start, but if you give it a chance and play the entire entire game, it’s honestly the best gaming experience I’ve had. The story and character development has the most depth than any movie or game I’ve seen. The gameplay is amazing, and after giving it time, it got even better.
Even at the beginning when you don’t have much equipment and not much of a connection to others, it shows a good comparison of how it gets later on. There’s many strategies on how to handle different situations along the way. For those wondering about replayability, there is much to do after you beat the game.
The music is good too, I found it relaxing, especially suited for the moments they’re put in, I still can’t get BB’s song out of my head. And for those wondering if it’s just realistic hiking and that’s all, there’s plenty of obstacles and enemies along the way.
You get a variety of guns later on the game, also letting you choose between lethal and non-lethal. Graphics are amazing, played part way with HDR and part way without, and it makes a good different, but it’s still amazing on either setting.
The story is honestly the best part of the game, and there may be tears at the end, but it made for a good message. To me this game is one of the few games I think is worth the full price (Along with Uncharted, God of War, Horizon, and other amazing games) but this has now become my all time favorite game.
Is it perfect? No. But it’s definitely near it. Everyone has their opinions on the type of game they like, I like many genres, but unfortunately alot of games lack depth or meaning, and this is not one of them.
8. Crusader Kings 3
Simply the best Paradox release to date. If you like grand strategy, try Paradox games. From Crusader Kings 3 to Hearts of Iron 4, to Europa Universalis 4, and more, if you played Civilization and thought it was to easy, you’ll love Paradox titles.
Crusader Kings 3 is a bit different than your typical strategy game. As your main objective is to grow your Dynasty as opposed to solely worrying about your nation.
You will still worry about your nation, either as it’s King, or a lower level Duke, or an even lower count. These lower ranks are really fun to play as you have to scheme or fight your way to the throne, then have your dynasty take your nation to great heights during the middle ages.
9. Doom Eternal
absolutely amazing and a huge blast. Online multiplayer is ok but when playing with friends as demons or just in a custom match makes it even better. Campaign is wonderfull and depending on how much you play in a day can give you days of fun. (for me it was 4 days on ultra violence) Difficulties are very good and match up to specific skill sets perfecly like if your a veteran to shooter games doing ultra violence or a harder difficulty will feel right at home and the easy difficulty is so well adjusted that my brother who barely plays games had a blast.
The doomguy customizations are awesome as well and make replaying the game that mush more worth it as you get to see your skin ingame and in the campaign. You can customize demons you can play as in battlemode but not the campain ones which is fine but it would have been fun to see my custom skins for the homunculous or the pain elemental. The DLC’s are also a blast and give more story to an already story rich game.
10. stardew valley
Every time I start a new farm in Stardew Valley or return to my 100-hour saves on PC, I feel like going home. There’s a comfort to Stardew Valley I’ve rarely found in other games. The music that changes with each season fits in perfectly to the melody of the 16-bit countryside, and all the activities that await provide both peace in my daily routine and excitement in the mysteries of the land. Whether you want to farm, fish, fight monsters, craft, mine, be everyone’s best friend, or do everything, this farming adventure has a lot to offer.
As we said in our original review, Stardew Valley “beautifully combines farm simulation with RPG elements to create an interesting, absorbing rural world,” and it only gets better with each massive free update. . The multiplayer, new items, buildings, farm types, events, and relationships give Stardew Valley an even better foundation and a reason to stay ahead of the iconic event in its third in-game year.
