Whether you prefer wizards, sword-and-board warriors, the irradiated wasteland, vampires, or isometric text-heavy stories, the RPG is the genre that will never let you down. Accross the dizzing number of games available where you can play a role, there's something for everyone - and we've tried to reflect that in our list of the best RPGs on PC. The past couple of years have been great for RPGs, so there are some absolute classics as well as brand spanking new games on this list. And there's more to look forwards to, with rumblings of Dragon Age: Dread Wolf finally on the horizon, and space epic Starfield in our rear view mirror. Whatever else may happen, though, this list will provide you with the 50 best RPGs that you can download and play on PC right now.
]]>We're coming to the end of the Summer Steam Sale so chances are you've picked up the things you'd already got your eye on, but there are always games that sneak under the radar or come from genres you might usually ignore. That's why we've put together our final recommendation list. Here's a whole list of things we love and why we think they're worth your time! (Don't forget to check out our earlier picks and the comments, though - I picked up a bunch of games that had escaped my own notice through reader enthusiasm...)
]]>Inspired by recent experiences with The Witness' [official site] puzzles, Robert Zak has been reminiscing about the art of note-taking while playing games. From graph paper for dungeon crawlers to suspicions and clues for Her Story [official site], many genres are represented, with only the noble pen and paper to hold them together.
]]>One day I'll write a Desert Island Discs about the games I'd keep with me until the end of days, given a choice of ten. It'll no doubt be a Desert Island Digital Downloads given the absence of physical media in my life. I live with the ghosts of entertainment.
Rather than compiling the list of games I'd take to the Vault with me though, today I'm aiming to put together a collection, one from each genre, that I'd use to introduce those genres to a PC gaming newcomer, or a lapsed gamer. A friend inspired this particular bundle of joy, someone who grew up with an Amiga but developed other interests and hasn't touched a game for more than a few minutes at a time, either console or PC, for over fifteen years. A recent illness has left him unable to engage in his usual outdoor hobbies and games have filled the gap.
]]>Legend of Grimrock 2 sure was very good, everyone can agree. It took the style and mechanics of the original and expanded them in every direction, and the result is something that is definitely the best... something or other.
John: Ooh, this was a tough game. A lovely, tough game. Not just because it starts you off far too weak and dumps you in the middle of a vast labyrinth of levels with no sensible way to know which bits are going to be too difficult, but also because the puzzles require an extension be built on your brain.
]]>Two and a half years after we were delighted by Legend Of Grimrock, developers Almost Human return with a sequel - Legend Of Grimrock 2 - that aims to expand on the original, go outdoors as well as in, and remind us it's hip to be a square (-moving person). Have they managed it? (Hint: OH GOOD HEAVENS YES.) Here's wot I think:
Legend Of Grimrock 2 is bigger, deeper and more wonderful than I could ever have expected. I absolutely loved the original, its descending dungeons of tile-based first-person RPG not just reminiscent of Dungeon Master, but as good as it. Grimrock 2, I say without hesitation, is better.
]]>Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder were like mother's milk to me, and Legend of Grimrock is like a perfectly muddled gin and tonic. Grimrock's sequel now has a release date, October 15th, and a new trailer to coincide with the announcement. It shows a variety of enemies and areas, including what appears to be a cannon-wielding pirat(e), as can be seen above. There are also spikes and tile-based puzzles, as the dungeon gods demand.
]]>It's been a long time since yesterday, so here's a quick refresher: Legend of Grimrock 2 is already deep in alpha testing and well on its way to beta. Hurrah! I can't wait to peel myself off the business end of an ogre's club only to get re-crushed by a wicked tough puzzle. All of this seems to suggest that Grimrock 2: An Even Grimmer Rock is right around the corner, but apparently that's only sort of the case. I got in touch with developer Almost Human about release plans and the possibility of an Early Access phase, and here's what they told me.
]]>Some games make massive developmental strides loudly. STOMP STOMP STOMP WEEKLY TWITCH BROADCAST CLANG WOMP WOOZLE WE ADDED PARTICLE RENDERING. Others, however, do so in relative silence, announcing progress only once all systems are (mostly) go. Case in point: Legend of Grimrock 2. The first-person dungeon/island crawler sequel looks more and more marvelous every time we see it, and now it's quite deep in the dungeons of alpha. The next step? Beta. And apparently that one's not too far off.
]]>The original Legend of Grimrock's setting was pretty, you know, grim and also predominately made of rocks. But Legend of Grimrock 2? It's a terrible, terrible lie. The isle of Nex looks like a glorious vacation getaway. With monsters. And traps. And ancient ruins. So the greatest vacation getaway ever, basically. I see a few rocks here and there, but I'm not convinced. Grimness and rocks were the core pillars of the first game - definitely not wicked yet rewarding difficulty, puzzles, character building, and blender-mouthed snail monsters, all of which will be returning in spades in the second. Developer Almost Human has clearly lost its marbles. A Grimrock match-three Facebook casino game can't be far off.
]]>Look at that! It's the first screenshot from Legend of Grimrock 2 and it's one of the worst pictures of a dungeon I've ever seen, right up there with the Mona Lisa and Magritte's not-a-pipe-nor-a-dungeon. After creating some top notch dank dungeons for their first RPG, Almost Human appear to have slipped up and the dungeons in Grimrock 2 will apparently contain some trees and blue skies, and crenellated turrets peering from on high, just around the next bend in the path. Of course, it's entirely possible that the picture isn't a dungeon at all and that the game is undergoing a design overhaul. Let's consult the development blog.
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