Is the wait killing you? Here are the great PC games of 2016 that we’re just dying to play!
If you’re into PC games, then you already know what a great year 2016 is going to be. So many quality titles have already been announced – with more being announced each week – that the wait is becoming almost unbearable.
In this article, we list the great PC games of 2016 that we’re most excited about. From RPGs to first-person shooters, from fantasy to sci-fi, there’s at least one game for every kind of gamer. So let’s start with our first entry…
11. World of Warcraft: Legion
World of Warcraft is the most successful MMORPG in gaming history, and we can thank Blizzard’s devotion to its fans for that. For years, they’ve been making sure their most popular brand never goes stale; thanks to regular gameplay and story updates, Azeroth is a living, breathing world.
World of Warcraft: Legion is the game’s sixth expansion, and it’s going to be huge. For starters, the Burning Legion are coming back to raise hell on Azeroth. Who are the Burning Legion? Oh, just an army of world-conquering demons who invaded Azeroth several times in the path. They were primary antagonists in Warcraft III, if you can recall. It looks like the Alliance and the Horde will have to put aside their differences (again) to fight off this threat.
And, oh, did we mention Illidan Stormrage, “the Betrayer” himself, is making a comeback, as well? Goes to show that no one stays dead for long in the World of Warcraft!
An enormous new continent called The Broken Isles, a new Demon Hunter class, customizable artifact weapons, a level cap increase, and loads of other goodies await in what will be one of the great PC games of 2016!
10. BattleCry
Set in an alternate timeline at the dawn of the 20th century, BattleCry introduces a new face of war. In this strange version of our world, countries settle all disagreements by having teams of elite warriors fight each other in deadly matches.
You’ll choose one of three factions – the Imperial Marines, the Cossack Empire, and the Han Republic – then a character class, from the technology-focused Gadgeteer to the brutish Brawler. Then you wage war against the other factions in team-based, third-person PVP. Up to 24 players can duke it out onscreen, so you can be sure those battles are going to be a bloody mess.
You’ll have unique weapons at your disposal, such as swords that convert into shields, bows and armor-piercing arrows, and electric blades. The environments are spacious and breathtaking, while the art style itself is gorgeous.
BattleCry definitely looks like it’ll be one of the great PC games of 2016!
9. Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin was a breath of fresh air in a gaming landscape choking with first-person RPGs. But the game was more than just an oldschool RPG with lovely updated graphics; it had an epic story, great characters, and gameplay so addictive you could end up forgetting about a thing called sleep.
Larian Studios is making Divinity: Original Sin 2, and we can thank the fans for that. Its Kickstarter reached the $500,000 goal in less than half a day. In fact, the campaign has already overshot its goal by a wide margin.
So what can we expect? A quality RPG, that’s for sure. You’ll have customizable characters and companions you can recruit; a cooperative multiplayer mode supporting up to four players; interactive environments; quests and dialogue options that change depending on your character’s history; exciting combat that comes with a cover system; and even a “Love & Hate” system that allows you to develop your relationship, romantic or otherwise, with other characters.
The great PC games of 2016 can’t come soon enough!
8. Doom
Anyone who’s a fan of first-person shooters knows how the original Doom was largely responsible for the explosion of the genre’s popularity back in the 90s. The genre has changed a lot over the years, but it is just as well-loved as it was back then, when all we had to shoot were ugly pixelated demons out of ugly pixelated guns.
Now the classic Doom is getting a much-needed facelift. The same monsters, the same freaks, only rendered in gorgeously detailed CG. The fighting will be fast-placed and bloody – no hiding around corners here! Just whip out your biggest, baddest gun, and start blasting away at any hellish thing that moves.
As it’ll probably be one of the great PC games of 2016, we’re also expecting the multiplayer to be awesome. Oh, how torturous the wait!
7. Overwatch
Competitive shooters are a huge thing right now, so it’s no surprise that Blizzard wants in on the action. Overwatch, their newest IP since, like, forever, is a first person team shooter filled with charming visuals, amazing characters, and a rich backstory you can really get lost in.
There are 21 heroes to choose from, including the time-travelling adventurer, Tracer; D.Va, a South Korean ex-pro gamer who now rides a giant mech into battle; a robot ninja named Genji who can kill you with one slash from his sword; a super intelligent gorilla called Winston; and the badass cowboy, McCree.
Story-wise, the game is about the now-defunct task force Overwatch, which came into being to fight for humanity during a global robotic uprising known as the Omnic Crisis.
Blizzard knows they’ve got a gem on their hands. So, aside from the game itself, they’re going to be churning out other goodies for the benefit of fans. Expect graphics novels and more animated shorts, just like the excellent cinematic unveiled last year!
6. XCOM 2
Turn-based strategy had its champion in the excellent X-COM: Enemy Unknown. Well, come 2016, you’ll be zapping alien scum once again in XCOM 2.
In this alternate timeline of the XCOM universe, the aliens have conquered Earth. A weakened XCOM now operates from a mobile base called the Avenger.
You’ll be in charge of squads of soldiers as you attempt to take the planet back from the extraterrestrial menace one mission at a time. Soldiers have different classes and can be leveled up to access a variety of special skills. New class types include the Grenadier, who’s happiest when they’re blowing things up; and the Ranger, who’s an expert with swords.
Missions range from extermination jobs to kidnapping tasks. Take an alien home, and you can perform an autopsy to learn a thing or two about their physiology. This will identify their weaknesses and maybe even help you develop new weapons. As a first in the series, some missions will also feature secondary objectives.
An eagerly awaited title – one that will likely be one of the great PC games of 2016!
5. Total War: Warhammer
War is hell, but it’s pretty glorious when it’s fictional. And an all-around orgy of virtual murder doesn’t get any better than the Total War. So you can just imagine how bloody things are going to get when Total War is paired up with one of the most violent fantasy franchises of our time, Warhammer.
Total War: Warhammer, is everything you love about both franchises: hundreds upon hundreds of troops on blood-soaked fields, thundering war machines, face-melting magic, and monsters so horrific they’ll make you want to curl up into a ball and die. The four playable factions are the Empire, the Dwarfs, the Greenskins, and the Vampire Counts. You’ll also control special heroes during battle.
Combat is real-time, but, like other Total War games, you’ll also be able to build cities, expand your empire, and engage in diplomacy.
We simply cannot wait for Total War: Warhammer!
4. Dark Souls III
Who’d have known a game so hard that playing it is sometimes akin to punching yourself in the face would become successful enough to warrant numerous sequels?
What started as a PS3-exclusive called Demon’s Souls is now a cross-platform franchise that has been kicking our collective behinds since 2009. Dark Souls III will be the series’ 2016 entry, and from what we’ve seen and heard so far, it’s every bit as punishing as its predecessors.
The combat will be faster, and there’s even a new system which basically gifts you with new abilities depending on the weapon you’re holding. As for the bosses, they’re bigger, uglier, and more dangerous than ever.
Masochists unite, because Dark Souls III is set to become one of the great PC games of 2016!
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is taking the cyberpunk RPG franchise to another level with larger worlds, more augmentations, and even more conspiracies than you can shake a tinfoil hat at.
Adam Jensen is back, and this time, he’ll be dealing with terrorists who are demanding equal treatment for people who have been augmented. Unfortunately, augmented people are now looked on with great suspicion, making it harder for dudes like Jensen to do their groceries without getting knifed in the posterior.
Jensen’s quest will take him to the Czech Republic, where we can expect he’ll have lots of opportunity to try out his new toys. Human Revolution gave us a badass cyborg who could punch through walls, leap dozens of feet in the air, turn invisible, and eject blades from his elbows. We can’t wait to find out what other tricks he’s got up his sleeve!
We have no doubt Mankind Divided will be one of the great PC games of 2016!
2. Mass Effect: Andromeda
We really wish we knew more about this game, but BioWare’s being tight-lipped about Mass Effect: Andromeda, one of the most highly anticipated games in sci-fi gaming history.
What we do know is that it’s set many years after the first Mass Effect trilogy. BioWare’s also taking a bold step – one even Star Trek has never taken – by setting their latest game in an entirely different galaxy. Andromeda Galaxy, to be exact, which is a real galaxy neighboring our own Milky Way. And what could be more exciting than that? It’s basically stepping into the vast unknown.
New worlds. New technologies. New aliens for our hero or heroine to have uncomfortable CG sex with. New adventures and new stories. It’s going to be a blast.
1. No Man's Sky
There’s one dream every sci-fi nerd lives for: the opportunity to sails between the stars, to explore the great void of the cosmos.
If you’re a sci-fi nerd, developer Hello Games is your genie. Their game, No Man’s Sky, promises a virtual universe boasting more than 18 quintillion planets. Our minds can’t even process how big a “quintillion” is, except that it sure sounds way more than a billion.
Planets have ecosystems, so expect plants, animals, and maybe even intelligent life. Once you’ve discovered a planet, you can then submit information about it to a database called The Atlas. This allows players all over the world to share their discoveries with others.
Journey with friends, upgrade your gear, purchase starships, and defend yourself against Sentinels in what will likely be one of the great PC games of 2016!
So what do you think, gamers? What do you think will be the great PC games of 2016? Tell us in the comments section below!
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