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What are the best adventure games on Steam?

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Jan 30, 2023

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The 2 must play gamesWhy?

Best adventure games on Steam	Price	Steam Rating	Co-Op
91 Portal 2	$19.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	-
90 Dying Light	$59.99	Very Positive	4 Player Online / 4 PLayer LAN
-- Firewatch	$19.99	Very Positive	-
-- Don't Starve Together	$14.99	-	2-4 Player Local
-- The Long Dark	$31.99	Very Positive	-

Portal 2

Top Pro

Challenging puzzles that require creative thinking

The game challenges your brain to use portals, cubes and other mechanics in order to solve simple and complex puzzles in interesting ways. Trying to figure out the best placement of entrance and exit portals in order to gain access to (perceived) inaccessible places takes a lot of thought, especially in the later game. See More

Top Con

Unique co-op levels with co-op specific tools

In Portal 2, co-op is a completely different set of puzzles than the single player campaign. Almost all puzzles require a high level of teamwork that will leave you feeling proud of what you have accomplished. In a game that requires prefect timing and teamwork, Portal 2 features many tools to facilitate teamwork. One of the most helpful is a 3 second countdown timer that can be initiated and shown to both players to insure you launch that portal or jump at the perfect time. In addition, there is a marker that you can place on certain objects for your teammate to see as well as a setting that shows your partners view super-imposed on the corner of your screen. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Top Pro

Entertaining and well delivered voice acting

Voice acting for Wheatley the AI robot is done by Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office UK, Life's Too Short) in humorous fashion. His delivery is well executed on all dialogue. On top of this specific experience, the rest of the voice acting of every other character in the game is performed just as well, in part due to the fact that the dialogue was written in a funny smart and entertaining cool fashion. This makes for a top quality listening experience that shows a lot of care was taken with the acting of the game. See More

Top Con

Steep co-op learning curve

Although the single-player campaign features a gradual learning curve, co-op gives no mercy. The puzzles start off hard and only get harder. It is highly recommended that you play through single-player first if you are not familiar with Portal's mechanics. See More

Top Pro

Humorous voice acting by Stephen Merchant

Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office UK, Life's Too Short) voices the character of Wheatley the robot in humorous fashion. See More

Top Pro

Witty and funny character driven story

Four major characters drive the single player poop campaign, and they are amazing. Three of which have explosive personalities, bring humor, suspense, sadness, and empathy. The other being Chell, who doesn’t speak but her interactions with the rest of the cast make her all the more mysterious and interesting. Most of the time you don’t even see or directly interact with the characters, but that just shows how great and cool they are. See More

Top Pro

Main co-op campaign is short

The co-op campaign in Portal 2 is about 4 hours long for experienced players, meaning it could be beaten in a weekend. With almost zero replayability, this makes the game feel incredibly short. Luckily, hundreds of hours worth of user-generated content is available. See More

Top Pro

Hundreds of hours of user-generated content

The game has more than 60,000 co-op puzzles created by users through the Steam Workshop and through mods. Because it is user-generated content, the quality and size of these puzzles vary widely, including everything from simple, one-off chambers to full-fledged expansions with high-quality stories, voice-overs, and new gameplay elements (for example, Mel). See More

Top Pro

Both online co-op and local co-op

It is possible to play a multiplayer game for free online using the Steam servers, as well as locally on your machine using split-screen (the second player must use a gamepad controller if playing locally). See More

Top Pro

Larger in scope than the first title

Portal 2 is larger in every way when compared to the first title, from the longer and more detailed story to the larger levels and new game mechanics. See More

Top Pro

Well implemented tools that improve teamwork

In a game that requires perfect timing and teamwork, Portal 2 features many tools to facilitate teamwork. One of the most helpful is a 3-second countdown timer that can be initiated and shown to both players to ensure you launch that portal or jump at the perfect time. In addition, there is a marker that you can place on certain objects for your teammate to see as well as a setting that shows your partner's view super-imposed on the corner of your screen. See More

Dying Light

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Top Pro

Great graphics

Top Con

Poor plot and characters

The story is nothing new with many elements that are too familiar at this point. A Reluctant hero and a cold government agent mixed with a plot that can bee seen from miles away points to a lack of imagination while trying to create a game for the masses. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 PLayer LAN

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Rewarding side-missions

There's a wide variety of side-quests and a large chunk of them are multi-part adventures with great storytelling. See More

Top Con

Poor multithreading

Sadly Dying Light does not do multi-threading very well which results in low framerates. For a modern game that is to be played on consoles with 8 cores or PCs that also have multiple cores, to not take advantage of proper multi-threading is pretty mind boggling. Really it just comes down to laziness, something that is not new to Techland and their poorly optimized ports. See More

Top Pro

Satisfying combat

The combat is impactful, visceral and offers a great deal of variety in terms of available weapons and different enemy types. It presents a reasonable amount of challenge that is rewarding to overcome and offers multiple ways of emerging victorious in each encounter. See More

Top Con

VR may cause motion sickness

In addition to some minor persistence issues, there are some sensory information mismatch issues created by the in-game characters movements and players stationary position that can easily induce nausea. The issue is a lot more prominent during cut-scenes that take the control away from the player completely. See More

Top Pro

Fluid parkour movement

The main protagonist is capable of scaling buildings, jumping over obstacles and vaulting over zombies with ease making traversing the open world city a lot more enjoyable. See More

Top Con

VR has a downgraded visual experience

VR version of the game is low fidelity and introduces visual glitches that the standard version doesn't have. See More

Top Pro

Enjoyable co-operative multiplayer

Dying light features up to four player LAN and online co-op. See More

Top Con

Poor VR UI

Things such as subtitles, instructions, menus, prompts, etc are hard to see clearly. See More

Top Pro

Expansive weapon-crafting system

There are blueprints found throughout the gameworld that can be used to modify existing weapons in a wide variety of ways by adding various elements to them and creating weapons such as enemy seeking grenades, exploding throwing stars, and makeshift bats with nails through them. See More

Top Con

Enabling VR support isn't straightforward

Enabling VR support requires editing config files. Instructions can be found here. See More

64 Other Games Considered

Firewatch

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Top Pro

Fantastic voice acting

There are two leads with each being voice acted in a believable way in how they interact. The relationship presented in the story is given credence due to how well it is acted. See More

Top Con

Tremendous build up in story, only to have a lackluster finale

Once the player progresses far enough into the game there are plot thread wrap-ups that seem a bit too convenient and overly rushed. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Narrative, Adventure, Walking Sim

Top Pro

Beautiful graphics

The graphics look great with a canvas effect. See More

Top Con

Short game

It maxes out at 5 hours of play, which is a bit short, though it is priced fairly for the time one gets. See More

Top Pro

Adds interaction to the "walking simulator" genre

Unlike many walking simulator game the player is allowed to interact more with the environment than expected. User can repel down ropes, collect caches of items and even adopt a pet. See More

Top Con

Story feels a bit weak

Once the player progress far enough into the game there are moments that are left unexplained that were once thought to be important as well as wrap ups that seem a bit too convenient. See More

Top Pro

Excellent story

Firewatch is an exploration game with a strong focus on its main story which makes you ask "what comes next?" like a good book or enthralling movie. See More

Top Pro

Great atmosphere

You get lost in the world playing as Henry, it even ends up getting a little spooky. It never shows how it's spooky but there's always that creepy vibe in the background. See More

Top Pro

Based on exploration and storytelling

Firewatch is basically a exploration game with a very strong focus on the main story. No need to kill enemies or compete with other games online. See More

Don't Starve Together

Top Pro

Uniquely atmospheric art style

Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2d characters and items in a 3d world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesn't take away from the suspense. See More

Top Con

Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring

The beginning of a playthrough starts out pretty slow, which is exacerbated by the fact that the player will need to restart many many times as the game is a rouguelike, so permanent death is something that will be encountered often. See More

Specs

Genre:Roguelike, Survival, Horror

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

Top Pro

Fun crafting system

You need to learn how to craft a variety of things, from farms to ensure a steady supply of food to items like weapons and armor so you can survive the various evils you encounter while exploring. The crafting system has a lot of depth to it and there are hundreds and hundreds of things to make. See More

Top Con

Much grinding

The game requires quite a lot of grinding in order to gather materials that can be used to craft needed items. It is a slow process that may get repetitive as it will have to be repeated any time the player dies. See More

Top Pro

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

Random quips from characters, infotext and the world itself (such as the existence of werepigs) show glimpses of a dark sense of humor throughout. See More

Top Pro

Lots of replayability

With randomly generated (customizable) levels, different characters, ever-unfolding story elements, and permadeath, the game offers a lot of variety within the goal of constantly striving to survive longer. See More

Top Pro

Rewarding roguelike gameplay

The basic gameplay revolves around gathering resources for crafting in a wilderness where the flora and fauna are constantly trying to kill you. Levels are procedurally generated. See More

Top Pro

Great story generator

Goals and story elements are unveiled organically over time and they are different in each playthrough. See More

Top Pro

There's never a dull moment

As the game progresses, it offers more and more mechanics that require constant attention to function properly. It becomes a constant re-evaluation of risk and reward. See More

Top Pro

Easily customized to adjust difficulty

The game gives you a lot of world customization options. You can change the length of day, weather patterns, how much of each monster or resource spawns, etc. This effectively allows you to adjust how difficult you wish the game to be. See More

Top Pro

Easy to get started but has a lot of depth

The game starts out easy, with very little in terms of mechanics, and the single objective of not starving. Then, over time, new mechanics are introduced as you explore more of the game world. The game provides very little guidance, leaving players to figure out how things work for themselves. In addition to game mechanics, even goals and story elements are unveiled organically over time. See More

Top Pro

Very active modding community with numerous mods available

Using the Steam Workshop, Don't Starve has a very active modding community. With nearly 800 mods currently available, there are unlimited ways you can change your Don't Starve experience. See More

The Long Dark

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Top Pro

Complete freedom to explore the open-world

The game features a massive, open-world sandbox mode in which there are no quests to gate your progress, or artificial boundaries to exploration. The only goal is to survive as long as possible, and to do it by whatever means possible. This free-exploration, open-world design offers plenty of space to roam for those who want to enjoy a more open playstyle without the hindrances of time gates or quest mechanics. Whether you choose to salvage for supplies, hunt the local wildlife, start cooking fires, or simply just take in the view - the freedom to explore and interact with the world in your own way is endless. See More

Top Con

No jumping or climbing

You cannot jump or climb over fences, rocks, or other obstacles meaning sometimes you will have to take the longest route possible to reach your destination. See More

CourteousAusrine's Experience

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:First-Person Survival, Sandbox

Top Pro

Good balance between surviving and exploring

There is a delicate balance between exploring and surviving, and every aspect of gameplay is closely related. The amount of activity the player performs and the distance they can travel and explore, are balanced around certain metrics such as time, warmth, and calories - and all of these game systems are closely related resulting in a finely tuned experience. For example, eating food replenishes calories, but in order to find food, you have to explore and salvage which causes you to burn calories in the first place. The player must watch how many calories they burn, even when sleeping, and make sure they find or hunt enough food to keep themselves going. On top of this, the player needs to seek shelter from the cold, make sure they are wearing the appropriate clothing, and build fires to stay warm and cook food. During your explorations to salvage supplies and look for food items, you will need to explore carefully as to not get stuck without a place to sleep for the night. See More

Top Con

No multitasking

Most actions in the game have a small wait time, and you can only perform one action at time. For example, if you search an item, boil water, repair your clothes, or salvage anything, you will have to stop and wait until the action completes. See More

Top Pro

Story mode adds a new way to play

For those who desire a story to go with their survival gaming, The Long Dark offers a fully voiced-acted, five chapter story mode called "Wintermute" complete with cutscenes. It features all the survival gameplay aspects of the sandbox version, as well as story quests and character development, making it an engaging, new way to experience all the game has to offer. In the story, you'll assume the role of a man trying to survive in the harsh Canadian wilderness after crashing his plane during a geomagnetic disaster. Rather than just a no-bones survival situation, you'll be working through an actual storyline as you head for safety. As you progress the story, you'll have the opportunity to do quests, watch voice-acted cutscenes, and interact with other characters who are fighting for their lives as well. This pulls you even deeper into the game world since you now have a real goal to work for - escaping the harsh wilderness alive. Story mode adds a deeper layer of immersion via storytelling than the sandbox mode, which is only about surviving as long as you can. Though currently not all of the chapters are available as they are released episodically over time. See More

Top Con

No tutorial

There is no tutorial or learning mode. When you start the game, you have to figure out how to survive in this harsh world on your own. Some say this adds to the experience, but for many, this can be overwhelming especially in a survival game where everything can -- and will -- kill you. See More

Top Pro

Realistic survival elements make you feel a part of the world

You'll feel like you're living in true survival situation, and the game does an excellent job of placing the player in the role. This game features elements of survival that are very close to the real world, creating an enriching gaming experience for those who want a realistic survival challenge. You will have to keep an eye on your calorie intake, monitor your body temperature, and even craft and wear clothing appropriate to the harsh arctic environment. Staying outside too long after dark can kill you via hypothermia. The wildlife is dangerous and can injure or kill you - as the animals are starving too. You can starve to death if you forget to eat, or run out of food. Death in this game is permanent, and will require you to start the game over. See More

Top Pro

Four difficulty levels to suit all skill levels

Regardless of your skill level, you will be able to find a difficulty level that suits you and satisfies your craving for a good challenge. This game features four different difficulty levels, making it accessible to a broad range of players. The easiest mode is Pilgrim and it offers a gaming experience suitable to all players where dying is a rare occurrence. For beginning players, Voyager is recommended as it gives you a forgivable way to learn the basics. After that, the difficulty takes a strong curve upwards into the remaining two modes: Stalker, and Interloper - with the latter being considered a very challenging gaming experience only recommended for expert gamers and those who desire a true video game survival challenge. See More

Terraria

Top Pro

Allows for freedom of expression for all ages, all at your own pace

Terraria is like a 2D Minecraft, so you can alter the world around you and craft things, which teaches creativity and critical thinking skills. It has all kinds of tools and materials you can use to build whatever you can imagine. From housing to furniture, to weapons, to types of structure, the possibilities are almost endless. This is great for children who enjoy building and discovering new ways to tackle ideas just as it is great for adults who enjoy the same things. It also makes for a great objectiveless game where you can do just about anything you want at your own pace. See More

Top Con

Progress can feel slow

Quite often you'll have to collect tons of materials to craft the necessary tools, equipment, and boss summoning items to advance. This can take a really long time, especially if you're unlucky with the items dropped by mobs. See More

SociableGerra's Experience

a crap ton of content for hundreds of hours of gameplay, simple way to get mods, multiplayer, colorful graphics, absolutely one of the best games out there. See More

Specs

Genre:2D platformer / Minecraft-like

Co-Op:8 Player Online / 8 Player LAN

Controller Support:Android (MOGA / HID), Steam (Full)

Top Pro

Lots of community servers, tutorials, and streams

Terraria has a large community of players on every platform including mobile, desktop, and console. Because of this, there are many servers to play on, as well as tutorials and Let's Plays. Finding content or help getting started is quite easy. See More

Top Con

No plot, no story, just empty exploration

A perfectly good game on its own merit but not belonging on a "top adventure games" list. Can be considered an adventure in the same way playing with a pile of legos can be considered an adventure. See More

Top Pro

Extensive crafting system

The vast majority of items in Terraria can be used to create other items, often requiring specific crafting stations (which themselves must be crafted). This is the core of character advancement, since gear defines nearly everything about your character. See More

Top Con

Gameplay can feel slow

While there is little to show progress in the game over gaining many items and having many structures built, progress overall can be slow due to having to collect every item needed to craft the necessary tool, equipment and materials. This can be time consuming and may turn some people off. See More

Top Pro

2D retro-platformer style

Instead of building a deliberate feeling of suspense, Terraria uses bright palettes and arcade action to provide a fun experience outside of the survival elements. When those elements gradually appear one by one, each is all the more shocking from the contrast. See More

Top Con

No tutorial and un-intuitive menus

There is no tutorial to speak of and the menu system can be a bit cumbersome and confusing. See More

Top Pro

Multiplayer also an option with up to 8 player online co-op

Up to 8 online players can be invited to join a shared Terraria world, including worlds that are also used in single-player mode. This allows for large co-op or PvP games to be played, for those that are interested, meaning you can choose how you play. You can progress through the game normally, build a race course and compete in it, or split into factions and wage war against each other. The scenarios are endless, you just have to let loose your creativity. See More

Top Pro

A lot of content

The game has a progression system where better equippment can be gained from defeating bosses (which in themselves require some effort to be summoned), allowing the player to defeat stronger bosses and so on. There are many areas, bosses and events causing the game to have a lot of longetvity. See More

Top Pro

Large community

Terraria has a very large community as it is a very popular game. Released on just about every platform including mobile, PC/Mac/Linux, consoles, it allows for anyone to play no matter their prefered device. This also means that with many players comes many servers to play on as well as tutorials and Let's Plays. So finding content or help or just basic information on the game will be quite easy. See More

Top Pro

Intriguing world

Terraria uses a bright color palette and an upbeat chiptune soundtrack to ease you into its world. However, once you start exploring and spend time in it you'll notice it's not as cozy as it first seemed to be. Blood Moons that rouse the dead from their graves. Goblin armies trying to destroy everything in their wake. Vast and dark cave systems, filled with odd creatures and various dangers. Ancient ruins, teeming with the restless dead and evil spirits. Pockets of decaying land, thriving with misshapen monstrosities. It's really fun to explore and discover something new about the world of Terraria. See More

Top Pro

Fun combat

It starts out simple, with you whacking away at slow moving zombies and flying eyes, gradually shifting to more fierce and fearsome enemies such as flying demons, agile lizardmen, and many more. To survive you'll have to be always on the move, dodge enemy attacks, and be accurate when you retaliate. There are also plenty of weapons to choose from. Melee weapons such as swords, hammers, lances, and flails. Ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, rifles, and miniguns. And various items that allow you to cast spells. Whatever you choose, it feels great to destroy hordes of enemies. See More

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Top Pro

Immersive story

The dialogue of the game is very intriguing as well as voiced superbly making for a very immersive experience as far as story is concerned. It is through the care the developers took to implement such realistic writing and voice work that makes the game so intriguing and an experience to play. See More

Top Con

Story feels like a chore

Most quests feel like a chore in that it is basically fetch quests in exchange for information to advance the story. While this is often a mechanic found in games to keep the gameplay long it does get tiresome. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action RPG

Top Pro

Gigantic openworld

Deviating from the previous two games Wild Hunt now has open world environments that are so large and detailed it can be intimidating. In comparison to other open-world games such as Skyrim the open World in The Witcher 3 is 3.5 time larger, in comparison the GTA5 The Witcher 3 is 1.5 times larger. See More

Euro Truck Simulator 2

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Top Pro

Cathartic experience

Because much of the game is based in routine and long-distance travels, it gives the ability to switch the brain off, relax and tune out the real world and supplement it with peaceful in-game representation of Europe. See More

Top Con

Some parts may feel slow

Since it is a simulation game, trips and progression may feel too slow for some. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Open World / Driving / Simulation

Controller Support:Partial

Top Pro

Accessible

The game is easy to pick up. It provides a friendly tutorial that explains the essential mechanics and tools used in the game in a clear and concise way. See More

Top Con

Runs on Rift in extended mode only

Runs much slower on an HMD than it really should. See More

Top Pro

Has tons of mods

The game has a wide variety of mods available that add new locations, game content and functionality. There's even a multiplayer mod. See More

Top Con

Requires a performant machine to run smoothly

Top Pro

Simple VR setup

To run the game in VR mode, add -oculus command line parameter. See More

Top Con

Menu and text not optimize for VR

Small text and loading screen that aren't in 3D, very hard for the eyes. See More

Top Pro

No VR sickness

Since the player and the character are stationary with the vehicle creating a frame of reference, much of the issues with motion sickness are avoided. See More

Top Pro

Addicting progression system

The game is a classic rags to riches story that starts the player off in a little garage working for other companies and earning money to eventually buy a truck of his own. Owning a truck allows getting higher paying jobs, that allow getting the truck upgraded, that allows getting even higher paying jobs. At some the opportunity to hire other drivers presents itself and building a trucking empire is not far off. See More

Top Pro

Gorgeous scenery

The game has a huge map that covers much of Europe and delivers detailed, varied scenery throughout giving each place a sense of identity and creating a specific atmosphere. See More

Castle Crashers

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Top Pro

Individualistic levels

Each level in the game has its own look and design which can keep the gameplay varied thanks to creating a need to explore in order to see what comes next. Ranging from deserts to ice filler terrain, there is no level that looks the same. See More

Top Con

Fair amount of grinding

There is a good amount of grinding that will need to take place for players to be able to advance past certain bosses. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Controller Support:G

Top Pro

Gameplay with a sense of humour

There are several jokes and silly moments throughout the game. All done without speaking any word. This keeps the game lighthearted and amusing thanks to the humor of the creators and how they infused it into the game itself. See More

Top Con

Bugs that appeared in the original XBox title were not fixed for the PC port

There are still bugs and glitches in the game that were in the original XBox version. Even though there were simple fixes for some of these the dev nor publisher bothered to address them. See More

Top Pro

Co-op up to 4 players

The most fun to be had with the game is during four player co-op play. The unlockables and upgrades also keep the player wanting to come back and play just a bit more with their friends. The co-op is available as local and online. See More

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Top Pro

Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality. See More

Top Con

Immersion can be broken due to game limitations

While the game offers players many choices some of these choices are not reflected in the game accurately. There are instances where NPCs should know who your character is or what classes they belong to but due to the limitations of the tech used in the game it is unable to "remember" these things and so NPC text will often break immersion in the game by saying the wrong things. See More

Specs

Genre:Fantasy Role-Playing

Top Pro

Moral choices that can affect gameplay

Things like stealing (and getting caught), fighting or killing in towns will change how the game plays as now those people or towns will be angry with the player, which makes things much more difficult. There are also many moral choices in game such as if one should betray the person who gave then their quest by keeping the treasure they were hired to return. All of these things will change how the game plays and how NPC's react to the character making for a simulated real world of consequences. See More

Top Con

Buggy and crash prone

Skyrim, like all Bethesda in house game engines (GameBryo) is buggy and prone to crashing. Non modded games have plenty of issues, but to then add mods on top is just asking for a crash or corrupt game save. There are still many community mods for Skyrim that try to make the game more stable by addressing memory issues and general buggynes. While the game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that have issues with the game crashing on boot or just randomly which is why these mods are still widely used and still very relevant. See More

Top Pro

Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no concept of character classes, and there are no restrictions on what equipment or magic a given character can use or learn. A character's capabilities are defined by skills (e.g. heavy armor, marksman, enchantment) which automatically improve as they are used. Levels are gained by increasing skills, and each level grants one perk -- a passive, secondary effect which further enhances a particular skill -- and increases an attribute of your choice (Magicka, Stamina or Health). See More

Top Con

Combat is too simple

Fights within the game don't have very many options. "Headshots" don't matter, and most combat options in the game are poorly balanced. Few examples: Doesn't really matter if you go mace, sword or axe, fire, ice or lightning, or even two handed vs dual wielding. The options mostly add flavor to your character and little else. Despite the fact that you might have ranged attacks, dragons are impossible to hit while in the air, so you end up fighting them similarly to a melee character. "Twincasting" the first healing spell is actually worse than just casting it once in each hand. Illusion magic becomes useless at later levels, since the spells don't do anything if the enemy is too high level and enemies scale to your level. Enemies are too stupid to make hiding a bad thing. The worst one is leveling as an Alteration mage, which gives you access to the Dragonskin spell, granting maximum armor for 30 seconds and has a 5 second cast time. Or you could just go Heavy Armor, level that up (so it weighs nothing) and have maximum armor ALWAYS without ever having to cast an Alteration spell before combat ever again. Combat comes down to how you leveled, not how you play. See More

Top Pro

The longest-running RPG-FPS franchise, with world lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

The Elder Scrolls series stretches back 20 years and has always focused on providing a rich world to explore. Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of over half a dozen previous games. See More

Wolfenstein: The New Order

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Top Con

Drops resolution in certain places

Certain points of the game may drop the resolution down to 1760x1080 (from 1920x1080) in order to keep the gameplay running at 60 frames per second, while this does not happen often, it does happen. See More

Top Pro

Well written and acted

The story in the game is well fleshed out. It is a fictional story about if the Nazis took over the world after WWII, which is not a new premise, but has so many little touches that really create an immersive story that the player cares about. This is where the animation and voice acting of the game comes into play, with things like subtle eye rolls or twirling of thumbs to inflections in a characters voice. It gives a sense that these people in the story are real and when complimented with a well written plot, it makes for a great experience. See More

Specs

Genre:First-Person Shooter

Top Con

Dual wield feels out of place

Using two guns at the same time, while a cool concept does not feel fully fleshed out in this title. It is often cumbersome and does not wield great results in firefights, which asks the question of why it was included. See More

Top Pro

Plays at 1080p and 60fps

The majority of the game holds at a steady 60fps while being played in 1080p or slightly less. This makes for a visually appealing game thanks to the solid framerate in what is often full HD. See More

Torchlight II

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Top Pro

Elaborate loot system

Loot in Torchlight II is varied and dependent on a wide array of circumstances. There are so many variables that come into play as to what a player will find that makes searching out better and better items a game in and of itself. See More

Top Con

Lacking in story

The characters are flat and the overall story is pretty boring/standard. While not unexpected for such a game it would have been nice to have something other than loot driving advancement in the game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Dungeon Crawler RPG

Top Pro

Well implemented and fun action-RPG combat

Torchlight 2 has all the typical RPG mechanics such as classes, loot, skill trees etc. However all the little touches and details come together to make playing the game really fun and a great balance between depth/complexity and being able to get started killing hordes of monsters. Killing monsters is very satisfying and the loot system keeps things very interesting without feeling like you're just grinding for better items. See More

Top Con

Limited respec system

Much like an old school dungeon crawler, there is little to no useful respec system here. You can respec the last three skill points used on a character, but that is it. This tends to lead towards plenty of skills in the skilltree that ended up going nowhere, which are just wasted points. Unless you know specifically where you will be putting each and every skill point for your build beforehand, no respec may have an impact on making a perfect build. See More

Top Pro

Incentive to replay due to limited respec system

Much of leveling up is permanent, which not only gives a sense of connection to ones built characters but also means there is a large incentive to replay to make different builds. See More

Top Pro

Well implemented co-op

You can team up with up to 5 other plays to take on the hordes together. There is also a PvP mode if you'd rather kill your friends instead of team up with them. See More

Top Pro

Works on different OS's: Linux/Mac/Win

Torchlight II is a multi-platform game that works on OSX, Linux and Windows. Which is great for users who dual-boot as the game can be played no matter what OS is booted at the time. See More

Top Pro

Varied level design

Unlike the first title there are many areas to see in the game that all have different looks. Plus there are large open ares as well as close quarter caverns. See More

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Top Pro

Allows players to create their private military company

Throughout the story of the game, the player will be trying to rebuild their private military which was lost in the epilogue of the previous title in the MGS series. Other than building their "Mother Base" which is an ever-evolving giant structure which serves as a base of operations for the player and other NPCs which help the player, players can also recruit enemy soldiers to increase the size of their mercenary company. These soldiers can help based on their area of expertise to either work on developing new projects or be dispatched around the world to complete missions and earn in-game money. See More

Top Con

Micro transactions

Something often found in free to play games is microtransactions, sadly they are included in the multiplayer aspect of The Phantom Pain going so high as $79.99 for a bundle of in game currency that can be used for advantage in the online part of the game. Considering that MGS V already is a full priced title at $59.99, to see Konami milking their fans for never ending microtransactions is pretty disheartening, especially when considering they can be used to get a leg up over others in the multiplayer by easily creating more resources over other non paying players. See More

Specs

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Multiple ways to approach a mission

Metal Gear Solid V gives players multiple choices on how to approach a mission or clear an outpost. For example, the player can choose to use stealth and cunning in order to complete their mission and kill only when it's absolutely necessary, or they can get in guns blazing and kill every single enemy soldier sometimes even sniping each one of them from afar or calling the helicopter for air support. This gives a special flavor to the gameplay and doesn't let it get stale for a long time since it leaves the choice on how to play to the player, without penalizing them for not completing a mission by using stealth (as other previous MGS used to do). See More

Top Con

High learning curve

There is so much detail to grasp in the game that it can be overwhelming, especially at first. It will take a good bit of time to become accustomed to everything the game has to offer and how to control and interact with it. See More

Top Pro

Extremely intelligent AI

As the player levels up gear so will the AI, who are programmed to constantly keep the player on their toes. Being that the whole game is designed to allow the player tackle any level in a multitude of ways, seeing the AI always react differently makes for an original experience every time something is tackled. See More

Top Pro

Large assortment of tools and options

As one plays through the game they can develop more weapons and tools with the enemies they capture. While not every one has to be used, the sheer fact that their is so much choice makes for a lot of fun experimenting. See More

Top Pro

Reflex system

Once spotted by an enemy time will slow down for a short period of time allowing the player to react more accurately in a tense situation. See More

Top Pro

Ever evolving Mother Base

One of the goals of the game is to capture as many enemies alive as possible. With those captured troops users can start building more of their base out, making for an even bigger and better experience as the game progresses. See More

Top Pro

Plays at 1080p and 60fps

There is some frame drops during gameplay but the main target of 60fps is more often reached than not. V-Sync is used, so there is no screen tearing and everything plays at a native resolution of 1920x1080. See More

Borderlands 2

Top Pro

Humorous writing in a game with a serious tone

Despite being an in-your-face action game with an generally serious plot, Borderlands 2 features an interesting yet slightly cliche sense of humor. This is even exaggerated in the side quests, which at times feature the funniest and most creative parts of the writing. This way the player can dive into the main plot and get an enjoyable action plot, while also being given the choice to go on side-quests that feature a break from the more serious overtones through an expanded sense of humor. Often the humor is meme based or low brow, which should appeal to a wide array of sense of humor. See More

Top Con

Gameplay can become repetitive

Many battles can be cheesed by running away, taking cover, shooting, and repeating. The AI doesn't do much to pursue you which gives the player the advantage of using the same technique for most fights, which can become boring with time. See More

Specs

Genre:Action RPG

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player LAN / 2 Player Couch

Top Pro

Variety of co-op options

Borderlands 2 offers 4 player online co-op as well as 2 player split screen local co-op. There is even a way for two player local split-screen to play online with others. See More

Top Con

Limited visual customization of characters

As a game that is full of choices, it is somehow lacking in visual customization options. Borderlands 2 only features the ability to change your character's basic skins through different colored outfits. There is no way to customize the characters faces or body style. This can make for online games that often have the exact same looking characters, which can not only get confusing but does not allow for any sense of originality concerning each player's character. See More

Top Pro

Tons of heavily customized and unique loot

Borderlands 2 makes it feel like Christmas every time you kill an enemy or open chests. Whether it's just ammo and health or a new mod, it makes killing enemies and finding chests much more satisfying than other loot based games through giving the player the potential for a good drop, which is always on the horizon. While many loot based games are based on this mechanic, the overall appeal of new loot is boosted by the randomized look and features of each weapon and mod. The guns (as well as other items) in Borderlands 2 have distinct visual features depending on their attributes. For example, a gun with a plus melee attack might have a blade on it. This is customization that goes beyond pallet swapping (where the same assets are used for different items that differentiate themselves through different colors) which makes you much more attached to the gun than a bunch of polygons should. Which adds to the appeal of discovering new items in the game. You will also find tons and tons of different types of guns. Six different types of guns exist in the game including pistols and sniper rifles. Each with eight different manufactures like Hyperion and Jacobs give an almost unlimited amount of guns you can find in the game. Being that the guns are randomized as they appear, it is difficult to find any two that are exactly alike. With the many different combinations available, you never know what attributes the next gun you will find will have. This also gives an individualistic experience to each player of the game as even if both went to the same areas, they will find wholly different items. See More

Top Con

Lost loot due to sharing

The unfortunate downside to all of the loot is that it is anyone's game. Loot isn't reserved for each individual player when playing co-op and can be taken by anyone. So that means the first person to get to the loot can basically take all of it. this can lead to contention between co-op players, which basically goes against the idea of cooperative play. See More

Top Pro

Enjoyable co-op play that focuses on teamwork

The varying classes and play styles are designed to work together and promote co-op play. One player may be a tank, with large guns and long lasting armor, while another may have medic abilities with a long range sniper rifle. This makes for a scenario where each class compliments each other, which is a fun way to work as a team when playing co-op. See More

Top Con

Tedious to check gun stats

You are hit with a ton of different weapons throughout the game that checking the stats on each can become tedious. This can be a pro to some but to others it can be an quite an annoyance. See More

Top Pro

Allows for multiple playstyles

Borderlands 2 is all about options. With hundreds of weapon options and 4 classes, you can have multiple play-throughs that will play completely different each time. Along with each class, there are multiple skill trees meaning you can tweak your character to exactly how you want to play. Even if playing the same class on multiple playthroughs, you can equip completely different skills which will make the experience much different from the last. This all adds up to a game that can be bent to the wants of the player, something that is highly configurable which makes for a gaming experience that is difficult to beat in customizability. See More

Top Pro

Great comic book art style

Using solid black outlines and bright colors, this game looks great. It has memorable looks to it that makes it stand apart from other first person games. Very similar in style to comic books, the art is clean and bright taking advantage of a palette not often found in modern (brown and grey) shooters. See More

Top Pro

Works on different OS's: Linux/Mac/Win

Cross-platform support means you can play with your friends no matter what OS they use. See More

Bioshock Infinite

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Top Pro

The world is amazing

A city floating in the sky with quantum physics set in the early 1900’s with gear propelled robots and powers brought on by tonics are awaiting you in the city of Columbia. Bright colors and amazing vistas that are populated with floating islands that house full carnival resorts, giant memorial statues, along with deadly enslavement camps and prisons bring Bioshock’s world to life. See More

Top Con

Story and Gameplay can give mixed tones

A high story concept mixed with super bloody battles threw off some people’s experience of the game who site ludonarrative dissonance as the problem. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Great story

Touching on themes of classism, racism, the power of religion, propaganda, and even delving into the metaphysical, Bioshock Infinite delivers a compelling story that will have you engaged till the very end. See More

Top Pro

Great Add-On content

With the main game being so great you just want to keep playing! So Irrational Games came out with four dlc packs: Columbia’s Finest, Clash in the Clouds, Burial at Sea Episode 1 and Episode 2. See More

Top Pro

Intense fast-paced gameplay

Continuing the super-powered gameplay from the first two Bioshock’s this installment in the series refines the fun and fast formula. Use tonics to launch fireballs, ravens, or electricty at your foes, or make them fight by your side, as long as you have enough salt that is. Then to liven things up get help from Elizabeth’s “tears” to bring in more guns and tin-men from another time/dimension to aid you in your fight! See More

Dragon Age: Origins

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Top Pro

Game characters are fully rounded

NPC's have believable characters with fleshed out background stories. Many are able to be used as companions of which will have tons of text interactions that are well written and believable. See More

Top Con

Too easy to fix wronged companion relationships

While this is done most likely to avoid breaking the game it is way too easy to fix relationships with companions who the player has made angry by purchasing and giving them gifts. basically the player can treat them however they want to then give a gift to ficxany problems. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing

Top Pro

Easily controllable tactical gameplay

Good tactical UI interface which is easily controlled through pausing the gameplay. Once the gameplay is paused a radial menu and be used in order to make decisions on how to attack or maneuver. See More

Top Pro

Mods are available to suit any gameplay style

nexusmods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as ways to make time consuming parts less so like the auto loot mod. See More

Top Pro

Player decisions actually matter

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot as well as the interactions one will have with their NPCs. Decisions that are made can change how in game characters react with you which makes for an individualistic experience that changes on each playthrough when different choices are made. See More

Far Cry 4

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Top Pro

Adventure aspects add to what would be a stale FPS

Being able to scale cliffs, hunt and trap animals, and use ones environment as a weapon against enemies adds to the basics of first person shooting making for a fun adventure game on top of a slick FPS. See More

Top Con

Environment feels too familiar

While Farcry 1-3 all had different locales that had their own styles, 4 looks much like 3 and is not that much of a departure. For those looking for a different experience it is not going to be found in 4 sadly. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Options in play due to creativity

There are so many ways to tackle a situation that makes this game what it is. In one instance you could lure an animal towards enemies in order to kill them, or in another you could run everyone over with a truck. Even better is that explosives can be attached to things, even vehicles, so you can even send the vehicle towards a crowd and blow it up from a distance. Basically you are free to choose how you want to approach just about every situation in the game and those that feel like playing around have the chance to get really creative, which is half the fun. See More

The Talos Principle

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Top Pro

Difficulty ramp-up

Starts out easy enough, but gets to some truly difficult puzzles by the end. If you get stuck on a puzzle you can skip it and come back to it later. See More

Top Con

Ending troubles

After getting the "normal" ending you will have to replay the entire game again if you want to find everything you missed. Replaying a puzzle game isn't that fun when you already know the puzzles. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Adventure, Puzzle

Top Pro

Great storyline

The puzzles in the game are great, but they're tied together with a thought provoking story line filled with mystery and intrigue. A story about a robot with human consciousness who is being guided by a disembodied voice, are they to be trusted? As the story progresses the player is drip fed clues which can lead them closer to the truth. See More

BattleBlock Theater

Top Pro

Well thought out presentation

From the witty humor, enjoyable songs or the theater cutscenes, BattleBlock shows a high level of consideration for its design. See More

Top Con

Competitive play feels lackluster

Competitive play is not as enjoyable as the co-op modes due to stiff combat, really the mechanics of this wear out pretty quickly. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Platformer / Indie

Co-Op:2 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Thousands of user-created levels

The game has a built-in level editor, and levels (or level packs) can be shared through Steam Workshop. See More

Top Pro

Well balanced difficulty curve

The difficulty curve for Battle Block Theater is so evenly programmed that the player will barely notice that it is progressively getting more difficult. It really does a swell job of integrating the player to where they can handle any challenge the game throws at them. See More

Top Pro

Co-op adds a completely new element to the gameplay

There is a modified co-op campaign in the game where players must coordinate their actions to succeed. This makes for a fun couch co-op game due to the communication one must have with their partner as well as how fun it is to grief them in person. See More

Top Pro

2-player co-op campaign, 4-player competitive levels

The 2-player co-op campaign is very similar to the single-player one, but slightly different because it requires co-operation between the two players. It can be played either online or with 2 local players. There is also a versus/arena mode with competitive levels. Such mode supports up to 4 players (local, online or mixed). See More

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