High Quality PC Games

Overview

This page features a list of 133 games I've reviewed that were particularly fun. Of course, lists like this are going to be subjective, but I suspect that many gamers will agree with most of my choices. That said, everyone is perfectly free to disagree with my silly opinion on the topic.

A word of caution though: the list below does not take into account how well a game fits into a Christian worldview. The only criteria being looked at here is whether or not it was fun to play.

Simply click on a game's title to view the full review.

Games in this List

0 - B C - D E - J K - N O - R S - Z

OFF

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	JRPG / Horror
Platforms:
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This game is completely free!
In this unusual indie horror game, players are instructed to guide the Batter as he performs his task of purifying the world's various Zones. Along the way, there are hints that not everything is as simple it seems.

Brief thoughts: Despite the simple graphics, the Batter's foes are often shown as hideously deformed monsters, and many of the things that happen come off as wrong in some way.

OMORI

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	RPG / Horror
Platforms:
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In this unique RPG, players take on the role of OMORI, a troubled young teen who spends most of his time exploring his imaginary dream world. But there is trouble in paradise: old memories refuse to stay buried, and soon he'll be moving away from his childhood home forever.

Brief thoughts: This game is remarkably upfront about the issues it talks about - issues that include blood, suicide, and clinical depression - and these all stem from the characters struggling to cope with a traumatic event in their past. Your actions determine if they start healing or not, and while the best ending is extremely cathartic, getting there isn't a pretty sight.

One Finger Death Punch

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	Twitch game
Platforms:
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One Finger Death Punch is essentially an interactive version of those old internet classics where stick figures battle it out using elaborate martial arts skills. While you control the central character, large numbers of enemy mooks approach from either side of the screen. You just tell your character when and where to attack, and he'll do the rest.

Brief thoughts: Violence is the name of the game, and even though it's depicted with stick figures, it does get pretty graphic.

PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Arcade
Platforms:
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This isn't the classic Pac Man game. Instead of wandering about, clearing a maze of dots, this game is about racing through a maze as fast as you can. Trails of dots appear to lead the way, while ghosts follow behind Pac Man in a dangerous conga line. One wrong turn can end your game, so stay alert and move quickly!

Brief thoughts: Even though this isn't as calm as the original game, there's still nothing major to worry about beyond Pac-Man and the ghosts eating each other.

Papers, Please

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	Simulation
Platforms:
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Conscripted into working as the booth operator at the Arstotzka border, it's your job to make sure everyone's paper work is in proper order. In theory, this is a simple job. However, reality is often different, as you'll need to worry about the current political troubles, caring for your family, and the struggles of everyday people.

Brief thoughts: This is a very politically charged game, as you're working as a border guard during troubled times that will lead to you witnessing acts of terrorism as tensions escalate.

A key point of this game is whether or not you'll bend the rules to help people who are trying to make a better life for themselves - and this could mean anything from letting people through without proper paperwork to having them arrested without due cause.

Peggle Deluxe

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Puzzle
Platforms:
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Peggle isn't exactly a puzzle game, nor an action game; it's something in-between. The basic premise is that you fire a marble out of a cannon in an attempt to get the marble to bounce off of as many red colored pegs and bricks as possible. When everything red has been cleared from the board, you've beaten the level. As you play, the various Peggle Masters -- a loose collection of talking animals and fantasy creatures that love the game -- will be accompanying you and lend you special abilities when they can.

Brief thoughts: Although the Peggle Masters are a mixed group of magical creatures - including a dragon, a unicorn and a talking flower - and there are occasional references to new age mysticism, this is still a very clean game with few problems.

Penumbra

ESRB Rating:	M - Mature Audiences
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	First Person Puzzler / Horror
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This is a trilogy of games that tells the story of the horrors found within an old abandoned mine. Located in Greenland, those who found themselves trapped inside the mine were left to face freezing temperatures and a mind-bendingly evil force that had been buried for centuries.

Brief thoughts: While there's noticeably less blood and gore than you'd expect from a horror title, the player will still encounter bloody trails and some graphic material. Additionally, the player is capable of using various tools and objects as makeshift weapons.

Finally, there are some scenes that hint at demonic involvement, but this is a red herring; Penumbra is based in science fiction, not the supernatural.

Persona 4 Golden

ESRB Rating:	M - Mature Audiences
My Rating:	Adults - 18+
Genre:	JRPG / Life simulator
Platforms:
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When Yu Narukami planned on staying in Inaba for a year, he had no way of knowing that he's end up getting involved in a murder mystery. Now he must balance his schoolwork and social life with leading the rag-tag group of teens who seem to be the only people capable of solving the mystery!

Brief thoughts: There are two major issues with this game. The first, and more notable, is its Tarot-themed magic system, which allows the player to summon a number of gods and demons to help them in battle.

The other major issue is that nearly everyone the player meets is dealing with some serious personal issues, such as abandonment, alcoholism, trauma, and even dysphoria. You're strongly encouraged to spend time helping them resolve their problems, as Yu's relationships are the key to saving the world!

Plague Inc: Evolved

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Strategy / Board Game
Platforms:
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Can you annihilate the World? This is a game of strategy; creating a potent disease takes effort and careful attention to detail. One mistake and you'll be racing against humanity's efforts to cure your precious little plague.

Brief thoughts: While your main goal is to wipe out humanity, this is essentially a board game about capturing territory.

Pony Island

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	Puzzle / Horror
Platforms:
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Satan has gotten bored of acquiring souls through deception and questionable deals, and he's now experimenting with a new method: video games. His current project is a happy little game about a unicorn that jumps over hurdles. Or it would be, if he had any actual skill in computer programming. Meanwhile, the player is stuck in a state of limbo, and it's up to them to hack the arcade machine and eventually beat the Devil at his own video game.

Brief thoughts: Although this could have been a clever reveal, nothing even tries to hide the fact that you are literally attempting to best Satan at his own arcade game. Thus, there are a lot of satanic references in Pony Island.

Also, this game depicts Satan as childish and inept, in addition to being evil.

Portal

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	First Person Puzzler
Platforms:
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Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. If you succeed in solving these puzzles designed to test various features of the new Aperture Science Portal Gun, there will be cake.

Brief thoughts: While most of this game revolves around physics-based puzzle solving, getting hit by turret fire leaves small blood splatters on nearby surfaces. An additional concern is that the antagonist, an evil AI called GLaDOS, spends most of the climax insulting the player.

Portal 2

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	First Person Puzzler
Platforms:
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Chell awakes from suspension to discover that Aperture Science lies in ruins. As she tries to escape to freedom, GLaDOS is accidentally revived, and so Chell and her new companion Wheatley are forced to play a dangerous game of cat and mouse throughout the facility.

Brief thoughts: There is a fair amount of dark humor hidden throughout the game, but the way the different characters lie, bicker, and insult each other is much more memorable and more likely to be an issue.

Pretty Good Solitaire

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Card Game
Platforms:
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A free demo is available
Do you like solitaire? Really like solitaire? Then this is likely the collection you need, as it has over 1,000 different solitaire card games available for your enjoyment, and there's even a tool you can use to make your own custom games!

Brief thoughts: The only thing that could be considered offensive about this collection are the names of certain games. For example, "Canfield" is also known as "Demon", which may sound bad. But, as these are all just variants of solitaire, there's nothing to really worry about.

Psychonauts

ESRB Rating:	T - Teenagers
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	3D Platformer
Platforms:
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When a game's story begins with the main character running away from the circus to go to summer camp, you know it's going to be a weird ride. Psychonauts embraces that weirdness, and presents a fun and mostly lighthearted romp through the psyche. There's something for everyone here: tons of collectibles, lots of secrets, a grand conspiracy that threatens to destroy the world, and telekinetic wildlife.

Brief thoughts: Aside from the fact that just about everybody has psychic powers, a lot of very heavy subjects are explored over the course of the story. These include touchy subjects like personal tragedy and suicide.

Quake

ESRB Rating:	M - Mature Audiences
My Rating:	Adults - 18+
Genre:	First Person Shooter
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Government experiments into teleportation go awry when a hostile alien, codenamed Quake, latches onto the network and sends its army to invade our world. It's up to a Ranger, the sole survivor of one attack, to battle through his way through the four realms, gather their respective magical Runes, and put a violent end to the invasion.

Brief thoughts: There is a ton of blood and gore present throughout this game, though a potentially bigger issue is the faux-occult content that this game is themed around. Essentially, this is a retelling of Doom (1993) that replaces the satanic imagery with a Lovecraftian horror theme.

Ragnarock

ESRB Rating:	M - Mature Audiences
My Rating:	Ages 13 and up
Genre:	Rhythm / Virtual Reality
Platforms:
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Take on the role of the drummer aboard a Viking longship and inspire your crew to victory!

Brief thoughts: While the game itself doesn't show anything violent, some of the included songs do contain profanity and references to heavy drinking.

The Red Strings Club

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Adults - 18+
Genre:	Other / Point and Click Adventure
Platforms:
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This game is something of a virtual detective novel set in a cyberpunk universe. By serving drinks that change the drinker's moods, you'll persuade them to reveal information that can help you and your friends stop a dangerous corporate project.

Brief thoughts: The focus of this game is a philosophical discussion of the nature of humanity and transhumanism; specifically, it's about how much we allow ourselves to be controlled by our emotions and feelings.

However, in order to have this discussion, the player must put up with a lot of swearing, and sexual remarks, which may leave them questioning if the discussion is worth having.

ROBO OH

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Fighting
Platforms:
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In this NES-styled tournament fighting game, you play as one of six giant robots and battle your opponents in a bid to become the King of Robots!

Brief thoughts: Remember Rock'em Sock'em robots? That's basically what you have here: giant robots punch, kick, and fling large sushi rolls at each other in a tournament setting.

Rogue Legacy

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Platformer / Roguelike
Platforms:
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Rogue Legacy is all about procedurally generated adventures. You select a character from one of three knights, and then have them explore a magical castle in hopes of finding treasure and the means of restoring the family name. But death is also permanent; once a knight falls, they will be gone for good. Their money will be passed to the next of kin, who must use it to ensure that future generations will have a better shot at the conquering the castle.

Brief thoughts: The biggest issue with this game is that you may wind up playing as a gay character. This trait has little effect on the gameplay (the only thing it does is change the location of some powerups), so it can easily be overlooked, but some Christians may not be comfortable playing a game where this can happen.

Romance of Rome

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Hidden Object
Platforms:
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Marcus was traveling to Rome in search of adventure -- and almost got more than he bargained for, as the adventure found him! Some dastardly criminal has stolen the Imperial Relics and threatened to take over the Roman Empire. Finding himself mixed up in the plot, Marcus travels around Rome, locating lost items and helping citizens in need.

Brief thoughts: Most of the issues with this game comes from the fact that it's based around ancient Rome and its culture. For example, there are some references to magic or mystical objects, and Marcus' status in Rome is determined by what he owns.

However, this is still a very clean game that feels like a playable fairy tale, so I doubt many Christians will take issue with it.

The Room Three

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Puzzle / Horror
Platforms:
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So far, you've been on two great adventures in search of A.S. and the secrets of the Null, and as a result, you've caught the attention of a man calling himself the Craftsman. Whether or not his motives are purely scientific remains to be seen...

Brief thoughts: Almost everything in this installment of the Room series is explained by super science, not magic, but there's still a small hint that something otherworldly is lurking nearby.