The very best technique video games 2026

There are a lot of sub-genres among the many finest technique video games on PC. Nestled inside every are myriad experiences that can push your lateral considering to the max. One second, you are commanding a whole fleet of starships in an epic sci-fi armada. Subsequent, you are slowed down in a muddy area, barking orders to medieval troopers as you lay siege to an imposing fortress. From grand technique video games to turn-based technique video games and extra there’s something for each participant.

With so many alternative experiences to select from, choosing your subsequent massive technique recreation binge may be much more overwhelming than getting used to the varied methods inside them you may have to grasp. So, be a part of us as we discover a curated assortment of the style’s best hits, from newcomers to classics, providing you with autonomy over your actions – and their penalties.

The very best technique video games on PC are:

1. Starcraft 2

StarCraft 2 is the traditional base-building RTS, sporting armored cowboys, xenomorphic aliens, area elves, and extra. It duties you with gathering assets, constructing armies, and killing your enemy earlier than they kill you with fast choices and even faster mouse clicks.

StarCraft 2 is likely one of the best-balanced PvP experiences on the market, limiting your capability to climb solely to your talent degree. Your enemies are human; at first, they will possible outpace you as you are studying the ropes. You may lose rather a lot, however you may get higher the extra you play, making this the right technique recreation for anybody with a aggressive streak who is not petrified of the odd RSI.

However that is to not say Starcraft 2 cannot be loved in a extra informal setting. There are many glorious player-made PvE modes to discover, letting you step by step develop your competency at a cushty tempo. The PvE marketing campaign can be notable, bringing with it a few of Blizzard’s finest writing. Many builders depend on cutscenes or in-mission dialogue to ship a story, however StarCraft 2 helps you to work together with the world outdoors fight.

2. Manor Lords

In case you’re not scared to dip your toes into the early entry waters, Manor Lords is a method recreation bundled with a comfy city-builder. Right here, you may try and construct a medieval village from nothing, and ultimately take over each area, demolishing anybody who stands in your means.

Whereas the fight portion of Manor Lords hasn’t been absolutely fleshed out, the blueprint is there, and equipping your villagers with weapons you’ve got painstakingly created is almost as satisfying as outwitting your foes on the battlefield. Ian Boudreau calls it “a stupendous and mechanically spectacular metropolis builder that also has loads of room to develop” in his Manor Lords early entry evaluate, and it has solely gone from energy to energy since its 2024 early entry launch.

We now have loads of Manor Lords guides to get you began, an important of which embrace find out how to enhance your Manor Lords inhabitants (you may’t struggle a warfare with out a military, in spite of everything) and the way Manor Lords commerce works. It is one factor to have a mighty legion, however it will not keep that means for lengthy in case your troops haven’t got armor on their backs and meals of their bellies.

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3. Solium Infernum

Beautiful, distinctive, and extremely enjoyable, Solium Infernum is a darkish and twisted recreation that requires a cautious mixture of Machiavellian politicking and tactical strongarming to excel. This devilishly good technique recreation places you in Hell as you plot to take your home on the throne of the underworld, in order you may think about, your opponents will not draw back from utilizing underhanded tips to upend your bid.

In reality, the remake of the 2009 traditional is so gloriously good that Ed Smith named it “one of the best new technique recreation in a few years” in his Solium Infernum evaluate. “Solium Infernum regards technique as a recreation of mind, persistence, and commentary,” he says. “Put into these phrases, it would sound dry, however its visible aptitude mixed with the ingenious methods it turns summary concepts into tangible, understandable, and thrilling recreation mechanics make it irresistibly playable.”

At first look, it appears to be like like there’s rather a lot to be taught in Solium Infernum, however it’s extremely approachable, and you’ll be taught extra horrible plots and schemes as you progress. We may help you, too, with our guides to Solium Infernum Rituals, one of the best Solium Infernum Legions to bid for, and far more on the positioning.

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4. Towards the Storm

For a method recreation with a city-building and roguelike twist, look no additional than Towards the Storm. Right here, you consistently have one eye on the progress bar that visualizes the mood of the queen – the identical queen that has tasked you with designing her kingdom. With the specter of the monarch’s fiery ire consistently enjoying in your thoughts, it is arduous to know when to cease tweaking and constructing, particularly when her persistence is wavering.

This, alongside the fantasy components, colourful graphics, and roguelike components make this one technique recreation that is arduous to place down, so the 9/10 rating awarded in Josh Brown’s Towards the Storm evaluate comes as no shock. Josh calls the sport “an excellent mixture of roguelike, technique, and small-scale metropolis constructing that can hook you from the bounce.”

Since its launch, Towards the Storm has had two main expansions, Keepers of the Stone and Nightwatchers, each of which have been obtained very positively by gamers. It is one of many best technique video games of latest instances, and the continued excellence of developer Eremite Video games’ work is certainly one of many causes it’s best to decide it up.

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5. Complete Struggle: Warhammer 3

In case you thought that Complete Struggle: Warhammer 2 was massive, it is bought nothing on Complete Struggle: Warhammer 3’s sheer sense of scale. It has every little thing that made that recreation nice, all whereas bringing all 15 of the tabletop recreation’s core races to life with jaw-dropping visuals. A brand new five-hour tutorial prologue helps get new gamers on top of things, so it is also one of the best jumping-in level in case you’ve by no means skilled the long-running sequence.

You’ll be able to learn Richard Scott-Jones’s Complete Struggle: Warhammer 3 evaluate if you would like a extra in-depth sense of simply how packed it actually is, however the lengthy and wanting it’s that when you start to play, you are prone to be enjoying the identical marketing campaign at the least a calendar yr down the road, and nonetheless have a smile in your face as you uncover yet one more new factor. As Wealthy says, these are the “finest and most various single-player campaigns” ever to grace the sequence.

In case you by some means plumb the depths of Warhammer 3 of their entirety and are nonetheless hungry for extra, then our greatest Complete Struggle Warhammer 3 mods information options entire new methods to play. Even in case you’re a beginner, you may nonetheless discover loads of nice game-altering tweaks that’ll solely enhance your enjoyment.

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6. Terra Nil

As an alternative of commanding armies to construct a base match for battle, Terra Nil is a extra peaceable technique recreation that duties you with bringing a barren wasteland again from the brink, remodeling it right into a flourishing habitat teeming with lush flora and thriving wildlife. The choices you make and the equipment you construct decide how profitable your restoration is and the way it impacts the land round you.

Writing for our tremendous sister web site, Pocket Techniques, Holly Alice raves about Terra Nil’s “satisfying gameplay and scientific mechanics” in her Terra Nil evaluate. “I really feel like David Attenborough would approve of Terra Nil, and that is a really excessive praise in my eyes,” she says. “I completely love enjoying this because it scratches the identical itch that the likes of Let’s Construct a Zoo and Civilisation do, by figuring issues out and inserting issues on tiles to achieve your targets – however this time, being excited when it rains and when jellyfish return to your oceans.”

Terra Nil has obtained a few actually nice content material updates since its 2023 launch. Vita Nova launched new missions and landscapes to work on, every with their very own challenges to beat. For instance, the Scorched Caldera is a volcanic crater singed and dried by lava, which you need to try to show right into a lake brimming with life. Likewise, its most up-to-date Heatwave replace has you restore rivers to a desolate desert biome, in-turn inspiring the return of latest savannah animals like lions and hyenas. There is a notable lack of warthogs and meerkats, although, so you may have to carry off in your Lion King goals for now.

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7. Marvel’s Midnight Suns

In case you’ve ever wished just a little extra deck-building in your turn-based fight, Midnight Suns has you coated. Developed by technique stalwarts, Firaxis, Midnight Suns places you within the footwear of the Hunter, a mysterious hero who’s been useless for the previous few centuries, pitting them towards the scariest foe of all: their mom (love you, mother).

The fight is thought-provoking and infrequently spectacular, with the deck-building side turning encounters into puzzles moderately than all-out brawls. In his glowing Midnight Suns evaluate, Samuel Willetts calls it “a superhero recreation that teases the mind as a lot as it will probably tug on the coronary heart, with wealthy technique mechanics, nice writing, and fantastic characters.”

In case you do don your cape (towards Edna Mode’s recommendation), then ensure you try our Midnight Suns tier record to ensure you’re drafting in solely one of the best of one of the best to your group.

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8. Crusader Kings 3

Speak about a murderous bastard of a grand technique recreation. Crusader Kings 3 has massively overhauled the sequence’ previously byzantine interface, making it a welcome proposition for brand new gamers whereas retaining a lot of the depth the sequence is thought for. It might appear to be a standard grand technique map-painter, and whereas it definitely options in-depth methods for waging warfare, the center of Crusader Kings 3 lies in its private, usually hilarious tales.

Ian’s 9/10 Crusader Kings 3 evaluate praises the best way it “modernises the medieval technique sequence, preserving a lot of what is good and including some attention-grabbing new concepts.” Although its DLC has been hit or miss when it comes to high quality since its 2020 launch, there’s nonetheless loads of top-tier add-on content material on the market.

So, will you seize energy by means of army would possibly, wealth, spiritual affect, diplomacy, or subterfuge? Every CK3 beginning character you may play has their very own character and way of life focus, and every member of your dynasty will form their empire, for higher or worse, earlier than bequeathing it to their subsequent in line. It is a recreation that makes private plots hatched behind closed doorways as necessary as battles between nations.

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9. Offworld Buying and selling Firm

Offworld Buying and selling Firm is true on the different finish of the technique video games spectrum from Civilization, although its designer, Soren Johnson, additionally labored on Civ 4. Whereas Civ spans the historical past and a number of the way forward for humanity, chronicling the progress of mankind, Offworld Buying and selling Firm is all about making a fortune by exploiting our pink neighbor, Mars.

It is an RTS crossed with the intricacies of prime administration video games, one by which victory isn’t achieved by throwing tanks at enemies or demolishing their bases. As an alternative, your weapons are assets and money, which you utilize to govern {the marketplace} not simply to get wealthy however to screw over your rivals fully. You may not count on an financial technique recreation to be very aggressive, however Offworld Buying and selling Firm encourages you to be simply as hostile as a warmonger.

While you’re eyeing up menus, planning what to construct subsequent, what to promote, which firm to launch a hostile takeover towards subsequent, it is as thrilling as while you’re sending infantry throughout artillery-pummeled fields or launching sneak air assaults towards an enemy stronghold. Offworld Buying and selling Firm hasn’t obtained any new DLC in fairly a while (it was launched in 2016, in spite of everything), so it may be thought of full at this level. As such, you may hop in now for a full-bodied expertise.

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10. XCOM 2

XCOM 2 stays to today a masterclass in turn-based technique video games. Set 20 years after the unique recreation, XCOM 2 sees the remnants of humanity’s army work guerrilla-style rid the planet of its alien occupiers as soon as and for all. The battles are difficult and different, stuffed with horrific adversaries with difficult, stunning skills, however the greatest adjustments are discovered on the strategic layer. You’ll journey all around the world, establishing cells, infiltrating black websites, and attempting to find extra assets so you may area extra highly effective weapons and instruments; it’s compelling moderately than an afterthought.

Jeremy Peel mentioned it was one thing particular again in his 2016 XCOM 2 evaluate. It takes one of the best bits from the sequence – the savage battle, the ragtag group of heroes, the devious aliens, the tight tactical battles – and throws enchancment after enchancment on prime. “XCOM 2’s storytelling is worthy of the mechanical scaffolding it is draped throughout,” as Jeremy says.

It is a toss-up as as to whether the Struggle of the Chosen growth is objectively higher, however there are many glorious XCOM 2 mods that may deliver the vanilla recreation as much as scratch. Each supply distinct but equally rewarding experiences. There’s loads of different XCOM 2 DLC out there as nicely.

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11. Civilization 6

Whereas not the latest entry in Firaxis’ legendary 4X sequence, Civ 6 retains its crown as one of the best of the bunch. Epitomizing the perfect of ‘yet one more flip’ that makes these sorts of video games so addictive, Civilization 6 provides many extra mechanics to deliver the world to life round you. It isn’t nearly schmoozing this civ or declaring warfare on that civ – you have to take note of the way you’re impacting the world and dealing in direction of your targets, of which there’s all kinds.

Robert Zak’s mighty 9/10 Civilization 6 evaluate attests to its high quality. “Greater than some other Civ recreation,” he says, “[Civ] 6 is a pleasure to be in – a superbly offered special approach on the grandfather of 4X video games with a celebratory ambiance that retains you as compelled as ever to click on your means by means of human historical past over and over.”

There’s a lot to dive into with Civ 6’s base recreation, and much more past that. Whether or not it is the wholesome quantity of DLC out there or the colourful and inventive assortment of Civ 6 mods, you may have 100s, if not 1,000s of hours of peak gameplay forward of you.

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12. Firm of Heroes 3

In case you’re after an RTS with World Struggle 2 trappings, then Firm of Heroes 3 will probably be proper up your road. Whether or not you take to the skies above North Africa, skirmishing within the streets of Italy, or proving your naval superiority within the Mediterranean Sea, Relic’s technique sequence will greater than scratch your itch for fast, tactical fight.

Firm of Heroes has a historical past of rocky launches. CoH 2 was bailed out by its beautiful Ardennes Assault growth after failing to duplicate the plaudits of the unique. The story was the identical when Relic launched CoH 3 in 2023, with Ian granting it a modest 7/10 in his Firm of Heroes 3 evaluate. “The traditional RTS battles carry the third entry on this once-essential sequence, returning roughly untouched,” he says, “however alongside a bloated and unfinished marketing campaign mode that feels at odds with the core concepts of Firm of Heroes.”

As we all know from the previous, Relic is not fast to surrender and has since added new maps, revamped outdated ones, and gone to city on the sport’s steadiness. CoH 3’s newest Endure & Defy DLC is its finest but, proving that Relic is shifting in the proper route. It might nonetheless lag behind its predecessor, however there is a stable recreation in there that is solely getting higher with time. In case you do make the leap, try our Firm of Heroes 3 newbie suggestions and tips information to assist ease you in.

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13. Command & Conquer: Remastered Assortment

There’s a lot to like about Command & Conquer Remastered, from the corny FMV cutscenes to the bonkers secret ranges. You may battle to discover a technique recreation with as a lot character and appeal as this RTS. It consists of the unique Command & Conquer, set in a close to future the place the World Protection Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod struggle to regulate an ultra-valuable power useful resource known as Tiberium. It additionally stars Joseph D. Kucan as Kane, a person we swear hasn’t aged a day for the reason that Nineteen Nineties.

The opposite recreation on this immaculately recreated assortment is Command & Conquer: Pink Alert. Set in another historical past the place Hitler was assassinated earlier than rising to energy, we as a substitute get the Allies warring over Europe towards the invading Soviet Union. It will not be as wild because the sequels, certainly one of which manages to forged J.Ok. Simmons, Tim Curry, and George Takei, however it’s nonetheless a fantastically foolish time. The remastered variations modernize each video games, that includes a rebuilt multiplayer mode, permitting you to search out skirmish matches simply. This is only one of many the explanation why Richard Scott-Jones says it is “top-of-the-line remasters round, and a straightforward advice for the nostalgic or the curious” in his Command & Conquer Remastered Assortment evaluate.

For individuals who could also be new to RTS video games or technique video games generally, we are able to consider no higher place to start out than right here. Nicely, both right here or with the subsequent entry in our record.

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14. Age of Empires 2 Definitive Version

One of many best RTS video games ever, Age of Empires 2 has retained a loyal following for over twenty years, and for good purpose. It’s extremely approachable, to the extent that even youngsters will not have a tough time choosing it up. Getting on top of things with its gameplay loop is barely made simpler by its top-class marketing campaign, which artistically retells the histories of key figures like Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan. Nonetheless, when you’re comfy sufficient with micromanaging items, constructing your financial system, and pumping out Hussars like they are going out of trend, you may discover a good larger thrill in its multiplayer mode. You may shortly understand simply how excessive AoE 2’s talent ceiling is, and you will inevitably get misplaced within the sauce of mastery.

2019 noticed the discharge of Age of Empire 2’s Definitive Version; a remastered model of the bottom recreation that launched a bunch of latest content material. Since then, AoE 2 DE has gone from energy to energy, as common steadiness patches and even solely new marketing campaign paths and civilizations proceed to reach.

Although Age of Empires 4 stands out as the newest iteration of the beloved sequence, many (ourselves included) will let you know that AoE 2 reigns supreme. In case you do resolve to attempt your hand at this distinctive technique recreation, then seek the advice of our Age of Empires 2 cheats information for a full suite of game-changing codes which might be a boatload of enjoyable to make use of.

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15. Ara Historical past Untold

Ara Historical past Untold is extra than simply one other Civ-like, as Oxide Video games has launched some marvelous improvements to provide the well-trodden grand technique style an actual kick. The largest factor to be careful for when enjoying Ara is that civs full their turns concurrently, that means you are going to must attempt to anticipate your opponents’ each transfer.

Not like Civilization, Ara does not have a number of win situations as such. As an alternative, you earn Status factors that contribute to a worldwide leaderboard. On the finish of every epoch, the least inspiring civ is wiped from historical past; it is very battle royale-coded. Although Ara’s “mix-and-match method to historical past may be arduous to swallow,” as Grace Benfell states in her Ara Historical past Untold evaluate, it is a spirited technique expertise that will not disappoint.

Oxide Video games hasn’t sat on its laurels post-launch, both. A yr after it launched, Ara’s 2.0 replace arrived. This not solely launched a full-fledged tradition system, however it additionally overhauled leaders and factions to make them extra distinct, and streamlined a lot of the busywork that goes into managing a civ.

16. Unity of Command 2

A wonderful title that doubles up as a viable gateway to the world of digital warfare video games, Unity of Command 2 does every little thing its predecessor did and extra. By altering up the state of affairs design, including in new components like HQs, and a extra significant meta-campaign, few repeats of the identical mission will play out the identical. Nonetheless, Unity of Command has all the time had a hint of ‘puzzle’ DNA inside it, which remains to be true however to not the identical extent as the primary recreation.

Unity of Command 2 takes gamers to the extra acquainted waters of the Western Entrance, beginning with the closing levels of the battle for North Africa to the invasion of Sicily, earlier than lastly permitting you to re-live the Normandy campaigns.

As you play by means of the grand technique recreation’s marketing campaign, your military items and headquarters will develop and enhance over time, and there is additionally a light-weight card mechanic that permits you to play a restricted variety of particular actions that may make or break an offensive. It is top-of-the-line warfare video games to attempt as a brand new participant.

17. Knights in Tight Areas

A follow-up from the equally good Fights in Tight Areas, Floor Shatter’s KiTS combines entertaining RPG narrative with deck-building mechanics and turn-based fight.

In Knights in Tight Areas, your playing cards are your moveset, and choosing the proper one on the proper time makes all of the distinction. The place you might be in relation to your foes, your strikes, and theirs, all have an effect on the end result of every flip, too, that means you must think about your subsequent assault and goal rigorously. Sure choices may go away you caught between enemies – or may end in you tossing an opponent over the aspect of a ship or by means of the window of an inn.

The narrative unfolds as you progress, introducing you to new characters to construct out your group. Your recruits can every use totally different strikes, and your deck have to be constructed to go well with. In fact, the enemy groups get more durable as you go, however play your playing cards proper – actually – and so do you.

18. Battle for Wesnoth

What sort of technique recreation record wouldn’t it be with out an open-source or free elder statesman of the turn-based sub-genre?

Simply inching out Folks’s Normal, The Battle for Wesnoth is a sprawling suite of tactical hexery. The Battle for Wesnoth is accommodating, and its neighborhood modules are huge and different, and it is even been ported to telephones.

Wesnoth feels at an aesthetic crossroads between conventional Japanese SRPGS and Western heavy-hitters like Heroes of May and Magic. Mild sufficient to run on essentially the most dismal of methods and never price a brass razoo, The Battle of Wesnoth is really the folks’s recreation.

19. Infinite Legend

Many grand technique video games favor to stay to the historic previous, however Infinite Legend invitations you to discover and conquer an unique fantasy universe populated by elves, dragons, and mages. Followers of Civilization and Heroes of May and Magic will discover themselves immediately at residence because of its hex map and factional armies, whereas its wealthy universe provides a window into the style for newcomers who dislike the political panorama of real-world historical past.

In Fraser Brown’s Infinite Legend evaluate, he wrote: Infinite Legend has a powerful design philosophy that sticks to the tenets of 4X however it additionally units itself other than its friends by bringing one thing totally different to the style.”

The sport prioritizes empire growth over all-out warfare, however its turn-based battles have the tactical depth to maintain any bloodthirsty basic. Nonetheless, its know-how and lore are certain to ship you on grand expeditions throughout procedurally generated continents as you deliver new heroes underneath your banner and full the distinctive storylines for every fantasy civilization. Sci-fi followers could favor the huge expanse of Infinite Area, however Infinite Legend is a fantastical deal with.

20. Europa Universalis IV

The earlier gold commonplace of Paradox grand technique, that is the fourth iteration of a sequence that was initially tailored from an old-school board recreation of the identical title. Pull your nation by means of the turbulent instances of the fifteenth Century during to the Age of Purpose and Napoleon’s revolution, upgrading your know-how, your political acumen, and your capability to guage your neighbors alongside the best way.

Amongst historic grand technique video games, Europa Universalis IV is notable for not focusing completely on Europe however giving entry to a lot of the world for its entire span. Wish to flip a First Nation tribe into an industrial powerhouse to invade Europe? Wish to dissolve the HRE and kind Germany early? The one restrict is your creativeness.

What’s extra, there is a actually staggering quantity of EU4 DLC out there to buy. Alternatively, in case you’d favor to broaden your borders with out spending a penny, our record of one of the best EU4 mods will steer you in the proper route.

21. Stellaris

The primary of Paradox’s grand technique video games to stray into ‘4X’ territory because of its sci-fi theme, in Stellaris, you are not restricted to easy terrestrial life. Create a brand new space-faring species, resolve on its political and social inclinations, after which take to the celebs to unfold an empire throughout a randomly generated galaxy. You have to to compete for assets and place towards your equals and the polities of long-fallen superiors.

Stellaris is over 5 years outdated now and already has a number of DLCs that stretch and broaden choices on your area empires. Whereas it might not have the historic depth that different Paradox titles can depend upon, it’s extra centered on evolving new experiences with new sci-fi stereotypes as usually as attainable, with a heavy emphasis on participant customization. In Fraser Brown’s Stellaris evaluate, they mentioned that it “tickles the a part of my mind that wishes each battle to have some larger context, each transfer I make to be half of a bigger narrative. Stellaris manages to do that with out historical past to lean on, although, and does so with aplomb.”

Plus, you get to design your personal spaceships, which is all the time a bonus. In case you want a hand getting began, we have got some helpful Stellaris suggestions. In fact, we have additionally bought a information to one of the best Stellaris mods for seasoned area explorers, too.

New technique video games

We’re all the time looking out for excellent new technique video games to play, and our upcoming PC video games record has already thrown up some potential candidates. After over a decade of ready, we’re lastly getting a brand new Heroes of May and Magic recreation, Olden Period. It isn’t solely the primary recreation within the iconic sequence to be developed by Unfrozen, however it’s additionally the primary to be printed by Ubisoft. It might be an all-timer or a complete failure, however we’re nonetheless ecstatic to see the sequence revived. We’re additionally large Warhammer followers right here at PCGamesN, so in fact we will point out Daybreak of Struggle 4. It is the primary Warhammer recreation to ever function a playable Primarch, so we’re naturally buzzing with anticipation.

Till they arrive, you could have 15 best-in-class technique video games to wile away the months with. In case your favourite technique recreation hasn’t made the record, be happy to leap into our neighborhood Discord server and state your case. Whilst you’re right here, try one of the best MMOs for much more slow-burn goodness. And in case you’re after absolutely the cream of the crop throughout the board, try our record of one of the best PC video games of all time.