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While the massive online multiplayer market has definitely taken hold of most gamers, there is an audience for games with incredible single-player stories. Sometimes you just want to sit back and get immersed in a world different from your own, away from anyone else.
When games like Overwatch, Call of Duty, Fortnite and League of Legends just aren't scratching that itch, it's time to try something different. Today, we look to bring to you some of the best offline games for PC.
Note the importance of this is to recommend games which are not reliant on the online aspect. For that reason alone, even if a game wasn't made solely for the online experience, if having the opportunity to play online will majorly affect the game in any way, it must be struck from the list. Sorry, Dark Souls.
Also, read Top 5 PC Games to Download for Windows 7
5. Torment: Tides of Numenera
This may be a biased pick on my end, as I'm a huge fan of the Numenera tabletop experience. Monte Cook's exquisite D&D like game focuses on the weird and unexplainable things that you may see in a fantasy world. While most games in the genre can be heavily combat focused, Numenera chooses instead to focus on narrative, rarely ever placing a group into a fight.
Torment: Tides of Numenera follows this pattern pretty well. While there is a very solid turn-based RPG here, the focus is on the story and the incredible...and strange world that you've been thrust into. The player takes control of the character known as the Last Castoff. There is a man in the world, known to some as the Changing God, who has the ability to leave his body and create a new one, constantly evading a threat that will eventually go through you to find him.
You are the most recent body to be abandoned and must try to find this man before all is too late and you're hunted down like a dog by an entity that seeks to destroy anything associated with The Changing God.
I can't think of many games that start off the way Tides of Numenera does. It beings with you, the player, falling throughout the sky and plummeting towards the planet below you. Your next few decisions determine whether you live or die. Just like the rest of the game, a wrong or misplaced move may end up getting you and your party killed.
Fans of older RPGs will really get a kick out of this one, especially those that love to get lost in side quests that, in all reality, have nothing to do with the main story. However, the choices you make in each and every quest could end up affecting others down the road, as I found out myself a few times.
I can't say this is one that everyone will enjoy. It's a very niche product, and with the majority of gamers focusing on action over the substance of a good story, it probably won't hit a home run with a lot of people. That being said, if you're into this genre, this one is not to be missed and is one of the best offline games for PC.
Also, read 7 Best Open World PC Games You Should Play At least Once
4. Metro: Last Light
If you're looking for a tense shooter that'll have your heart racing in no time, look no further than Metro: Last Light. The game picks up where Metro: 2033 left off, following Artyom as he attempts to keep the peace in Moscow's metro system where survivors are holed up. The radiated earth above is home to some powerful mutants like the demon (pictured above) which, along with the inhabitable land and air on the surface, forces humans underground.
In 2033, Artyom launched a missile strike against telepathic mutants known as Dark Ones, which threatened to wipe out the existing survivors. However, a year later, during the events of Last Light, one Dark One still remained. Artyom, along with a military force known as The Rangers are tasked with tracking down the final Dark One in order to wipe out the threat for good.
However, that becomes a little easier said than done when it's revealed that their target is a child. Soon Artyom begins to question his actions of the previous title as he struggles to keep the ones he loves safe, all the while facing off against multiple underground factions and mutants.
Metro: Last Light is a first-person shooter filled with some incredible firearms. However, the real fun in this title comes in the higher difficulty, where ammunition and other supplies become rare commodities, forcing you to make sure every shot you make hits. Throughout most of the game, you'll be travelling through the dark, or at best dimly lit tunnels while consistently looking over your back for any threats that may be lurking near you.
Metro: Last Light is a great shooter wrapped up in a dismal and pessimistic package, worthy of anyone's time.
Also, read 10 Best Open World Games You Can Play in Xbox, PS4 & PC
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
If you aren't aware of the anticipated 2011 title known as Skyrim, you must have had a really busy year that year...and all years following it. Bethesda introduced the province of Skyrim to players nearly eight years ago, thrusting them onto the continent of Tamriel as the land is suddenly overtaken by dragons. Since then, the franchise has topped every offline games for PC lists.
Eventually, you find out that you are the Dragonborn, and are able to absorb the souls of dragons in order to learn powerful spells known as "shouts." With this ability, you are tasked with taking on the almighty Alduin the World-Eater before he can destroy the world.
Skyrim takes place about two centuries after the events of Oblivion and features an incredibly open gameplay experience. By that I mean, you can do whatever you want whenever you want. Nothing is cut off due to levelling, and you can enter any dungeon or any quest at any moment as long as you have whatever key is necessary to enter them if a key is even necessary.
Whether you choose to take on foes up close and personal with a sword or hammer, hide back from plain sight with a poison-tipped bow, or send all your enemies to kingdom come with the magical powers of the gods, you'll find combat here that will suit your needs.
The success of TES V: Skyrim has been so overwhelming that it's become a running joke at this point, with Bethesda players "afraid" that if they buy another game from the developer, it'll just be Skyrim in disguise. However, it's easy to see why they would continuously release the game over the years. With updated graphics and smoothed out frame rate, players on any device want to have this treasure in their collection.
2. Divinity: Original Sin II
We jump back into the classic RPG territory for our offline PC games list and taking our number two spot is Divinity: Original Sin II.
Set in the world of Rivellion, players are more or less just thrust out into the open with a pat on the back and told, "Get out there and find something worth chasing." Sure there's a story about the Godwoken, the player, setting out on a journey to save the world and persecuted sorcerers from the God King and the Voidwoken, who are out to steal the power of those like the player.
Divinity: Original Sin II offers you the chance to take pre-made characters with unique backstories into the world of Rivellion, or allows you to create your own complex character. You'll be able to recruit three different companions to help you battle your way across the world.
While exploring the game, you'll be met with all kinds of quests in which the best way to solve them is...well...whatever way you see fit. You want to try to talk down the giant hulking man holding a bloody axe and a psychotic look in his eyes? Go ahead. You want to butcher a noble group of soldiers simply because they're in your way and you aren't quite sure how else to progress? Take out your weapon and chop those men and women down.
The point is, there's no wrong answer here. Divinity: Original Sin II is great because of its incredible replay value. You'll go through it multiple times and get a completely different experience out of it every single time.
And while this is a list for offline games for PC, that doesn't mean couch co-op is off the table. Bring a friend along, who will be able to control his own character free of will, as you come across various encounters and decide which is the best course of action to take.
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
It's hard to not have Geralt's final run come in at the top of the offline games for PC list here. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt follows the legendary witcher as he tries to track down Ciri, the last heir to a powerful ancient elvish bloodline with the power to manipulate space and time. Geralt helped to train Ciri at the witcher school of Kaer Morhen, and you'll get to see much of the backstory between the two while searching for her before the Wild Hunt captures her.
The Witcher III, combat wise, is the best out of the entire series. The ARPG tasks you with hunting various monsters throughout the land, cashing in on bounties along the way. Geralt carries two swords with him, one steel and one silver. The silver sword is used to take out creatures and monstrosities, while the steel is what you'll bring out to deal with any humans who get in your way.
Along with these, crossbows and bombs, Geralt of Rivia controls five different magical signs which can help get you out of some sticky situations: Aard, Axii, Igni, Yrden and Quen.
Aard is a telekinetic blast sent out from Geralt's location. This simple technique can be used, not only to stun opponents but to blast your way through doors or walls and blow out any fires in the area.
Axii allows you to charm the mind of your target. While it's a great technique to use in combat, temporarily taking someone out of a fight, it's even more useful when talking to NPCs. Sort of a Jedi mind trick, this will allow you to both fool others into believing what you want or giving you the information needed for a quest you may be pursuing.
Igni is essentially Geralt's fire spell, sending out a wave of flame that lights enemies and surrounding grass ablaze. Yrden slows down enemies in an AoE, and Quen buffs the player with a temporary shield, allowing you to take more damage.
Armed with weapons and magic, you'll embark on an epic journey that will follow an incredibly twisted fairy tale while engaging with many known beasts throughout folklore that we've all grown up with.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is not only one of the greatest offline game for PC experiences you'll find, but one of the greatest video games to ever be released. CD Projekt Red's masterpiece shines so well, all other action RPGs will have to be measured against this to see if they pass the test.
