Since criticism began to emerge, we have always experienced cases of a certain dissonance between what the public believed and what specialized publications proposed. It is a maxim that, even today and even in media such as video games, is still present. With that in mind we have proposed an experiment, what differences would we find between the best PC games according to critics and according to users ?
To do this, we went to Metacritic and selected the best PC games of all time according to each side, a total of 48 video game masterpieces that, surprisingly, only rarely go together. Whether or not these votes are unanimous, what is undeniable is that we could not take away part of the reason from any of the parties, there are about thirty games that you must try before you die.
Metacritic scoring parameters
Born at the dawn of 2000, Metacritic has become one of the key pages to find opinions on music, movies, books, and video games. For a few years now, going to find out the Metascore of a game, the average score that appears on the site, has become a fairly common action before purchasing a product.
Although the Metascore only focuses on the averages made with the critics’ scores, voices such as those of the famous briefcases to buy notes, or the fact that in this average the weight of some portals is greater than others, invite approach a second reading.
To ensure balance, in addition to collecting these specialized press releases, a section is also included in which players can vote and review the game. In this way, the critic and user scores are separated, which, as you will see below, can deliver very different results, although they are no less valid.
The best PC games according to critics
1. ‘Disco Elysium’
- Price: 39.99 euros
I don’t remember a recent game that won over the gaming population more strongly than ‘Disco Elysium’. The merit is even greater because of how much some might consider it a tough nut to crack, an RPG loaded with text and philosophy with a tendency towards dice that, despite everything that may put you off, sooner or later you should try.
2. ‘Half-Life 2’
- Price: 9.99 euros
After becoming the first to be listed as “ the best PC game in history ”, ‘Half-Life 2’ had the difficult task of keeping the bar just as high. This position on the list shows to what extent it achieved it, becoming one of the titles that would mark the way for the industry to follow in the following years in terms of graphics, physics, artificial intelligence, and, above all, narrative.
3. ‘Grand Theft Auto V’
- Price: 34.90 euros
Becoming the second game that has managed to sell the most physical copies, only behind a phenomenon like ‘Wii Sports’ (and without taking into account that adding the digital ones the figure can be greatly surpassed), ‘GTA V’ has become a mass phenomenon that after five years is still dominating the sales charts. It’s not there by luck, of course, it’s one of the most engaging and fun open worlds ever created.
4. ‘The Orange Box’
- Price: 18.99 euros
With ‘The Orange Box’ Valve cheated, and not only did it deliver all the chapters of ‘Half-Life 2’ and the multiplayer of ‘Team Fortress 2’ to console users, but it also included in the pack a genius like ‘ Portal’, probably the best puzzle game the video game world has seen in the last 20 years.
5. ‘Half-Life’
- Price: 9.99 euros
Released in 1998, ‘Half-Life’ was Valve’s debut film, a game that allowed them to live off the income from their success and their graphics engine to shape the empire that Steam has finally become. Without a doubt one of the best games in history, it is also a classic that, despite its graphics, has stood the test of time very well, which makes it a game that is equally recommended today.
6. ‘BioShock’
- Price: 19.99 euros
Story, graphics, gameplay… ‘BioShock’ has everything you could ask for in an FPS, but it also managed to take the way stories were told within an action-adventure one step further. A journey to the depths to discover an underwater city in which a utopia has become an absolute hell that has escaped the control of its creators.
7. ‘Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn’
- Price: 19.99 euros
Available in ‘Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition’ along with the ‘Throne of Bhaal’ expansion, ‘Shadows of Amn’ is the perfect example of why BioWare has become one of those studios we go to without hesitation when we look for a good story. A magnificent role-playing game that is impossible not to get completely caught up in for over 60 hours.
8. ‘Elden Ring’
- Price: 56.99 euros
Few games manage to earn a place in the top 10 with the ease that ‘Elden Ring’ has done. Software’s game has surprised critics and the public with a superb reinvention of the open world that has quickly turned it into one of the best games of our time.
9. ‘Portal 2’
- Price: 19.99 euros
It was very difficult to improve on the best, but if there is a studio capable of retracing its steps and making your head explode, it is Valve. With ‘Portal 2’ they showed that the success of ‘Portal’ was not a simple coincidence and that the world and mechanics they had created could still go much further to create the definitive mix of adventures and puzzles.
10. ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’
- Price: 39.99 euros
Become a meme for its ability to jump from platform to platform almost without breaking a sweat (among many other curiosities of its adventure), ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ is another of those role-playing games that captivate you from minute one. A mix of RPG and open world in which following the story is only part of the fun, and the opportunity to create your own is its best asset.
11. ‘Mass Effect 2’
- Price: 25.97 euros
After accelerating the pace of the first and going even deeper into everything that ‘Mass Effect’ managed to present, ‘Mass Effect 2’ became one of BioWare’s star games and one of the most successful titles on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A game as great as it is fun that neither the third installment nor the recent ‘Mass Effect Andromeda’ managed to surpass.
12. ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’
- Price: 9.99 euros
Considered by many to be the best installment of the ‘Grand Theft Auto saga, the truth is that ‘Vice City’ had a special halo. Not only did it manage to be even crazier than ‘GTA III’, but it also managed to do so by referencing some of the most legendary films of the 80s, thereby delivering the definitive gangster story.
13. ‘Civilization II’
The addition of new troops and a more effective and realistic combat system that abandoned probability calculations made ‘Civilization II’ Sid Meier’s definitive game. A strategy title, in which you take control of a tribe and take it to the top of the social evolutionary scale, from which it was impossible to disengage.
14. ‘Quake’
- Price: 4.99 euros
After the success of games like ‘Doom’ or ‘Wolfenstein’, ‘Quake’ became the father of modern FPS by transferring that gameplay to a 3D environment. A magnificent game with an unbeatable setting that, despite the passing of the years, is still capable of bringing a smile to anyone who takes the controls.
15. ‘BioShock Infinite’
- Price : 7.49 euros
After the stumble of a second installment that failed to maintain the level of the first ‘BioShock’, ‘BioShock Infinite’ became famous for being one of those developments in which the creative department seemed to run faster than the technology could deliver. Much of what he proposed ended up being lost along the way, but despite this, he managed to deliver a memorable closure to the saga that it is impossible not to want to applaud.
16. ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’
- Price: 14.99 euros
Before ‘Skyrim’ was on everyone’s lips, and with ‘Morrowind’ fans crying to heaven for considering that this was one point below, ‘ The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ managed to gain the attention of locals and strangers with a fantastic story and equally recommendable gameplay. A game ahead of its time that, however, failed to surprise anyone visually and technically.
17. ‘Grim Fandango’
- Price: 14.99 euros
Considered one of the best graphic adventures in history, it is not surprising that ‘Grim Fandango’ ends up among the best PC games according to critics. A wonderful and tremendously original story in which everything is taken care of with the greatest of care. A great classic that, if you consider yourself a fan of the genre, sooner or later you will have to try it.
18. ‘Devil’
- Price: 8.89 euros
More than 20 years have passed since Blizzard gave us one of the best action RPG games that have fallen into our hands. A game that, with loot as its flag and replayability as an excuse, had us hooked for months in search of destroying the worst evil that has devastated the earth, ‘Diablo’.
19. ‘Civilization IV’
- Price: 59.99 euros
‘In Civilization VI’ there are titles that understand how they should hook a player from the first minute, and this is undoubtedly one of them. It earned our attention based on renewed graphics, but it has been in the Daily Vice where it has truly been proven to be one of the best strategy games in history. A superb game that deserves the minute and euro invested in it.
20. ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’
- Price: 29.99 euros
Good old Geralt of Rivia managed to ensure that ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ made the saga go from a nice idea to an unavoidable franchise. And although the first two titles already fell into the category of great games, what the CD Projekt RED team achieved here ended up placing them in the orbit of giants like Rockstar.
21. ‘Company of Heroes’
- Price: 12.99 euros
Relic signed in ‘Company of Heroes’ one of those games that is inevitable to keep in memory. A strategy title that even today remains one of the best RTS of all time. If you’re in the mood for World War II, both the original and its expansions are games you should go through sooner or later.
22. ‘Half-Life Alyx’
- Price: 49.99 euros
Virtual reality needed a device seller and, to the surprise of almost everyone, Valve shouldered that challenge with its most recognized saga. ‘Half-Life Alyx’ not only proved capable of meeting that challenge and increasing sales of VR headsets, it also proved to be a tremendous game and highly recommended.
23. ‘Divinity: Original Sin II’
- Price: 41.99 euros
After being financed in less than 12 hours, ‘Divinity: Original Sin II not only managed to keep alive a saga much loved by users but also set a new bar in the genre of action thrillers. We are facing a masterpiece of the genre that, based on history, mechanics, and strategy, deserves every one of the points it has achieved to be placed here.
24. ‘Unreal Tournament 2004’
- Price : 14.99 euros
If there are games that reach heights and cross borders, it is precisely because of cases like ‘Unreal Tournament 2004’, capable not only of winning over the public of the time but also of pushing one of the greatest video game phenomena that still prevail today, that of competition at a professional level with esports. If it weren’t for successes like this, perhaps Epic Games wouldn’t be what it is today.
25. ‘Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty’
- Price : free
Become one of the great classics in video game history and one of the most influential titles of recent decades, ‘Starcraft 2’ is far from needing an introduction. What was intended as a game to pass the time became a phenomenon capable of lifting a giant like esports on its shoulders?
The best PC games according to users
1. ‘Half-Life 2: Episode Two’
- Price : 7.99 euros
There was a time when ‘Half-Life 2’ wanted to stay on top of the wave with a trilogy of episodes that, unfortunately, never came to an end. The second part of this trio of games has ended up conquering millions of players and, with this, has surpassed the original works in terms of quality for users.
2. ‘Portal’
- Price : 9.99 euros
Talking about ‘Portal’ at the time it was launched, even minimally, was a complete sacrilege. The best thing about playing it was putting yourself at the controls with the idea that you were facing a puzzle game that was simple in its approach but original in its mechanics, but when you realized you were immersed in an adventure that went far beyond what it seemed to promise. An everlasting gem.
3. ‘Warcraft III’
- Price : 9.99 euros
Under the proposal of maintaining the strategy genre that catapulted Blizzard, ‘Warcraft III’ became one of the games most applauded by users, a love that is still maintained today with the promise that the game will be released again. life with a remastering. We don’t know if it will finally happen, but don’t let that stop you from giving the original version a chance.
4. ‘Mafia’
- Price : 9.99 euros
The next place would be for ‘Day of Defeat, whose sequel we have talked about a little above, so we jump to the next one to occupy a spot on the list, the highly recommended ‘Mafia’, nothing to do with what came later with games like ‘Mafia III’. At a time when trying to follow in the footsteps of ‘GTA III’ consisted of trying to take Rockstar’s Kafre spirit as far as possible, Illusion Softworks opted for a completely different perspective, that of turning the story of The Godfather into a sandbox video game.
5. ‘Counter-Strike’
- Price : 9.99 euros
With ‘The Orange Box’ and ‘Half-Life 2’ next on the list, we have jumped directly to the one that came next to have the opportunity to include more games among those chosen by users. However, things stay with Valve, because the multiplayer of ‘Counter-Strike’ is what earns the right to occupy that position. A great classic that we have all, to a greater or lesser extent, gone through during our lives as players.
6. ‘Deus Ex’
- Price : 6.99 euros
The next position on the list would be occupied by ‘Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn’, which we have already talked about in the critics’ selection, so we maintain the flow of news to give way to the first ‘Deus Ex’, a game that many They will know from the deliveries that arrived later. As in those, here we are faced with a role-playing game in which the variety of options when it comes to facing its dangers is its main attraction.
7. ‘Planescape: Torment’
- Price : 19.99 euros
More great, this time from the hand of a classic that takes the success of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ as a reference. An unforgettable story in which the passing of the years does not matter at all and, although the nostalgia factor always helps titles like ‘Planescape: Torment’ a little, it still maintains the bar high despite being a game from before 2000.
8. ‘Fallout 2’
- Price : 9.99 euros
‘Fallout 2’ is one of those timeless classics that even today continues to stand up to each new edition of the franchise. Comparisons are hateful, but when you do things so well and earn the public’s affection, it is normal for people to start directly comparing what they see before their eyes. Without a doubt one of those RPGs that sooner or later you have to play to understand the success of the saga.
9. ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’
- Price : 29.95 euros
Listed as one of the most solid and best-made games in video game history, ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ is one of those epic adventures in which the hour counter will never stop climbing. A fantastic title that, both technically and playable, set a bar that few have been able to surpass three years later.
10. ‘Gothic 2’
- Price : 9.99 euros
A great film that is no longer made, ‘Gothic 2’ soon became a classic full of great criticism from fans of the genre. Huge in both its playability and its story, it is without a doubt one of the most celebrated and acclaimed niche games of the 3D era. An iconic classic that every fantasy fan should try.
11. ‘Max Payne’
- Price : 9.99 euros
We continue with the list of users and the selection of the best PC games of all time with the first installment of the ‘Max Payne saga. Any of us who played it back in the day will tell you the same thing, the sum of a memorable story, stunning graphics and visuals, frenetic action, and the possibility of emulating the slow-motion movements that made the ‘Matrix’ saga famous. ‘, they made the Remedy game one of our favorite games.
12. ‘System Shock 2’
- Price : 9.99 euros
Before Us is one of those games that always end up coming up when talking about sagas that should return. What was achieved with ‘System Shock 2’ at the level of narrative and gameplay has ended up being the germ of what years later we have understood as logical in the mixtures between FPS and RPG. It’s a shame that the remake of the first has ended up being suspended and that, for now, the best we can do is replay the two classic installments.
13. ‘Factory’
- Price : 25 euros
‘ Factorio ‘ is one of those phenomena that is difficult to predict. What was an ugly game focused on automating production processes ended up becoming a mass success. One of those games where you go into knowing when you start playing but not when you’ll finish.
14. ‘Left 4 Dead’
- Price : 19.99 euros
With Cooperative as its flagship, this game in which you kill zombies accompanied by three other players has become the favorite of many PC users, which has even placed it above timeless classics such as the two games that will come after it. ‘Left 4 Dead’ is tremendously original and a very fun experience.
15. ‘Team Fortress 2’
- Price : Free
Precursor of the free-to-play fever that today floods all platforms, ‘Team Fortress 2’ puts us under the control of nine different classes so that we fight accompanied by friends to finish off the rival team. A very fun title that also managed to become one of the great multiplayer classics on PC.
16. ‘Day of Defeat: Source’
- Price : 9.99 euros
‘Day of Defeat: Source’ is one of those Valve maneuvers in which you can get attention with relatively little effort. It may seem like the sequel to a game that took over from the ‘Counter-Strike’ saga and passed it through the filter of World War II to provide more variety to the genre, but in reality, it hid flashes of genius that, especially in the form of maps and graphs, managed to dazzle a large mass of users.
17. ‘Age of Empires 2’
- Price : 19.99 euros
We may be facing another of the most famous games in the history of the medium. ‘Age of Empires 2’ is one of those titles that is fondly remembered even by those who were not so fond of video games as to continue with the hobby beyond it. An enormous and very powerful work that marked an entire generation.
18. ‘It Takes Two’
- Price : 39.99 euros
With the help of Josef Fares, we enter another formidable cooperative adventure. ‘It Takes Two’ will invite us to control two members of a comedic couple who must collaborate in a fantasy world to resolve their differences.
19. ‘Hollow Knight’
- Price : 14.99 euros
It is not easy to see recent games among so many classic titles, but to the surprise of almost no one who has played it, ‘Hollow Knight’ has managed to place itself among the 20 games best-rated by users. No wonder, we are facing a fantastic roguelike that, seeking the challenge in combat time, is capable of hooking you for weeks to its particular universe of bugs.
20. ‘Medieval II: Total War’
- Price : 24.99 euros
With the Crusades as an excuse, Creative Assembly created one of the most celebrated strategy games in history in ‘Medieval II: Total War’. Despite having almost 20 years behind it, the Total War saga is still very much alive largely due to the success of games like this one that invited us to conquer the Old World and the New with the help of Christian or Islamic troops.
21. ‘Rome: Total War’
- Price : 7.99 euros
An excellent strategy game in which, with the sum of the expansions included in ‘Rome: Total War – Collection’, you have days and days of monumental battles ahead of you. In its time, the ‘Total War’ franchise managed to amaze us with the possibility of getting as close as possible to an action that included hundreds of soldiers hitting each other, an incredible achievement for the time.
22. ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’
- Price : 8.19 euros
Probably the most applauded and revered game of all those that the Star Wars saga has released so far. BioWare delivered one of its best games with ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’. A WRPG whose influence marked the path of later phenomena such as ‘Mass Effect’ showed that the script of a video game could surpass the films of the franchise if there was good work behind it.
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
