Indie: Owlboy – $24.99 Steam
Usually, when a game gets stuck in development for eight years it’s not a good sign, but not when it comes to Owlboy. Owlboy being in development for eight years has made it a great and well polished where you can feel the love the developers poured into the game. It’s not just well polished, it is incredibly well polished. Owlboy is a Metroidvania style game with great old-school graphics style and is a must for anyone who enjoys those kinds pixel styled Metroidvania games.
Last Year’s Hidden Gem: Warhammer: Endtimes – Vermintide – $29.99 Steam
A gift does not always have to be something brand new, sometimes it can be a hidden gem like Warhammer: Endtimes – Vermintide. This surprise hit by Fatshark could best be described as a Left 4 Dead set in the Warhammer universe with the rat race Skaven as the enemy, it’s a great game with really smooth gameplay and is best experienced with four other players, making it a great gift for someone who has yet to buy it. Now that the console versions of Vermintide have been released I have gotten confirmation from Fatshark that they will keep on working on Vermintide, providing both free and paid content, so it’s a perfect time to gift this gem to someone.
Honorable mentions
Listing every good and gift worthy game released would make this article way too long so here are some other good games that did not make the “official” list.
- Dark Souls III
- Xcom 2
- Hearts of Iron IV
- The Witcher 3 GOTY edition
- Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
- Titanfall 2
- The Witness
- Total War: Warhammer
- DOOM
- Planet Coaster
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Duelyst
- Firewatch
Good luck finding the right gaming gift for the right person.
Multiplayer: Overwatch – $59.99 Battle.net
Like it or not, Overwatch is this year’s multiplayer behemoth and it keeps on getting bigger. Overwatch is a great multiplayer game that fits most players since the core gameplay is easy to learn and the character roster is big enough for everyone to find a character they enjoy playing. It’s a great game both for more casual players and competitive ones and games often don’t take too long to finish. Overwatch is a great gift for anyone who wants to expand their Overwatch crew and for those who enjoy class-based multiplayer shooters.
Shooter: Battlefield 1 – $59.99 Origin
It was a challenge deciding on which shooter to recommend but in the end Battlefield 1 won. It has got a great and emotional story about the people and the horrors of World War I and a deep multiplayer mode with a lot of maps and game modes. It fits a lot of gamers who are into the shooter genre, it fits those who primarily wants an immersive story as well as those who primarily plays it for the multiplayer. Battlefield 1 has already won a whole lot of awards and even audiophiles will enjoy this game. Battlefield 1 will keep on getting updates and DLC for a long time to come. If you need more reasons to why Battlefield 1 will be a great gift then check out our Top 5 Reasons to Play Battlefield 1 article.
DLC: World of Warcraft: Legion – $49.99 Battle.net
This is not really a game on its own but more of a DLC, but Legion deserves to be mentioned in our Gift Guide. The general consensus about Blizzard’s latest expansion is that Legion righted a lot of wrongs from Warlords of Draenor and brought a lot of players who had grown tired of the game back into it. Legion manages to cater to both those who enjoy World of Warcraft as a solo experience and those who play with a larger group. Legion has got a lot to offer to most, if not every, MMO player and it is a great gift for those who wants to get their friends back into the game again and to play the kind of WoW that many have come to love.
Simulation: Stardew Valley – $14.99 Steam
Remember Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing? Stardew Valley is essentially a mix of the two and a great, although slower, game in which players takes control over a farm and tries to not get bought up by a big corporation. Most games today are filled to the brim with action so sometimes it’s a welcome retreat with a slow and soothing game where things aren’t exploding around you all the time. If a slower and more relaxing experience where farming crops is what you do then Stardew Valley is a great choice.
The year is almost over and the holiday season is just around the corner which means two things: That people have to buy gifts because tradition dictates it and that there will be a lot of sales during the holiday season which means getting the same stuff but it's cheaper. Something we all can agree on is that it can be a jungle to navigate through to find the best games available, or the ones that are really good but people for some reason missed out on.
Worry not because we here at GameZone got your back with this handy PC gamers’ gift guide!
Note that listing ALL good and gift worthy games in all genres will not be possible, these are just a few of all the good games available on PC.
Action – Adventure: Quantum Break – $39.99 Microsoft Store and Steam
Quantum Break is a third-person action- adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment, the creators of Alan Wake. Quantum Break is a story driven game which follows the protagonist Jack Joyce as he tries to save both time and space. The story is a mix of cutscenes, gameplay, and a live action tv show and it all works really well and delivers one of the greatest stories about time travel. Quantum Break did receive mixed scores but it is one of my personal favorites this year, a great game and a perfect gift for anyone who loves action games with great stories and for those who loves when games or movies can explain time travel in a satisfying way.
RPG: Tyranny – $44.99 Steam
By now gamers should know that RPG’s from Obsidian Entertainment are quality stuff, and that’s what their latest CRPG Tyranny is, it hold just as high a standard as their previous games. Tyranny is an old school RPG made with modern day technology and it is one of the better RPG’s released on PC this year. This time players won’t be the hero in the fight between good and evil, in Tyranny evil has already won, which is not that common in video games these days. Tyranny received mostly positive criticism and can be considered a must-buy for anyone who likes old school RPGs and games like Wasteland, Divinity: Original Sins, and Pillars of Eternity.
Strategy: Civilization VI – $59.99 Steam
2016 has been a great year for strategy games like X-Com 2, Stellaris, and Hearts of Iron IV, but Civilization VI is something extra, a masterpiece when it comes to strategy and a strong Game of the Year contender. Civilization VI improves on everything in the franchise and is one of the better launch games this year. It takes the familiar Civilization formula and makes it better than ever. Since it was released fairly recently the price might be somewhat of a turnoff for some but with the Holidays comes various sales which make it a great game to gift to either a friend or to yourself. Great game for anyone who enjoys strategy games, especially turn-based strategy.
