LIFE’S A BEACH

“BIGGER, BLEAKER, AND MORE DANGEROUS THAN EVER BEFORE”

ROBIN VALENTINE Twitter @robinlvalentine This month Stared deep

GRAND THEFT LOTTO

GTA: THE TRILOGY had one of the greatest launch disasters of recent times

The Spy

BUT WHO WATCHES THE SPY?

MAP QUEST

The diehard GAMEFAQS user who’s drawn over 3,500 maps

TRY, TRY AGAIN

How N: THE WAY OF THE NINJA became the PC’s best platformer – then got better

BACK FROM THE DEAD

How TURTLE ROCK STUDIOS righted itself after rolling on its back

WARFRAME: THE NEW WAR

The latest update is an epic years in the making

WEIRD WEST

An immersive sim that blends chaotic combat and horror

MEN OF WAR II

The return of the men who love war, and their tanks

SACRED FIRE

Your worst enemy is your own mind in this psychological RPG

THE MONSTER WITHIN

Meet your new beast friends

IN THE ZONE

New mutants, a new faction, and new ways to die in STALKER 2: HEART OF CHERNOBYL

APEX LEGENDS

BEST ONGOING 2021 Nat Clayton, features producer: Apex

BACK 4 BLOOD

BEST CO-OP 2021 Evan Lahti, global editor-in-chief: Before

CHIVALRY 2

BEST MULTIPLAYER 2021 Morgan Park: In a world

WILDERMYTH

BEST RPG 2021 Robin Valentine, print editor: I

FORZA HORIZON 5

BEST OPEN WORLD 2021 Phil Savage, UK editor-in-chief:

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

BEST CHARACTERS 2021 Fraser Brown, online editor: My

OLD WORLD

BEST STRATEGY 2021 Fraser Brown: I’ve dreamed of

DEATHLOOP

Phil Savage: Finally, an Arkane game that dares

HITMAN 3

BEST STEALTH 2021 Fraser Brown: For the site,

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

BEST HORROR 2021 Jacob Ridley: Resident Evil Village

LOOP HERO

BEST DESIGN 2021 Evan Lahti: This mighty little

SABLE

BEST NARRATIVE 2021 Nat Clayton: The hero of

VALHEIM

GAME OF THE YEAR 2021 Lauren Morton, associate

It’s war

It’s time once again to return to an

DUTY STALLS

Despite some impressive moments, CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD struggles to stand out

PARTY LINES

RIDERS REPUBLIC falls just short of shred heaven

LIKE A BOSS

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022 ensures that heavy is the head that wears the crown

SUPER SLEUTH

SHERLOCK HOLMES: CHAPTER ONE is an ambitious sandbox with a younger detective

SHUFFLE KNIGHT

VOICES OF CARDS: THE ISLAND DRAGON ROARS doesn’t play its cards right

BIGGER FIELD

BATTLEFIELD 2042 refocuses the series on its founding principle: being huge

SWORD AND BOARD

GLOOMHAVEN brilliantly translates the beloved board game to your PC screen

ACT YOUR AGE

The unique civilisations are the stars, showing that less is more in AGE OF EMPIRES IV

THE BENDS

Bad news, sim racing rigs – CIRCUIT SUPERSTARS has arrived

MOONAGE DAYDREAM

MARVEL’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is charming, heartwarming, and beset by issues

CRUISE CONTROL

FORZA HORIZON 5 is more of the same, and that’s OK

THE GOOD PLACE

It’s a dog’s (and cat’s) life in THE GOOD LIFE

DIE CARD

INSCRYPTION is a disconcerting, multi-layered card game

ROAD WARRIORS

Fate can do one in GET IN THE CAR, LOSER!

WATERING CAN’T

Definitely not murdering houseplants in THE FLORIST

PHARMA POLICE

Enjoying the company of idiots in RESIDENT EVIL

ART ATTACK

LAYERS OF FEAR is spooky, but in a loud way

CPU AIR COOLERS

Keep your chip cool and quiet with one of PC Gamer’s recommended air coolers

“I’ve done all of my racing so far using Microsoft’s Xcloud streaming on PC”

Getting lost in the Xcloud in FORZA HORIZON 5

“Some grumpy aliens call me a jackass”

Dead ends in MARVEL’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

“Legends of Runeterra feels like it’s in the midst of its own golden age”

LEGENDS OF RUNETERRA is still the best digital card game ever made

“One of the finest examples in recent memory of showing instead of telling”

UNPACKING is hiding one of this year’s best stories

APE X LEGENDS

Storm the beaches with a backstabbing blender.

ASHES TO ASH

Our newest Simulacrum has this whole ‘death and resurrection’ thing down to a tee

HALF-LIFE: DELTA

Exploring unforeseen consequences.

BACK 4 BLOOD

Play your cards right to beat back the ravenous horde.

HITMAN

Stealth be damned

BODYCOUNTDOWN

Who’s Top of the Popped Off?

TEARDOWN

Smash and grab.

SIN

Remembering the last shooter of the pre-Half-Lifeworld.

YEAR OF THE GUN

A timeline of shooters from 1998

BRINGING LEXY BACK

What Ms Sinclaire did next

MUST PLAY

A PERSONAL LIST OF THE BEST GAMES YOU CAN PLAY RIGHT NOW