Best PC Exclusive Games of 2018

It’s award season here at Twinfinite! Let’s look back at the best PC exclusive games from 2018. Voted on by our editors, these were the best examples of experiences that could only be had on PC this year. Let’s start with our top vote-getting runner-ups, and finally, of course, our overall winner!

Second Runner-up: BattleTech

Editor-in-Chief Ed McGlone: Even though console gaming is as popular as ever, like lots of the PC exclusives on this year’s list and previous, some games are better off staying un-compromised and exclusive to computers.

BattleTech is one of the games that isn’t going to be for everyone. It probably couldn’t cut it on consoles which has taste for more streamlined AAA-experiences. But for those speaking BattleTech’s language, you’ll have so many tools and toys at your disposal to make this tactical-mech gameplay out exactly the way that you’re drawing it up in your head.

Everything about BattleTech is dense. There’s a ton of mechanics to master, enough that will keep hardcore TBS fans busy for hours on end. And, there is a surprisingly deep and lore rich story that is just icing on top of the deep strategy the game is going for.

If you’re someone that’s going to be off put by its pacing and complexity at all, then it’s probably not for you. For the people BattleTech was made for though, it absolutely delivered.

Best PC Exclusive Games of 2018

First Runner-up: Frostpunk

Reviews Editor Zhiqing Want: As a city-builder game, Frostpunk is a natural fit for the PC platform. Unlike most other city-builder games, however, Frostpunk also likes questioning your sense of morality and making you feel bad about every decision you make.

After an apocalyptic blizzard ravages the world, it’s your job to lead a group of London refugees back to civilization by building a new city around a generator from the ground up. Progression is very straightforward. You’ll be building houses for your citizens as the population grows, putting them to work by shoveling coal to keep the generator running, and researching new technology to maximize your efficiency.

Frostpunk throws a wrench into the works, though, by forcing you to make tough decisions every step of the way. One day you’ll have to choose between spending resources trying to keep your injured alive, or cut your losses and euthanize them instead.

Or you might have to choose between letting the kids stay at home or put them in the coal mines to keep the coal flowing. Every decision has an impact on your city, which can lead to rebellions. And when that happens, will you crush the rebellion by force? Or try to appease them and run the risk of facing more unhappy civilians?

Frostpunk is extremely atmospheric for a city-builder game. Its art and design are impeccable, and with 11 bit Studios releasing more updates and content for it, it’s quickly becoming one of our favorite city-builders to play on PC.

Best PC Exclusive Games of 2018

Winner: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Editor-in-Chief Ed McGlone: Likely Obsidian Entertainment’s indie swan song now that they have been gobbled up by Microsoft, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire was a hell of a way to go out. It’s one of those unique, PC-only experiences that reminds you why you still bother to keep your rig up to date.

It’s one of the most immersive and roleplay-friendly games I’ve ever played. Its world is rich with lore and you have so much freedom to play the game out however you wish. Choice-laden games are becoming increasingly popular, but few have done it as well Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Everything about your character such as stats, race, class and more factors into how NPCs, party members, and villains all treat you. Likewise, the story, choices, and options available to you are all affected as well and because of this, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire offers a crazy amount of replay value on top of everything else it does right.

They don’t make games like Pillars of Eternity anymore. Sadly, it might because they don’t sell all that well. CRPGs Although there’s no official confirmation just yet, it seems like Deadfire’s sales walked the plank. CRPGs are rare already, and this might be a blow that sets the genre back once again.

Do not mistake that for a lack of quality though. Regardless of what happens to the franchise in the future (if it has one), it’s going to be remembered as the best PC exclusive game of 2018.