The Best PC Games of 2017

Let's get one important fact out of the way before we dive into the deep end of the pool: This is not a historical examination of the most groundbreaking PC games. Not. Even. Close. Sure, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain redefines stealth-based action and Forza Horizon 3 is the definitive open-world racer, but they didn't make it into this guide based purely on those metrics. Simply put, this an ever-expanding collection of all-around excellent titles you should buy if you own a gaming desktop or laptop.

To clarify, games don't need to have been released in 2017 (or even 2016) to qualify for this roundup. Any game that's still available and still considered excellent when ranked against the best of today is eligible. We think that's the most useful approach to helping you decide which video games deserve space on your PC's hard drive, and which aren't worth consideration even when their prices are cut by 85 percent during a Steam sale.

Gaming the System

Compiling this guide was no small undertaking. PCMag's in-house and freelance editors have played a ridiculous number of PC games over the years, so creating an inclusion criterion was essential. Here's what we came up with. To be included,

• a game must have been reviewed by PCMag,
• it must still be available,
• and it must have received a rating of 3.5 stars or greater.

The first requirement is to ensure that we can give you more insight into a game. Yes, this guide goes into some depth on each game entry, but the ability to linking to a full review benefits those looking for a deeper cut. The second point we've already covered. The third point required a bit of pondering. We didn't want to set the star rating so low that damn near every PC game qualifies for the guide, yet we didn't want to set the star rating so high that we exclude quality B-tier games, such as Killer Is Dead and Transformers: Devastation. For now, three stars is the happy medium, but, as we review more games, we may have to be choosier, to keep the list at a manageable size.

Digging Into Our Picks

There are currently exactly 100 games in this PC gaming guide, so making navigation as simple as possible was an extremely high priority for our creative commandos. The games are grouped alphabetically by genre, and the titles in each category are listed in alphabetical order. Simply select a genre, say Fighting Games, and the page jumps to that section. Easy!

Please note that we are currently working to fill in a few thinly populated genres. Commenters have noted the dearth of horror and MMORPGs in previous incarnations of this guide, so our editorial team is focused on reviewing more titles that might warrant inclusion in those categories. This, friends, is all about you.

Join the Conversation

If you disagree with our picks, or feel that we should review a game that somehow slipped through the cracks, sound off in the comments section below—we welcome your input! Just keep it civil.

Oh, and if you're a console gamer who thinks that we're biased toward PC gaming because we're PCMag—you're right! Still, our staff has assembled their top picks for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, and 3DS. Those roundups aren't quite as robust as this one, as the PC has a much deeper library and, well, this is PC Magazine.

We now present the best PC games. Enjoy!