Mahjong: Magic Chips

Mahjong: Magic Chips

Laziest mobile port possible.

Real player with 0.6 hrs in game


Read More: Best Classic Casual Games.


Mahjong: Magic Chips is a port of a mobile mahjong game to PC, complete with in-app purchases and artificial game limiting through timers and lives. 3/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-cnzwLgo3w

Real player with 0.1 hrs in game

Mahjong: Magic Chips on Steam

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

This is my favourite game of all time, and it’s not just a nostalgic feeling, I still play with this masterpiece. It has a magical athmosphere you cannot find elsewhere, the story, the characters are so well written that I know nearly all quests by heart, yet I still replay them ‘just one more time’ when I get the mood for it.

The story is about a banished wizard, who enters a new realm of magical floating islands that are controlled by five gods, who constantly fight each other for justice, dominance or just fun. All gods control a sphere of natural energies which are earth, fire, air, life and death. You can choose one patron god on every level to do quests for them, and in return you get new spells to cast and creatures to summon from the chosen god’s sphere. Keep in mind though, that if you serve the dark powers, you will soon lose the favor of the benelovent gods and vice versa, so choosing sides has limits according to your previous choices. All the gods have an interesting character that can always surprise you, as the good guys can become quite warlike, the bad guys may become just scared, the smart guys can act foolish and the simple guys quite resourceful, so everything and everyone turns out to be quite different than as they seemed at first.

Real player with 54.6 hrs in game


Read More: Best Classic Third Person Games.


A old cult classic. Very interesting combination of a 3rd person RTS with RPG elements for its time.

You control a your own playable character - a wizard - directly in movements with the WASD keys and you can summon creatures that you can order around by clicking on terrain or enemies much like a RTS.

Of course that isn’t the only commands you can give. They can also move in different formations or guard different objectives ranging from yourself to other creatures to buildings.

There are basically 2 resources in the game. Mana and souls.

Real player with 48.4 hrs in game

Sacrifice on Steam

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

When I first played shareware version couple of decades ago I simply thought of it as yet another Doom clone the market was spewing out at the time. Played a few levels and didn’t think much of it except it being inferior to Doom. So I quit shortly thereafter as was the case with half a dozen other clones and thought nothing of it for a long time. Then couple of years ago I saw a LP on YT of a guy raging like a madman because the was getting killed in epically hilarious ways. Thought to myself to give it another shot with a different set of eyes this time.

Real player with 51.2 hrs in game


Read More: Best Classic Shooter Games.


Ever wanted to play a game set in one of the Frank Frazzeta paintings? Then look no further than Heretic. Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders is the first game in the Heretic & Hexen series, and along with ID software games, have been the main force of evolution in the first era of first person shooters. Each game from Heretic & Hexen series have introduced a design concept that all other FPS games have followed ever since. Heretic SotSR remains the most accessible and action-packed title in the series, set in a dark fantasy universe with 54 complex levels which will guarantee you 20 hours and more of pure hectic and frenetic fun.

Real player with 26.7 hrs in game

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders on Steam

Quest for Glory 1-5

Quest for Glory 1-5

I began writing this as a comment following ‘Love letter to the developers.’ It outgrew the comment box, and this series deserves my full review so here goes (and then some!) Let me start by saying I am a long-time Point ‘n Click Adventure/RPG fan. Quest for Glory was not my first, but it was one of my favorite series! I began with QfG 3: Wages of War. It brought me much enjoyment! (I believe I enjoyed QfG 1+2 & 4 somewhat more though!) QfG 5 was part of the less-well-advised foray of Sierra into CGI animation. It was bold but basically misguided in my view, and I did not play Qf5 or any of the King’s Quest titles past VI (6) since they were effectively different genres (also I understand the writing suffered!) Trivial detail: King’s Quest 5 was actually my first P’n-C Adventure game and I will cherish that one in particular (darn you, Cedric!) alongside several QfG titles, notably 2, close to my heart FOREVER!

Real player with 65.4 hrs in game

I grew up playing the third game in this series, and it wasn’t until I was about 18 that I was able to track down and play the rest. I immediately properly, wholly loved them. So glad these are finally available on Steam. This is an charming, enchanting series and there’s nothing else quite like it.

The worldbuilding in this series is off the charts. Each entry sees you in a completely different land inspired by real-world mythology (e.g., Egyptian mythology, Slavic folklore, etc.) It rivals anything of today and surpasses most of it. Coming from the current sea of the same tired Tolkien derivatives it’s a breath of fresh air. The individual stories are pretty good, some even great, but as a complete saga this is fantastic. And that’s really the best way to experience it (and the only way to appreciate the genre switched fifth game). So set aside a good chunk of time, and let yourself sink into this marvelous world.

Real player with 42.6 hrs in game

Quest for Glory 1-5 on Steam

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura… oh, this game…

In spite of my low ownership, I am more than familiar with this bizarre, wonderful masterpiece, a game I sometimes thought was a complete fever dream from the depths of my imagination, among a strange number of other games including an action game involving Skittles and a dark knight. I’m still not sure that one still exists, though.

Arcanum is NOT a fever dream, however, and does in fact exist and is a masterpiece of a forgotten era where computers had the ability to deal with the unique and antiquated graphical features on their own. Because Microsoft doesn’t know how to keep good features from previous operating systems, it is imperative that you look up a tutorial on how to play this game, and while on your way, pick up an unofficial patch and maybe a few mods; one of which being Virgil’s Debug Menu. You won’t regret it.

Real player with 684.3 hrs in game

In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#450 out of 612)… it’s time for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura.

Arcanum is one of the finest CRPGs ever made, and arguably the most impressive product legendary (if somewhat infamous) developer Troika Games ever built. It’s a massive,, brilliantly open game in the vein of Fallout that offers players an unprecedented degree of freeom with regard to how they build their characters, how they play the game, and how they progress through the world. It’s difficult to overstate just how deeply engaging Arcanum can be—this one is a classic roleplaying game for very good reason.

Real player with 124.4 hrs in game

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura on Steam

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition

I think that this is a really well made game. I’ve enjoyed the freedom and atmosphere that the game gives you, the unique setting was really cool, and I felt that the choices that you make in this game have more of a impact than later Elder Scrolls games. There are some problems though, mainly with the fact that there is no way to manually fast travel on your own (without using Mark/Recall or having to pay for it at specific areas in the game), and slow run speed. There was also a bit too many fetch quests in my opinion, but theses problems are small and minor when in comparison to the wealth of great things that the game does well. Highly recommend it!

Real player with 160.8 hrs in game

A true no frills adventure game. I cannot highly recommend it enough. A few points to follow though -

  1. Download mods. Please do not play this without them and expect a great experience. Don’t turn yourself away from the game right away. It’s nearly 20 years old at this point, the game could use all the help it can get.

  2. Take it easy. There’s no wrong way to play. There are certainly “sub-optimal” builds for your character, but that’s the fun of the game. You want to swing a big ass mace and cast spells in light armor? Go for it.

Real player with 138.4 hrs in game

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition on Steam

Arx Fatalis

Arx Fatalis

Highly recommended for those that have played and liked games like Ultima Underworld or Dungeon Master (Legend of Grimrock).

The developers wanted to created Ultima Underworld 3 but were unable to get the license from you know who, which is a shame. With stronger resources this game could have been very special indeed. For an old game (2002), the graphics are pretty good and sound in some instances quite amazing, the game engine has aged well. I played the game of Steam and in Windows 7 and it was more or less playable apart from some memory crashes - I learned to save often using all the save slots - you need to do this too, especially when you move between levels. It is best to play the game without any background noise such as the TV/ music or radio - believe that. Not only will you get immersed in the game world, beautifully crafted by the designers, you won’t miss key information said aloud by your character and then never repeated!

Real player with 44.3 hrs in game

Anyone who has played Dishonored 2 will have trouble believing that the same company that made that game also made this one, a few decades ago, and I mean that in the best of ways (in the best of ways for Arx Fatalis, the comparison doesn’t favor their later projects). And just to be clear, this was the first time I played Arx Fatalis, I had no nostalgia goggles to affect my judgment.

Arx Fatalis is a metroidvania First Person action-oriented RPG, that “can” be played entirely as a First Person Stealth game, similar to the Thief series, but equal focus has been put into its other playstyles. The medieval fantasy world of Arx is an underground network of caverns and tunnels, as the world goes through an apocalyptic winter above-ground. Goblins, Trolls, Humans, sexy Snake Ladies and recently genocided Dwarves call this place their home, and somewhat coexist.

Real player with 37.7 hrs in game

Arx Fatalis on Steam

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

I am genuinely afraid to reinstall this game again… I keep playing it and beating it again and again and again. It is just THAT good. The storyline and the gameplay are both amazing.

You play as a young apprentice to a mysterious wizard, who sends you to retreive a magical crystal, during which you get a basic tutorial in the basics of gameplay, including the combat, spellcasting, and stealth, and receive the first skill points used to specialize in different abilities (unlocking combat moves, spells, stealth ability… increasing health or mana levels…). Then your mentor binds you to a demoness to be your sultry companion and guide and sends you to deliver the crystal… at which point things immediately get INTENSE. There’s an immediate and somewhat excessive increase in difficulty right off the bat, which can be a little offputting. But if you stick through it you get to enjoy more and more of the gameplay elements.

Real player with 174.5 hrs in game

I first played Dark Messiah way back when it first came out and it’s a game I have constantly revisited over the years.

While I’ve sunk more hours total into any given Elder Scrolls game I’ve played, Dark Messiah by far holds my personal record of total completed playthroughs at too many to count but at least several dozen.

I keep coming back to it to try out new skill/weapon combos and novelty character builds and keep finding new little hidden stuff even after years of replaying and knowing the game essentially by heart at this point.

Real player with 104.1 hrs in game

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic on Steam

Gothic 1

Gothic 1

Gothic is an open world RPG created by Piranha – Bytes, and today it’s a classic cult title recommended to everyone who enjoys a role playing game, or an action title for that matter.

The player takes control of our hero, the nameless hero, who just happens to be imprisoned and sent into the colony. For those who don’t know, the colony is the king’s solution to the war with the orcs. In order to keep extracting the precious ore from the mines, but saving manpower, his highness ordered the magicians to create a dome surrounding the ore mines. Convicts are sent in, and when trying to leave the magical barrier kills anyone who dares to cross it.

Real player with 67.8 hrs in game

Ambition unfulfilled

Disclaimer – Steam version of Gothic is flatout broken. It is likely that you will have to manually install patches just to get the game started. If you don’t mind such a thing, a little tinkering is recommended as community-made fixes greatly improve the game’s performance on newer hardware.

Gothic is an almost 20 years-old open-world RPG created by German studio Piranha Bytes and published by JoWood interactive. The game stars a classic fantasy setting with a fun little spin to it. The kingdom of man is invaded by an orc horde, and the only thing holding the line is wondrous equipment made out of magical ore. To fuel the war effort, a penal mining colony is established – no matter the crime, the punishment is mining of ore. In order to keep the convicts dedicated to the task a magical barrier is created over the mining colony. A blue dome that allows all things to enter, but no living thing to exit. Long enough a steady stream of magical ore leaves the colony, a steady stream of supplies flows inside. If you ever wanted to see a fantasy adaptation of the 1981’s Escape from New York, this is probably as close as you can get.

Real player with 65.3 hrs in game

Gothic 1 on Steam

Heaven vs Hell

Heaven vs Hell

Unbalanced units. Progress is easy. Currently too glitchy (immortal units and disappearing one prevent beating levels).

Real player with 8.9 hrs in game

Heaven vs Hell - Good turn-based strategy. The game has a plot for the Angels and separately for the Demons.

Each of the typical units has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you need to place them correctly on the battlefield.

At the beginning of the game, you play as Angels, after defeating 3 bosses, Demons will open up to you.

The game is well-made and will definitely come in handy for fans of this genre.

Real player with 5.9 hrs in game

Heaven vs Hell on Steam