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Notes -
I mentioned this in another thread, but I finally have a gaming PC. I am far behind on gaming. The newest console I have is from 2012. I never had a gaming PC. I am open to any games of any genre from the last 30 years. I love RPGs, but open to anything. Bonus if it’s cheap.
Man, you are in for a great time.
The two PC game digital storefronts worth using are GOG and Steam. GOG began its life selling classic games without DRM (Good Old Games), so it is very relevant to your interests. Steam can’t make the no-DRM claim, but it’s shown a level of ethical consistency uncommon in its space and its collection is enormous. I buy from GOG where I can and from Steam the rest of the time. The Steam sale (now copied by GOG) is a plague on the hobby; some vintage games will have appropriately discounted baseline prices, but many games will be left at their original retail prices so that the sales look more impressive and trigger more fear of missing out. Caveat emptor.
For older games – anything before the mid-aughts, say – I strongly recommend skimming the manual; it’s usually available with the game as a PDF. I have have had friends bounce off some truly excellent games because they couldn’t figure out one or two U.I. elements that were clearly explained in the manual. If that feels like an imposition in 2026, remember that it usually spares you from the tedious tutorials modern games use for the same reason.
Some of these you may have played on console, but I will recommend them anyway.
Role-playing Games
Diablo 1 [1997] (GOG)
Diablo is a real-time dungeoncrawler based heavily on the turn-based roguelikes that came before it. It’s a blast of a game and a polished jewel of a design. GOG sells it together with its third-party DLC Hellfire, which is fun but not as polished. I recommend going without the DLC for your first playthrough.
I haven’t included Diablo II on this list because I feel it hasn’t aged as well, but it is also a great game. I haven’t played the later sequels that are online-only.
Fallout 1 [1997] (GOG, Steam)
Fallout 2 [1998] (GOG, Steam)
Fallout is a top-down RPG in the classic style, set in a retro-future post-apocalyptic wasteland. The worldbuilding is great, the atmosphere is great, the whimsy is on point, and the mechanics are solid. Read the manual for this one. Fallout 2 is also very solid, but I feel like it’s stretching the limits of the design, particularly in the endgame; if you enjoy the first, it’s absolutely worth playing.
Neverwinter Nights 1 [2002] (GOG, Steam)
The AD&D computer games of the late 1990s have an excellent reputation, but I have not played them. This game was my first in that subgenre, and it’s based on 3rd edition D&D. It has its share of worn and cheesy tropes, but that’s why you play this kind of game, and it has enough new storytelling to keep things interesting. But NWN is very grindy by modern standards, and that holds it back in our era. It’s a charming classic, but some will bounce off.
Knights of the Old Republic 1 [2003] (GOG, Steam)
KOTOR is a Star Wars RPG that uses an adapted version of the D&D 3e rules that dominated the tabletop RPG market at the time. It’s not the ideal ruleset for Star Wars but it’s serviceable, and the characters and the writing make the game fantastic. It’s also pretty grindy; play it anyway.
Knights of the Old Republic 2 [2004] (GOG, Steam)
A more reflective, and perhaps jaded, game than KOTOR, KOTOR II makes a good sequel. It was also rushed out the door, and it shows; play it with the restored content mod (TSLRCM).
Neverwinter Nights 2 [2006] (GOG)
Another classic fantasy RPG, NWN2 benefitted from a newer engine than the original. In addition to the usual RPG wanderings, you find yourself in charge of a keep, preparing it for the climactic battle, which roots you more deeply in the setting.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion [2006] (GOG original, Steam remaster)
The Elder Scrolls series is legendary for a reason. This game’s predecessor, Morrowind is a great game that oozes character; and as someone playing years later you don’t have to suffer through the half-hourly crashes to desktop that plagued it at release. But, as immersive as we found it at the time, Morrowind has gotten rougher with age.
Oblivion filed off most of Morrowind’s rough edges, but it introduced one new one: level scaling. The level scaling in Oblivion is bonkers. The remaster updates player character leveling mechanics but not level scaling. But PCs get mods! If you like this style of open world, exploratory, first-person RPG, I very much recommend playing the remaster with a series of mods by PushTheWinButton: Ascension Remastered, Balanced NPC Level Cap - Remastered, Simple Creature Level Cap, and Balanced Unleveled Rewards - Remastered.
Mass Effect 1–3 [2007–2012]
Mass Effect is a stellar series of shooter-RPGs. You may have played them on console. The first game has more classic RPG mechanics, while the second and third favor more shootery mechanics. While the series is excellent overall, its ending is controversial and, in my humble opinion, somewhat disappointing. It’s still absolutely worth playing.
I don’t give store links here because, while you can buy the game on Steam, you have to install and play it through EA’s storefront. EA is as slimy as Valve is ethical. I still have memories of playing ME3 and being regularly kicked out of the game without a save because my Internet connection flaked out. I would dearly love to play the series’ remaster, but I won’t buy it at this point unless I can get a DRM-free version – mighty unlikely.
Fallout 3 [2008] (GOG with DLC, Steam w/o DLC, Steam with DLC)
Fallout 3 proved that it is possible to make a first-person game built on the Oblivion engine feel like Fallout. This is actually a pretty big coup, and it’s a solid game. It feels like a soft remake of the original in some ways. It also fixes Oblivion’s level scaling issue. While it’s not as good as Fallout or Oblivion, I recommend it.
Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4 came out as sequels to this one. FNV is a beloved fan favorite, but – heresy! – I don’t enjoy it as much. Fallout 4 suffered from being tied into its new base building subsystem, much as Oblivion suffered from level scaling.
Dragon Age: Origins [2009] (GOG)
This is one of the all-time great CRPGs, and if you haven’t played it yet, you absolutely have to. Mandatory. Buy it now.
At release the greatness of the game was compromised by EA’s sliminess. It was packaged with a voucher for a day-one DLC that could only be redeemed once, requiring online activation of your game – using the disc as proof of purchase was still standard then – and bringing down the value of resold copies. You would also encounter a questgiver at your camp, and when you tried to accept his quest he would upsell you on another day-one DLC. The GOG version has all of the DLC and none of the DRM. I heartily recommend it.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [2011] (GOG, Steam)
If you are an RPG fan, you doubtless know what Skyrim is and have probably played it. It further streamlines and consolifies the game design, so it feels weaker in some respects than Oblivion, but it’s still a very solid game.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution [2011] (GOG, Steam)
The original Deus Ex was groundbreaking, but time hasn’t been kind to it. This action RPG prequel is a lot of fun and supports different playstyles. If you enjoy it, its sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is worth looking into; it’s a little weaker but still a quality game.
Pillars of Eternity 1 [2015] (GOG, Steam)
This may be the best CRPG ever made. It more or less resurrected top-down RPGs as a genre. Its worldbuilding is excellent (not perfect but excellent), and its mechanics build on the old D&D CRPGs. It manages to feel classic and fresh at the same time. Timeless.
The expanion takes place mid-way through the main plot, which causes some awkwardness with level progression. But the expansion’s also excellent, so I recommend playing it at the appropriate point in the story.
Do not skip this one.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire [2018] (GOG, Steam)
Deadfire is a sequel worthy of the original. It wasn’t the commercial success its predecessor was, partly because the publisher insisted on voicing all the dialogue this time, which adds greatly to the atmosphere but cost an enormous sum. It’s a fantastic game, and IMHO all the DLC are worth it.
Because Deadfire didn’t make bank, and because the studio is now owned by Microsoft, we may never see a Pillars 3. They did make a first-person action game called Awakened. It’s okay, but the marketing led people to expect Skyrim, and it wasn’t anything like Skyrim, so it flopped. MS recently canceled Awakened 2 in favor of putting the studio on another Fallout game. Meh.
Cyberpunk 2077 [2020] (GOG, Steam)
Think 1980s-retro-future Skyrim. It’s based on the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop RPG of the 1980s, with its timeline pushed forward to 2077 and partly (but not fully) retconned to better agree with subsequent real history.
The suits pushed this game out before it was ready, but the studio has put in the work to overhaul it multiple times since release. (Alas, one of the overhauls introduced a version of level scaling I don’t care for; you can’t have everything.) It’s great now. The expansion is also solid; its starting quest has some QuickTime-event-style sequences I find annoying, but once you get through that the expansion opens up like the base game.
Baldur’s Gate 3 [2023] (GOG, Steam)
BG3 is a very solid, well thought out CRPG in the classic style – very well made and worth your time. Some people treat it as the seminal RPG of our era, and I wouldn’t go that far, but I sure wouldn’t skip it. Remember the jump ability or you will miss parts of the map.
Adventure Games
Quest for Glory I–V [1989–1998] (GOG, Steam)
This is a series of adventure games with RPG elements. Each one is set in a different place based on a different culture, but the protagonist is carried through the whole series. I heartily recommend them.
The first two games are a hybrid of text adventure game with graphical adventure game, using a text parser to accept commands and showing the results on screen; but the series also includes a first-party remake of the first game with the 2D point-and-click engine. The third and fourth games are point-and-click adventure games in the classic style, and the fifth is 3D-rendered.
I think Quest for Glory is criminally underrated, and I encourage everyone who likes adventure games or RPGs to pick it up. If you are put off by the need to use a text parser and EGA graphics for the second game, there is a fan remake in the style of the later games available on the Internet.
The Secret of Monkey Island [1990] (GOG, Steam)
Monkey Island 1 is a masterpiece of an adventure game. It’s the funny and adventurous story of Guybrush Threepwood, who wants to become a mighty pirate and ends up discovering the secret of Monkey Island to vanquish the ghost pirate LeCheck.
I haven’t played the remake, but if I did I would opt for the classic VGA graphics.
Monkey Island 2 and 3 are fun, but they don’t rise to the level of the original. I didn’t care for the fourth one, and I haven’t played any of the others.
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary [1992] (GOG, Steam)
Star Trek: Judgment Rites [1993] (GOG, Steam)
These point-and-click adventures deliver on the promise of feeling like an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. They are a bit more challenging by my lights than Monkey Island or Full Throttle, and they don’t reach the same height as classics. But they are a lot of fun.
Full Throttle [1995] (GOG, Steam)
Another masterpiece of the classic adventure-game era, Full Throttle is the story of Ben, a biker who has to solve a murder and prevent the last motorcycle manufacturer from switching to minivans. As with Monkey Island I haven’t played the remake, but I would play it with the classic graphics.
Grim Fandango [1998] (GOG, Steam)
Grim Fandango is the noir adventure of Manny Calavera, who is trying to work off his sins in the afterlife as a grim reaper and travel agent. Working against a rigged system, he ends up unintentionally perpetrating an injustice himself against one of his clients, and he pursues her across the afterlife in four acts trying to set things right.
The original game had awful controls. I am told the remake’s controls are better.
Esoteric Ebb [2026] (Steam)
This is billed as an RPG, but I consider it an adventure game with RPG elements, like Quest for Glory. Its mechanics are loosely based on D&D 5e. Each of your attributes has its own personality, and the ones you are strongest in will give the most input in your internal dialogues, which can be hilarious. It has good worldbuilding and good writing; surprisingly for a modern game featuring politics, I can only sort of guess at the maker’s own views.
Strategy Games
Master of Orion 2 [1996] (GOG, Steam)
MOO2 is a sci-fi 4X game that was made at the right point in history to have a good balance of simplicity and complexity. It does suffer a bit in the late game, as micromanaging your planets gets tedious (but essential).
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 [1996] (GOG)
HoMM II is a fantasy turn-based strategy game with armies led by heroes who have some RPG mechanical elements. HoMM III is also excellent.
Civilization 3 [2001] (GOG, Steam)
The first three Civ games share the same, increasingly refined, design. This is the apex of that original design, the spiritual granddaddy of 4X games, including those that preceded its third incarnation.
Civilization 4 [2005] (GOG with DLC, Steam w/o DLC)
With Civ 4, the series started overhauling the original design and adding depth and complexity. The gap between Civ 3 and Civ 4 is much larger than the gap between 2 and 3.
Personally I bounced off Civ 5, and I haven’t played the later games.
Stellaris [2016] (GOG, Steam)
Stellaris is in some respects the great, great grandchild of MOO2. I skip over Galactic Civilizations 2 because, while that game was great, I think Stellaris does most of what it does better.
This is a space 4X game where different species can have very different playstyles. The core design has been radically revised several times through updates, for good and for ill. The DLC on this one are pretty hit-and-miss; I would read reviews before choosing which to buy.
Crusader Kings 3 [2020] (Steam)
A grand strategy game with RPG elements, CK3 is far more accessible than CK2 was. You don’t play a nation or a single immortal ruler; you play a dynasty. Interpersonal diplomacy is important, strategic marriages are important, and of course warfare is important.
Your ruler’s personality isn’t just a source of bonuses and penalties, or even just a source of events. Decisions that are out of line with your ruler’s personality cause stress, among other things, so you have to choose between the decisions that best suit your realm and those that best suit you personally. Raising your children (and your vassals’ children!) correctly will pay dividends.
The DLC on this one are pretty consistently excellent. I know I like the game, so I just buy the season passes; but, as with Stellaris, there are a lot of DLC.
Miscellaneous
Lemmings [1991] (Internet Archive)
Lemmings is a classic puzzle game. Lemmings will walk out of one door, blindly walking forward on the side-view map, and it’s your job to get them into another door. To do this, each level gives you a certain number of particular commands you can give individual lemmings, like “dig,” “block,” or “explode.” It’s a true classic.
You can download it for free from the Internet Archive, but as it’s a DOS game you will need to use DOSBox to play it on a modern PC. You can play in your browser too, but I would download it.
SimCity 2000 [1993] (GOG)
SimCity is the classic series of city builder games. SimCity 2000 added flexibility and depth to the classic game. I haven’t played 3000, so I can’t comment on it. The most recent games all went online-only.
SimCity Classic is available on the Internet Archive, and it’s a charming game in its own right; I don’t know whether it’s a legal copy or not, but I can’t find it on GOG or Steam.
Tropico [2001] (GOG, Steam)
This sim game makes you the corrupt dictator of an island banana republic. You can play individual missions with particular goals, or you can play random maps. You build up your economy and your people’s quality of life, play the Russians and the Americans against each other, thwart coups and insurrections, and try to squirrel as much cash as possible away in your Swiss bank account before the clock runs out.
I would say that Paradox gaming (Stellaris and CK3 from your list) is a different hobby to the rest of PC gaming. I love it, but I don't have time for it.
Paradox write giant sandboxes trying to capture as much as possible of the feel of a particular strategic era. (Medieval dynastic politics for the Crusader Kings series, early modern politics dominated by incipient Westphalian states for the Europa Universalis series, the horror of industrial-age warfare in the Vicky series, the truly global scale of WW2 in the Hearts of Iron series.) The playtimes start from 30 hours and can go beyond 100 if you play a large empire from the earliest start date to the final end date.
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