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With 2013 here now, one of the big items remaining on your to-do list – is to take a few days of R&R to catch up on all of the awesome games that you may have overlooked during 2012.
The problem? You haven’t exactly been keeping a “must play” list. You know there are plenty of titles that you saw and thought, “I should really give that a try,” and probably even more titles that completely escaped your radar entirely. Such is the state of the PC gamer – and we’re here to help.
A bunch of other gaming sites have offered plenty of coverage to all the AAA games out there, but we wanted to give some of the lesser-known, more independent games a spotlight. In the list below, you'll see 20 games spanning a wide variety of genres: RPGs, action games, and more.
It might be easy to look at this game’s graphics and think, “Pssh, I’ll pass.” That would be the wrong decision, however – and get used to the concept, because this simulator’s many decision-making moments will make or break your little spacefaring life.
Carnage. Complete, top-down carnage. This title reminds us a lot of the action from the old, old MicroProse PC game based on The Punisher – same kind of “murderous rampage” gameplay!
Avernum: Escape from the Pit, $10
The plot for this one is simple: You’ve been banished to the underworld. Get out. This is “classic RPG” at its finest, packed with plenty of quests, awesome writing, and killer content – at the expense of graphics, of course.
You know a role-playing game is going to be good when you have no problems sitting at the title screen and letting the music loop – we call that the Baldur’s Gate effect. Legend of Grimrock is a first-person RPG that’s packed with puzzles, combat, and exploration. What more do you need?
Sins of a Solar Empire isn’t a “new” franchise by any means. However, its latest expansion – released in mid-2012 – features a new user interface, splinter groups within the game’s primary factions that you can now play as, and a bit of rebalancing that makes one of the better 4X titles on the market even more playable.
Comments are closed on this article
james888
January 04, 2013 at 12:28am
Come on guys. Natural selection 2 is one of my absolute favorite games ever now and ftl is pretty good too.
vrmlbasic
January 03, 2013 at 11:18pm
I just don't see the appeal of using graphics in games that seek to emulate the 16 bit Nintendo era. I can't get past it. Perhaps it appeals to the nostalgia of older gamers, and if it does I understand why it does not work for me as I don't remember that era of gaming with fondness. I've been told that the appeal might also come from what is today called "irony", that having pixelated "16-bit" graphics in the HD era is appealing as it is vaguely contradictory but I don't quite buy that either.
Gamers say that graphics aren't important, often forgetting that the now-older games that they champion as "gameplay over graphics" weren't often using that as their claim to fame in their heyday. For example, I never had the opportunity to play MYST or realMYST when they came out but I've been working on them over the past few weeks (thanks GOG.com) and it is hard for me to get into them due to the now-horrid graphics, graphics that were lauded in their day.
jgottberg
January 04, 2013 at 8:51am
By gaming standards, I'm old as dirt so I do remember gaming on the Atari 2600. I don't have that nostalgic bone in my body that begs me to play those old games now but I do see the appeal in the games that don't have the gorgeous visuals ("16 bit" games, as you call them).
In my opinion, the current "16 bit" games have an appeal because by nature, they are very simple to play (easier controls) and aren't saddled with deep story lines, cinematic cut screens or the other bloat. The game can be picked up, understood and played within seconds. Since I don't have a lot of time, that appeals to me. Also, the controls are usually pretty basic so the learning curve is usually knowing how to use directionals and perhaps a fire or action button.
I do agree with you though that some games graphics can deter me from playing them. Like Mincraft... The graphics are just too atrocious to enjoy the game.
jgottberg
January 03, 2013 at 8:22am
Geometry Wars for the Xbox 360 is stupid addicting. It's definitely worth checking out. I don't know much about it as a friend brought his Xbox over and it was already on there... but damn, played for over 3 hours non-stop and would have played longer. Unfortunately, not available on my platform (PS3).
http://www.gamespot.com/geometry-wars-retro-evolved/reviews/geometry-wars-retro-evolved-review-6140318/
bertant
January 08, 2013 at 8:54pm
Now if you really want to go back the "Original" Geometry Wars was a free side game in the garage of your cars in the game PGR2. It was also linked to an online highscore list and the game was free! I enjoyed that back in the day on the original Xbox.
Peanut Fox
January 03, 2013 at 9:03am
The original Geometry Wars on the 360 came out in like 2006. I defiantly remember being one of the first games I downloaded for the system. There is also a sequel out for it on the 360 that has some co-op and versus play in it. It's not a bad follow up, and even after all this time I still find myself going back and playing both.
Peanut Fox
January 03, 2013 at 2:37pm
You may want to check out N+ I think I remember that coming on PSN way back when twin stick shooters were the new hotness.
Peanut Fox
January 04, 2013 at 11:17pm
I got this totally wrong. I should have said Super Stardust HD, not N+. The heck was I thinking?
gothliciouz
January 02, 2013 at 7:23pm
nah! all of them are bad except torchlight 2 which is just a bit above average.
oh blackmessa i was never able to unzip it(corrupted or who knows) with success, what a shame!
stradric
January 03, 2013 at 9:37am
You should precede statements of opinion with "In my opinion" or "I think". I found TL2 quite boring, much like its predecessor. It's an amusing, well-done distraction for $10 (on sale). I find its fans look at it through rose-colored goggles because they so desperately want it to be better than D3. I don't think TL2 compares to D3 from a technical or aesthetic perspective, but there are certainly nice gameplay elements there.
DezDestron
January 03, 2013 at 5:54pm
It's pretty fucking obvious that if they are saying it, it's their goddamned opinion.
DeltaFIVEengineer
January 06, 2013 at 11:47am
Just wanted to say that this comment made me poop myself. That is all.
p47riot
January 02, 2013 at 5:20pm
I thought I would throw in a nod for 'Slender-The Eight Pages', which was a pretty fun time-waster from Parsec Productions. It's free, simple and scary as hell, especially with the sound up and the lights out.
Synopsis: The Slender Man is an urban legend of a tall, faceless man who mysteriously shows up in old photographs. As the story goes, anyone who looks upon the Slender Man in person is a goner.
The game has you in dark woods (as in pitch black) armed only with a flashlight. Your goal is to hunt down and collect eight pages randomly scattered throughout the map, which are usually attached to a landmark (old abandoned pickup, hollowed out tree, creepy building etc).) Each page you gather brings you a step closer to him catching you. Your flashlight helps you see in the dark, but helps him find you more quickly. I have never been able to collect all eight pages (6/8), and most games I only get maybe two or three.
It's not the most advanced game out there, but Parsec makes great use of the environment, music and sound effects to deliver a jump-out-of-your-seat thrill. The website has some back story that I highly recommend reading before you play for your first time...it really enhances the in-game sense of impending doom as you turn each corner knowing that he's probably waiting for you. No wait...he's right behind you...
www.parsecproductions.com
lordfirefox
January 02, 2013 at 4:57pm
I didn't miss any of these. Just didn't have the money or time to play them. But I did get Torchlight II.
