30 PC Games to Play Before You Die

Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress

Developer: Tarn Adams
Year: 2006

And now for something completely different. Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, or simply Dwarf Fortress as it’s more commonly known, is the type of ultimate hardcore gaming experience that really is only possible on the PC. That’s admittedly a large part of why it’s on this list, though the game is still pretty damned decent in its own right.

The aim of Dwarf Fortress is pretty self-explanatory – to create and manage a settlement of dwarves in a huge ASCII world and make them survive against all odds. There are politics, sieges, adventures, quests and resource management issues that all require your attention and the game is so detailed that it even has a fluid-physics system despite using ASCII graphics. Those magma flows don’t control themselves, y’know?


We don’t claim that Dwarf Fortress is a particularly excellent game and there are countless other games that surpass it in quality, but what’s important here is the sheer scope of the experience on offer and how it’s been built by just one man as a labour of love. It's the type of thing that really shows off the diversity of PC gaming, as well as the insanity of it all.

Left 4 Dead

Developer: Valve
Year: 2008

Left 4 Dead is quite simply the type of game that we’ve been dreaming of ever since we first got into computer games. It’s a co-op zombie survival simulator that rewards teamwork and efficient tactics far more than reflexes and lone-gun approaches. What’s not to love about that?

If that weren’t enough though, Valve has also endeavoured to make Left 4 Dead almost endlessly replayable. Every time you play the levels will run in a new way as an intelligent AI director moves foes and bosses around in order to match your pace and playstyle. If someone tries to go off on their own then the director will target them mercilessly, so your only hope is to learn to work as a team.

Seamlessly tied in to Valve’s Steam service, Left 4 Dead lets you effortlessly hook up matches with friends or strangers and even has a Versus mode for those who want to play as zombies and antagonise former allies. Like we said; it’s the type of game we’ve always dreamed of and that’s ignoring the imminent Survival Pack.

Counter-Strike: Source

Developer: Valve
Year: 2004

Counter-Strike is less of a game and more of a way of life to some people and we reckon that every hardcore gamer knows someone who always carries a penknife on the basis that they ‘run faster with the knife’. If you laughed at that joke though then here’s a surprise: that person is you.

Having sold in excess of eight million copies, the Counter-Strike games are still some of the most popular online games, with the Source version now being the preferred version for most people. Yes, there’s probably a lot of you who prefer 1.6 – but most players likely wouldn’t stand a chance against you, would they?

Counter-Strike has proven so popular in fact that it has an awful lot to answer for, since it’s largely responsible for shaping modern gaming culture and in-game chat. So, the next time you get yelled at by a nine year old kid who’s packing a six-pack of wall-hacks then you know who to blame; Gabe Newell and Co.

One thing is for sure though; while other multiplayer team games will come and go, with even Team Fortress 2 eventually fated to fade into obscurity, Counter-Strike will never die.