PC Gamer Annual - UK (2022)

EVE ONLINE

RELEASED 2003 | LAST POSITION 71

Steven: The space MMO has slipped

down the rankings largely because of a

series of controversies involving economic

rebalancing and microtransactions that

players are not happy about. Since its

release in 2003, EVE Online has struggled

to invent systems that both enable its

cataclysmically large battles while keeping

a level playing field for both sides. This isn’t

the first time EVE Online has landed in hot

water with its players, and it won’t be the

last, but what’s consistent throughout is

the game’s ability to spark intergalactic

drama in its crucible of player-driven war.

Right now, EVE Online is in the midst of

its most destructive conflict yet as two

sides of the galaxy wage war on each

other. Commanders have staged daring

rescues, desperate last stands, and

cunning ambushes. Meanwhile, the rest

of the galaxy pulses and thrums to the

rhythm of hundreds of smaller conflicts

erupting every day. That sense of existing

in a living, breathing ecosystem with other

players is something no other MMO has,

and your ability build a legacy in the ebb

and flow of its player-driven empires is, to

this day, remarkable. Even if EVE’s

complicated controls and steep learning

curve turn you away, you should still take

every opportunity to read about each new

(and bloody) chapter its players are writing.

98

100

WARFRAME

RELEASED 2013 | LAST POSITION 68

Steven: Warframe has had some ups and

downs over the last year, but it’s still an

innovative, strange, and absorbing MMO

shooter unlike anything else on the PC. No

other game comes close to doing what

Warframe does – especially now that it has

ship-to-ship space combat and a Shadow

of Mordor-style Nemesis System. The

amount of stuff to do in Warframe is

mind-boggling. And with a major story

expansion coming later this year, there’s

never been a better time to start playing.

99

HEARTHSTONE

RELEASED 2014 | LAST POSITION No change

Tim: Hearthstone retains its place thanks

to Battlegrounds mode, which has surely

overtaken Standard as the main reason to

play. Blizzard is pumping resources into

BGs, and (inevitably) rolling out paid

cosmetics to keep the accountants happy,

but that feels reasonable given how good

BGs is. Building a lobby-dominating comp

is like creating your own Rube Goldberg

machine and letting it run riot. Even in

defeat, it feels moreish – a stark contrast

to the despair of the ladder experience.

The Top 100

FE ATURE

PREVIEW

Rachel Watts

IF FOUND...

If Found remains

one of the best

visual novels on

PC. Its story of a

young queer

woman is both

painfully beautiful

yet gut-wrenching,

and the way you

wipe away each

panel revealing

the next fits

perfectly in a

story about

erasing the

past to make

room for a

new beginning.

PERSONAL PICK

PREVIEW

Rich

Stanton

BATMAN:

ARKHAM

KNIGHT

Six years old, and

with a famously

bad PC launch,

but wow have the

years been kind.

The game looks

stunning, plays

amazingly well,

and is packed with

Bat-stuff. The

most fun I’ve had

with a singleplayer

game this year,

and the best

superhero game

ever made.

PERSONAL PICK