Today, you can buy a $600 PC that outperforms both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
The PC is the world’s best gaming platform. And now that many of its issues have been resolved (compatibility problems, high pricing, lack of game support), gamers are flocking back to the platform where it all began.
But what happens when a grimy console fan walks up to you with his 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew and snorts about the lack of titles on PC?
Well, once you get past the Dorito haze of breath that just came out of his mouth, you can tell him about the 5 best PC-exclusive games that you won’t find on next-gen consoles (and will probably never find on next-gen consoles):
Total War
Total War: Rome II is the latest entry in the Total War series, but I could put any entry on this list.
Total War is really two games combined into one: you have the top-down strategic empire-building game, and then you also have the land and water battle-simulation game.
Whether you’re managing dozens of cities across medieval Europe or you’re controlling tens of thousands of units on virtual battlefields, there’s nothing quite like a Total War game.
Strategy games rarely make their way to consoles. Total War is too large, complex, and resource-intensive to run on the Xbox One or PS4. In fact, even the highest-end PCs today can hardly manage battles with thousands of units. The Xbox One would melt itself to death if faced with something like this:
League of Legends and other MOBAs
League of Legends may be the most popular PC game out there today. It’s free, which always helps to enhance a game’s popularity, but it’s also hugely popular due to its high levels of competition.
League of Legends tournaments are starting to attract huge crowds – so huge that livestreaming events are reaching TV-level audiences while fans pack arenas to watch their favorite gamers play.
LoL is a full-blown gaming phenomenon and like other MOBAs, it’s unlikely to ever appear on next-gen consoles.
Starcraft II
Here’s another game that grew hugely popular due to its tournaments and e-sport status. Starcraft II and the original Starcraft were never console games, and like most RTSes, they’ll never translate well onto consoles.
Mount & Blade 2
Mount & Blade 2 has not yet been released but it could be one of the most entertaining PC games ever made. In the first Mount & Blade, players controlled medieval soldiers in battle. You could defend towns against hundreds of enemy players and enjoy semi-realistic medieval-style combat.
Mount & Blade 2 will bring more of the same action – and the developer is reportedly making the game extremely moddable. Mods made the first Mount & Blade an amazing game, and with Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, we can expect more awesome adventures.
Next-gen consoles may get more massively multiplayer type games, but the experience rarely translates well.
Every mod ever
From Skyrim to the Sims, virtually every PC game has been modded in some way or another.
Mods can extend the lifespan of a game by years. They can also spawn entire games of their own – something that has become surprisingly common in recent years.
Whether you’re trying to remove the blurry patch from the Sims or just want to build some amazing mansions in Skyrim, free mods on PC provide unforgettable, amazing experiences.
Until consoles undergo a fundamental restructuring or embrace the modding community, they will never support mods.
Modern graphics? Mods? Massively multiplayer games? Servers with more than 64 people? You’ll find none of these things on so-called “next gen” consoles.
Other best PC-exclusive titles
Do you still need more ammunition to fight off the neckbearded, Dorito-munching, Mountain Dew-slurping monster known as the cocky console gamer? Here are the top PC-exclusive titles we’ve seen over the past few years:
-Team Fortress 2 (yes, it was released for console but it wasn’t anywhere near the same experience it is today on PC)
-Half Life 2
-Portal 2
-Eve Online
-Deus Ex 2
-Fallout series
-Elder Scrolls series (which is just better on PCs)
-SimCity
-The Sims
-Civilization V
-Left 4 Dead
-Roller Coaster Tycoon
-Counter-Strike
-World of Warcraft
-Guild Wars
-Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
-Any flight simulator game
With PC game sales skyrocketing around the world, developers are undoubtedly going to start to focus on more PC games in the near future. In other words, console-exclusive games will disappear and PC-exclusive games will rise.
