Best Solo Games To Play On PC

Key Takeaways

• Single-player games offer a chance to enjoy a game’s narrative and play at your own pace, dominating game-of-the-year discussions.
• Genshin Impact stands out as a live-service single-player game with regular content updates that excels in open-world exploration, story, and combat.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a classic RPG with universal acclaim for its gameplay and narrative.

Multiplayer games are always fun to dive into, but it’s nice to go on a little adventure alone every once in a while. Single-player games are a way for you to enjoy a game’s narrative and move at your own pace. These games also tend to dominate conversations for game-of-the-year awards.

Some of the better single-player games out there are showcases of either awesome storytelling, unique game mechanics, or an immersive world. The very best games ever made tend to include all three. If players are interested in experiencing some of the best single-player titles ever, look no further than your PC.

Updated on November 08, 2024, by Sanyam Jain: Open world, survival craft, and farming simulator are some of the best genres to have when it comes to a single-player game since they keep you immersed for quite a long time, and you don’t have to look any further than Core Keeper to experience all of these at once.

19

Grim Fandango

Those who enjoy an old-school computer game should check out one of the greatest point-and-click adventures of all time. Grim Fandango, originally developed by LucasArts, was remastered by Double Fine Productions and original director Tim Schafer. The game revolves around Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead, whose job is to help souls reach their final destination.

However, after a client is misassigned to go on the longest journey to reach peace, Manny goes on an adventure to save her. The game itself is rather difficult, but its writing and music are among the top-tier games out there.

18

Core Keeper

As soon as you launch your world in Core Keeper, you’ll find yourself in a small room with some necessities and, you guessed it, the core. If you want to explore anything other than that, you’ll have to craft yourself a pickaxe and mine your way through. Most of the area around the world is covered with a wall.

As you dig through, you’ll not only find different types of enemies but also various secrets. You can progress in the world by defeating various bosses, or you can just have a nice time at your base farming your days out. There’s something for everyone in Core Keeper, which makes it a cozy yet challenging game.

17

Wuthering Waves

If you enjoy a bit of gacha in your life, Wuthering Waves has been the perfect addition during 2024. It’s an open-world game set in a post-apocalyptic world that gives you complete freedom from the very start. After the initial cutscene, you can simply wander around in this beautiful world without having to worry about progression.

However, if you do like progression and grind, there are a ton of characters for you to build. The game features a unique Echo system where you have to defeat overworld mobs for a chance to get their Echo, which can then be placed on your characters to buff them and grant special abilities!

16

Genshin Impact

While talking about single-player games, you’d mostly think of a one-and-done experience. However, Genshin Impact is one of the few live-service single-player games that get regularly updated with more content as you slowly progress in the main story of Teyvat.

In this game, you play as a Traveler who gets separated from their sibling at the start, which leads to a big journey of finding them again. Be it open-world exploration, immersive story, and difficult combat, this game excels in all these aspects at the same time. While playing, you can also get a bunch of currency that can be used to get new characters in the limited and standard banners.

15

Dragon’s Dogma 2

Getting to choose between four classes at the start of the game might be a common occurrence, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 takes this to the next level by letting you essentially use all four classes even though you only select one. Furthermore, as you progress in the game, you can even unlock some advanced classes and hybrids.

Once you get through the tutorial, you’ll get to select one main pawn along with two support pawns that you can switch out at any point. These pawns will run with you in the open world, almost giving you the feeling of a multiplayer game during a single-player experience, which makes this quite a unique entry on this list.

14

Minecraft

The best-selling game of all time across multiple platforms, Minecraft continues to have an active player base a decade after its first full release. Of course, the game is well known for its multiplayer.

However, it’s also a solid single-player experience where players can load up a world all to themselves. Placed in a world made of blocks, players must collect supplies and attempt to survive in a world filled with dangerous mobs. Of course, those who rather just build in the sandbox game can do that in the game’s Creative Mode.

13

Palworld

While there was some anticipation for this game due to all the marketing, no one expected the success that Palworld achieved. It essentially broke all the records on Steam with its release and currently has over 234,000 Very Positive reviews. Palworld is a survival crafting game where you start with nothing, but you have a bunch of creatures willing to help you.

Of course, you’ll have to first capture these creatures by beating them up, but it’s all worth it in the end. As you explore different biomes, you can capture Pals from various elements and combat skills. The main goal of the game is to beat all the tower bosses while having at least one copy of every single Pal in your possession. However, you also have a choice of playing the game endlessly to maximize everything.

12

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed truly feels like a fresh coat of paint in this Wasteland, which was already quite good before it. In this game, you play as Mickey Mouse, who accidentally turns a magical city filled with forgotten Disney characters into a Wasteland, and is then dragged into this world by a blot.

While the initial goal is to escape the danger, you eventually work alongside Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to remove the danger instead. While this refurbish is definitely worth playing at least once, it can feel a bit frustrating because of how it handles choices.

11

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

While CD Projekt Red’s reputation might not be the best after the Cyberpunk 2077 incident, it’s worth remembering the classic the studio brought the world right before. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was the third game in the story of Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer in a Slavonic fantasy world.

The plot of the game revolves around Geralt’s search for his adopted daughter who is running from the Wild Hunt, spectral warriors from a different dimension. The game received universal acclaim for almost every element of its gameplay and narrative.

10

Doki Doki Literature Club!

While it may seem like a generic dating sim game on the surface, Doki Doki Literature Club! is so much deeper than that. There’s a reason for the game having over 190,000 Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam with the number growing constantly. However, this game does require a bit of patience.

At the start, it will look like a slice-of-life experience, but it’ll take an unexpected turn quickly. You won’t expect the twists in this game, and honestly, it’s best played completely blind. Make sure you keep your lights on while playing this because you’re sure to get spooked a little!

9

Honkai: Star Rail

If you’re into turn-based combat, Honkai: Star Rail will serve as a perfect choice to get regular content. This is a live-service gacha game featuring a ton of beautifully designed characters, each having a unique set of skills and animations. You also get to embark on an immersive interstellar story in it.

While the gacha aspect of the game might be a turn-off for some people, it’s actually quite balanced and you can clear all the content with free four-star units. However, this game can be quite grindy and you’ll have to play it regularly to get a set of well-built characters.

8

Disco Elysium

One of the best indie games of the last decade, Disco Elysium combines table-top roleplay with a deep mystery. Players are a detective who wakes up with amnesia, only to find out that they are in the middle of a murder investigation.

To start the game, players are asked to assign various numbers to stats such as Intellect, Motorics, Physique, and Psyche. Players must use skill checks and dialogue trees to navigate every situation they end up in, from interrogating suspects to just trying to discover who they are.

7

BioShock

There are a lot of games that take place in dystopian worlds, but few do it as well as the original BioShock. Set in 1960, players control a man named Jack as he roams an underwater city called Rapture.

The city was once a thriving utopia before a power-granting material known as ADAM was discovered and pulled the civilization into ruin. The game is a first-person shooter, but the player can figure out many different ways to handle certain situations and enemies, including the legendary Big Daddies.

6

Dave The Diver

Whenever you consider buying a game on any platform, the main concern is if you’ll get your money’s worth. You can forget about this concern when it comes to Dave The Diver as it’s arguably one of the most fun and immersive underwater games out there. The game has two main mechanics depending on the time of day.

When there’s daylight, you have to go down under the water and discover the reason for the disturbances while catching fish for the nighttime, when you help serve at the Sushi Restaurant. You have a bunch of other side quests and secrets to discover as you get better gear and go deeper into the water.

5

Grand Theft Auto V

A game that will never die, Grand Theft Auto V came out two generations ago, yet upgrades continue to come out for it. That is for good reason, however, as it is one of the best single-player campaigns of all time.

You play as not just one character but three different characters over the course of a long story arc in the fictional city of Los Santos. The game revolves around doing ridiculous story missions that include heists, assassinations, family drama, and so much more.

4

Portal 2

Puzzle games can be a lot of fun to figure out, but no puzzle game has ever been as engaging as Portal 2. Set after the events of Portal, players are once again Chell as they are back in the Aperture Science facility. You and a core named Wheatley break out of the room Chell has been staying in to escape the facility.

However, along the way, they accidentally reawaken GLaDOS, who is ready for Chell to grind testing chambers again. The twists and turns of the narrative and the unique puzzle mechanics are what make this game stand out.

Another game that has yet to receive another iteration since its release a decade ago, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was hailed as an all-time action RPG and is still beloved by many today.

In the game, you are the Dragonborn who is tasked with taking on a dragon Alduin the World-Eater, who seeks to destroy the world. The game revolves around traveling around Skyrim, completing quests, and exploring secret dungeons. This is likely the best game to play if you are looking for something to get completely lost in, for good reason.

2

Mass Effect 2

Single-player games may not be what they are today if it wasn’t for the deep story of the Mass Effect trilogy. While the original Mass Effect is iconic in its own ways, many players have suggested skipping the first game and diving into the second as Mass Effect 2 has an overall better gameplay experience and is arguably the story at its peak.

Players once again take on the role of Commander Shepard as they look to form a team that is strong enough to take down the Collectors, an insect-like alien race.

1

Half-Life 2

When it comes to PC gaming, there’s no game more famous than Half-Life 2. Developed by Valve, the first-person shooter revolves around Gordon Freeman as he looks to stop the Combine, an alien empire, from ruling over Earth.

The game built off of the combat sequences and puzzle-solving of the first game while throwing in new mechanics such as driving vehicles. It is currently the highest-rated PC game that isn’t a re-release on Metacritic, sitting at 96. The game was also among the first to use Valve’s iconic Source engine.