THE BEST GAMES of this GENERATION
PCWorld|December 2020
THE END OF A CONSOLE GENERATION IS ALSO THE PERFECT TIME FOR A RETROSPECTIVE.
HAYDEN DINGMAN
THE BEST GAMES of this GENERATION

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have ridden off into the sunset, replaced by the PlayStation 5 (go. pcworld.com/nv12) and Xbox Series X (go.pcworld.com/10nv). But what do we care, right? This is PCWorld, and my graphics card will function just as well (go. pcworld.com/gcls) next month as it does today, new consoles be damned.

But there’s no denying that hardware changeovers tend to drive the industry forward. Freed from the constraints of aging consoles, games leap ahead—not just in the living room, but on PC as well. By this time next year, today’s best games may well look… well, old. Time marches on, even children get older, consoles embrace modern SSDs (go. pcworld.com/mssd) and Ryzen CPUs (go. pcworld.com/rcpu), et cetera.

Thus the end of a console generation is also the perfect time for a retrospective. We’re feeling nostalgic about the last seven years and the games we played along the way, and we thought we’d celebrate those games one last time before they fade into the depths of our Steam libraries.

From Alien: Isolation to The Witcher 3, here are some of our favorite games of this generation, in no particular order.

1. ALIEN: ISOLATION

The presence of the Alien (read: Xenomorph) in Alien: Isolation (go.pcworld.com/alis) is still my least favorite part. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a marvel of artificial intelligence and a true hunter. Being its prey is as frustrating as it is fascinating though, with the Alien’s unpredictable nature a challenge that all-too-often results in your death—and a reminder that yes, you’re playing a video game. Tension broken.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of PCWorld.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of PCWorld.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PCWORLDView All
5 Compelling Reasons to Buy a Windows Laptop Instead of a MacBook
PCWorld

5 Compelling Reasons to Buy a Windows Laptop Instead of a MacBook

MacBooks are powerful and chic. That's also true of many Window Notebooks - And they have other advantages that MacBook can't counter.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2023
5 tips to make Gmail more secure
PCWorld

5 tips to make Gmail more secure

Bank statements, contracts, tickets, love letters…most things in this world can be sent via email, and protecting your email is extremely important.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
TunnelBear VPN: It's just right for beginners
PCWorld

TunnelBear VPN: It's just right for beginners

Come for the bear puns, stay for the security.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2023
Contour SliderMouse Pro: This mouse saves your hands
PCWorld

Contour SliderMouse Pro: This mouse saves your hands

Unusual ergonomic mouse is here to save your hands

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2023
Woohoo! You can get a Raspberry Pi again
PCWorld

Woohoo! You can get a Raspberry Pi again

Availability hasn't completely recovered, but it's looking much better already.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Microsoft begins pulling the plug on Cortana
PCWorld

Microsoft begins pulling the plug on Cortana

Cortana probably won't live for much longer.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
Norton's free Al-powered Genie tool helps you spot online scams
PCWorld

Norton's free Al-powered Genie tool helps you spot online scams

Not sure if the message, email, link or social media post you've received is a scam? The Al-powered Norton Genie is designed to help.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
Google now alerts you if your contact info appears online
PCWorld

Google now alerts you if your contact info appears online

Better decades late than never.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Microsoft 365 makeover: Office docs are getting new default look
PCWorld

Microsoft 365 makeover: Office docs are getting new default look

Significant changes are coming to your Office documents with Microsoft 365's new default theme.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Smart Answers: GenAl tool makes it easier to find the info you need on PCWorld
PCWorld

Smart Answers: GenAl tool makes it easier to find the info you need on PCWorld

Smart Answers puts you in the driving seat for content discovery.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2023