The best old games and PC classics to play 2024

Looking for the best old games on PC? There are many perks to being a PC gamer, but we will save extolling them all for a day when we are feeling particularly inflammatory. For now, we will focus on just one: the best old games remain forever playable. Sometimes it takes a little more work, but it’s a lot easier than digging through your parent’s attic for an ancient console you think they still have.

Yes, even on the highest-end multi-cored rigs with the latest X-Titan Turbo Hydra Fulcrum Mk.III GPU, you can still boot up veteran strategy games, majestic ancient RPG games, trusty ol’ point-and-clicks, and other legendary games of yore. Below you will find a testament to those PC stalwarts like Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition that prove the best old games are truly timeless and deserve space on your SSD even to this day.

Here are the best old games for PC:

Age of Empires 2

It’s hard to imagine what the real-time strategy game landscape today would look like without Age of Empires 2. After all, Ensemble Studios’ 1999 classic is still played by many today – ourselves included. Even at launch, AoE 2 was hugely popular among RTS enjoyers, having shipped over two million copies within its first few months on shelves. While this isn’t a blockbusting number by modern standards, it’s worth remembering PC gaming wasn’t the monolithic entity it is today.

Age of Empires 2 has two core pillars to its gameplay. The first is its exemplary campaign, which takes you on a (dramatized) journey through the lives of historical figures like Joan of Arc, Barbarossa, and Genghis Khan – big hitters. There’s also its multiplayer offering, which allows you to progress through four ages – Dark, Feudal, Castle, and Imperial. As you develop your empire, you’ll unlock new technologies to improve everything from your economic output to your military might.

Whether you’re making a mad dash to the Castle Age to pen in opponents with fortified structures, or are looking to rush opponents with Scout Cavalry in an attempt to cripple their economy before they can even get it going, AoE 2 has remarkable strategic depth. To this day, tournaments are regularly held for the game, drawing in thousands of viewers. If you’re looking to get involved the good news is that the Definitive Edition of the game was launched in 2019, and continues to be updated to this day.

RuneScape 2

Though it can be considered the baby of the list, Runescape 2 is very much one of the best old games you can play on PC. Having arrived as an upgraded version of the original RuneScape in 2004, Jagex’s iconic MMO game has continued to thrive over 20 years after it first reached our monitors. It’s so popular today that its rereleased iteration, Old School RuneScape (OSRS), is often seen with a higher player count than the more modern RuneScape 3.

This medieval fantasy adventure will take you to the world of Gielinor – a land filled with dragons, elves, orcs, and more evil wizards than you can shake a wand at, OSRS is easily one of the best free MMO games you can sign up for today. Yes, its visuals haven’t held up in the way the likes of World of Warcraft have, but RuneScape has a certain charm to it that not even Blizzard’s glorious graphics can replicate.

The best thing about RuneScape 2 is it’s the perfect idle MMO. You can click and forget during all sorts of tasks thanks to its simple tick-based loop for many of its skills. If you’re looking to min-max your gaming time while studying for school, or working on that odious report in the office, then you can set up shop near a bunch of trees and crank up your Woodcutting XP, tabbing back in every couple minutes to click the next one. It’s an incredibly chill experience (provided you’re not trying to PvP or take down the endgame bosses), and one which you’d be remiss to miss out on.

Resident Evil

For the longest time, it was nigh-on impossible to get the original PC version of Capcom’s survival horror classic to work on modern devices. The only way to play this adventure legitimately would have been to play the admittedly amazing remake. That said, they’re completely different, not least because zombies could return if not beheaded or burned as Crimson Heads, who are significantly faster, harder to kill, and impossible to avoid.

However, in yet another surprise nobody saw coming from Capcom in 2024, the original Resident Evil PC version, complete with a handful of tweaks to circumvent some censorship, is back on GOG. Of course, everything’s intact: the tank controls, the dodgy script, and the hammy voice acting. But that’s what we love about the early 3D era of gaming. Games were becoming more of an event with the advent of CD technology giving developers more space to pop voice samples and primitive polygons.

So why is Resident Evil so revered, even in 2024? Everything that can feel restrictive is part of the design, from the tank controls and awkward aiming to prevent the game from being too easy to navigate to the fixed camera angles obscuring upcoming threats, with groans and shuffles adding to the tension. It’s also the start of a great trilogy of 90s survival horror, and the good news is that Resident Evil will be joined by the PC versions of the second and third games on GOG very soon. It’s an absolute must-play for anyone who loves horror games and now’s the best time to pick it up.

Max Payne

Despite Max Payne being Remedy Entertainment’s second game, this incredibly ambitious action game blends elements from John Woo movies and mature storytelling to create an all-time classic. In this third-person action game, the titular former NYPD detective has access to a slowdown mechanic, similar to bullet-time from The Matrix movies. Just like Neo, Max can perform leaps in slow motion, with both hands clutching his trusty pistols to take out enemies in front of him.

Whether you’re looking to return to Max Payne after a long absence or trying the game for the first time, you’ll be surprised at how well Remedy’s third-person shooter stands up to this day. If the story manages to hook you, you’re in luck as there are two more games in the trilogy to get through.

X-COM: UFO Defense

Strategy gaming meets turn-based tactics. The first X-COM game is still one of the best strategy games ever released on PC. This excellent old PC game inspired the team that went on to make Fallout, birthed several spin-offs and sequels, and was officially remade in 2012 as XCOM: Enemy Unknown – which is itself a classic. That’s some legacy.

In X-COM: UFO Defense, much like the remake, players must defend Earth from an alien invasion. In doing so, players must manage the clandestine X-COM group, choosing where to position bases and what technologies to research to make a desperate stand against the extraterrestrial threat. Players must also win battles on the ground using a squad of X-COM soldiers in turn-based tactical combat.

The game itself has aged brilliantly where gameplay is concerned, though it’s nowhere near as pretty as its modern-day remake. Assuming total control of mankind’s final barrier against the alien menace is still a joy: progressing through the research tree, turning your operatives into psionic super-soldiers, and deploying them in the field to kick xeno-butt never gets old. Fancy some modern XCOM instead? Check out our XCOM: Chimera Squad review.

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

A 2D platformer where absolutely everything can kill you in an instant: long falls, any enemy attack, grazing past an obstacle, overcooking a grenade… the list goes on. Its puzzles are complex, its gaps between saves overly long, and its enemies nearly impossible to avoid. Frustrating? Rewarding is the word you are looking for. Probably.

At the center of all this struggle is the titular Abe, an enslaved Mudokon who discovers the meat processing factory where he works is soon to be the slaughterhouse of his entire race. Abe breaks free and begins a quest for emancipation that the player can either go along with (making their journey much more difficult) or ignore. Choosing to steer a group of your fellow Mudokons into a volley of gunfire as a means of distracting an enemy is never an easy decision to make.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri

Like any Civ game, Alpha Centauri is all about colonizing a world, growing an empire, and competing and cooperating as you see fit with other factions vying for power. The twist? Set on a distant planet in the future, this old PC game is far more story-driven, forcing you to interact with mysterious alien lifeforms and races that previously inhabited the planet.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri fits the 4X games formula of empire-building, research, war, and diplomacy with an excellent story. Featuring fascinating factions and complex leaders, Alpha Centauri offers a more focused experience than the ‘blank canvas’ of the main series. The smaller scope of the game emphasizes everything that is great about this old game’s narrative, helping Alpha Centauri remain as memorable as always.

Baldur’s Gate 2

There is something about that beautiful, seemingly hand-drawn aesthetic of the Infinity Engine that is completely timeless, and Baldur’s Gate 2 uses that to deliver one of the best role-playing games of all time. Sure, you might still be working through Baldur’s Gate 3 right now, but it’s never a bad time to go back to the next best game in the series.

Gamers brought up on modern role-players may have trouble adapting to the tactical Dungeons & Dragons combat and plethora of dialogue, but it is precisely these traits that make Baldur’s Gate 2 endure as one of the best old PC games. The dark fantasy setting of Amn is a joy to explore with your party of companions, who are unforgettable for their excellent writing and catchy soundbites (“Go for the eyes, Boo!”). From its pretty pre-rendered backgrounds to its rich, mysterious world brimming with character, Baldur’s Gate 2 is truly ageless.

Planescape: Torment

This list will not turn into an ode to the great CRPGs of the ‘90s, we promise, but… just… one… more…

In contrast to Baldur’s Gate II’s classic, companion heroics, Planescape: Torment is a lonely, personal journey to uncover the lost memories of a person who has lived and died untold lives with no recollection of them. Set in a surreal otherworld of multiple planes and bizarre creatures that defy conventional fantasy tropes, Torment is one of the oddest and greatest videogame stories ever told. Focused more on dialogue and choices than combat, Torment encourages you to uncover its world through exploration, conversations, and clever, choice-filled questing.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

When we first assembled this list Morrowind was still relatively young, but now it’s nearly old enough to buy itself a beer we think it’s finally earned ‘classic PC game’ status. No doubt this will upset the PC gaming elders, who are probably lost in some procedurally generated Daggerfall township.

Morrowind doesn’t just represent the Elder Scrolls series’ arrival on the 3D scene, it’s also the game that cemented the layout for Oblivion and Skyrim, two of the most popular videogames of all time. There are dozens of all-timer questlines and the foundations of Skyrim’s character builds, and it’s all wrapped up in what’s probably the most interesting and immersive open-world games to date.

Half-Life

Back in 1998, Half-Life’s storytelling and the conviction of its fictional world were far beyond anything else in the genre. Indeed, they were beyond anything else in gaming.

The opening in which you fly through the Black Mesa Research Facility is magnificent. Radioactive waste passes by, witty comments sound out from speakers overhead, and doors open and close all around. Valve crafted a world full of minutiae and intricacies that you could pore over in between all the alien fighting and physics-based puzzling. Seamless level transitions and a narrative that never broke away from the first-person perspective make this game not only one of the best old games but one of the finest games ever made.

We’ve spent years waiting for the mythical Half-Life 3, but with the release of Half-Life: Alyx, our hunger for new Half-Life has only gotten more ravenous. Sounds like the perfect excuse to revisit – or begin – the series. If aging visuals really aren’t for you then the fan-made Black Mesa remake is officially out and receiving just as positive reviews as the original.

Deus Ex

Visually, Deus Ex has not aged as gracefully as some of the pixel-era games on this list, but its deep RPG systems, dense hub worlds, and intriguing conspiracy crackpot plot make it proper ‘PC games bucket list’ fodder.

The number of ways in which you can tackle the game’s missions still holds up today: You have countless means of molding JC Denton to your play style. Your choices about how you interact with the world all feel significant and, as a result, Deus Ex continues to be the gold standard that immersive sims, stealth games, and RPGs strive for, and remains one of the best old games on PC. If you want to see how the Deus Ex series has modernized over the years, check out our Deus Ex Mankind Divided review.

Outlaws

The lack of tribute to this gunslinging wild-western shooter is no less criminal than the exploits of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Outlaws was among the PC’s best first-person shooters, sprite-based or not.

Several gameplay innovations helped Outlaws stand out, including a manual reload system, and the first-ever sniper scope used in a shooter. The orchestrated Sergio Leone-inspired soundtrack is spine-tingling, and the animated cutscenes have that lovely LucasArts touch that provides context to the tough, rootin’ tootin’ gunfights taking place across trains, frontier towns, and other environs of the Old West. Outlaws is a goldmine of excellent stylistic and gameplay features in a classic FPS package and an exceptional old PC game at that.

The Longest Journey

Coming in the twilight years of point-and-click adventure games, The Longest Journey is a poignant swansong for the genre. You are April, an 18-year-old student who shifts between two contrasting realms to restore the mysterious force that allows them to exist harmoniously.

The contrasting realms of the magical Arcadia and gritty urban Stark realm are evocatively presented, and in both, you will meet characters as strange and well-rounded as your strong, troubled protagonist. Yes, it suffers from the point-and-click pitfall of absurdly cryptic puzzles, but they are worth toughing through to experience this beautiful interdimensional adventure. The Longest Journey’s sequel Dreamfall is also worth playing, though it is not quite on par with Funcom’s original.

Diablo II

The continuation of online support and the fact that Blizzard released patches for Diablo II up to the release of the official remake attest to the game’s enduring appeal as one of the finest old PC games.

The high-intensity action RPG mechanics, which have been emulated but rarely topped by other games over the years, and its grungy, well-animated pixel art set Diablo II apart. Its loot-‘em-up gameplay is so appealing that it does not need to move with the times. Blizzard’s perfection of this formula has allowed Diablo II to completely defy the typical videogame life cycle. You don’t have to track down an old copy of this either as Blizzard released a solid remaster in the form of Diablo 2: Resurrected. Check out our Diablo 2: Resurrected review for our complete verdict.

Fallout 2

Looking at the image above, it is easy to say that Fallout has come a long way since the isometric days. But that would ignore the tremendous narrative and mechanical depth hiding amidst those pixels and pre-rendered backdrops. Fallout 2 is on Steam and, in high-res and with cloud saves, this fantastic old game is all the more appealing to revisit.

Fallout 2 is not forgiving, and bad decisions or character development can essentially ruin your experience. But ride the wave of its deep systems and you have one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The range of factions, side-quests, and characters paint a rich picture of a post-apocalyptic world that is a grim joy to explore. It is harsh, bleak, and kind of ugly, but Fallout 2’s wild wasteland came to define the series. Take a look at our Fallout 4 review to find out what the series has transformed into.

Theme Hospital

Still one of the funniest and most whimsical building sims on PC, Theme Hospital is a unique gem that no developer has even dared try to emulate. Its sense of humour ranges from excellent soundbites of the receptionists urging patients not to die in the corridors, to the emergent chaos of a mass vomit breakout in the waiting areas. AI prodigy Demis Hassabis was even involved in the project as a young boy, making this literally the work of a genius.

The cutesy visual style, so great at conveying fictitious illnesses like Bloaty Head and Hairyitis, conceals a relentless and challenging sim. Up there with the best old PC games, Theme Hospital stands in a league of its own… unless you count spiritual successor Two Point Hospital.

System Shock 2

You never forget the confused fear you feel when a mutant is apologizing to you while battering your head in with a wrench. It is harrowing, deeply unsettling, and captures the dark spirit of this lonesome story in which you are hounded by a murderous AI aboard a spaceship.

Yes, System Shock 2 was sort of succeeded by BioShock, but it is a tonally different beast – a psychological horror that drips with a cold, claustrophobic atmosphere. Grab one of the mods that updates the graphics and lighting to revive that intense technophobia you felt all those years ago. 

Quake

It is hard to imagine anything dislodging Doom’s place in the pantheon of PC gaming greats (don’t worry, it’s listed here). However, we think Quake meets id’s vision of demonic corridor-shooting executed most successfully. Of the two forefathers of those great franchises, Quake proves most affecting to revisit today. Doom’s Cacodemons and Hell Knight sprites look kitsch now, but Quake’s roster of far less recognizable abominations – all lipless mouths and faceless horrors – still manages to unsettle. They are helped by flawless sound design created in collaboration with Trent Reznor, and a medieval occult aesthetic that falls somewhere between Doom and Hexen.

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The culmination of those elements – not forgetting its excellent arsenal of high-impact, heavy weapons – feels like id’s best attempt to pull together the elements they experimented with throughout the ’90s. Quake and its many sequels are all available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and we’ve found that they run superbly on modern PC setups – no frustrating compatibility modes are needed here.

Doom

Sure, we’ve already got Quake on this list, but where would modern PC gaming be without its sci-fi horror-based FPS sibling, Doom? Every boomer shooter fan has their preference between the two, so in the interest of pleasing everyone, we’ve included both.

Doom’s certainly the more colorful of the two and so is generally a lot easier to navigate, and you can also move a lot faster and more freely thanks to its slightly more open levels. Monsters take a bit less effort to kill and the levels are much less stingy when it comes to handing out ammo – it’s the better pick for cheap, run-and-gun thrills, while Quake offers a little more mastery and pure horror. This is also handily available via an Xbox Game Pass subscription and runs well on modern systems.

Starcraft

Starcraft may have been somewhat left behind by its shinier sequel, but even those not looking for a competitive experience could do a lot worse than revisiting one of the finest narrative RTS campaigns ever. Along with Warcraft 3, the original Starcraft represents pre-Activision Blizzard at its creative pinnacle.

Okay, so, in the same way that Warcraft owes a lot to Tolkien, this story of space marines, space bugs, and ethereal elder beings may owe a lot to Warhammer 40k, Aliens, and Starship Troopers. Everything owes a lot to Aliens, though, and that doesn’t stop this genre classic from holding up today. Come for the pitch-perfect execution of archetypal RTS games scaffolding, and stay for the character-focused sci-fi epic stuffed with juicy plot reveals.

The Curse of Monkey Island

While the first two Monkey Island titles are genre-defining adventure games, produced at the peak of LucasArt’s heyday, that doesn’t stop them from being a daunting proposition for modern gamers curious to see what all the fuss was about. Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island may not have the best puzzles, the best story, or the best jokes, but it is the easiest to slip into for new players, and it’s still an excellent adventure game in its own right.

Featuring singing pirate barbers, a lactose-intolerant volcano god, and a giant chicken demon among its less ridiculous elements, The Curse of Monkey Island continues the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, the world’s most useless pirate. A colorful cartoon aesthetic and a jaunty, moreish soundtrack top off this hearty mug of adventure game grog.

Now that you’ve taken a historical tour of our most cherished classic videogame memories, you know what to do: turn those old games, into ‘sold’ games. Okay, we’ll stick to writing, writing more list features, that is. And, if you want the cream of the crop both new and old, here are the best PC games of all time, or if you don’t want to splash the cash, here are all the best free PC games. For now, though, we’ll be going back to embracing the sweet, sweet nostalgia of our misspent youth.

Original article by Jordan Forward.