The Best Steam Games 2017



With such a smorgasbord of games to choose from, logging into your Steam Account for the first time can be a little daunting. Where do you start? A big PC classic? An indie darling? A new and sparkling must-have? It’s a tall order to contend with, so rather than leave you floundering in a sea of choice, we’ve cherry-picked ten of our favourites from Steam’s impressive library of digital goodness.
And with those fruitful sales almost always looming tentatively on the horizon, our selection of the best games on Steam is guaranteed to keep you gaming well into 2017 and beyond.

1. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

It’s not often a franchise as iconic as Resident Evil gets a new lease of life - especially when you consider the zomb-loving licence had descended into a lifeless farce over the past decade – but here we are with a genuinely frightening horror game with the words ‘Resident Evil’ in the title. What a world, eh?
While us PC folk aren’t allowed to scare ourselves half to death in VR yet (RE7 is a PSVR at the moment), that doesn’t mean it’s any less terrifying. Dropping the third-person perspective that’s felt tired and rote for many a year, RE7 embraces the first-person view that’s helped Outlast and the like re-energize the horror genre, and boy does it make for one chilling 8-10 hour scare fest.
With Capcom’s big budget, a creepy swamp setting (honestly, just go with it) and a storyline that feeds back into the series’ winding mythology, you’d be crazy not to add this to your Steam library.

Get it here: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

2. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

How could we put together a list of the games to play on Steam and not include the latest offering from the master of turn-based strategy and tactical simulation? The Civilization series has been through many a form over the years, but entry number six takes all the best bits from those previous incarnations, smoothes off the edges and serves up one of the most rewarding turn-based video games ever made.

 There’s nothing quite like building a nation from its fledgling roots and nurturing it into a cultural powerhouse, and Civ number six gives you more freedom and control than ever. Removing the pre-set paths that hampered the still stellar Civ V, Civ VI transforms into a landscape that rewards plucky explorers and confident conquerors with the opportunity to expand their budding society with new technologies and alliances. Sid Meier’s name alone is part of PC gaming’s lofty heritage, so owning this little doozy is a no-brainer.

3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive


We almost picked the brilliant squad-based mayhem of Rainbow Six: Siege, but it’s hard to deny the sheer enduring charm and addictiveness of CS:GO. It’s become part of the fabric of the PC gaming community, as integral to the continued success of the FPS as it is to the growth of eSports. It’s also still one of the most played – and the most streamed – titles on Steam. Which isn’t bad for a five-year-old game based on an old Half-Life mod.
Even its connection to the skins betting scandal in 2016 has failed to tarnish its position as one of the industry’s most well-loved games – an impressive feat when you consider how much other multiplayer shooters such as Overwatch have remapped the topography of the industry. So whether you’re running around brandishing your combat knife, no scoping someone into a blind rage or leaping about a mad mod with your friends, CS:GO is video gaming royalty.

4. XCOM 2


Few games garner as much acclaim from both fans and critics as Firaxis’ perma-death RTS, but then few games can really hold a torch to XCOM 2’s alien-slaying goodness . For a game that will wantonly kill members of your squad forever, never to be see in virtual warfare again, the simulated war against an invasionary force of ETs is easily one of the most addictive things we’ve ever played.
Unlike other RTS games, XCOM 2 follows the path of its brilliant forebear and sees you trading control of an entire army for a small squad of hardened human recruits. Thing is, should you make the wrong play and leave one of your poor grunts mopping up bullets, they’ll stay six feet under. No regens. No respawns. The finality of that concept is merciless, but it makes for a moreish risk/reward setup that will keep you coming back for more.
Get it here: XCOM 2

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt


For years, one game sat atop the dark and misty mountain of action-RPGs. Skyrim was its name, and no other franchise, be it Dragon Age or Dark Souls, could even come to close to unseating its cast-iron grip upon the genre. Then along came Geralt of Rivia, riding atop The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with a confident swagger, ready to give The Elder Scrolls a good thrashing.
If you’re looking for a game that strikes a perfect balance between length of play (you could easily spend 100+ hours across its incredibly diverse map – one that’s a good 20% bigger than poor old Skyrim) and sheer quality, The Witcher 3 is a must. There are just so many virtues The Witcher 3 has to its name – brilliant writing, unforgettable quests, genuinely challenging beasts and a pair of DLC expansions (Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine) make this one of the best games of this and any other generation.

6. Inside


Inside will break you heart. Let that be your warning going in.
Don’t see such words as a deterrent, but rather as a mystery to be uncovered scene by heart-wrenching scene. Created by the same studio that made the wonderful 2.5D platformer Limbo – you know, the one about a little boy stuck in a nightmare world where a giant spider chases him endlessly – it should come as a huge shock to learn that Inside will leave you just as tearful as its predecessor.
Thing is, Inside is a brilliant piece of art. Without a scrap of dialogue, you’ll explore a world in a similar platforming vein to Limbo, overcoming various ingenious environmental puzzles and evading both the flashlights of an oppressive government and the shadow of a conspiracy that’s clearly not going to end well.
But it’s worth every second. There’s a reason it won many a GOTY award in 2016, so you’d be a fool not to add this to Steam library. Just remember to pack a few tissues.
Get it here: Inside

7. Rocket League


Once upon a time there was a little game on PlayStation 3 called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. It was all about using remote control-esque cars to knock a giant football around a makeshift pitch. Thing is, no one played it and the game slowly faded into obscurity. Then Rocket League came along, which was basically the same thing, albeit with tweaked physics and a greater focus on multiplayer. One trip into PlayStation 4’s PS Plus lineup later and the game went supernova.
And with good reason, too. It’s simple concept just works – it’s a place where skill shines through as you boost your little RC car and hit the motorised equivalent of a bicycle kick. It’s glorious, offering one of the best ways to play online (whether with friends or a bunch of randoms). Come on, who doesn’t want to spend their evening chasing a football with a car? FIFA? Pfft. 
Get it here: Rocket League

8. Portal 2


Portal, back in its day, was a game-changer. Sure, it sounds like we’re filling out boots with hyperbole, but back in 2007 all those portals, companion cubes and sociopathic AIs were blowing our minds on loop. Then Portal 2 came along and made the original look like a crossword puzzle in The Sun.
Okay, the first Portal is still amazing, but Portal 2 took a genuinely revolutionary concept and redefined it. Everything in this game works perfectly - the ebb and flow of its story, the growing complexity of the puzzles and the new ways you’re forced to make your mind think with portals. It’s even got Stephen Merchant and JK Simmons in it!
Portal 2 manages to take a brilliant recipe and somehow make it even more delicious, sprinkling in all new depths of platforming and puzzle flavour. If you haven’t played it, buy it now. If you have, play it again.
Get it here: Portal 2
9. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is a last-man-standing shooter being developed with community feedback. Starting with nothing, players must fight to locate weapons and supplies in a battle to be the lone survivor. This realistic, high tension game is set on a massive 8x8 km island with a level of detail that showcases Unreal Engine 4's capabilities.
 PLAYERUNKNOWN aka Brendan Greene, is a pioneer of the Battle Royale genre. As the creator of the Battle Royale game-mode found in the ARMA series and   H1Z1: King of the Kill, Greene is co-developing the game with veteran team at Bluehole to create the most diverse and robust Battle Royale experience to date 
10. Battlerite


Welcome to a world where champions dedicate their lives to the arena. 

Battlerite is a PvP team arena brawler and the spiritual successor to critically acclaimed Bloodline Champions. Experience the unique combination of a top down shooter with a fast paced fighting game. Take part in highly competitive, adrenaline-fueled 2v2 and 3v3 battles. 

Engage in quick and intense action as you take control over one of several champions, each with their own special abilities. Dodge bullets and pull off massive ultimate attacks with the use of unique WASD movement & cursor based aiming. It’s all about skill-shots, timing and reaction.

Get it here: Battlerite

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