20 best online PC games

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

The modern video game industry is so unimaginably huge that it is impossible for a novice gamer to simply blindly search for a game for himself without spending half his life on this search. The editors will help you reduce this search to a minimum – we have prepared for you an overview of the 'very-very', a squeeze of the brightest products of video game development studios with one main condition – these games do not require a console, and you can play them on a regular (although enough powerful) PC.

While compiling the rating, our experts selected games that were relevant and popular at the beginning of 2019, regardless of how many years ago their first versions were released. Also, the average gaming preferences of our compatriots were taken into account. Those games that were not included in the review, but by all indications are worthy of attention, we will consider in the next, more narrowly thematic issues. As for MMORPGs, we have already considered this genre a little earlier as a separate special issue.

Rating of the best online PC games

Nomination	a place	online game	rating
The best online shooters for PC	1	Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)	5.0
	2	Overwatch	4.9
	3	Battlefield 5	4.8
	4	Call of Duty: Black Ops 4	4.7
The best online racing, action and MOBA games for PC	1	Crossout	5.0
	2	GTA Online	4.9
	3	DiRT Rally	4.8
	4	DOTA 2	4.7
	5	Playerunknown`s Battlegrounds (PUBG)	4.6
	6	Star conflict	4.5
The best tactical shooters, military arcade games and simulators for PC	1	World of Tanks	5.0
	2	World of Warships	4.9
	3	War thunder	4.8
The best online strategies for PC	1	Age of Empires 2 HD	5.0
	2	Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia	4.9
	3	Starcraft 2	4.8
The best online sandboxes for PC	1	Minecraft	5.0

The best online shooters for PC

The first selection in the review is online shooters or, in our opinion, 'shooting games'. This is the most popular genre and such a demand is obvious – shooters allow you to get vivid emotions from the first minutes of the game, do not require hours or even many days of character leveling (in most cases), do not force you to think hard and plan strategies, do not impose long-term obligations to other online participants , lend themselves to quick development. It is also an easy way to quickly relieve stress, rest after a busy day at work and stop playing without a twinge of conscience at any time.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)

Rating of the online game (PC): 5.0

The selection is opened by the legendary game, or to be precise – its updated online version for the PC Global Offensive. The abbreviation CSGO is well known even to people who are indifferent to computer games, but who spend at least some time in the living online space.

After the unsuccessful release of the sequel to the original game – CS Source – few believed that the immortal classics could be revived, but Valve succeeded. The secret to the overwhelming success of the first game was its simplicity. It was decided to leave the game mechanics practically unchanged – it is enough to buy weapons at the very beginning, and you can go to destroy enemies in full.

Two more modes have been added to the two original game modes (for terrorists or liberators): GunGame – you need to methodically kill enemies, getting more and more advanced weapons, the 26th frag must be 'sentenced' with a knife; 'destruction of an object' – one team must blow up a certain point in the minimum time, the second must try to prevent this from happening.

The updated online game has expanded the range of weapons – added napalm grenades, fake 'shooting' grenades, Molotov cocktails. Many graphic designs for each type of weapon. In general, CSGO has completely redesigned the graphics to meet modern standards. The Source engine, although today is far from being the last squeak, the developers 'squeezed out its capabilities in full' – excellent drawing of details, excellent physics.

There are also some changes in the online game that the fans met without much enthusiasm. So, the recoil of weapons in CSGO is very expressive – in order to conduct aimed fire at several enemies, making one frag per shot, you need to be a real master. It will also not work to run through the area under heavy fire – when it hits the character, his movement slows down greatly, the life bar does not recover by itself.

Overall, CSGO is a clear success. Counter Strike is being talked about again, and how! Many newcomers joined the huge army of old-timers, who did not reach the peak of popularity of the first game due to their age. Average online breaks records in places.

Advantages

• exciting dynamics;
• expanded set of game modes;
• updated graphics with excellent physics and detail;
• huge fan community and impressive online.

disadvantages

• many do not like the recoil of the weapon too strong, which makes serial headshots almost impossible.

Overwatch

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.9

The ranking of the best online games for PC continues by a very specific shooter with elements of PVP, RPG, action and MOBA by Blizzard – Overwatch. An online cartoon shooter with a number of features and 'differences' was released quite recently – in 2016, and quickly won a large audience of fans. In addition to PC, Overwatch also has versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The background of events originates in the conflict between people and machines in the relatively near future. To save and maintain peace on the planet, a special unit of heroes was created, which was named Overwatch. The organization did an excellent job of its task and was even disbanded as unnecessary, but was soon restored to fight a new threat – growing crime.

You have to choose from about twenty playable characters of your own, select online like-minded people to join the team and go to many different locations to restore justice. In this case, you can perform one of three roles: damage – actually, causing damage and destroying targets; tank – high endurance and increased strength armor, such characters are the first to go into battle and take a hit first; support – strengthening other heroes, healing, and other useful auxiliary actions.

The peculiarity of this online PC game is the need for careful planning of the tactics of the future battle, since the battles last only 15 minutes. As for the game modes, there is a really wide selection of them: point capture, escort, PvE missions, against artificial intelligence, competitive play, arena, several arcade modes and many others.

In a short time, the game has received dozens of prestigious awards in various nominations, has acquired an impressive community of fans, and even books have been written about the world of Overwatch.

Advantages

• beautiful graphics;
• dynamism;
• many game modes;
• great community.

disadvantages

• questionable balance in some modes.

Battlefield 5

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.8

The rating is continued by the fifth version (strictly in a row – the fifteenth online game in the series) of the sensational online shooter Battlefield. The online game is multiplatform – in addition to the PC, it is also adapted for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The developer is the Swedish company EA DICE. Published by Electronic Arts, USA.

The game is built in a historical setting and the style of World War II. Under the supervision of the publisher, the developers reproduced the battlefields with high fidelity. All factions and coalitions that took an active part in the bloodiest war in the history of mankind are present: Germany, USSR, USA, Great Britain and others.

You have at your disposal almost all types of weapons and equipment that were relevant during the war years. In this version, the 'echoes' of the First World War are abolished – horses, sabers and other controversial moments of the first part of the game, which caused rejection of part of the audience. But at the same time, political correctness has increased – there are noticeably more women and dark-skinned characters, which is also not liked by everyone. Single player play is possible for one of three factions – USSR, USA or French Resistance.

The multiplayer aspect has inherited the classic approach, which implies participation in an online team of up to 64 people, but at the same time, the scale of multiplayer has been expanded. So, added the completion of tasks (Grand Operations) for the final victory, single campaigns, cooperative missions (Combined Arms), the construction of fortifications with obtaining the corresponding advantages.

A striking feature of this online game is a deep and detailed sound design. In online mode, focusing only on sound often plays a decisive role in the outcome of a battle. So having a good headphone offers unexpectedly powerful benefits.

Advantages

• a large selection of online game modes;
• high historical accuracy;
• increased realism in comparison with previous versions;
• wide opportunities for customizing characters and weapons;
• deep and detailed sound.

disadvantages

• obsessive political correctness, according to numerous opinions.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.7

Completing the selection of the rating of first-person shooters is another unconditional hit – the fourth main online game (the fifteenth in the entire franchise) of the Call of Duty series, namely, the Black Ops story sub-series. This online PC game also has versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The developer is the American company Treyarch. The official release took place literally 'yesterday' – in October 2018. Distributed via Steam and Battle.net services.

This is the first main game in the series to focus on online and multiplayer, while completely eliminating traditional single player campaigns. This decision was not to everyone's liking, but it was necessary, since the monotony from version to version threatened to drag the franchise to the bottom. On the other hand, a new Blackout mode has been introduced, which is a classic Battle Royale with up to 100 players. It was a real breath of fresh air for the discouraged fans and a powerful driver of the game's popularity in general.

The developers of the game receive special thanks from the fans for the truly huge and colorful locations. In this game world, you can, in a good way, get lost. Also a big plus is the variety of game modes and a wide selection of weapons. The action can take place in the most unexpected places – from the prison of Alcatraz to Ancient Rome. The multiplayer in this version is the first in the entire series, does not imply automatic health recovery, includes new ballistics and predictive recoil.

Although this version of the game did not manage to repeat the overwhelming success of the first release (world record for the speed of sales), it still became a highlight of the past year. The franchise remains successful enough so that fans can confidently wait for new versions every couple of years – it goes through 14 nominations of six prestigious awards, in three of which it won, including Gamescom's Best Social Online Game 2018.

Advantages

• huge locations;
• variety of weapons;
• bright and dynamic Battle Royale in Blackout mode;
• dynamics and drive in general;
• musical arrangement;
• decent graphics;

disadvantages

• the weak point is the balance of the characters;
• some users are unhappy with the lack of a single-player campaign mode.

The best online racing, action and MOBA games for PC

The second nomination in the ranking of the best online games for PC according to the version includes a selection of three games of this genre, which will be relevant and in demand anytime, anywhere – racing. Only here will the emphasis be placed on games where there is not only a sports component. Our experts deliberately did not include in the review too obvious hits of all times and peoples like Need for Speed ​​or F1 because of this very obviousness.

It is also extremely difficult to form a rating in such voluminous genres as action and MOBA (multiplayer online battle arenas) due to the wide range of user preferences and often polar opinions. Therefore, this collection included: DOTA 2 – due to its super popularity, but not as obvious as some legend games; League Of Legends – for high marks from critics, publications and the players themselves; Star conflict – to balance the fantasy and post-apocalyptic stylistics of the cosmic component; other online hits in related genres.

Crossout

Rating of the online game (PC): 5.0

The selection opens with Crossout – a novelty in 2017 produced by Targem Games, published by the well-known company Gaijin Entertainment. Since its release, this online PC game has not lost its popularity, but only strengthened its position. Besides PC, there are versions for Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It is distributed free of charge.

It's a dynamic racing game set in a post-apocalyptic world with an insane mix of features and subgenres. There is action, MMO, multiplayer, PVP, elements of the sandbox, open world, strategy and even a collectible card game online. A special feature of Crossout is the great importance of the skills and talents of the artist and designer – an unexpected move in relation to the game, where only chases, shootouts and other drive are expected, but the developers quite guessed with this twist.

The events of the online game take place in the very near, but already post-apocalyptic future, where most of humanity died from a mysterious epidemic called Crossout. Those who survived for the most part lost their human appearance due to mutations and the side symptoms accompanying the epidemic. And only a small part of people remain the same and are forced to survive in new cruel conditions, trying to restore the old world.

At the very beginning, you are invited (without options) to test yourself as a design engineer – a car on which you have to do dizzying chases you need to assemble yourself. A wide range of details of car mechanisms, types of protective armor, types of weapons and all kinds of auxiliary body kit is provided – this naturally makes every car of any player completely unique. Of course, there are also limitations on the number of parts, final weight, etc., so the design of the machine and equipment must be carefully thought out.

Game modes include delivery of cargo, team deathmatch-clashes with other players, robberies followed by evading pursuit, PvE-missions, as well as the super popular recently 'Battle Royale' mode. During the game, you can make almost any adjustments to the design of the car and equipment. Spare parts can be bought in the market from living characters or NPCs, or you can simply find among the wreckage or even make your own.

The battles are held for the player with third-person observation and give a lot of emotions due to the unpredictability, unexpected turns and 'cards up your sleeve' due to the uniqueness of each vehicle.

Advantages

• addicting, driving gameplay;
• incredibly flexible options for designing and equipping vehicles;
• popular game modes are well implemented;
• a vivid combination of genres;
• advanced damage model;
• free.

disadvantages

• intrusive donation is the inevitable downside of free access;
• some users note the imbalance and too arcade physics.

GTA Online

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.9

The online game for PC continues the rating, which is even difficult to clearly define in one category or another. However, Grand Theft Auto has been a mega-event in the gaming industry since the very first versions, so we couldn't help but consider its multiplayer online version. The game was developed by the British studio Rockstar North. It was originally created for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and since April 2015 it has become available to PC users.

It will be very difficult to find at least to some extent a close analogue of GTA online for PC or any other platform, which would be such a rich and high-quality embodiment of several bright genres. There are races, action games, shooters, and even sandbox elements. All this is built into the context of an open world with an extremely realistic simulation of real life – dating, partnership, trade, confrontation, crime, skirmishes with competitors, all-round character development. And this masterpiece is wrapped in a bright package of excellent graphics, humor, a unique atmosphere and an original soundtrack. The '18 + 'rating unequivocally hints at the recklessness of the gameplay with an almost complete absence of physical and moral restrictions for the player and his character.

In the online version of the game for PC, the developers left the same noticeable role-playing component. The player and his character have a wide choice of options for spending time in the gaming metropolis – pumping skills, completing missions, buying real estate and building a special form of business, all kinds of entertainment. Shortly before the release of the online version, industry experts expressed fears that the mechanics of the game could suffer due to the transfer to online, but this did not happen. On the contrary, the engine was 'taught' to recognize human speech and synchronize the movement of the character's lips – this gave an unprecedented immersion and effect of presence.

Although the role-playing component here is significant, it will not work for the 'good guys' due to the lack of such. The character's 'career growth' speaks for itself by the names of the levels alone: ​​Thug, Pickpocket, Soldier, Trigger, Enforcer, Mediator, Public Enemy, Partner, Street Boss, Thief in law. The higher the rank, the greater the choice of weapons, protection, vehicles, customization options open to the passage of missions and tasks. The number of these missions as a whole is amazing – there are more than five hundred of them.

The openness of the world of this online PC game, the breadth of possibilities, the almost complete absence of any boundaries, the maximum immersion – all this determined the insane popularity of the game.

The game is distributed on a paid basis. For residents of the CIS, there are reduced prices, but the cost is still pretty decent – 1999 rubles.

Advantages

• an incomparable variety of missions, assignments and all kinds of alternative living options;
• excellent game mechanics;
• a successful combination of styles and genres;
• recognition of the player's voice messages by the engine;
• the deepest effect of immersion and presence;
• huge fan community.

disadvantages

• the game is paid and not cheap.

DiRT Rally

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.8

Finally, within the framework of our rating, we will pay attention to 'real' races, where the sports-competitive component is in the center of everything. It is one of the most realistic online car simulation games with real 'grown up' challenges and addictive gameplay. Developed by the British company Codemasters, distributed as part of the Steam service. Besides PC, there are also versions for PS4, Xbox One, SteamOS, and even Linux platforms.

I must say right away that this PC game is serious in all respects and definitely not for fans of arcade racing games. Physics here allows the player to feel the rally track as it really is: in the rain on a muddy road, the car becomes almost uncontrollable, and absolutely everything affects the game result, including the degree of tire wear. The game engine is deservedly called the most realistic among the games of this genre.

But for the stubborn player who does not expect any miracles, but is ready to invest time in developing his own skills and carefully working out the features of the car, the game will unfold in all its indisputable glory. You will then have at your disposal more than forty types of special rally cars, a whole set of renowned races with dozens of exciting stages on the roads in different parts of the world, participation in prestigious online competitions, and communication with like-minded people in leagues. The car can be improved, customized and customized as you like.

Independent polls show that gamers, having tried DiRT once, for the most part recognize this game as the benchmark for online sports car simulator.

Advantages

• the most realistic physics among other online races;
• high-quality graphics with high detail;
• wide selection of cars and many options for improvement / customization;
• optimization;
• a lot of cards.

disadvantages

• quite expensive;
• point claims of a subjective nature from users.

DOTA 2

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.7

From races in our ranking, we are moving straight to team action in the MOBA genre. And it will not be anyhow, but the 'same' DOTA 2, which has not been heard of unless a person who has never been on the Internet at all. This strange abbreviation stands for Defense of the Ancients and is nothing more than a custom mod (card) for another game – Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, or rather its sequel. The first DotA also gained great popularity, but the second simply demolished all the fences, leaving even the super popular Skyrim far behind. It instantly became an esports discipline with prize pools of millions of dollars in premium championships and received the most prestigious awards. She even received Russian-language voice acting by professional actors, and unofficial – an extremely rare phenomenon in the gaming industry.

In terms of genre, DOTA 2 is not just a MOBA. There are also elements of RPG, strategy, PvE and PvP – all strictly online as part of a team of other players. You have over a hundred unique characters with their own sets of strengths and weaknesses, various game modes, many detailed maps, and other possibilities, including designing your own artifacts through WorkShop on Steam.

The gameplay itself in its classic version is a battle of two teams of five players (characters) each. One team plays for the forces of light, the other for their opposite. The task is to capture the enemy fortification castle, while protecting your own. Success depends on each player's own skills, team members' coordination, tactical thoughtfulness, the ability to competently build a defense and tactically wisely launch an offensive. Mutual understanding is also important for making joint decisions – online communication by voice through a headset or chat helps here. I must say that DOTA 2 is one of the most emotional games, which translates into not entirely censored expressions of these emotions in chat or voice. But I must admit that the complete absence of censorship in DOTA 2 and at the same time tons of hats is already a kind of feature, without which the online game will lose itself.

The game has been developed on a new engine, perfectly optimized (like the engine itself), so a super-powerful computer is not even necessary for a comfortable game – even a completely average PC will be enough. The community of fans of the game around the world is truly huge. Hundreds of thousands of people spend many hours on DOTA 2 every day, and its popularity continues to grow.

Advantages

• many characters;
• a wide range of modes, maps, and other features;
• colorful graphics;
• new engine with excellent optimization;
• huge community;
• bright emotional atmosphere;
• eSports discipline.

disadvantages

• the complexity of learning is prohibitive for many.

Playerunknown`s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.6

The penultimate position in this extensive collection of ratings of online PC games is perhaps the most controversial and controversial. This is a real action-hit, released in December 2017, and for the entire 18th year it has been victoriously striding across the planet, crushing all possible ratings, in some places causing real hysteria in gaming communities. The controversy of including the game in the rating is that the crazy popularity turned into exactly the same crazy hat, when the publishers were overcome by greed, and advertising began to be shown right inside the game itself. This caused an irreconcilable negative reaction from fans, and those in a matter of days monstrously brought down the rating of the game on Steam. Our experts could not ignore this moment and regarded it as a disadvantage. Developers and publishers should work on bugs.

Now, in essence, about the good. The genre of PUBG is quite multifaceted – at first glance it is a shooter, but the presence of many other components, an open world, 'survival' and so on, make it more of an action game through the prism of a shooter. The game was built on the Unreal Engine 4. Besides the PC, there are versions for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

The confrontation aspect of the game is based on the principle of “all against all” – all online players by default are either explicit or potential enemies. Participants in the amount of 100 people are thrown from an airplane to a distant island, where they actually have to go through natural selection, suggesting the banal 'there should be only one alive'. A character can die not only directly from the hand of the enemy, but also from a sudden shelling from nowhere, or from an electric field that limits the continuously narrowing playing space.

Weapons will have to be obtained anywhere – in structures, in the city, on abandoned bases. From time to time, anything useful is dropped from aircraft as “humanitarian aid.” I am pleased with a wide selection of weapons, which can be anything from a grenade launcher to a frying pan. The same wide selection of equipment in three levels of protection. You can move around both on foot and by car.

This online game was so much anticipated thanks to early access and smart advertising that as soon as sales began on Steam, PUBG overtook even Counter-Strike: Global Offensive online. Quite quickly, the number of copies sold exceeded 5 million. This has become one of the most impressive events in the gaming industry in recent years.

Advantages

• addictive gameplay;
• high online;
• original plot;
• large map with a narrowing of the playing area;
• high-quality sound;
• variety of weapons.

disadvantages

• optimization flaws;
• Intrusive advertising inside the game (perhaps no longer relevant).

Star Conflict

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.5

Completing this large collection of ratings is the space-based multiplayer online action game for PC Star Conflict. This is the first online PC game in the review, entirely created by the Russian studio – StarGem Inc, with the assistance of another domestic company – Gaijin Entertainment. Versions for Mac OS and Linux also released. Available on Steam since February 2013. The official release of version 1.0 is in February 2014. It is distributed according to the free-to-play model, and in this context it is both a plus and a minus, since the free game is extremely limited, and everything else is available only for donation, and is rather aggressive and intrusive.

This online game is based on vivid and colorful PvP battles in spaceships, as well as missions in PvE mode. Almost from the very launch of the game for PC and other platforms, the Open World mode became available.

You are provided with a wide range of spaceships of different classes – interceptor, attack aircraft, frigate and destroyer. By controlling a series of ships for different purposes, as part of a team of other participants, the game goals are achieved. The game is clearly a team game, and success depends on the well-coordinated interaction of all participants in the fight against the opposing team. The average duration of a session PvP battle is 5-10 minutes, and participation in it gives you the opportunity to earn in-game currency and synergy. Money can be spent on upgrading existing ships or purchasing new ones. A quick battle can be played by at least 6 and no more than 32 players. Sessions in the Open World are not limited in time.

The 'big world' of Star Conflict is divided into locations, which can be navigated through hyper-gates piercing the space-time continuum. Space is awash with all sorts of NPC characters, most of them not entirely friendly. Of course, you have to deal with space pirates, where do you go without them.

The game uses a rather original approach to depicting another mind that arose independently of the line of human development. Representatives of such a different mind are not “little green men”, but intelligent spaceships. They are called crystallides, and in all respects they surpass the terrestrial space technology.

Advantages

• beautiful graphics;
• high-quality sound;
• well optimized engine;
• variety of modes;
• open world;
• free basic access.

disadvantages

• obsessive donation;
• some users note the problems of balance.

The best tactical shooters, military arcade games and simulators for PC

The following selection of the rating of online games for PC displays the preferences of an impressive army of gamers who prefer a military theme with more or less reliable reproduction of real historical locations, equipment, and equipment. There are a great variety of such games, and even the best of the best are numbered in dozens. Therefore, we added one more component – a simulator, and our specialists in all the motley variety of games identified three according to a number of important criteria.

World of Tanks

Rating of the online game (PC): 5.0

The collection opens with a hit of hits that has firmly placed not only young gamers in the game, but even quite old men over forty. The game was developed by the Belarusian studio Wargaming.net in the now rather distant 2010, and since then WoT has only replenished the army of fans, going far beyond the post-Soviet space. Free distribution

Like many modern video games, World of Tanks has a complex genre. Someone classifies it as an action game, someone as a tactical shooter or simulator, or even an MMORPG. Actually, the multiplayer online component in the game is present and is one of the key. As for the rest, this is an online simulator of military operations on heavy armored vehicles, made in the style of World War II and reproducing the military equipment of that time with significant reliability.

The multiplayer role-playing aspect in this online game is expressed in the fact that the main game component – PvP battles – is carried out between live players who control tanks, and they, in turn, act as 'like' characters. This, by the way, is the role-playing aspect of the game – tanks can and should be developed, improved, improved and pumped in every possible way. A tank battle involves a confrontation between two teams of up to 15 players each. The goal of the battle is the complete destruction of enemy equipment or the capture of its base.

In addition to PvP, the game provides a whole range of opportunities, game scenarios and modes: counter battle, assault, ranked battle, company, training, fortified areas, global map. Separately, it is worth noting the Frontline mode – a bright and exciting scenario in which up to 60 armored vehicles can take part. Sometimes the game pleases with various events with PvE missions, which make it possible to quickly earn a lot of in-game rewards.

In 2018, the game has undergone major changes towards improving and adapting to the capabilities of modern PCs. So, the graphics quality was increased to HD, the scale of the game world was expanded, the landscape was improved, and the game as a whole received its own original engine. The developer continues to actively support his brainchild, bringing it to new levels and gradually distributing it around the world.

Advantages

• addictive gameplay;
• free-to-play without excessive rewards for paying players;
• high historical reliability of technology;
• a huge Russian-speaking community;
• stable servers;
• constant development and promising prospects.

disadvantages

• balance problems.

World of Warships

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.9

From tanks to warships – our rating continues with another striking product of the Belarusian Wargaming studio, which, being inspired by the overwhelming success of the online game for PC World of Tanks described above, decided to try to at least partially repeat its success, only in the format of naval battles. the same historical setting of the Second World War.

Many organizational aspects in the game are very close to the characteristics of other games of the studio – a similar division into classes, a similar social system, similar algorithms for pumping ships and their crews. There is a huge shipyard at your disposal with a selection of many prototypes of real military ships.

The game possibilities are also wide enough so that everyone can show their talents as a strategist and tactician. Sudden swift ambushes, deeply thought-out flanking attacks with elements of deceptive maneuvers, nose-to-nose collisions – there are dozens of tactics to choose from. The command aspect remains extremely important – the guarantee of victory and protection of our own ships and personnel was and remains mutual understanding, coordinated actions, effective cooperation.

The controls are quite simple, they do not require a lot of training and mastering, although for some players its convenience seems controversial, but there are few of them. You have a wide selection of ships at your disposal: fast, light and maneuverable destroyers; combat boats; landing ships; heavy cruisers capable of single-handedly fighting a serious and powerful enemy; battleships; aircraft carriers with a protection group providing air support to other ships. Also, for support functions and non-combat missions, mine-sweeping ships, gunboats, frigates and escort ships are used. The game reflects the schools of military shipbuilding of many countries and coalitions of the world during the Second World War: Germany, Great Britain, the USSR, Japan, the Commonwealth of Nations, etc.

The economic system of the game is combined with two other projects of the studio – World of Tanks and World of Planes. A free-to-play business model is used, which allows you to test the basic features of the game absolutely free of charge and make an informed decision about donating to full features.

Advantages

• beautiful and high quality graphics;
• free-to-play;
• musical arrangement;
• addictive gameplay;
• various modes of battles.

disadvantages

• imbalance in the economy at high levels;
• it takes a long time to fix discovered bugs.

War thunder

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.8

The famous military simulator developed by the domestic studio Gaijin Entertainment completes this selection of the ranking of the best online games for PC according to the version. Made in the style and historical setting of World War II and the post-war period. The full version after all beta tests was released in 2016 and continues to evolve.

The game was originally developed as a military flight simulator and had a different name. However, after a series of beta tests, the game world and capabilities were expanded, and the name was changed to a more universal, but the dominant presence of aircraft remained.

Here, the player is waiting for breathtaking graphics, captivating gameplay with its dynamics and realism, and a huge selection of military equipment: tanks, anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled guns, aircraft and much more from the era from World War II to the Korean War.

During the development of this online PC game, the team of creators focused on the maximum correspondence of the locations to the real places of war of the mid-20th century. For this, they even took real maps and archival documents as a basis. At the same time, the mechanics of the behavior of technology and ballistics were carefully studied. Particularly impressive is the detail of the physics of shots and damage – absolutely everything is taken into account: the caliber of a bullet or projectile, trajectory, distance traveled, angle of impact, nature of the surface material, the effect of wind and even gravity.

Of no small importance in the game is the skill leveling of each crew member of this or that combat vehicle, be it a pilot, driver, shooter or technician. The choice of country or coalition is offered, on the side of which the player will act in the game world, and this also adds its own specifics.

Multiple locations in the game are relatively small in scale and imply session loading. In PvP battles, you can arrange battles with another player in arcade mode, controlling several combat vehicles at once, or take part in a historical battle that recreates the real events of the past years. For training or any other purpose, the game allows you to collect your own custom modes. The online multiplayer aspect here is by no means a “sentence” – you can even play offline alone – in this case, a fairly intelligent artificial intelligence will come to the aid of the player.

Advantages

• high-quality graphics;
• addictive gameplay for adrenaline lovers;
• a high degree of correspondence of the game locations to real historical landscapes and events;
• the aspect of the simulator is deeply worked out;
• the richest set of military equipment;
• accessible management;
• stunningly realistic damage system.

disadvantages

• individual player claims for individual details.

The best online strategies for PC

The next collection of online PC games in our review is dedicated to one of the most prominent and popular genres – strategy. In the gaming community, the audience of strategy lovers is one of the largest. Our experts deliberately did not include such unconditional hits of all times and peoples as Sim City, Civilization or Heroes of Might and Magic in the rating due to the obviousness of their superiority. These games will last for centuries, but we will pay attention to three interesting products that have become the leaders in popularity in recent years. The only exception is the legendary Age of Empires, but we will still talk about its modern re-release, and this is practically a completely different game.

Age of Empires 2 HD

Rating of the online game (PC): 5.0

Since we specifically mentioned Age of Empires, then let's start with it. The original game was released back in 1997 and for a number of reasons made a real revolution in this genre, instantly attracting a huge audience of fans. However, despite all the revolutionary and legendary nature, sprite graphics and the resolution of those times do not look even funny in modern realities.

Studio Hidden Path Entertainment (the original developer no longer exists) decided to take a rather risky step – to release an updated version of the game for modern PCs with an online component, on a new engine with HD graphics. The idea was implemented in the best way – the first updated HD version came out in 2013, then a series of additions and sequels followed, and the project as a whole was a success.

The player will find a wide choice of nations-civilizations – here are the British and the Japanese, and the Goths and Saracens, and the Turks and Vikings – a total of 13 different game 'races' with vivid signs of real historical civilizations of mankind. Each of the four released additions added 4-5 new civilizations. In total, at the end of 2018, there are 31 races.

The action takes place in a vast historical period, beginning with the collapse of the Roman Empire and ending with the Renaissance. The main task for the player is obvious – to survive, develop the character and defeat rivals that develop in parallel. All aspects of the game work for this task – the extraction of resources, the construction of structures, the accumulation of capital, the creation and development of an army, and the conduct of battles.

In multiplayer mode (up to eight players), diplomacy is available – you can not only fight with other participants, but also cooperate. You can win the game in an 'alternative way' – by building and holding the Wonder of the World for a while – a gigantic object that takes a lot of time and huge resources to create.

Advantages

• updated graphics;
• high quality sound and audio effects;
• affordable training;
• many civilizations;
• nostalgic feelings among 'oldfags;
• excellent balancing of races.

disadvantages

• especially sophisticated players still consider the graphics outdated;
• there are cases of AI or bots jams.

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.9

The rating continues not even just a game, but a part of a large-scale series of online strategies for PC under the general name Total War. Unlike the above-described Age of Empires 2 HD, this is no longer real-time, but a turn-based strategy with elements of real time. Thrones of Britannia came out in 2018 and is a clear confirmation that the developers are heading in the right direction. Despite the ruthlessness of the critics, the game won the Independent Game Developers' Association Awards 2018 as' Best Strategy 'and a number of other nominations. The game was developed by the British studio Creative Assembly, a subsidiary of Sega itself. The technological basis was the ninth game of the big series – Total War: Attila.

Medieval style is embodied in the historical setting of the British Isles from AD 878. Formally, the size of the map is smaller than that of the previous games in the series, but let it not bother anyone – the density of the population of the islands is such that the limitedness of the map is not felt at all. This approach eliminated the problem of dull wastelands that had to be overcome in several turns in some other games – a big plus to the overall dynamics.

The player will have to join one of five nationalities, and within a nationality – one of two factions. You will need to choose from the Welsh, Scots (Gaels), Anglo-Saxons, sedentary Vikings and sea robbers. Each 'race' has its own key resource and preferred skills: for example, the Welsh are prone to exploits and the accumulation of 'heroism', while the Vikings are more fond of the inhuman slave trade.

There are plenty of options for the player to behave and live an alternative life in the medieval world – here the developers really tried. You can extract resources, develop technologies, build structures, engage in trade and cooperation, and, of course, fight. The density of the population and close proximity forces the player not to neglect diplomacy and learn to negotiate or directly appease more powerful neighbors, up to the point of marrying the girls of his people for the guys of another faction.

The game amazingly conveys the atmosphere of the early Middle Ages through excellent graphics with high details of characters and environments, as well as through a varied and very atmospheric sound design.

Advantages

• all the benefits of the root mechanics of Total War;
• beautiful and high quality graphics;
• impressive sound, varied atmospheric music;
• significant differences between factions in terms of gameplay;
• Russian localization of the highest quality;
• depth and pace.

disadvantages

• uneven basic difficulty among different nations;
• quite a few aspects are exactly the same as other games in the series.

Starcraft 2

Rating of the online game (PC): 4.8

The third and final strategy in this selection of the rating is one of the most notable games of this genre, made in the style of Sci-Fi in a space setting with appropriate specifics. The original 3D version of the game, called Wings of Liberty, was announced in the now distant 2007, and the official release took place three years later. The feedback from the players was so powerful and positive that the developers at Blizzard Entertainment almost immediately decided to supplement the base game with two sequels.

The updated Starcraft 2 became widely famous for its multiplayer almost immediately after the official release. It is he, like a magnet, that attracts millions of people around the world to the game. However, the developers did not abandon the single-coil campaign, which was implemented unusually well.

The social component in the game has been left practically unchanged – the player is offered a choice of three races conquering the vastness of space – high-tech Protoss, numerous belligerent Zerg and, in fact, People – universals in all their versatile glory.

The semantic component of the game, like most strategies, revolves around the main aspects – the extraction of resources and the conduct of numerous battles with unfriendly races. But in detail, Starcraft 2 has a whole host of features, most of which are regarded by critics and gamers as clear advantages.

A particularly noticeable achievement of the developers was the perfect balance – up to the point that even top units do not at all become invulnerable demigods and from time to time are still forced to enlist the support of other troops. Exactly the same is not an unequivocal guarantee of success, a large number of warships – thanks to the competent and thoughtful use of special skills of equipment and units, the player can smash the enemy's army to smithereens, even if it significantly outnumbers him.

Significant changes have been made to the game management in general. Tasks can be queued up. The limit on the simultaneous mobilization of units has been increased to 500. All this gives the chances for Starcraft 2 to become not just a continuation of the legend, but to become a legend itself.

At first glance, it may seem that the game is difficult for beginners to master, and in many ways this is true. However, thanks to a well-implemented league system, opponents for the player are selected based on his skills, which greatly facilitates the development of the features of the game world.

Advantages

• fascinating plot;
• beautiful fantastic game world;
• musical arrangement;
• a lot of possibilities;
• high-quality Russian localization;
• variety of races;
• perfect balance.

disadvantages

• some users do not like the ability to complete missions only for people.

The best online sandboxes for PC

Our review ends with a special genre of online games for PC and other platforms, which emerged relatively recently, but in the blink of an eye attracted an impressive audience around the world. This is Sandbox – the so-called 'sandboxes'. This term implies a real, not an illusory non-linearity of the game, for the most part an open world and complete freedom of the player's actions. Critics and reviewers often strive to classify anything in this genre, including GTA. Our experts decided not to be sprayed and included in the rating a 'clean' sandbox – the legendary Minecraft. This is the only position in this nomination, and then it will become clear why this is so.

Minecraft

Rating of the online game (PC): 5.0

There are a lot of sandbox games, all of them with their own characteristics, but none of them can compare with Minecraft in almost any way. This is a real flagship of a whole game genre, which has long gone beyond the strictly gaming audience, spawning an entire industry – cosplay, streamers on YouTube and Twitch, multiple imitations and borrowings, even literature and art.

At the first glance at the course of the game from the sidelines, young people may feel bewilderment, and the 'oldfags' – a feeling of travel back in time, when the graphics were 'square' and clumsy. Yes, here you will not see photographic realism – the characters and the world are depicted schematically, deliberately casually. But every first real minecrafter will tell you that 'this is not a bug, but a feature' and will be right.

Minecraft has a lot of important features that make it so attractive. The first is complete, one hundred percent freedom of action. The player, through his character, can build and destroy houses or entire cities, extract resources, steal, fight, cooperate, build their own crazy structures that amaze the imagination in scale. In cooperation with like-minded people online, the player can build an entire continent with all the attributes of the presence of an intelligent advanced civilization.

With that said, it's not hard to see that there is no storyline at all in this PC game, by definition. He is not needed here, and if he was, he would only go to harm. Exactly for the same reason, the concept of character development is completely absent (as well as the main antagonist who is to be killed).

There are three game modes in Minecraft:

Free basic Creative mode available to everyone. There is no life scale and a complete 'unlimited' for building materials. You can build and create anything of any scale.

Survival – resources are already limited, building materials need to be searched for and mined. You also need to eat something and fight the monsters that crawl out of the ground. True, they only get out at night, and the player has the opportunity to sit out in cover. Here you need to buy a subscription.

Hardcore – the same Survival, only at maximum speed. When a character dies, he loses everything he has acquired, and the world he has built is permanently deleted from the game server.

You can talk about this masterpiece for a long time, but no words can convey the secret of the magical appeal of Minecraft. This is an almost unprecedented field for creativity, creativity, and self-expression. But we must also not forget that this game is perhaps the most furious time killer of all times and peoples.

Advantages

• flagship of the genre;
• total freedom of action with restrictions only within the framework of game modes;
• endless game world;
• develops intelligence, memory, imagination, creativity;
• deep involvement.

disadvantages

• some are repulsed by deliberately 'vintage' graphics.

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Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.