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Introduction
PC gaming is the best – we all know that – but occasionally the grass looks that little bit greener and shinier over there, where the consoles graze…
And indeed there are some games which are console-only, and we dearly wish could be brought over to the PC. In that spirit, we've picked out our top 10 titles which haven't found their way onto the humble personal computer, and really should have.
Some are old, some new, and there are classics like The Last of Us, along with some more surprising entries, but they all share one thing in common – they would make excellent ports. Right, on with the show...
- You might also want to check out: 10 games that shook PC gaming
The Last of Us (PS3/PS4)
Naughty Dog's epic survival game has now been remastered for PS4 and surely deserves a PC outing. The Last of Us is a once-in-a-generation game that focuses on narrative and characters. It follows single father Joel and orphan Ellie as they travel from a quarantined Boston, across Pittsburg to The Rockies.
The landscape echoes Fallout 3's desolate world, but there's far more detail and variety. It's a cinematic tale told with heart, soul and a lot of zombie blood. It's also got a killer multiplayer that is crying out for mods.
Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One)
The daddy of console FPS games, the one that arguably made bigger waves than 1997's N64 classic Goldeneye. The original Halo did come out on PC, but more recent ventures such as Master Chief Collection and Halo 5 are Xbox One exclusive. It's being developed by 343 Industries instead of Bungie (who did Halos 1-3). In this episode, Master Chief has gone rogue and you play as Agent Locke who's hunting down the chief. Storylines aside, Halo is about blasting through as many Covenant as possible before your Plasma Rifle overheats.
Heavy Rain (PS3)
QTEs or Quick Time Events garnered a lot of criticism particularly in the classic Dreamcast forklift truck simulator Shenmue (okay, so there was some other brilliant stuff in there too). Heavy Rain is a mystery game where you control four characters who are looking for missing boy Shaun. You mainly play his father Ethan, and your choices and QTE success rate decide the fates of all four. Can he get back together with his wife or have a fling with insomniac Madison?
All the while there's a psychotic Origami Killer on the loose who likes to set increasingly sadistic trails for the missing kids' loved ones. Visually it's a stunning game for the time. PCs have always pioneered adventure and puzzle games, it seems a shame we missed out on this.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)
It's a drain-climbing, tomb-raiding, wise-cracking adventure from the Great Danes of cinematic console gaming: Naughty Dog. This fourth instalment is due out in 2016 and is set three years after the last one. The nearest the PC has probably had to this is LucasArts' 1999 game Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, though of course that's showing its age.
The series is famed for its sharp script, breath-taking level design and accurate real-world settings. One minute you're shimmying around the face of a giant ancient sculpture and the next you're dangling off a train that's precariously balanced across an icy ravine.
LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4)
From the moment Stephen Fry utters "The Planet Earth, or as the rest of the omniverse call it 'The Orb Of Dreams'," you know that this is going to be special. Currently in its third incarnation, this customisable platform series has been charming PlayStation devotees since 2008. Oddly enough it plays like a PC game, there's no need to simply plough through the main storyline, players can instead create their own levels and upload them for the world to see and play. It's Mario for the modding generation.
Silent Hill (PS1)
The Resident Evil remake might have made its way to PC, but the arguably more polished and ground-breaking Silent Hill 1 has yet to be remade, let alone be released on anything other than the original PlayStation. Even the sequels have been ported. Unlike Resi, Silent Hill is fully 3D, set in an open world that feels claustrophobic because of the thick fog (used both as an atmospheric device and to mask the draw distance limitations of the original PSX). It may be made up of crude and angular polygons but the possessed nurses still make us want to hide behind the sofa.
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2/PS3)
If you haven't had chance to play this then think of it as a more mysterious and artistic Legend of Zelda. It's also incredibly sad and forces you to slay placid giants roaming its vast open and isolated world in order to save a girl you barely know. Director Fumito Ueda originally meant there to be 48 Colossi. Due to time restrictions and hardware capabilities he has to cut it down to just 16. A PC port could quite easily handle the added demands.
Forza Motorsport 6 (Xbox One)
The recently unemployed Top Gear pundit Jeremy Clarkson is probably salivating (apologies for that image) at the prospect of Forza Motorsport 6 – a driving sim with hidden depth. Fans praise the realistic damage, intelligent AI and endless customisation of the Forza series.
There's nothing of this scope, playability and fun on PC unless you count the F1 series. But they have more in common with sports games, whereas Forza is a driving sim that feels part of the real world. The settings are towns and cities rather than stale race circuits and the early cars aren't that far from what you might see on the road. However there is hope – Project CARS promises a game along the same track for the PC.
The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)
Legends don't come much bigger than this. Nintendo is a company born on exclusives, and its fans seem to like it that way, hence the recent uproar over the decision to develop for iOS. This, rather than Mario, would find a perfect home on PCs. Often the complex controls make you feel like there aren't quite enough buttons to fire an arrow and then switch quickly to the Master Sword to deal the death blow to Ganon. Also it would mean not having to buy a Wii U just to play one game.
Dance Central series (Xbox 360/Xbox One)
Hear us out now! Everybody at some point has played this at a party and loved it. Bet you've even got your favourite character (we love Taye). Just think, if this was on PC, it would be customisable with music from your own library and the ability to capture and program your own dance moves. There would be an online hub where players could exchange songs and routines. And mods would mean custom characters and backdrops. None of this could ever happen on a console. Dance Central for PC!