While online games tend to attract the biggest and loudest of all gaming crowds, offline or single-player games can offer immense value on the back of compelling storytelling and innovative gameplay. Single-player games or narrative-focused games have always had a special place in the industry as the genre has often produced some of the most compelling pieces of work.
The genre is home to some of the biggest blockbuster hits of the past few years, such as God of War, The Last of Us, and Hades. The single-player or offline genre continues to be one of the best places to find highly engaging stories within video games. If you’re looking to pick up a game you can play without ever having to connect to the internet, here are some of the best ones you can pick up for your PC today.
Also Read: Top 10 Games of 2022: Horizon Forbidden West, Sifu, Stray, and More
Top 10 Offline Games to Play on PC in 2022
| Name | Metacritic Rating | Availability |
| Death Stranding | 86 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Control | 85 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Deathloop | 88 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Hades | 93 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Disco Elysium | 97 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt | 93 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Outer Worlds | 82 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Mass Effect Legendary Edition | 86 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Persona 5 Royal | 95 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
| Hitman 3 | 87 |
Steam, Epic Games Store
|
Death Stranding
Kojima Production’s debut outing post-Konami-era came in the form of one of the most mysterious games in AAA history. Shrouded in secrecy and obtuse to the very end, Death Stranding is quite possibly one of the most innovative and unlikely AAA blockbuster hits from the gaming icon that is Hideo Kojima.
Tasked with delivering packages across a broken, post-apocalyptic America, the player, Sam Bridges, must traverse a treacherous open world and encounter other-worldly threats to bridge the nation again. The gameplay loop consists of mostly traversal with some minimal combat. The game has an online component to it but can be played offline without much change to the overall experience.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 10
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 4 GB or AMD Radeon™ RX 560 4 GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 80 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
- Additional Notes: AVX instruction set required
Metacritic Rating
86
Availability
Control
Control is quite possibly one of the most bizarre action games to ever come out in the last few years. Even though the action is very “in your face” and showy, the game itself remains shrouded in mystery for the entirety of the playthrough. The game can be obtuse in parts but its sheer, jaw-dropping combat, and spectacle will keep players glued to the screen.
As Jesse Faden, you must traverse the constantly shifting dimension and vanquish all manner of entities along the way with a devastating gun that can take many forms. The physics-based action of the game hits exceptionally hard, making Control one of the most enjoyable action game experiences of all time.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7, 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4690 / AMD FX 4350
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 / AMD Radeon R9 280X
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 42 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Additional Features: Widescreen support 21:9 / Remappable controls / Uncapped frame-rate / G-Sync / Freesync support
Metacritic Rating
85
Availability
Deathloop
Arkane Lyon, at this point, has pretty solidified that they are capable of doing things with first-person shooters that were previously unheard of. They have proved this time and time again with games like Prey and Dishonored, and Deathloop just ramps up things up to 11.
Deathloop is a deeply innovative shooter that is as much a puzzle game as it is a shooter. The player takes on the role of Colt, an assassin caught in a time loop that resets after each death. The challenge is to kill 7 targets across a giant location in one single loop. The task becomes increasingly difficult as there is also a rival assassin present to stop you from accomplishing your goal. This creates a rather intense game of cat-and-mouse as you attempt to solve the puzzle, kill the targets, and finally, break the loop.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 version 1909 or higher
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 30 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
87
Availability
Hades
Supergiant Games’ Hades is one heck of a game that will have you both pulling your hair out and then promptly screaming in elation the very next second. A deeply challenging and riveting game, Hades is quite possibly one of the finest action games of the last couple of decades.
The game is a complex and challenging RPG/Action experience that sets players loose in a Metroidvania-style environment and provides them with all the necessary tools to finish the job. The challenge comes in the form of imposing bullet-hell-type levels and challenging bosses that will push you to the very end of your gaming skillset.
System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7 SP1
- Processor: Dual Core 2.4 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1GB VRAM / DirectX 10+ support
- Storage: 15 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
93
Availability
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium often feels more like a deeply riveting novel than a videogame, but make no mistake, there is a lot of video game here than you might think at first. An exceptionally deep RPG and narrative-focused game, Disco Elysium is a masterfully crafted detective RPG that forces players to examine humanity’s harshest truths and figure out a gruesome murder.
As Detective Du Bois, you are tasked with figuring out both the mystery of your identity and the rather grisly murder. How you go about solving the case is left entirely up to you as players can approach the mystery in several ways. You can choose to punch and elbow your way through a problem or simply outwit everyone else in the room. You can choose to be downright deplorable or a moral paragon, Disco Elysium leaves that entirely in your hands.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 11 compatible video card (integrated or dedicated with min 512MB memory)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
97
Availability
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt’s 2015 masterpiece still stands tall as one of the greatest games of all-time and it is not hard to see why. Within the first 3 hours of the game, The Witcher 3 immediately makes the boldest of statements and preps you for the immensely powerful journey you are about to take. Taking place across several regions of The Continent, The Witcher 3 is one of the most expansive games ever, and one that manages to maintain a level of consistency and quality the likes of which are rarely ever seen in games of this scale and scope.
As Geralt, players set out on a quest to find his adopted daughter, Ciri, all the while trying to do good in the world by hunting down monsters and helping out folk along the way. This is a game that can take upwards of 50 hours to complete, and there will still be a lot of game left even after that point.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 11 compatible video card (integrated or dedicated with min 512MB memory)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
93
Availability
The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds comes from a personal favorite studio of mine, Obsidian Entertainment, the people responsible for one of the best RPGs ever made, Fallout: New Vegas. The studio brings its signature, innovative and satirical charm to space in an exciting RPG that is bound to surprise you at every turn.
The game plays extremely smoothly and is a genuine joy to play from start to end. The Outer Worlds carefully doesn’t beat the player over the head with excessive tutorials and instead lets them figure out their own solutions to the many challenges it presents.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 (SP1) 64bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3-3225 or AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 650 Ti or AMD HD 7850
- Storage: 40 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
82
Availability
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the definitive way to experience the incredible trilogy. This collection packs all 3 games and their DLCs in one solid package, letting players experience the expansive journey from start to end. As Commander Shepherd, you are tasked with averting the biggest crises humanity has ever faced and staring down the abyss and leading your species to victory.
The task at hand is enormous and the game will continue to surprise you with just how big the scale and scope it really is. As Commander and Specter, you will make enormously difficult decisions that will change the course of how the game’s story unfolds. Each decision is carried over to the next game and its impact will be felt all across the trilogy.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 (SP1) 64bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3-3225 or AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 650 Ti or AMD HD 7850
- Storage: 40 GB available space
Metacritic Rating
86
Availability
Persona 5 Royal
If you thought school was already hard enough, you might want to give Persona 5 a go and see how much more intense it could be if you also had to deal with a parallel dimension where your teachers are also potential monsters. Persona 5 is one of the most fun yet intense JRPGs in existence and you really have to play it to believe the enormity of the game’s scope and polish.
Persona 5 Royal brings the action to PC for the first time in the franchise’s history and fans could not be more thankful. The game is rather lengthy, but players’ patience will be rewarded in the form of a deeply engaging and story and exciting minute-to-minute gameplay.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4790, 3.4 GHz | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 3.5 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti, 2 GB | AMD Radeon R7 360, 2 GB
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 41 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Low 720p @ 60 FPS. Requires a CPU which supports the AVX and SSE4.2 instruction set.
Metacritic Rating
95
Availability
Hitman 3
Hitman 3 is just about the most fun you can have in a single video game and it doesn’t even take much skill to get to that point. As Agent 47, you are tasked with carrying out the most difficult and unlikely of assassinations. It is then up to you to figure out the most creative, outlandish ways to get the job done.
These methods include triggering an emergency lockdown and shooting your target in the panic room to smothering them with their own stress pillow or even manipulating a rival sniper to do your job for you. The possibilities are endless in Hitman and it is truly a modern marvel.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: OS 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / Radeon HD 7870
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 60 GB available space
- VR Support: SteamVR or Oculus PC
- Additional Notes: VR Minimal Requirements: CPU: Intel 6-core i7-8700 / AMD Ryzen 7 2700 GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2060 Super / AMD 5700XT
Metacritic Rating
87
