Summary
When it comes to PC gaming, there area ton of classic titles available, and one of the best places to play classic games isGOG. Short for good old games, this storefront has a ton of classic titles that used to be abandonware, and many are exclusively commercially available on GOG.
Not as much as there used to be, as many companies have distributed games through their own launchers like Battle.net or the EA App, but there are still a lot of titles to pick from. Some games have even been removed from Steam, making GOG the only option.
These titles must be exclusive to GOG on the PC. If they have older console ports or are on mobile devices, that doesn’t count.
7Silent Hill 4: The Room
A Classic Silent Hill Game You Can Play Right Now
Playing classic Silent Hill is an expensive endeavor, as the PS1 andPS2 games are pricey as all hell. However, Silent Hills 2 through 4 were released on PC back in the day, but they’ve been abandonware for quite some time. That was until 2020, when, out of nowhere, Silent Hill 4 released on GOG.
This is a great cheap alternative for modern players, and Silent Hill 4 kicks all sorts of ass. There are some pacing problems, but SH4 delivers yet another scary, terror-filled ride with a great story to boot. Walter Sullivan is a top-tier villain in the series, for sure.
6Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded
An Underrated Remake
A game that was once on Steam but has now been removed, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded is a remake of the original Larry adventure, with creator Al Lowe returning. It got pretty bad reviews, and even Al doesn’t seem to like it, but itis a very funny experience. That matters most in a Larry game, and that helps overcome some of the issues like the easy difficulty.
Jan Rabson and Brad Venable do an absolutely incredible job voicing Larry and the Narrator, respectively, and it’s sad that they’re both no longer with us. Reloaded does what every good adventure game has to nail, and that’s making you want to inspect and use everything to discover all the hilarious lines of dialogue.
5Elvira 2: The Jaws Of Cerberus
Classic 90s PC Horror Gaming
It seems Elvira’s games are always bound to be good. She has a stellar trilogy of pinball tables, and her PC games back in the 90s are fantastic as well. Out of the two, the second game wins hands down. The brutal traps, gruesomeness on display, and huge creepy crawlies are still effective today.
You’ll definitely like it more if you’re an old-school gamer than a modern one, but when it comes to early 90s horror, Elvira 2 is one of the best and definitely the best PC horror games of that time period.
4Gex Trilogy
Gaming’s Best Gecko
Yes, Limited Run Games have announced a remaster of the Gex Trilogy on modern platforms, but with no release date in sight and a history of delayed projects like Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties and Clock Tower, these games will likely remain GOG exclusives for a while. The Gex games are some of the better mid-tier platformers of the era, along with Rayman.
Mid-tier doesn’t mean quality but, instead, popularity, as these titles weren’t on the same level as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, or Mario 64. The 3D Gex games, 2 and 3, are very solid platformers even to this day and some of the better titles in Dead Space creator Glen Schofield’s catalog.
3Stranglehold
The Best Max Payne Game Not Called Max Payne
One of the last titles made by Midway, Strangleholdis a stellar action gamein the vein of Max Payne, slow-mo diving and shooting your way through seven action-packed levels. A sequel to the film Hard Boiled, it has all the John Woo tropes you know and love, including the infamous doves.
It runs really well on modern PCs, and while it’s short, it’s for the better. Any more levels would have made the gameplay tiresome and run out of steam by the end. The GOG PC port, unfortunately, lacks the multiplayer mode offered on consoles, so you might want to get both versions for the complete experience.
2Blood Omen: Legacy Of Kain
The First Instalment In The Legacy Of Kain Series
All the Legacy of Kain games are available on Steam, but with one exception: the original. While the Soul Reaver titles are more fondly remembered for being amazing 3D action-adventure romps, the original Blood Omen is a classic in its own right.
It looks very similar to Diablo at first, but instead of a 16-floor dungeon crawler, Blood Omen is a more standard action-adventure game with an entire world map to explore. Thelevel design still holds up today, and the voice acting is surprisingly good for the time. Blood Omen 1 has aged a bit, but it’s still very enjoyable to go through and experience.
1SWAT 4
A Landmark Shooter
Another title removed from Steam that is still available on GOG is the 2005 classic SWAT 4. For the longest time, this game was still the best realistic tactical shooter until Ready or Not came out. When you see a possible threat in this game, you have milliseconds to determine if it’s an actual threat and respond, and if you take too long and the person is a threat, you’re dead.
The realism here is still impressive and a rarity in today’s age. The levels are also great, and akin to Ready or Not, there are sections where you’ll discover some truly messed up stuff. With how special of a game SWAT 4 is, it’s a high recommendation to anyone, regardless of what you are into.
