Many a game used to be console exclusive, coveted by PC gamers all over the world. For most of these titles, however, these days are over. Today, we’ll take a look at the greatest formerly console-only video games that ended up on personal computers.
God of War, Uncharted, Horizon, Death Stranding, Halo, The Last of Us – these and many more were once console exclusives. Thankfully, though, they made their way to PCs. Let’s dive right in and explore the biggest titles once available only on either Xbox or PlayStation.
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click to enlargeAloy vs. dino robots
Imagine a post-apocalyptic version of the US, but not another Fallout or a Mad Max knock-off. One where you have gorgeous lands to explore, primitive tribes to interact with, and animal-like machines to contend with. This is the Horizon series in a nutshell.
You play as Aloy, an outcast tasked with a very important mission, one that is vital to the survival of mankind. While billed as an action RPG, a more proper description would be an open-world action-adventure game with crafting, questing, platformer elements, and excellent combat. The biggest and most dangerous machines are essentially mini-boss fights where you have to utilize every single tool at your disposal and aim for weak points. Horizon games are a blast to play.
Horizon: Zero Dawn was released on PC in 2020, three years after it dropped on PlayStation 4 only. And recently it received a remaster as well. The PC version comes bundled with The Frozen Wilds expansion and all other DLCs. The sequel, Forbidden West, also received the Complete Edition treatment on personal computers, where it became available around two years after its original PlayStation 4 & 5 release.
Modern-time Indiana Jones
While the first three Uncharted games are not available for purchase on PC (though PS Plus Premium users can stream them on their computers via the service), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and its standalone expansion, The Lost Legacy, finally graced this platform. And it was a perfect choice for the series’ debut there.
Uncharted is pretty much a modern take on Indiana Jones, with an added dash of National Treasure and other popular adventure flicks. You play as Nathan Drake, the everyman, a treasure hunter and an overall nice guy (let’s ignore the fact that he’s also a mass murderer). He usually finds himself pitted against pirates, mercenaries, the military, and many other fellas intent on getting their treasures first. The Uncharted games blend cinematic platformers, cover-based third-person shooters, stealth elements, and puzzle-solving, offering a well-rounded, fun experience, coupled with remastered visuals, to boot. No multiplayer on PC, though.
It's ancient god killin’ time
PlayStation fans are no strangers to Kratos, a Spartan warrior betrayed by Ares, the Greek god of war. This puts him on a path of vengeance, leading him to slaughter hordes of enemies and kill off the ancient Greek pantheon, including Zeus himself.
Strangely enough, the Greek part of Kratos’ saga (God of War I – III and a couple of spin-offs) is something PC players can’t experience. They can, however, play the Norse-themed installments, 2018’s God of War and God of War Ragnarök, released on PC in 2024. The premise is pretty similar to the original games: you play as Kratos, embark on a quest involving Scandinavian gods, and fight all sorts of mythological enemies. This time, however, you wield a magical battle axe instead of the iconic double-chained blades. There is puzzle-solving, there are some RPG elements, in general, the new God of War games are somewhat different from their predecessors, which is a good thing, no?
What does the future hold for Kratos? Well, he’ll probably find another ancient pantheon of gods to butcher. Who knows, maybe the new games will eventually end up on PC as well?
But wait, there’s more!
These are just three of the most popular franchises which finally made their way to personal computers. But there’s a whole lot more of these. We’ll talk about a few here.
First off, there’s the iconic Halo series of sci-fi first-person shooters. Oddly enough, the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), was originally planned as a PC title and – weird, huh? – a third-person shooter. Long story short, it ended up as an Xbox exclusive, though it later landed on personal computers as well. Now, it’s one of the biggest military sci-fi franchises of all time and a hugely influential series of first-person shooters.
More? OK. Metal Gear Solid is also one of the legendary franchises which made its way to Windows and the like. These stealth games, known for their iconic characters, story-telling devices, and gameplay mechanics, have also been present on PC for a long time. Yes, even the earliest releases from the late 80s and early 90s.
The Red Dead Redemption series, cult classic westerns by the creators of GTA, also ended up on PC, though the second part was first to do so, with the first installment getting released on personal computers only recently. Weird.
And then there’s Final Fantasy. Naturally, a bunch of installments, starting with Final Fantasy VII, were released on PC as well. Now we’re getting pretty excellent remakes of FF7. There are also the recent remasters of old Star Wars games from the PS1 & PS2 era (Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles).
Naturally, these are just a few examples, and there’s a whole lot more, but we’ll leave discovering these to you.
Looks like the era of exclusives might be coming to an end
As you can see, a whole lot of initial console exclusives ultimately end up on PC and other platforms. There’s also a bunch of games that are yet to see such a release – looking at you, Bloodborne! – But this might be a matter of when, not if, anyway.
If you want to try out the greatest console games that finally made their way to PC, no problem – just head over to G2A.COM and grab some great deals on these!
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