We’re all terrified of monsters, which is why we like controlled environments such as watching horror and mystery movies and TV shows so much. They give us a chance to be genuinely scared without the fear of actual bodily harm or mental consequences of trauma. Outside of that, the closest thing to monsters are animals that we either stay away from or view through a glass wall. Well, the availability of computers and virtual reality devices brought another form of horror we can experience – through video games. Here are the best monster games for the PC.
1. Monster Hunter: World
The first game on our list is an obvious one. It is a fantasy-themed third-person action-adventure with RPG elements. You, as the player, are on a quest to either trap or slay as many monsters in the vast world. They all look like they’ve come out of a horror movie, but are ten times the size. Even worse, they move intricately, cast spells, and are as deadly as can be. Luckily, you don’t have to hunt solo, as the game also has a multiplayer mode. You can also perform parkour movements, choose support pets, and obtain specialized items and tools.
2. DOOM Eternal
Next up is a first-person shooter in a world invaded by some gruesome monsters. The game has an easy mode that allows you to blast through monsters with guns and melee weapons for some late-night fun. But there is also an extremely hard Nightmare mode, where even a single mistake will destroy your survival attempts and force you to start over. And besides dodging monsters, you also need to scramble to gather health and ammo, or else you’ll stand no chance. DOOM Eternal also heavily focuses on melee killing and has some gory, but awesome kill cams.
3. World War Z
Another great choice is World War Z, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Unlike DOOM Eternal, the only monsters you’ll encounter are hordes of zombies. It is a third-person shooter, played via LAN or online with up to 4 players. The game is incredibly fast-paced and the goal simple – survive waves of zombie swarms. Use whatever means necessary to do so, including grenade and rocket launchers, machine guns, situational melee weapons, sentries, turrets, and more. You can also choose one of the 6 classes, based on your playstyle.
4. Dark Souls III
The monsters are sorted into multiple categories in Dark Souls III. The group with the largest numbers are mobs that weaken and slow you down on the way. The group on the opposite side is that of massive bosses designed to tear down your spirit. Bosses are the highlight of the game – smart, terrifyingly challenging. unpredictable, quick on their feet, but most importantly – lethal. If you are the type of person to easily rage over a game, Dark Souls III is not for you. But if you need a monster game to push your limits and challenge your mind, it’s a magnum opus of the genre.
5. Nioh
Nioh is a game very close to Dark Souls III in terms of graphics, boss designs, difficulty, and the requirement – for the player to be a ninja warrior and a master strategist to beat its bosses. The game is filled with violence and revenge, but this Japanese action RPG game also has an interesting storyline. You will play as William, a guy from Ireland who found himself in Japan to marry a woman from that country. The love story quickly turns sour and takes a backseat, as we mentioned, but it is there and adds weight and meaning to the whole ordeal.
6. ARK: Survival Evolved
Ever wanted to visit the Jurassic Park from the movie franchise? While that won’t be possible, playing a dinosaur game named ARK: Survival Evolved is. In it, you’ll not only spawn on a mysterious island with only a loincloth, but you’ll quickly learn that you are overheating and going hungry and thirsty rapidly. When you move to shade and start gathering resources, you find out you are surrounded by these prehistoric creatures. Some can be tamed and used as companions, while others are best left alone. This is an interesting paid game in terms of adventure and even has a multiplayer mode.
7. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
This singleplayer epic game has a plethora of monsters, most of which are roaming wild predators such as bears, wolves, saber cats, werewolves, trolls, and spiders. The game also has plenty of dragons and even unique creatures such as werebears, Daedra, Draugr, Falmer, Giants, Hagravens, Skeletons, Shades, Spriggans, Wisps, and insectoid Chaurus. Through an extensive storyline, you’ll clash with them all, and hopefully, come out the other side alive. Skyrim is also well-known for its modding scene, allowing you to add custom monsters straight from your nightmares.
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is widely regarded as one of the best-rated games for PC. And it’s very hard to find a fault in that, it is an awesome singleplayer roleplay game, set in a huge open world you can explore on the back of a horse. Best of all, it has impressive graphics, a very well-developed backstory, plenty of main and side quests, and well-acted cutscenes. But the thing we’re most interested in is the monster-slaying, of which there’s plenty. You will play as Geralt the Witcher, a human-like race proficient in sword fighting, spellcasting, and creature-killing.
9. Dauntless
Dauntless is pretty much a free to play equivalent to Monster Hunter: World. The gameplay, objectives, and some of the things in the game such as combat, weapons, and crafting follow the same concept. The only difference is that Dauntless has a Fortnite-like cartoonish look to the game, while Monster Hunter is more of a realistic 3D game. Dauntless is also an online-only game and doesn’t have a singleplayer alternative per se. However, you can go on solo monster hunts if you want to test your knowledge of fight mechanics.
10. Darksiders III
A third iteration in the Darksiders franchise is a mix of hack-and-slash, fantasy, medieval horror, and Bible lore. You will play as Fury, the sister of Death and War, members of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Just like in the two prequels, you’ll play from a third-person perspective. This time, the number of monsters is reduced but they’re significantly tougher to beat. You’ll have whips, daggers, swords, flails, bombs and arcane magic at your disposal to do the killing and overcome obstacles. We’ve also liked how you collect souls from the slain enemies, which become in-game currency.
11. Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn is a newer game. While its graphics are gorgeous, it also means it will take quite a toll on your GPU if played at High settings. If your computer is up to the task, you’ll thoroughly enjoy your in-game experience. You will go to war against a wide array of beasts – we would describe them as retro-futuristic. And while you can act as a top-notch military leader and apex predator, the game is versatile and allows for stealth game style as well. The whole game has a dystopian feel to it, as the villages and cities lack the population you can see in Skyrim, for example.
12. Toukiden 2
You wanted monsters, you got Oni, a race of humongous demons who are threatening the human race. In its essence, it is Monster Hunter: World all over again, just replace dragons for the Japanese folklore demons. And while it also has a sense of progression in terms of inventory and weapons like the first game, Toukiden 2 is the first game in the franchise to have an open world and allow for free-roaming. If you like this one, you can also try Toukiden: Kiwami, an enhanced PC remaster of the first game, initially released for handhelds.
13. God Eater 2: Rage Burst
Everything is made of monsters here, literally. Your weapons, God Arcs, are developed using the cells of Aragami, the name given to these monsters. That means that every creature you slay drops items that can be used to craft better weapons and armor. The cycle repeats, and the grind is real, we warn you. You are not limited to a certain playstyle, though. You can use a short blade, a massive scythe, or stand back and shoot them from sniper rifles. Your weapons can also transform into demonic forms, adding a unique feature to the game.
14. Destiny 2
Going back to free-to-play games that are also first-person shooter games, here’s Destiny 2. Blizzard’s game, a unique mix of action and MMORPG, has large dedicated servers and a loyal fanbase, but also a wide variety of alien monsters to slay, quests to complete, gear to upgrade, and weapons to obtain through crafting. Unlike other games we mentioned, besides PvE, the game also sports PvP (player versus player) elements. This adds a layer of challenge and instead of collaborating, gives you a chance to compete against your friends.
15. Evolve
2K Games’ Evolve is a bit of an old game. This first-person shooter, which has both a singleplayer and a multiplayer mode, was released back in February 2015. The game has been a commercial success at release and still has a decent number of loyal players. Evolve plays with our biggest fear – that we’ll encounter evil forces after we start colonizing other planets. One of the planets, named Shear, has hostile alien life-forms, called Monsters. They feed on the local wildlife and start attacking the human race. You’ll form a team of Hunters, to beat the Monsters and save and evacuate the survivors.
16. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
This game is underrated, in our opinion, primarily because it follows an old, well-known premise of being The Chosen One. Only this chosen one has had his heart literally ripped out by a dragon, and has to overcome the weakness and inexperience in the quest to get the organ back. On the way, you’ll craft, gather armor and weapons, and kill hydras, chimera, griffins, and plenty of other monsters. You also have the help of AI-controlled Pawns, allied NPCs that you can train. Interestingly, other players can borrow your Pawns when playing Co-Op.
17. Minecraft
Minecraft is a perfect PC game for boys because it’s educational in many ways. One of the key features of the game is important to us. In Survival Mode, the player is left to fend for himself. He or she has to scavenge for resources – chop trees, mine cobblestone and iron, craft torches, armor, and weapons, and build a shelter as soon as possible. This is because when the night falls, monsters such as creepers, spiders, ghasts, zombies, skeletons, witches, and even the strongest, Enderman, start crawling the world. There are also two end-game boss monsters, Wither and Ender Dragon, and all of them are hostile and aggressive.
18. Maneater
Did you want a monster game? Then, how about a game where YOU are the monster? Although it is still officially an upcoming game at the time of writing, plenty of video game reviewers had the chance to test it. It puts you in the role of a giant shark and lets you slowly become an apex predator of the seas. Hunt other sharks, smaller fish, as well as swimmers, divers, boat crews, and even people walking near the shore. A few main “bosses” will be either bigger, stronger sharks, or even seasoned shark hunters who have killed many of your predecessors.
19. Impossible Creatures
This list wouldn’t be complete without something for our readers who are fans of RTS games. Here’s an oldie, originally released in 2003, and re-released on Steam and GOG in 2015 because it was that good. The game has both a singleplayer and a multiplayer campaign, with more than 70 creatures on remote islands, each of them a genetic combination of two animals. Throughout the campaign, you will investigate your father’s demise at the hands of an evil tycoon and collect the animals’ DNA to build an army.
20. Subnautica
We’ve saved a game that’s a bit of a stretch for the end. Subnautica, as the name suggests, is a game focused on exploring the endless ocean. You will start the game inside a Life Pod, without any knowledge of the world or the reason you’re there. For that reason, you are forced to use your brainpower and play detective to solve a mystery of your origins. But while you dive through trenches, plateaus, coral reefs, and caves, you need to be on a lookout for the monsters of all shapes and sizes lurking around the corner.