Best Adventure Games

Top 10 Adventure Games 2020

No matter how digital entertainment trends change and evolve, adventure games enjoy steadily high demand. They fulfill a meaningful social and psychological function, helping us disconnect from routine and immerse in make-believe worlds full of treasures, miracles, and inconceivable hazards. On the screen, we receive the highly coveted emotional shake-up that helps us rediscover a taste for life, refresh our mind, and lift our spirits.

In this article, you’ll find our honest and unbiased rating of the best adventure games. It was quite a challenging task to select the most outstanding items from the nearly infinite list of top-notch entertainment available for downloads. Yet the need for such a rating was obvious. We knew that both newbies and seasoned players would appreciate a comprehensive guide on their favorite genre. When hand-picking the games, we equally relied on the professional opinion of experts as well as on comments and reviews published on the internet by regular users. Hopefully, this rating will come in handy for you and will help you select the true masterpieces for your evening, weekend, or home party.

10. Marvel’s Spider-Man

We wish we could rate this one higher, but unfortunately, it is compatible only with PS4. It depicts Peter Parker as a penniless youngster struggling to earn his daily bread. The plot is not only fascinating but also hilarious and filled with exciting side-missions. This brilliant example of an adventure game proves that the audience will never get enough of the beloved Spider-Man character, no matter how often they see him on the screen. The developers’ attention to detail is incredible, and the visuals are an eye-candy. The gorgeous city of New York can be considered as a full-fledged protagonist of this plot.

Spider-Man became the fastest-selling first-party video game by Sony in just three days after it became available for the public. It sold 3.3 million units and made $198 million in three days.

Available on: PS4.

9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

As the name suggests, in this game, you are trying to restore the old order. You assume control of a padawan character who had to preliminary stop his training and immerse in hazardous action. You will be traveling across the galaxy in the company of a friendly droid. If you are already familiar with the Star Wars universe, you will be able to recognize many places and faces. This never-ending saga captures the players’ imagination with state-of-art visual and sound effects. Its colorful and detailed graphics are a visual feast.

Among all the numerous Star Wars adventure games, this one managed to become the fastest-selling digital launch. It also managed to gather diverse awards, such as “The Best Adventure Game,” “The Best Game Design,” “The Game of The Year.”

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

8. Shadow of the Tomb Raider

This game will surround you with all the archetypal attributes of treasure hunting: sacred knowledge, mysterious artifacts, ancient curses, and secret cities. The visuals are straightforwardly mesmerizing. Lara Croft once again receives the laurels of one of the most beloved characters of all the best adventure games on the market. The action takes place in America, but the plot is not restricted exclusively to local affairs.

Strangely enough, Shadow of the Tomb Raider didn’t cause a stir with its sales statistics immediately after its release. Industry professionals explain it by the fact that the market was flooded with similar-sounding names at that moment; that’s why the true gem failed to properly declare itself. 94% of Google users liked this game, while on Metacritic, it has received “generally positive” reviews.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

7. Batman: Arkham City

This one is a pure aesthetic delight. You’ll enjoy every pixel on the screen, and every word the Joker by Mark Hamill pronounces. In the course of action, you will meet quite a lot of familiar characters and explore the most sinister, hazardous, and dubious nooks of Gotham. The game is highly dynamic and features a lot of hand-to-hand combat. Playing it will fill you with much greater drive rather than passively watching the movie.

Batman: Arkham City is famous as one of the fastest-selling adventure games pc in history. During the first year after its release, it generated over $600 million in revenue. It received uncountable awards not only for the best game of its genre but also for the outstanding male and female voice performances, achievements in game direction, and animation.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One.

6. Assassin’s Creed: Origins

One more item in our list of the best adventure games is based on the mysteries of the ancient civilizations. The action takes place in Ancient Egypt, where you witness the formation of the assassins’ brotherhood. Your task is to travel around the desert on horseback or camelback, get acquainted with prominent politicians of that epoch and occasionally fight against crocodiles. In addition to the adrenaline-fueled action, you’ll be able to admire the legendary cities and appreciate your opponents’ plotting skills.

Assassin’s Creed has been receiving “generally positive” reviews on Metacritic. 92% of Google users admitted that they liked this one. Critics emphasize that this game exploits one and the same successful pattern that once made it famous — but the players can’t get enough of it for over a decade.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

5. Far Cry 5

We must confess that other installments of Far Cry were also strong contenders for being included in the rating of the best adventure games. But we hand-picked the fifth one because of its extremely topical plot. You find yourself in the settlement of religious extremists and witness unfathomable sadistic cults. These zealots pose a threat to society, and you need to stop it promptly.
Like in its previous versions, the game is around a first-person shooter in the action genre and has an unrestricted world to explore. Far Cry 5 differs by its character editor, by which you can customize the protagonist’s appearance, skin color, and gender. There are a variety of weapons available to combat the enemies.

Far Cry 5 became the best-selling game of its generation for its developer, Ubisoft. Right after its release, this adventure game earned $ 310 million, 50% of which came from its digital content. This fact made Far Cry 5 an economic success for the series. It also became the second market leader game in Ubisoft history. In line with the NPD Group rating, Far Cry 5 was named the best-selling game in the USA in March 2018. In 2019’s report, Far Cry 5 was the most successful Ubisoft release on Xbox One and PS4.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

4. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

The creators of this game treated the literary heritage of J.R.R.Tolkien with due respect and beautifully enriched his idea of Middle Earth. Its landscapes are nearly tactile, and its characters are psychologically authentic. The elements and protagonists that were not mentioned in the original book perfectly fit the plot. Be careful because your opponents become smarter while gaining experience!

Although Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor failed to top the list of the best-selling adventure games immediately after its release, the reviewer website Metacritic gave MIddle Earth’s Microsoft Windows version a high score of 84/100. The version PlayStation 4 was graded 84/100, and the original Xbox One variant received 87/100. Besides, the games’ key feature – the Nemesis system – was highly appreciated by the critics. It also received a plethora of other awards for delivering the most enjoyable experience to players.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This one deserves a place in our rating of the best adventure games for its rejection of stereotypes. It’s close to impossible to predict its plot twists, and the action is emotionally loaded. Empires fight against each other; werewolves and elves help you solve your private problems, and someone is occasionally killed right by your side. You play for the smart and skillful Geralt of Rivia, also known as Geralt the Witcher.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt started to receive professional awards even before it was released. All in all, it has amassed approximately 1000 prizes and accolades. The fact that over 1.5 million fans pre-ordered this one prior to its official release catapulted it to the status of the best-selling videogame of the year in the UK.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC.

2. Telltale’s The Walking Dead (Series 1)

This highly emotional and dynamic horror story masterfully exploits the innate human fear of death — especially the one that is, so to say, not fully completed. You’ll be required to make strategic decisions in an environment that leaves you no time to think. Your moral choices will often be dubious, and you’ll be able to experience a catharsis. No need to say, the visuals are dreadfully realistic.
It took The Walking Dead (Series 1) just 20 days to sell 1 million copies, which became record-breaking statistics for its developer. It received hundreds of awards as “The Game of the Year,” “The Studio of the Year,” “The Best Adapted Video Game,” the best male and female human performances, etc.

Available on: PS4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, iOS, Kindle Fire HDX.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

It was a weird idea to label the prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption as the second installment of the series. Nevertheless, this little confusion didn’t prevent the game from becoming a massive hit. You are a member of a gang in the Wild West, and it’s up to you to decide whether you should choose the honest path or drown in crimes and dishonesty. This action-packed adventure game masterpiece is brimming with adrenaline.

The second installment of the Red Dead Redemption surpassed the lifetime sales of the first one in just two weeks after it hit the shelves: it was purchased over 17 million times. It was awarded as “The Game of the Year” over 175 times and received over 250 “Excellent” marks by professional critics.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia.

Even more adventures!

Maybe, you are interested not exclusively in adventure games but also in other types? We would like to invite you to our What’s Happening YouTube channel that is dedicated to gaming in a broad sense. We have been truly passionate about computer games for many years and have accumulated quite impressive expertise in this field. Our friends kept telling us that we should start sharing our experience with a vast audience; that’s how we understood it was high time to create our channel.

Yes, we know that there are hundreds of YoutTube channels dedicated to gaming. Yet we believe we can bring something new and fresh to the table. We try to present information from an untrivial angle, and we always have our individual opinion on every piece of the industry’s news. When delivering previews of the games, we don’t simply repeat the official commercial information but try to offer a more personal approach. Our reviews are consistently sincere, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak out and be heard.

We would like to create a dedicated community around our What’s Happening!? channel. We are always happy to see people’s comments, to engage them in discussions, and to find online friends. Feel free to join us and to subscribe to our channel! We promise to keep you informed and entertained!