Recommended PC Games

Overview

Video games are often painted as being at odds with Christian moral values. While this is true some of the time, the games listed here are proof that you can have a good time on your computer without making compromises.

This list only contains games that I feel are completely appropriate for Christian players of all ages. Things like fairy tale magic or a small amount of violence may still be present, but you won't find anything offensive among the games in this list.

Simply click on a game's title to view the full review.

Games in this List

0 - B   C - E   F - J   K - O   P - S   T - Z  


PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Arcade
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
This isn't the classic Pac Man game. Instead of wandering about, clearing a maze of dots, this game is about racing through a maze as fast as you can. Trails of dots appear to lead the way, while ghosts follow behind Pac Man in a dangerous conga line. One wrong turn can end your game, so stay alert and move quickly!

Brief thoughts: Even though this isn't as calm as the original game, there's still nothing major to worry about beyond Pac-Man and the ghosts eating each other.

Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When it's Dark Outside

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Point and Click Adventure
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Like any little boy, Sam is scared of being alone in the dark. Deciding that he needs to face his fear, he changes into his superhero alter-ego and journeys into the Land of Darkness to confront the evil that lurks there.

Brief thoughts: This game was intended to be played by young children, so no offensive material was included. Even the villain is defeated without a fight.

Passage 4

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Puzzle
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
In this puzzle game, you create "passages" between sides of the playfield by placing tiles on the grid. This can actually be somewhat difficult: in order to place a tile, it needs to match the color or design of its neighbors.

Brief thoughts: Aside from the annoying buzzer sound that plays when you make a mistake, there's a tileset based on the zodiac. However, you have full control over which tileset is used, so if this bothers you, select another one.

The Path

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 13 and up
Genre:Other / Horror
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Experience an unusual retelling of the classic story, Little Red Riding Hood, by sending six sisters through the Woods to Grandma's House. Just remember to stay on the Path.

Brief thoughts: This game's major theme is about the dangers of temptation and the need to use discernment - a surprisingly Christian message for a game that bills itself as a horror game.

Peggle Deluxe

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Puzzle
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Peggle isn't exactly a puzzle game, nor an action game; it's something in-between. The basic premise is that you fire a marble out of a cannon in an attempt to get the marble to bounce off of as many red colored pegs and bricks as possible. When everything red has been cleared from the board, you've beaten the level. As you play, the various Peggle Masters -- a loose collection of talking animals and fantasy creatures that love the game -- will be accompanying you and lend you special abilities when they can.

Brief thoughts: Although the Peggle Masters are a mixed group of magical creatures - including a dragon, a unicorn and a talking flower - and there are occasional references to new age mysticism, this is still a very clean game with few problems.

Peggle Nights

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Puzzle
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Peggle Nights is essentially a set of new levels for Peggle that was released as a stand-alone game. All of your favorite Peggle Masters are back, and this time, we're exploring their dreams rather than learning new ways to clear the peg boards.

Brief thoughts: This is essentially another set of Peggle levels packaged as a stand-alone game. As such, the only issues are some minor fantasy elements, which don't amount to much.

Pixel Puzzles: Japan

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Puzzle
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
This is a jigsaw puzzle game themed around mediation and Japan. All of the provided puzzles depict beautiful scenes from throughout land of the Rising Sun, while the puzzle pieces themselves float quietly in a large koi pond that surrounds the play area. Just be sure to avoid picking up the koi swimming along with the pieces; it's not real fond of being pulled out of the water.

Brief thoughts: There really isn't anything too concerning about this game. At most, there are some mild references to Zen and Enlightenment. The player can also choose to be a little mean to the koi that lives in the pond, but that's entirely optional.

Plague Inc: Evolved

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Strategy / Board Game
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Can you annihilate the World? This is a game of strategy; creating a potent disease takes effort and careful attention to detail. One mistake and you'll be racing against humanity's efforts to cure your precious little plague.

Brief thoughts: While your main goal is to wipe out humanity, this is essentially a board game about capturing territory.

Pretty Good Mahjongg

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Board game / Mahjongg
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
A free demo is available
If you can't get enough Mahjongg, then perhaps this collection of Mahjongg games will satiate your appetite! With over three hundred unique layouts and several additional ways to play with Mahjongg tiles, there's a lot to be seen here!

Brief thoughts: Mahjongg, even when played in some of the unique ways this game offers, doesn't contain anything worth worrying about. There aren't even questionable sets available for this version!

Pretty Good Solitaire

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Card Game
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
A free demo is available
Do you like solitaire? Really like solitaire? Then this is likely the collection you need, as it has over 1,000 different solitaire card games available for your enjoyment, and there's even a tool you can use to make your own custom games!

Brief thoughts: The only thing that could be considered offensive about this collection are the names of certain games. For example, "Canfield" is also known as "Demon", which may sound bad. But, as these are all just variants of solitaire, there's nothing to really worry about.

Probably Archery

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Other
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This is a gimmicky game from era that gave us Surgeon Simulator and QWOP - it's about overcoming an impossible control scheme rather than accomplishing anything.

Brief thoughts: There isn't really anything objectionable here, so there's nothing worth worrying about.

Puyo-Puyo Tetris

ESRB Rating:E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Puzzle
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
Take a cast of silly cartoon characters, an epic tale that determines the fate of two worlds, and two of the world's most popular puzzle games and mix them all together. The result is Puyo Puyo Tetris, a fun and silly game that just about everyone can enjoy.

Brief thoughts: During the story segments, players will encounter and "battle" a large cast of characters, some of whom have magical abilities or appear to be "demonic". However, none of them are actually evil; like everyone else in this game, they're really just overdramatic and goofy.

Race the Sun

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Endless Runner
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
In this simple game, your only goal is to fly a solar powered craft as far as you can. Of course, there's just one thing that'll make this difficult: the sun is setting!

Brief thoughts: This game is pretty clean, though it does feature explosions caused by bombs and the player's vehicle slamming into obstacles.

Raft

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 10 and up
Genre:Survival / Crafting
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
Lost in a seemingly endless ocean, players must find a way to use floating rubbish to build a floating home for themselves while they search for answers to what happened to the population.

Brief thoughts: Although players will need to fight hostile wildlife, there's nothing too serious to be found in this game.

Robo Miner

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Other
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
Robo Miner is a simple game about drilling deep into the earth in search of hidden diamonds. The tricky part is that your robot isn't protected from falls, explosions, or cave ins - all of which are commonplace deep underground!

Brief thoughts: The little robots you control can be damaged or destroyed in a number of ways, but this doesn't seem to bother them unless they fall from a great height - which is something that would scare anybody.

ROBO OH

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Fighting
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
In this NES-styled tournament fighting game, you play as one of six giant robots and battle your opponents in a bid to become the King of Robots!

Brief thoughts: Remember Rock'em Sock'em robots? That's basically what you have here: giant robots punch, kick, and fling large sushi rolls at each other in a tournament setting.

Roguelight

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
This game's name is a pun on the Roguelike genre, and it also hints at the game's premise: In this game, light is very rare, making every light source you have very valuable. Eventually, you'll run out of light and fall victim to traps or monsters down below. The main goal is to see how far you can get before that happens.

Brief thoughts: There are some spooky creatures in the darkness, but ultimately I don't think there's anything to be too concerned about.

Romance of Rome

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Hidden Object
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
Marcus was traveling to Rome in search of adventure -- and almost got more than he bargained for, as the adventure found him! Some dastardly criminal has stolen the Imperial Relics and threatened to take over the Roman Empire. Finding himself mixed up in the plot, Marcus travels around Rome, locating lost items and helping citizens in need.

Brief thoughts: Most of the issues with this game comes from the fact that it's based around ancient Rome and its culture. For example, there are some references to magic or mystical objects, and Marcus' status in Rome is determined by what he owns.

However, this is still a very clean game that feels like a playable fairy tale, so I doubt many Christians will take issue with it.

Samorost

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Point and Click Adventure
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
The quiet life of a gnome living on an asteroid made of driftwood is interrupted when he sees another asteroid heading straight for his home! With only so much time to avert disaster, he must find the other ship's control room and steer it away!

Brief thoughts: The only thing I can see being an issue with this game is the fact that a character is shown smoking.

SANCTUARY

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Point and Click Adventure / Other
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
Until you're able to support yourself again, a pastor is willing to let you stay at his church during the night. However, something about this place feels off, and during the first night, you'll discover why - this House of God is actually home to a group of demons!

Brief thoughts: This is an explicitly Christian game, so there never was a chance of it containing offensive material - in fact, it does exactly the opposite by dropping some important reminders about our Faith!

Scribble Ships

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Arcade
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
When you were in school, you probably spent some of the class periods drawing random things on spare pieces of notebook paper. I know I certainly did. What do you think might happen if those little space ships you were drawing suddenly came to life and began battling each other for supremacy of the page? You'd have Scribble Ships, a game about doodles trying to ink each other out of the picture.

Brief thoughts: This game features cartoony space ships shooting each other with blobs of ink, making it about as violent as classic games like Asteroids.

Secret Maryo Chronicles

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
The Secret Maryo Chronicles is an open source clone of the Super Mario Bros. games, and it's pretty blatant about it. But, instead of searching the world for a kidnapped Princess, Maryo seems to be on a journey just for the fun of it.

Brief thoughts: Like most platformers, the only real concern is some very mild violence. For example, the player may defeat an enemy by jumping on it.

Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Puzzle / Logic Games
Platforms:LinuxWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
Also known as the SGT Puzzle Collection, this is a set of 39 logic puzzles to stimulate your brain. There's something for everyone in this collection, and you may even find some new favorites.

Brief thoughts: The games in this collection are meant to test your logic skills, and don't contain anything objectionable.

Shatter

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Arcade
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
After breaking free of its confinement by shattering its holding cell, a Paddle begins a trippy adventure to liberate paddle-kind from the evil Queen and her Bad Paddle.

Brief thoughts: One of the benefits of simpler games is that there's no room for offensive content.

Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
In this ground breaking retro-themed platformer, the heroic Shovel Knight faces off against the evil Enchantress and her diabolical Order of No Quarter. But as heroic as he is, Shovel Knight's true goal is to rescue his beloved Shield Knight, who disappeared mysteriously many years ago.

Brief thoughts: While there is some mild violence and fantasy magic, none of it is more serious than say, Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Even at its darkest, this is a very family friendly game.

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
In Shovel of Hope, we saw Shovel Knight save the world. But, it turns that Plague Knight was also on a journey across the land, gathering the powerful essences he needed to create the ultimate magical potion!

Brief thoughts: Even though the you're playing as a villain, there's really nothing major to be concerned with in this title.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
A new card game called Joustus is sweeping the realm, and players from all over are excitedly gathering to witness the grand Joustus tournament and see who will be crowned the King of Cards!

King Knight seeks the crown too, though he has a slightly unusual plan to gain it...

Brief thoughts: King Knight's brat-like behavior is definitely not to be imitated, though it's never shown in a way that would encourage children to copy it.

Otherwise, everything is fairly family friendly and not terribly worrisome.

Shovel Knight: Showdown

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Fighting / Party Game
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
One dark night, the Enchantress' minions attempt to stage a rebellion. Their plan was to connect a ramshackle machine to the Magic Mirror and use it to trap the Enchantress, but things went horribly wrong when the machine malfunctions and shatters the mirror - and all of reality!

Brief thoughts: Although this is a game where characters fight each other, it's an extremely tame and family friendly title.

Simple Solitaire

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Card game
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is free, but contains advertisements
Simple Solitaire is exactly what it claims to be: a simple, free version of Klondike solitaire for modern Windows systems. There aren't any fancy features like daily challenges or achievements, but do you really need them to enjoy playing solitaire?

Brief thoughts: The only thing that may be objectionable about this game is an advertising banner shown at the bottom of the playfield.

Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing

ESRB Rating:E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Racing
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
Kart racers are always a lot of fun, and this game brings together various mascots from SEGA franchises to play one big racing tournament! That said, most of the cast hails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, which explains why the Sonic was given top billing.

Brief thoughts: This is an extremely lighthearted and family friendly game. The only concerning issue is that there is a race course that has the racers drive through an abandoned chapel and its stained glass window.

Spider Solitaire Collection

ESRB Rating:E - Everyone
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Card game
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is free, but contains advertisements
Although Spider solitaire isn't as popular as Klondike, it's still a fan favorite, and this free app provides three different ways to enjoy it. This app also features Scorpion, another game in the Spider family of solitaire card games.

Brief thoughts: As this is a solitaire card game, the only potential issue is the presence of a banner ad on the left side of the window.

The Stanley Parable

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 13 and up
Genre:Walking Simulator
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
The Stanley Parable is a comedic romp that explores the nature of stories themselves. You have control over Stanley, and you're free to decide whether or not Stanley obeys the Narrator's instructions. A lot of the fun comes from finding new ways to annoy or frustrate the Narrator, as he's rarely at a loss for words.

Brief thoughts: This game actually has some interesting points to make about how we use (or abuse) our freedoms, which is pretty useful for us to keep in mind during our Christian walk.

SteamWorld Dig

ESRB Rating:E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:Ages 10 and up
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Uncle Joe was always said to be a bit peculiar, and now he's left Rusty in charge of his old mine. There are rumors that there's more than minerals down there - and it's up to Rusty to figure this all out!

Brief thoughts: There is some combat, but it's not really worth worrying about.

Subnautica

ESRB Rating:E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Adventure
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
While performing a slingshot maneuver around planet 4546B, the Aurora suddenly experienced a catastrophic failure and crashed. As the sole survivor, you must now find a way to survive on the ocean planet long enough to return to civilization.

Brief thoughts: This is a fairly clean game, considering that the player must both hunt for food and avoid being eaten themselves. The only other thing that may conflict with someone's Christian beliefs is the premise of life existing on other worlds, though this is a somewhat uncommon doctrine.

Subnautica: Below Zero

ESRB Rating:E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:Ages 10 and up
Genre:Adventure / Crafting
Platforms:MacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
When Alterra Corporation claims a promising scientist dead of their own negligence, her sister felt that something was being covered up. Thus, she prepared to covertly visit planet 4546B and find out what really happened to her sister.

Brief thoughts: As with its predecessor, the player must hunt for food and avoid being eaten themselves. Also, this time the player must interact with intelligent alien life, which may be an issue for some Christians.

Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Puzzle Platformer
Platforms:Windows
Fun-O-Meter:
In this puzzle platformer, players attempt to help a sugar cube escape the cookie factory by manipulating the stage layouts to create new paths or avoid obstacles.

Brief thoughts: There really isn't anything too serious in this game. At most, the player character can either be melted or broken up by things they encounter, and this only results in restarting the puzzle.

SUPERLIMINAL

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Other / Puzzle
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
SomniSculpt's goal to create therapeutic dreamscapes goes horribly wrong when they lose control of your artificial dream. Now lost in a world of unreality, your only hope of escape is to master its strange physics and find a way to wake up!

Brief thoughts: Although there are some moments that are meant to be scary, there's nothing to really be concerned about in this game.

SuperTux

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:Platformer
Platforms:LinuxWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
This game is completely free!
SuperTux is a classic open source game featuring the Linux mascot, Tux. In this game, the loveable penguin travels through many different worlds as he attempts to rescue Penny from the clutches of the evil Nolok!

Brief thoughts: Like other platformers, this is a fairly tame game with some very mild violence and the occasional spooky level, so there's nothing to really be concerned about.

Super 3-D Noah's Ark

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Ages 6 and up
Genre:First Person Shooter
Platforms:MS-DOSLinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
The Ark has been afloat for long enough that the animals are getting restless! To avoid catastrophe, Noah needs to calm the animals down again, and to do that, he'll use his trusty slingshot to scatter feed pellets around them, filling their bellies and putting them to sleep.

Brief thoughts: Although this game plays like any other First Person Shooter, you're scattering feed instead of firing bullets. Thus, enemies who are defeated simply fall asleep instead of dying.

Surgeon Simulator

ESRB Rating:NR - Not Rated
My Rating:Everyone
Genre:Simulation
Platforms:LinuxMacOSWindows
Fun-O-Meter:
Surgeon Simulator is more of a comedy game than an actual simulator. The reason for this is that the controls are deliberately weird and hard to use, resulting in the player bumbling around the operating theater like they're completely drunk.

Brief thoughts: Although there is some blood and your patients can die, most of the "gore" is depicted in a very cartoonish and unrealistic style. This is intended to be a silly game, after all.