Wes Fenlon's recommendations

Wes recommends: Ace Combat.

When I really think about how I spend my time writing here on PC Gamer, there’s actually not all that much of it that goes into straightforward recommendations. Between interviews, editorials about the games industry, features about PC gaming history and a spot of news here and there, it’s not all that often I just get to say: “Hey, here’s something I really like. Check it out!”

Considering how noisy the internet can be, it’s inevitable that when we do share these bits of our lives they’re quickly buried and forgotten. This is a permanent home for my favorites: Games, movies, gadgets, recipes, maybe even life tips? Before we get to what I like, though, a bit more on what I’m like:

Stuff I recommend

A good travel power adapter

I travel internationally often enough to have opinions about power adapters, and I really like this one by Ceptics. It's not fancy, which is a big part of why I like it! For your next vacation free yourself from the annoyance of those oversized, all-in-one adapters and pack exactly the plugs you need, instead.

Playing Ace Combat 7 in 2026

You should buy Ace Combat 7 when it's on sale, which might be right now as you're reading this. If it's not, chuck it on the ol' wishlist. I'm a convert to this over-the-top, anime-as-hell flight combat series, and want everyone to play this 2019 entry ahead of Ace Combat 8.

Metroid Prime Origins

A confident, polished fan demake of Metroid Prime that smoothly translates the game to 2D. It looks great: the 8-bit style isn't beholden to the NES's limitations, and the controls and overall feel are excellent. I'd put this up against plenty of metroidvanias that cost $20 without hesitation. And it's free!

Retro game recompilations

You could be spending your time playing new games... or you could be playing newly revitalized classics, made playable natively on PC for the first time with all sorts of fancy features (4K120 support, mods, randomizers, HD texture packs). The coolest thing happening in gaming in 2026.

Here's a good video from 2026

PC Gamer reads I recommend

2026

(Image credit: id Software)

• I ran 45 idle game demos from Steam Next Fest all at once for a desktop companion battle royale by Andrea Shearon
• I played the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake and original Halo back-to-back, here's my review by Morgan Park
• 'It nearly killed me': Why studio head James Ohlen left sci-fi RPG Exodus mid-development—and why EA crushing his Star Wars: The Old Republic reboot was the 'beginning of the end' at BioWare by Samuel Horti
• It's time to set the record straight: Doomguy's armor does not have a tummy window, his shirt just got ripped by Ted Litchfield
• From ancient Buddhism, to iconic manga hair, to Keanu Reeves: a PC Gamer Causality Chain™ by me
• How do you put a price tag on a legacy like id Software's? by me

Oldies but goodies

(Image credit: Origin Systems, Ultima Codex)

• Promise Mascot Agency review by Maddi Chilton
• 'A good idea, infinite drive, and lots of Diet Pepsi': How YouTube essayist Majuular's life changed course telling the story of Ultima across 2 years and more than 20 hours of documentaries by Justin Wagner
• The rise of the Chinese action RPG by Kerry Brunskill
• Mail trucks and millions of dollars: how shareware transformed PC gaming forever by Jeremy Peel
• How a bunch of art school grads made putrid, brilliant horror adventure Sanitarium by Alexis Ong
• ​Murder Incorporated: ten months of deception for one kill in Eve Online by Tom Francis
• Life in Vana'diel: 19 years in, Final Fantasy 11 is still an MMO unlike any other by James Mielke
• The story of the bizarre Mega Man DOS games by Tyler Wilde
• Breaking the internet: The story of EverQuest, the MMO that changed everything by Steven Messner
• The ethics of smurfing by Nicole Carpenter
• Ubisoft, please put my dad in Far Cry 5 by James Davenport
• I put 'Gamer Goo' on my hands, and god help me I actually liked it by Andy Chalk
• It's time for cyberpunk games to remember how to be punk by Jody Macgregor
• The '80s and '90s PC games unbelievably still being updated today by Chris Livingston and I
• The 50 most important PC games of all time by me (and many contributors)
• The race to save Japan's incredible '80s PC gaming history before it's gone by me