2019’S BEST PC GAMES AND THE BEST HEADSETS TO PLAY THEM WITH
What’s the go-to game whether you want to quest on your own or team up with friends this holiday season? Turtle Beach has you covered.
November 6, 2019
It’s that time of year, friends. Whether you’re looking to cozy up by the PC for an extended session or on the hunt for the best game to fit your special someone’s big rig, there’s plenty to enjoy this holiday season. Looking for the best PC games to add to your library? We have you covered with this helpful guide. These are 2019’s best PC games to play over the holidays, along with our recommendations for best headsets to enjoy them with!
To see our full list of headset recommendations for 2019’s best console games, click here.
The Outer Worlds
If it feels like a certain other company isn’t listening when it comes to their RPGs and other games, Obsidian Entertainment is assuredly the opposite of that. They’ve been paying close attention to what we want when it comes to building an immersive RPG experience and they’ve shoved it all into The Outer Worlds. As a survivor of a thought-dead colony ship, you have a vast space system of colonies and corporations to wade your way through as you carve the path that suits you best. With an array of enjoyable characters, a stand-out art style, and rewarding character system that allows you to truly make your character your own, The Outer Worlds is a love letter to RPG fans from top to bottom. When you’re not traveling along the long trail to relaxing music, you might delight in the battering of shock stick against an enemy combatant or the zapping and burning of creatures from a plasma rifle. Whatever you do, there’s great sound and music to accompany your colorful intergalactic journey.
Recommended Headsets: Comms may not be a factor when it comes to single-player experiences like The Outer Worlds, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp out on a great sounding headset, either. The sound designers poured their hearts into making sure the audio experience pulls you into their quirky sci-fi universe. Grab the Elite Atlas for long-lasting comfort and premium-tuned sound for full immersion in Obsidian’s newest RPG offering. You can also find a noteworthy alternative with the Elite Pro PC.
Red Dead Redemption II
Haven’t had the chance to play Red Dead Redemption II on console yet? Well then get ready to saddle up and explore the American southwest with your very own close-knit band of outlaws, because the PC version has arrived. A sequel to the highly-praised Red Dead Redemption, this time around players take on the role of Arthur Morgan, member of the Van der Linde gang, as he’s forced to reconcile his outlaw lifestyle with the encroaching modernity of the end of the Wild West era. Featuring a gripping single-player story, an incredibly detailed and nuanced open world, and a huge cast of lovable gang members and cowboys to call family, there is always something to hook you and keep you immersed in its Wild West world. Even though Rockstar has pulled a familiar move for them, surprise-announcing a PC version of the game well after the initial console release, Red Dead Redemption II is well worth your time regardless.
Recommended Headsets: A blanket of quiet loneliness tends to wrap itself around you as you make your way through the vast, open beauty of Red Dead Redemption 2’s landscapes. Bear in mind, it’s not some crushing, grimdark dread that pervades your travels, rather more a sense of your place in the world, and where you fit in the overall scheme of things. For sure, you’ll feel quite small against the grand backdrop of endless plains, snow-filled mountain passes, murmuring creeks and sudden squalls that darken the sky. All that accompanied by some of the best sound design in any game to date, with a stirring soundtrack and powerful acting that will get you deep into your feels in no time. Get the Elite Atlas Aero for this one, folks. It’s worth it.
World of Warcraft Classic
A faithful recreation of the original World of Warcraft, Classic is a return to the lauded MMORPG as it was in the very beginning back in 2004. Before over a decade of expansions and updates, before the pandas and the heirloom gear, World of Warcraft was a memorable and fantastical experience. Pick a race from the original eight and find a character class that suits you best, then buckle in for the grind of your life. You’ll complete countless quests across a huge number of unique zones and environments, leveling from 1 to 60 as you earn better and better weapons and armor. Once you hit level cap, even more of the world opens up to you in the endgame as you earn legendary gear and get the option to take part in epic 40-man raids with your friends and guildmates. Just remember not to try and level tailoring and enchanting at the same time if you want to be able to keep any gold on hand at all!
Recommended Headsets: Has to be the Elite Atlas Aero for this one. With a wireless range of up to 50ft, customizable Surround Sound via our robust Control Studio, and 30 hour battery life, there is no better choice for tackling the WoW level grind than the Elite Atlas Aero.
Mortal Kombat 11
It’s always so difficult to imagine how Mortal Kombat will up its antics with each new outing, and yet NetherRealm continues to deliver one of the most violent and satisfying fighters in the biz with brutal efficiency. Mortal Kombat 11 may have flipped the ongoing story on its head with time-warping aspects, but if you’re in for the over-the-top violence and solid competitive gameplay, you came to the right fighter. Classics like Scorpion and Sub-Zero are joined by the likes of newcomers like Kollector and Geras. Meanwhile the Kombat Pack adds even more interesting characters, such as the cyborg assassin Terminator itself! With this deadly bunch comes bone-breaking, muscle-cracking visuals and sound that could only come from a game like Mortal Kombat 11. Will you take on the challenge to be the best kombatant?
Recommended Headsets: This one goes to the wireless options, the Stealth 450 or the new Elite Atlas Aero. Whether you’re playing MK11 using a PS4 or Xbox One controller, or even an arcade-style fightstick, the ease of simply plugging in a USB transmitter and receiving wireless audio is exactly what you’ll need to settle down and keep you from ragequitting on a salty opponent.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare did more than just return to the series at arguably its strongest point. It actually drove home a weight and satisfaction that Call of Duty feels like it’s been missing for a while. Modern Warfare goes back to the boots-on-the-ground style of fast-paced run and gun shooting without making it feel cheap. The weapons are greatly varied and fun to use and the movement feels smooth and, at the same time, methodical. Not only did this Call of Duty draw from what earlier CODs did best, but it also feels like it wasn’t afraid to take points from other successful first-person shooters like Rainbow Six Siege about how to create the best combat feel in the game. Whether you’re burning through the intense campaign or trying to be the best in multiplayer, you’ll want to pay attention to every detail and listen for every footstep as you battle against foes around you in this absolute masterclass competitive shooter.
Recommended Headsets: Everyone knows you need a good headset that can capture and highlight even the lightest of footsteps in COD. That’s why the Elite Atlas Aero with it’s configurable Surround Sound audio is the best choice for all the Gunfight and Ground War you’ll be playing with your buddies.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware is often lauded as the innovators of the crushingly difficult action RPG, for which they derived the name Soulsbornes (for Dark Souls and Bloodborne), but Sekiro is an interesting aside from that. Coming more from FromSoftware’s experience with the Tenchu ninja assassin games, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice leans far more towards stealth, use of various shinobi tools, and guile for studying and outmaneuvering your opponents with decisive blows, rather than gauntlets of upfront combat. Behind all of its agility and precision lies a story of a Japanese faction that would do anything to secure victory, even if it meant taking on a cursed form of immortality from the blood of a special young lord. The lord’s servant, the Wolf, travels down a beautiful blood-soaked path to either break the curse or become one with it, served up by a beautiful soundtrack and a tapestry of satisfying sword and ninja combat.
Recommended Headsets: Sekiro is as hard a game as they come, no surprise from the devilish minds at FromSoftware. As always, the audio cues are just as important as the visuals in this grueling ninja epic, and considering this it’s best to pick a headset with clear, immersive sound like the Elite Pro 2 or Elite Atlas. Just remember not to rage throw your headset or controller when going up against Seven Ashina Spears for the 5th time in a row.
Overwatch
Another staple of the PC scene, Overwatch, continues to be as popular as ever. The team-based first-person shooter and it’s colorful cast of Heroes have seemingly withstood the test of time, having originally been released back in 2016. Each member of Overwatch’s growing roster is unique in both style and utility, and fills one of three important roles: Tank, Damage, and Support. Matches get incredibly intense and sweaty, with friend and foe unleashing all manner of special abilities across the map in attempt to gain the upper hand and take control of the objective. Shields, turrets, shielded turrets, and even more shields are among the many varied special attacks that each Hero brings to the game. Jump in this holiday season and find your main, and get earning those sweet, sweet lootboxes because there is bound to be a Winter Wonderland coming up right around the corner.
Recommended Headsets: With Dolby Atmos for Headphones built in to the game’s audio options, Overwatch sounds like a dream on any headset you throw at it. For wired options go for the Atlas One, but if wireless is your thing, the Stealth 450 will truly shine.
Borderlands 3
If gearing up and gunning with rather than at your friends is what you crave, than Borderlands 3 absolutely brings the co-op arsenal you and your buddies will enjoy. We’re not just stuck on Pandora anymore. Vaults around an intergalactic system await any hunter wild (or stupid) enough to try to open them. As one of the game’s four new heroes, you’ll build them up the way you want along a flexible skill tree while amassing your arsenal from millions of possible firearms, including guns that shoot themselves or become hand grenades when they run out of ammo. Of course with an end game of taking down dastardly social influencer and bandit gods The Calypso Twins, there’s plenty of slapstick humor and hijinks to get in on the way to ultimate firepower, whether alone or with pals.
Recommended Headset: Vault Hunters, the Elite Pro PC Edition is going to be your best friend. Boasting immersive audio and dynamic Surround Sound, you’ll always be able to pinpoint exactly where each and every badass raider is shooting you from.
Minecraft
Yes, Minecraft. Still an unwaveringly popular international phenomenon, Mojangg’s deceptively deep and creative sandbox mining game is still one of the most essential PC experiences you can have. Whether you want to play around in the building-focused Creative mode, designing your very own fortress or recreating a famous (and possibly fictional) landmark without the hassle of enemies bugging you, or sticking it out in the original Survival mode, exploring varying environments and biomes as you attempt to survive the night and mine deeper into the earth for increasingly rare resources, you have a world of options open to you either way. To boot, you can even play either mode on your very own private server, with friends on all platforms – Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch, mobile – any platform running the latest version of Minecraft supports full cross-platform play. And now with ray-tracing coming to PCs running compatible RTX graphic cards, the game actually looks incredible too. Also, that soundtrack? Fire.
Recommended Headsets: Elite Atlas, Elite Pro 2, and Recon Spark. Really, the best choice for a Minecraft headset is one with multi-platform potential. Normally play on PC, but want to jump on the console or mobile version when you are out and about or otherwise away from the computer? A wired headset that can connect to whatever you throw at it is a must.
That covers our favorite games of 2019 going into the holidays. What are you bundling up with this winter season? Is there another game you’re looking forward to as we get closer to the end of the year? Share your favorite or most wanted holiday games with us!
To see our full list of headset recommendations for 2019’s best console games, click here!
