20 best games from CIS developers

We present to your attention a small collection of interesting PC games created by game developers from the vast expanses of the post-Soviet space. The best games of various genres (RPG, FPS, survival horror, TBS, action and others) and thematic areas (history, fantasy, post-apocalypse, space, science fiction and others), which are widely recognized not only by domestic gamers, but also by foreign players.

1. Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason

A survival horror game from the Ukrainian studio Action Forms that offers you to go on an unusual journey on the ice-bound icebreaker "Northern Wind". Once the ship survived a monstrous tragedy and ended up together with the crew members (turned into monsters) for many years in captivity in the ruthless Arctic cold.

The protagonist of Anabiosis is meteorologist Alexander Nesterov, who was on the ship for a trip home, but found a terrible picture on the spot and was forced to investigate the causes of the tragedy, fighting the cold and disfigured members of the ship's crew. First-person view, tense and unusual atmosphere for the genre, interesting plot, memorable monsters, interesting gameplay features - all this makes Suspended Anabiosis one of the best horror games on PC.

2. Series "Stalker" (Stalker)

The legendary series of shooters from GSC Game World, which has earned the love of first of all players from the CIS. An open world, terrible mutants and deadly anomalies, various factions, interesting quests, the mysterious atmosphere of the Zone and a sense of complete freedom - all this has brought the STALKER series unprecedented popularity. Until now, the games of this line are considered the best in the FPS genre among all domestic projects.

In 2018, the GSC Game World studio announced the work on the continuation of the series - Stalker 2. True, neither the approximate release date of the new game, nor any other details about the project are yet known.

3. Mor. Utopia (Pathologic)

• Year: November 2005, XNUMX
• Platform: Windows
• Mode: Single player game
• Серия: Pathological
• Developer: Ice-pick lodge
• Music: Andriesh Gandrabur

An unusual game that combines elements of first-person action, quest and horror. A surreal dark city, a gripping storyline and memorable characters, and RPG elements all set Pathologic apart from most standard PC games.

At the moment, developers from Ice-Pick Lodge are working on a sequel called Pathologic 2.

4. Heroes of Might and Magic V (Heroes of Might and Magic V)

Heroes of Might and Magic is a famous turn-based strategy series that is considered the best representative of the genre. In 2006, work on the 5th part was entrusted to the Russian company Nival, so Heroes of Might and Magic V can be called a Russian game to some extent. By the way, it turned out to be one of the best in the series, and despite its age, millions of players from all over the globe still play it with great pleasure.

The key feature of the fifth "Heroes" is the imitation of the gameplay of the cult third part, transferred to a fully three-dimensional world based on a recognizable fantasy setting.

5. Series "Metro" (Metro)

And another famous series of shooters with a domestic entourage, using Dmitry Glukhovsky's book series dedicated to the post-apocalypse in Russia as the basis for the plot and setting.

Most recently, a new first-person shooter, Metro Exodus, was released as part of the Metro series. For the first time in the series, the action of the game turned out to be completely transferred from the cramped dungeons of the subway to a destroyed and contaminated surface.

6. Knock-knock-knock (Knock-knock)

An animated horror film about a strange type living alone in a huge gloomy house in the middle of the forest. The gameplay is point-and-click. The hero travels around the house, hiding from all sorts of nightmares, explores the rooms and turns on the lights that go out regularly. The goal is to survive by any means until dawn and not lose your mind from the horrors you see.

By the way, in addition to PC, the Knock-Knock-Knock game is also available on mobile devices. Where she feels quite comfortable - everything is played very comfortably and interestingly.

7. Series "Cossacks" (Cossacks)

A real-time strategy game whose main features are a historical setting (17th-19th centuries), an abundance of factions with their own exciting campaigns, as well as the ability to produce and send thousands of units of various classes into battle.

Side note: 2016 saw the release of Cossacks 3, which turned out to be more of a re-release of older titles than a new game, and received rather mixed reviews.

8 Prime World

• Year: November 2014, XNUMX
• Platform: Windows
• Mode: multiplayer game
• Developer: Nival
• Genre: MOBA, pc strategy game, pc role-playing game

An online game from Nival whose gameplay combines features of the classic MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game) and Multiplayer Arena Action, also known as MOBA.

9. Series This Is the Police

You are an aging police chief of a small American town who decided to make some money before retiring. Since the police salary (even for the boss) turned out to be quite modest and could not be saved for a comfortable old age, the hero turned to the local criminal gangs, offering to partially turn a blind eye to their outrages for a substantial sum.

This Is the Police is an unusual game that combines management, strategy and a visual novel, in which you have to control the forces of law and order, along the way delving into (and even participating in) the tragic story of the local police chief.

10 Vivisector: Beast Inside

• Year: November 2005, XNUMX
• Platform: Windows
• Mode: Single player game
• Developer: Action Forms
• Genre: First person shooter, action

An old shooter from Ukrainians from Action Forms, which at one time attracted attention with an unusual setting and opponents (these are anthropomorphic animals that became victims of monstrous experiments), as well as a rather brutal damage system.

There are also elements of a role-playing game here: earning points, the player can then spend them on pumping various passive and active skills and basic characteristics.

11. Series Blitzkrieg (Blitzkrieg)

The Second World War is very widely represented in RTS games, but not all of them managed to achieve such popularity as the Blitzkrieg series from Nival Interactive. Rich historical campaigns, attention to detail and addictive gameplay with an abundance of tactical options - these are the 3 key elements that brought the series recognition among wargame fans.

12. World of Tanks

A tank shooter from the Belarusian company Wargaming.net that needs no introduction. A project that is considered perhaps the most popular not only among tank games, but also among online games for PC in general.

13. Series "Space Rangers" (Space Rangers)

• Year: November 2002, XNUMX
• Platform: Windows
• Mode: Single player game
• Developer: Elemental Games
• Scenario: Yuri Nesterenko
• Genre: turn-based strategy, interactive fiction, arcade, CRPG, space simulator

Space Rangers is a fantastic game that is an incredibly successful combination of RPG elements, tactical turn-based game and text quest. The second part, released in 2004, in addition to all this, also received an element of a full-fledged RTS, represented by battles with robots on the surface of various planets.

14. Escape from Tarkov

• Year: November 2017, XNUMX
• Platform: Windows
• Mode: Massively multiplayer online game
• Developer: Battlestate
• Genre: FPS, CRPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Game

A new online shooter from the Russian studio Battlestate Games, which has been in the OBT stage since 2017. The developers themselves call their creation as a combination of a tactical shooter, MMORPG and a real simulator of modern warfare. Everything is hardcore, unpredictable and designed for confrontation between live players.

15.ATOMRPG

• Year: November 2018, XNUMX
• Platforms: Windows, Android, IOS, Linux, MacOS, Nintendo Switch
• Mode: Single player game
• Developer: Atom Team
• Genre: CRPG

A new role-playing game in the spirit of the legendary Fallout and Wasteland series, where the post-apocalypse is taken as the basis for the setting. The action of ATOM RPG takes place on the territory of the USSR, which survived a nuclear war with the West. The player can create their own character, and then go on a free exploration of the war-torn world, completing quests, collecting items and pumping their characteristics.

16. IL-2 Sturmovik (IL-2 Sturmovik)

The flight simulator genre has never been particularly popular and widely represented among computer games. However, among what is still available on the PC, one of the best games about aircraft can definitely be considered the Russian game "IL-2 Sturmovik".

The game offers a choice of a huge number of military aircraft from different countries that participated in the battles of World War II. Also worth noting is the variety of modes, missions and maps. There is even the possibility of cooperative play over the network.

17. Operation Silent Storm

Another game about the Second World War, or rather, about its alternative version, where all sorts of mysterious and sinister organizations appeared, unprecedented weapons, and in general, everything is significantly different from what we know from history books.

In terms of gameplay, Silent Storm is a tactical RPG with turn-based combat. We collect a squad of fighters, equip them properly and send them to perform dangerous tasks, periodically strengthening their abilities and issuing more advanced equipment.

18. Series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (Sherlock Holmes)

• Year: November 2002, XNUMX
• Platforms: Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Macintosh, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii, IOS
• Developer: Frogswares
• Genre: quest

Fascinating quests from Ukrainian developers Frogwares dedicated to the adventures of the world's most famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend and partner Dr. Watson.

The plots of all games in the series are based on the works of the same name by the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle, but they are independent stories.

19. World War II (Theater of War)

An old war game developed by Russian developer 1C. Despite its considerable age (and Theater of War was released in 2006), it is still considered one of the most complex and believable games on the theme of World War II.

The user is waiting for historically accurate campaigns, a huge amount of realistic equipment of that time (with full compliance with all parameters), accounting for weather and relief features in the gameplay, real maps and many other features.

20. Tetris (Tetris)

• Year: November 1984, XNUMX
• Platforms: Game Boy Advance, Sega Mega Drive, NEC PC-98, Amstrad CPC, WonderSwan Color, CD-i, ZX Spectrum, [...]
• Mode: Single player game
• Developers: Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov, Vadim Gerasimov
• Designer: Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov
• Directed by: Magnus Temple

The list of games is completed by the world-famous puzzle, invented by the Soviet programmer Alexei Pajitnov in 1984 for Soviet computers. Since then, the game has gone through many variations and ports to a variety of devices, and is still among the most recognizable computer games.