Since its start in 2018, the Epic Games Store has grown its library. The developer has partnered with many indie companies to publish games exclusively to the store. This created a backlash from Steam fans, but there is no denying they have great titles available to be purchased. Some exclusives would eventually make their way to the Steam library.
The publisher acquired exclusive rights to many major titles over the years, but which titles stand out in their library as their best? Furthermore, which exclusives should players avoid? Here's a list of the five best and worst exclusives in the Epic Game Store library.
Updated January 19, 2021 by Thomas Bowen: Epic exclusivity has been a controversial topic in PC gaming for quite some time now, with many players unhappy about the company snapping up big titles to drive players to the platform. It's a tactic that has certainly proven to be fruitful for Epic Games on multiple occasions now, although as we'll soon be seeing, it hasn't always paid off.
These failures don't seem to have deterred decision-makers, however, with new Epic exclusives continuing to release on a regular basis. Hitman 3 is the latest big-budget title to pin its colors to the Epic mast and - given the series' solid track record - seems likely to be yet another great investment on Epic's part. Whether the store's other offerings are enough to keep any new users that the game attracts around though, remains to be seen.
10 Best: Journey To The Savage Planet
A colorful adventure game, Journey To The Savage Planet brings with it a fun world to explore and learn about. Players are an employee from Kindred Aerospace, an exploration company that labels itself as "4th best." The goal of the game is to travel around the planet and catalog the various creatures and flora discovered along the way. There is some combat where hostile creatures may attack, but there are plenty of weapons available to use. The best part of the game is that it can be played cooperatively with a friend.
9 Worst: SnowRunner
Driving around in a truck in bumpy terrain can be frustrating. SnowRunner does a good job of presenting that experience in a fun way. Players can choose up to 40 vehicles to drive in. The game is more about the journey than the destination as players need to avoid losing control of their vehicle. It throws snow, mud, and many other terrain issues at the player that they need to overcome. Despite the game being well-received overall, some players felt the game to be slow and for the controls to be far from perfect.
8 Best: Dauntless
Free-to-play games are often scrutinized, but Dauntless is a wonderful action RPG experience. In a fantastical world, players become Slayers that are tasked to take down Behemoths. These creatures were unleashed after the world was torn apart.
Defeating Behemoths allows the Slayers to collect loot and upgrade items that can be used to take down more powerful creatures. Players can work with a team of up to four Slayers as they take on these enemies in various hunts. The game also supports cross-platform play for those who have it on consoles.
7 Worst: The Sinking City
Detective games are always fascinating. Finding clues and solving mysteries can easily get players immersed. However, The Sinking City falls short of that full immersion. This open-world action-adventure game has players traveling to seven different districts to solve the mystery of a flooded town that has driven citizens mad. The game has fun investigative mechanics, but it is held back by the writing and dreary look. There's also combat in the game that involves dark spirits, but its rollout is considered clunky by many reviewers.
6 Best: Fortnite
How could the best game by Epic get left off this list? Fortnite captured the world by storm back in 2017 when its battle royale mode came out. The unique twist of the format was the ability to build structures in order to avoid foes or get high ground on them. There are also various character skins players can choose from, including some from famous media. The game is more than its battle royale though as it has a zombie shooter called Fortnite: Save The World and a sandbox mode called Fortnite: Creative.
5 Worst: Predator: Hunting Grounds
Games like Dead By Daylight have done a wonderful job of popularizing the asymmetrical multiplayer experience over the past few years. With that in mind, a game in which players get to control a predator and hunt down a team of other players should have been a slam dunk. Emphasis there on the word 'should'.
Controlling the predator in Predator: Hunting Grounds is about as enjoyable as a poke in the eye. It's clunky, underpowered and feels like it was designed by somebody who has never seen the movies from which the creature was spawned. Playing as the survivors isn't much better either, with sub-standard FPS combat and a boring, repetitive gameplay loop making up the crux of the experience.
4 Best: Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a fairly divisive game, but anybody with even a passing interest in mythology would do well to check it out. It's full of mythological beasts and features its fair share of Gods as well. The game's presentation can at times be quite stunning and its solid and humerus writing provides plenty of laughs throughout the journey too.
Where the game stumbles a little is in its platforming which can at times feel incredibly unfair. It also struggles a little on low powered rigs when there's a lot happening on screen, but those with fairly recent graphics cards or a tolerance for the odd bit of frame stuttering shouldn't be too concerned about this aspect of the game. They should instead focus on its well designed puzzles, which will likely take a fair bit of time for most players to solve.
3 Worst: Maneater
The anti-hero is always a fun character to play, so the idea of playing as a blood-thirsty shark hunting humans excited a lot of people. Unfortunately, Maneater fell short of expectations. The player is a baby bull shark taking revenge against an evil fisherman named Scaly Pete who killed its mother. The shark has a variety of abilities to attack other humans and can use its environment to its advantage. The game is very fun, but the big criticism of it is that it lacks the ability to retain the player's attention with its simple mechanics and lack of constant evolving action.
2 Best: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
Securing PC exclusivity for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was a real coup for Epic Games. These early Tony Hawk's titles are some of the best sports games ever made and Vicarious Visions' fantastic 2020 remake is more than worthy of bearing their names.
The game sold more than 1 million units in its first ten days on sale making it the fastest title in the series to reach this milestone. It's also won several awards and has received widespread praise from critics and players alike. The game will no doubt make its way to Steam towards the end of this year, but for now, at least, it is one of the brightest feathers in Epic's cap.
1 Worst: Totally Reliable Delivery Service
Physics-based games can be funny. Totally Reliable Delivery Service's main goal is making players laugh. However, the hilarity can only mask the poor elements of the game for so long. Players take on the role of delivering packages to various locations in insane ways. There are a plethora of ridiculous tools available to achieve this goal, from golf carts and helicopters to jetpacks and cannons. The game is fun with friends, but the horrendous controls and shallow environment makes it harder for players to stick around after one play session.