Assembled by the experts at PC Gamer, this building bible walks you through everything you need to know to construct your own gaming rig. We'll help you save money get the right components—flip through our part-picking section to get started. When you're ready to build, crack open our 16-page, step-by-step, picture-laden walkthrough as a companion while you put together your PC. The issue also includes tweak suggestions, a mod guide for making your games last longer, and a handy tear-out maintenance calendar and reference sheet for serial numbers.

The indie spirit

Sowing the seeds of success • Stardew Valley’s four-year journey to overnight acclaim

CREATIVE CULTIVATION • How to make a bestselling videogame

NO MAN’S SKY • There’s a huge galaxy out there. What do you do in it?

Tokyo 42 • Grand theft action in the clouds

Frozen Synapse 2 • Turn-based tactical combat moves to the big city

MOUNT & BLADE II : BANNERLORD • TaleWorlds’ founder talks about learning from Warband

ENDLESS SPACE 2 • The expansionist strategy game is getting all introspective

THE Top 50 FREE DOWNLOADS • From Anchorhead to Zine th, we’ve assembled our latest list of the very best freeware games for you to enjoy.

INTO The WILD • The story of Hinterland, a team of developers who left city life behind to make The Long Dark, a survival game set in a remote Canadian wilderness.

FURTHER READING • Media that inspired The Long Dark

LONE SURVIVORS • Amazing humans who beat the odds

The CULT OF DOOM • Exploring today’s mod scene with id Software’s classic shooter, DOOM.

Doom Patrol • A selection of some of the finest recent mods and wads

DOOM MACHINES • You really can run it on anything

STELLAR • Is KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM one small step or a giant leap for sandbox sims?

THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION • Thrust-to-weight ratio explained

TO THE MUN (AND NOT BACK)

TOUCH THE FACE OF MOD • Kerbal Space Program’s game-changing add-ons

THE GREAT ESCAPE • How to bust out of your own prison

SELL BLOCK • Running a for–profit jail proves a grimly satisfying challenge in Prison Architect.

STUCK? • Don’t fire up a walkthrough just yet—try one of the tactics below

GREAT JOB, BLOW • There are mazes within mazes in THE WITNESS, Jonathan Blow’s triumphant return.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT • Other wistful metaphysical brain-ticklers

PACK YOUR BAGS • Essential items for the gentleman traveler

FANTASTIC VOYAGE • Can you make it around the world in just 80 Days?

UNFLAGGING • Bigger, bleaker, weirder—The Banner Saga 2 is a welcome drop of the hard stuff.

ACE OF SPACE • Why it’s a lot of fun to be a showboating space spelunker in Galak-Z: The Dimensional.

GREAT OUTDOORS • Hike through a beautiful North American wilderness in the moving, mysterious FIREWATCH.

TORQUE SPORT • ROCKET LEAGUE is a game about cars and soccer for people who care about neither.

GIANTS OF INDUSTRY • BLOCK-BASED PUZZLER INFINIFACTORY ROLLS OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE AS AN INSTANT CLASSIC.

DEEP TROUBLE • Plumb the depths of SOMA, a new horror game from the creators of Amnesia.

GREAT TIME • It’s Superhot, but is it super hot?

COUNTRY MILE • Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is a slow, haunting journey through a very English apocalypse.

EXTRA LIFE

“Suddenly I’m in a weird(er), (more) abstract space”

“I could be rescuing hostages in Afghanistan right now” • Throwing immobile stones at glass houses in EVERYBODY ’S GONE TO THE RAPTURE

“It would’ve been far easier just to play the game in the first place” • Finally...