C:\ArsGames We love games here at the Ars Orbiting HQ, from modern to ancient and all points in between. With that in mind, we’ve partnered with the folks at GOG.com to create a store page featuring a curated list of some of our favorites from GOG’s catalog. At the end of every month, we’ll rotate a couple of titles off the list and add a few new ones; altogether, we have about 50 games to set in front of you. Twice a month, we’ll publish a personal retrospective like this one, where we’ll feature one of the games from the list—perhaps a retro game you’ve heard of, perhaps a modern title you missed. Regardless, GOG will have a DRM-free version of the game ready to go. Be sure to check out the earlier pieces in the series! Today’s entry is the only one in C:\ArsGames for December, but we’ll be back to our normal schedule in January. Happy holidays!
Ever since 1993, I think I’ve unconsciously judged almost every game by how well it can capture how Wing Commander: Privateer made me feel.
Steam and PlayStation (the two platforms I use the most) have been doing a year-in-review summary akin to the wildly popular Spotify Wrapped for the past few years. Based on these, I can report that my most-played games in 2025 were, from most hours down:
No Man’s Sky Civilization VII Assassin’s Creed Shadows The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind World of Warcraft Meridian 59 Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Unreal Tournament
With the exceptions of Civilization VII and Unreal Tournament, every one of those games is some kind of open-world experience that’s all about immersing you in a far-flung land (or galaxy).
I like what I like, and my knowing that’s what I like began in the early 1990s with Wing Commander: Privateer.
Privateer taught me that I love games that are spaces for living out whatever fictional life I create for myself much more than I love games that are guiding me through an authored story and a series of carefully designed challenges.
Yes, it has a story and story missions, but they’re hardly the point, partly because they’re not really that good. What’s exciting about this game is exploring new systems, seeing the beautiful CG artwork for their settlements, learning about your ships’ capabilities and upgrading them slowly over time, and attaining mastery of the pseudo-simulated economy.
Credit: GOG These CG-rendered planet backgrounds captured my imagination in the 1990s, and they still do, though nostalgia probably plays a part.
The story that matters in Privateer is the story I am telling myself in my head. To this day, the games I most love offer at least a taste of that experience.
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