It's the International Women's Day of 2022, and whaddayaknow, this means that about a half of our readership now has an excuse to spend their evening gaming! Really though, what better way to clock out and relax than by spending some time gaming on Women's Day?

Now, the purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to provide the gamers of the fairer sex with a shortlist of must-play games; both for hardcore and for casual players. There's a pretty stellar mix waiting for you below, no matter what kind of gaming you feel like doing. The second purpose, on the other hand, is to give some ideas to those of you who might be looking for a gift for the special gamer in your life.

So, whatever the reason might be, what awaits below is a list of games that are excellent choices in 2022, especially on Women's Day. Some are humongous free-form RPGs, whereas others deliver a more purposeful, constrained narrative. Have fun choosing!

Best Games for Gaming on Women's Day

Elden Ring

Elden Ring! Of course. Look, there's no shame in going with the zeitgeist, and everyone ought to experience FromSoftware's finest work yet. What makes Elden Ring particularly noteworthy for Women's Day, is that it allows its players to make whoever they want with powerful character creation tools.

What's more, creating your custom character is merely the first step towards living out your high-fantasy dreams. Are you going for a powerful mounted knight build, or a cheeky glass cannon wizard? Will you be casting miracle-level spells or focusing on becoming the ultimate summoner? How about a stealthy rogue? Elden Ring lets you do literally whatever you want, and it's awesome.

Of course, you might need some help in getting your footing, as this is a pretty hardcore action RPG. We've got some great starter guides and must-have weapon lists for you to check out!

Control: Ultimate Edition

There's never going to be a point where Control stops being awesome. This New Weird powerhouse offers a delightfully unsettling world, the likes of which most of us had never experienced before. Control's no horror game, but it sure does flirt with turning into one at times.

For fans of Twin Peaks, in particular, Control is a must-play title. It takes the same approach of turning something mundane into something that's just a tiny bit disturbing, albeit with a whole lot more combat than Twin Peaks could ever hope to have. The protagonist - Jesse - is about as big of a badass as they get, and with the game being set in the same universe as Alan Wake (and the upcoming Alan Wake 2), there's never been a better time to plunge headfirst into this wonderful universe.

Control is a full-on 3D Metroidvania, too. This means that there's a persistent interconnected overworld that opens up more and more as players unlock new abilities and functionality. Like flying, for example.

Hokko Life

Of course, we know that not everyone's into hardcore shooters and RPGs. To that end, Hokko Life is the first game on our list that won't have you blowing enemies up or cutting them into tiny bits and pieces. In fact, in Hokko Life, it's all about creativity and freedom of expression.

In more ways than not, Hokko Life is an upgraded and improved version of Animal Crossing, except it's running natively on PC. For the most part, players need to manage and wrangle an entire village's worth of talking animals. Coincidentally, Hokko Life also features incredibly in-depth customization systems that make all of this a hoot.

Namely, players can make their own furniture using a simple, albeit powerful 3D building tool. This extends to buildings and clothing, too! Note, however, that the game is now in its Early Access phase, and isn't fully completed just yet.

OlliOlli World

While OlliOlli World might look like a niche game for skateboarding fans, it's so much more than that. Sure, skateboarding does make up the core of its delightful gameplay loop, but the point of the game is that it's infinitely enjoyable and customizable, and an almost entirely open-ended side-scrolling experience.

Really, OlliOlli World is one of those games that lets you do whatever you want. Build the exact character you want to be and then you're let loose to skateboard wherever you want, however you want. Progressing through the game is easy and fun, and though you can engage in competitive leaderboards, there's nothing forcing you to do so.

If you're in need of a satisfying, albeit simple game that'll keep you playing for hours on end without becoming annoying or overly challenging, this is the ticket.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Complete Edition

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is not for everyone, but it absolutely dominates its specific niche. This is easily one of the biggest games of all time, and it's doing to take dozens of hours of gameplay for you to see just the majority of what it has to offer.

For some gamers, this is a feature, while others might be terrified at the prospect. And, to be fair, Valhalla is straight-up not for everyone. It is, however, a joy to play if you're into large games that take months to wrap up. There's a surprisingly solid story present here, one that spends many millennia and at least three different time eras. And, with Complete Edition in tow, you're also getting the more fantastically-inclined Odin/Havi DLC that will have you in awe.

Lore-wise, the protagonist - Eivor - is a female incarnation of Odin himself, giving the whole adventure an interesting duality that you won't really get anywhere else. In other words, there's much to love here, but be ready to spend about a hundred hours or more, if you want to play through the whole game.

Strange Horticulture

Again with something a bit more chill, Strange Horticulture is pretty much the polar opposite of the biggest games on this list. In more ways than not, this is a detective puzzle game - one where a slowly unraveling narrative progresses alongside the story that's available at face value, and there's a lot to unpack in it.

Strange Horticulture has already been featured as part of our top list of low-spec PC games of 2022, and it keeps holding up no matter how many times we come back to it. There are two layers to the game, in truth. First is that of the main gameplay mechanics that concern the nurturing and collection of all manner of plants and mushrooms. The second, though, we'll let you discover yourself.

Let's just say that there's a lot more to Strange Horticulture than it might seem at first glance. Especially for fans of the otherworldly.

Children of Morta

As for Children of Morta, this isn't a new game by any stretch of the imagination. It is, however, uniquely interesting and engaging, and no other game on the market offers what Morta has in droves. You see, this is a roguelite action RPG where your entire character roster consists of a single family.

Each member of the family in question is a powerful combatant in their own right. Some might be incredible spellcasters, while others prefer a sneaky approach to combat. All of them, however, are interesting characters that behave and converse realistically.

While there's a stellar gameplay loop in place in Children of Morta, it's the slow transition of the family's initial unwillingness to pick up arms and fight into full-on fantasy guardians of all that is good that's the main reason to play this game. For those who want exciting gameplay and an excellent story, this is a top-tier choice.

In Closing

Whether you're looking for gifts for the special women in your life, or if you're a woman chasing after an awesome new gaming high, one of the games hand-picked for this list ought to do the trick.

From huge, sprawling open-world RPGs that'll take you dozens of hours to properly wrap up, all the way to small, intense, and purposeful narrative dramas tucked into exciting rogue-lite hack 'n' slash titles, we've got a little special something for anyone and everyone.

In fact, in 2021, we came up with a list of the 15 best PC games with female leads. Some games that appear here got featured there, too, but if that's the sort of thing you're looking for, you cannot go wrong with any of them. This year, we're being a bit more open-ended, and we think everyone can find something to enjoy later today.

So, don't dawdle! If your weapon of choice is Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you've got a hefty download to get through! Enjoy the rest of Women's Day 2022, and have a very pleasant rest of the week, too.