Go on a journey through a magical forest, or battle the villainous wizard to save your dear friend. If you're a thrill-seeking gamer, then adventure PC games are for you! 

Adventure games combine fun and exciting challenges with colorful storylines and characters. These games can include multiplayer modes, online integrations, and add-ons. 

With different animation and themes, there are a lot of choices for gameplay for people of all ages. It's important to check the game rating to see if one is suitable for children. Overall, an adventure game can turn into hours of fun for anyone looking for a virtual escape. 

Here, Metacritic highlights the best adventure games released for PC in 2021, based on Metascore.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Metascore: 90
Best for: Creatives, puzzle lovers
Where to buy: Steam

In this bright and colorful game, you get the chance to make the world your own. With your magic paintbrush, use the world around you as a canvas. Literally paint the town red, or whatever color you'd like. On the surface, this is a cute game that takes you on a journey to help a friend. On a deeper level, the story is about self-discovery and overcoming fears, as the protagonist, Chicory, makes advances and gains confidence. This virtual coloring book is full of adventure, painting, and puzzles, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. 

"It's a well-built experience with a tremendous amount of heart. It wants you to be you, and it wants you to know that the best you can do is always good enough." — Destructoid

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

Metascore: 84
Best for: Fans of mystery with a touch of suspense
Where to buy: Steam

In this simple point-and-click game, you get to live the life of detective McQueen as he works on a series of cases. But in the small haunted town of Twin Lakes, all of your cases are surrounded by paranormal activity. This game brings a mix of simplicity, comedy, and suspense as you work to solve mysteries to bring peace to the townspeople.

"With the same charming aesthetic and just as many laughs and quirky paranormal phenomena as the first season, The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark is definitely worth playing for the comedically inclined." — Adventure Gamers

The Forgotten City

Metascore: 84
Best for: Mystery solvers
Where to buy: Fanatical, Steam

In this adventure game, you travel back in time to ancient Rome to solve a mystery. Everyone's life is on the line because it only takes one person's sin to have all the city's residents turned to gold. Keep them alive by finding the right answers and making the right choices. One wrong choice can result in the demise of the whole city. During your journey, you will build relationships, manipulate time, and use deductive reasoning to solve the mystery. The outcome of the game replays solely on you, so make your decisions wisely for the sake of the people. 

"The Forgotten City is a beauty to behold no matter the eye, a deeply contemplative story matched with wonderful puzzles based in classical antiquity." — WellPlayed

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Metascore: 83
Best for: Mystery fans
Where to buy: Fanatical, Steam

With two games in one, play as rookie attorney Ryunosuke Naruhodo to bring justice to the courtroom. Solve different cases by gathering evidence and using deductive reasoning. You get the real court experience through cross-examining witnesses, presenting facts, and exclaiming objections. Put your problem-solving skills to the test and solve some mysteries in the storytelling adventure.  

"The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is two deduction-based adventure games in one, set over a hundred years prior to the original Phoenix Wright trilogy. With improved graphics, fun new characters and enthralling cases to solve, it more than lives up to the legacy of its classic predecessors." — Adventure Gamers

I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy And The Liar

Metascore: 83
Best for: VR fans, puzzle lovers
Where to buy: Steam

You're an agent sent on a top-secret mission to stop the evil Zoraxis organization in this VR game. You must rely on your wits and your telekinetic power to solve puzzles and advance through the game. The only downfall is, as the game's name implies, you are expected to die — if you aren't careful. 

"With an incredible voice cast, a show-stopping 360-degree intro sequence, and exciting puzzles that will really make you feel like a big screen secret agent, I Expect You To Die 2 belongs in every VR library." — Hey Poor Player

Little Nightmares II

Metascore: 83
Best for: Horror fans
Where to buy: Fanatical, Steam

Little Nightmares II follows two brave kids, Mono and Six, as they journey through a demented world filled with creepy inhabitants. After a faraway tower's signal distorts the world, it turns into a living nightmare. Together Mono and six must creep, hide, and even fight to get to the tower to get to the bottom of its distorting signal in hopes to reverse its evil effects. 

"A refined study in creepiness ... a gripping adventure that soars beyond its predecessor and raises the dark fairy tale to new heights." — Washington Post

Sunlight

Metascore: 83
Best for: Relaxation and meditation
Where to buy: Steam

Taking a peaceful hike through the forest has never been easier. In Sunlight, enjoy the beautiful imagery and serene voice of the trees as they guide you through the trail to be one with nature, and enjoy a tale that only the trees can tell.

"A magical, meditative experience that blends a surrealist painterly art style with majestic choral music and an imaginative narrative delivery." — Finger Guns

Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan

Metascore: 82
Best for: Cartoon lovers
Where to buy: Fanatical, Steam

Fun and full of action, this RPG game takes you on a journey to save some interesting friends. You will restore color to the world, play lots of puzzles and help friends along the way. This exciting adventure game is fun for all ages. 

"A near perfect game and a great introduction as someone's first RPG. It may be a little long winded at times, but overall Rainbow Billy is a must own." — Impulsegamer

Life is Strange: True Colors

Metascore: 81
Best for: Problem solvers and clue followers
Where to buy: 

Play along as Alex Chen as she sets out to find the truth behind her older brother's death. With a special power she has suppressed, it is now time to use her ability to see and experience others' emotions to uncover their darkest secrets in pursuit of answers. Build relationships and allies along the way as you uncover a mystery that keeps pulling at Alex. 

"Visually gorgeous and emotionally raw, True Colors is an incredible continuation of the Life is Strange series." — PC Gamer

The Eternal Cylinder

Metascore: 79
Best for: Fans of extraterrestrial exploration
Where to buy: Epic Games

In a quest for survival on an alien planet, you control a group of Trebhums as you navigate through a planet filled with exotic lifeforms and a fascinating environment. You must adapt and evolve by mutating along the way. Make sure you are strong enough to withstand all that threatens the Trebhums' survival, especially the giant, ever-present, and destructive titular Eternal Cylinder. 

"This title is full of new ideas, design that is coherent with its larger ideas and it offers an attempt to draw attention to real-life subjects such as social diversity, just like a true work of art. Taken in total, The Eternal Cylinder is an unforgettable experience." — GameCritics