The best PC Gamer forum threads from this week

(Image credit: Blizzard)

It has been another lively week on the PC Gamer forums, where we can always count on our community to keep gaming conversations going. This week on the forum, we discuss the PC Gamer reader awards, the best games from your favourite genres, the greatest videogame cover art and more. 

If you've not checked out the PC Gamer forums yet, then head on over and have a little browse. There are threads covering anything and everything related to PC gaming. If you want to talk about strategy games, RPGs, shooters, PC builds, game walkthroughs, and more, you should sign up and get involved.

Here's what's been going on this week in the forums:

The PC Gamer Reader Awards

Over the next couple of weeks, we're asking our community to tell us about their most cherished gaming kit. This doesn’t have to be the most powerful or the most expensive gear either. Each week, we will be focusing on specific hardware and this week, we asked about your favourite laptops. 

My wife has this unhealthy obsession with builders/crafters/management sims. Airport management? Check. Prison Warden hijinks? 100% completion. Obscure Loony Carnival Sims? She probably is busy putting together High Efficiency mods for them. Frankly, she terrifies me. I got her an Asus 17,3" TUF Gaming FX705DT last year and that thing is an absolute beast for the price. Now I have more time to torture myself in Desperados III on my main rigRivereyes 

Ideally, I would love to find a laptop with those specs that doesn't break $2,000. Not sure if that's possible or not. Also if I could upgrade the Storage myself that would be better as I can deal with whatever comes stock and upgrade in timeThe Zapper

Let us know you what specs make the perfect laptop for you here

Doom Eternal Mancubus Fight Combat Doom Slayer

(Image credit: Bethesda)

What are your favourite games in each genre?

We often forget how spoilt for choice we are when it comes to gaming—but our community is here to help. They've been opining on the best games from a variety of their favourite genres. 

First Person Shooter: Doom 2016. Third Person Shooter: Max Payne (series). Competitive Online Shooter: Bad Company 2 / F.E.A.R. Immersive Sim: Deus Ex/Preyd-s_n 

So there's a few genres I don't play and many I don't have any favorites in due to not playing them much, so I just went with what I can list. First Person Shooter: Escape from Tarkov (questionable with recent updates, otherwise FEAR). MMO: Star Wars Galaxies (Pre-NGE). Battle Royale: Apex Legends. Survival / Exploration: DayZ moddrunkpunk 

Interested in some new games to try out? Read more here

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Have you ever bought a game for its cover art?

We give dues to the awesome box art that has graced the covers of our favourite games. Some of our community adore these covers so much, they've bought games just for the art alone. 

Yes, actually. I remember looking at the PC game shelf of my local toy store around the time of my 13th birthday. I had some birthday money in my pocket and was ready to get something for myself, and then I saw this.Rensje 

There was a limited selection in our local WH Smiths, a lot of them were trash, it was the wild west back then and I mostly didn't know any better. The one that sticks in my memory most though is Realms, I bought it for full price, after my birthday. It was the first proper strategy game I remember playing. I'm sure the game doesn't hold up these days but the music is etched in my soul.Kaamos Llama

I picked up an old copy of Magic Carpet 2 based on a combination of its badass packaging and wanting to play everything my new Pentium II could handle. It was like a corrugated cardboard picture frame with layered artwork on plastic and the manual in pride of place.—Mazer 

Do you have a cover art guilty pleasure? Join in on the thread here

(Image credit: Frindis)

 Paint the game 

Speaking of art, community member Frindis challenged our community this week to draw their favourite games. The rules are that it has to be your own painting, you can use any drawing software you like, and that it can be anything from a game. Our community let out their inner Bob Ross, letting their hand guide their virtual paint brushes. Let us start off with Frindis take on Asteroids from 1979, which you can see above. Picasso dreams that this was his piece of art.

Here's Kingdom: Two Crowns from Jpishgar. Check out the detailing and effort that went into this masterpiece

(Image credit: Jpishgar)

And we have the ultimate crossover from PC Gamer's community manager SWard .

(Image credit: Stevie Ward)

Top threads of the week.

What was the first video game you remember playing?
Can real-time strategy come back from the brink of death?
Your favourite building/management games
What RPG did you FINALLY find time to play?