These are our selections for the very best PC games. Without a generational divide, the PC gaming library just keeps growing, so we focused on the best PC games to play right now. Some of these games, like The Séance of Blake Manor and Hollow Knight: Silksong, are recently released gems. Others are live-service games or multiplayer favorites that have stood the test of time. Our list of the best PC games spans across a wide variety of genres, so at least a few of these games will pique your interest. We regularly reevaluate and update this list to make sure our recommendations are current, and you can find previously removed games–which still come highly recommended–at the bottom of the list.
PC gaming is quite different from consoles, as your mileage with each game on this list will vary based on your rig. That said, many of the games on this list don’t require the latest and greatest graphic cards–they merely help these great games look even better. And if you happen to have a Steam Deck, a lot of these games are playable on Valve’s impressive handheld PC. We have a separate list of Steam Deck recommendations for games that play great there. We regularly reevaluate and update this list, so you can always use it as a resource to find some fresh recommendations.
We’ve linked to Steam listings where possible for these games, but it’s worth noting that you can often find better deals on storefronts such as Fanatical and GOG. We’ve included links to those stores, too. Also, some of our picks are available on PC Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service.
If you’re thinking about upgrading your PC or starting a new build to play some of these games at higher settings, make sure to check out our step-by-step guide for building a gaming PC. If you’re looking for accessories for your rig, check out our roundups of the best gaming keyboards, gaming mice, and PC gaming headsets.
Alan Wake 2
Another chapter in the mind-bending Remedy universe, Alan Wake 2 picks up right where the cult classic left off more than a decade ago. Alan is trapped in the Dark Place and his only way out is to write his own story. His campaign takes place alongside a concurrent one with FBI agent Saga Anderson, and the two complimentary campaigns can be played together in any order. The lightly spooky elements of the first game turn much darker here, for a horror experience full of unforgettable moments.
Read our Alan Wake 2 review.
Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter quite unlike anything you’ve played before. It relies on player interaction to forge its deepest stories, with decisions on whether to trust or betray other Raiders made by the second. The world as you know it has ended, replaced by AI overlords and a catastrophic climate. Humanity now resides in Speranza, where some citizens choose to become raiders, returning to the dangerous overworld to scavenge for life-saving and life-enhancing resources. From a third-person perspective, you’ll suit up with weapons and items of your choice before dropping into a PvPvE landscape to seek out quests, challenges, and then return safely. Or not. Enemy robots attack on sight, and other players can choose hostility. It’s up to you whether you help or hinder your fellow raiders.
Read our Arc Raiders review.
Baby Steps
Baby Steps is an infuriating game by design. You’ll either love it for delivering moments of genuine triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds, or you’ll want to hurl it into the nearest bin after you make a single misstep that erases hours of progress. It’s a weird, frustrating, and unforgettable experience–a literal walking simulator where you guide a 35-year-old onesie-wearing manchild to his destiny. Consistently hilarious and heartfelt with its themes, it’s the kind of game that revels in causing you grief while also urging you to go outside and touch some IRL grass.
Balatro
A deceptively simple concept with an incredible degree of replay value, Balatro is based around the familiar rules of poker. You’ll build a hand of pairs or a flush and then accrue points based on it. But using that simple framework as a jumping pad, the roguelite card game lets you edit the rules of the game on the fly using special Joker cards, Arcane spells, and Planet cards that boost your multipliers. Building out a strategy as you work your way through increasingly difficult “blinds” with higher points requirements is satisfying for how it lets you feel like you’re breaking the game in half, only to have the game come back at you that much harder the next time. When that inevitably happens, you need to think on your toes and modify your deck throughout the run to deal with new challenges. Jokers that may have seemed useless before can result in a sudden ah-ha moment of recognition as you take advantage of their unique strategies. And every time you make it to the end–or more likely, fail–it’s hard not to start up another hand and do it all again.
Read our Balatro review.
Baldur’s Gate 3
The triumphant return of a legacy CRPG series is also one of the best games of 2023. While Baldur’s Gate 3 is also available to play on PS5, the PC version is the clear leader thanks to its intuitive keyboard-and-mouse controls–and it’s a welcome return to form for longtime Baldur’s Gate fans. This fantasy tale is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, but the most incredible part is how it approximates actually playing a game of D&D, with all the freedom that entails. You can tackle problems and navigate the world with an almost overwhelming amount of choice and agency, making it easy to get lost for hours and then start all over again with a new character.
Read our Baldur’s Gate 3 review.
Blue Prince
Blue Prince is one of 2025’s most acclaimed games, and for good reason. The roguelike adventure is unlike anything else, presenting a series of interlocking puzzles to solve. It all revolves around exploring a shape-shifting mansion that never carries the same layout twice. Rooms manifest into existence as you explore, and over time you come to learn the patterns of the manor as you unlock its many mysteries. Mount Holly calls.
The Case of the Golden Idol
The Case of the Golden Idol is a throwback to classic point-and-click adventure games and an exacting puzzle game. You investigate scenes and then piece together what happened in a linear story narrative by placing names and verbs in their proper places. And if the original release whets your appetite for more, developer Color Gray games has spun off additional “Golden Idol Mysteries” DLC–new stories and mysteries with the same narrative-building mechanic.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks like a million bucks thanks to its lavish design powered by Unreal Engine 5, but at its core, it’s a love-letter to JRPGs that aims to keep you engaged at all times. There’s still plenty here for fans of old-school turn-based RPGs to sink their teeth into, but the combination of souls-like influences and riveting storytelling will keep your eyes glued to the screen as you experience one of the best games of 2025.
Read our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 had a divisive launch that by all accounts failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed on it. But CD Projekt Red didn’t abandon the game, instead issuing a steady stream of updates culminating in September 2023’s massive 2.0 update that overhauls many major systems, while also integrating the new Phantom Liberty DLC. The Cyberpunk of today is a sharper, more focused action-RPG with a greater variety of skills that let you navigate Night City your own way. The Phantom Liberty expansion received a 10/10 in our review, adding new systems and a compelling new story featuring Idris Elba. Best of all, it’s still a gorgeous showpiece for your PC rig.
Read our Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty review.
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
Diablo 4 was already a well-crafted dungeon-crawling RPG, but it got a whole lot bigger with the addition of its first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred. The expansion adds a lengthy new story chapter picking up right where the main campaign left off, detailing the creeping influence of Mephisto. While the expansion comes alongside a host of changes and improvements to the core game and leveling structure, many of them available to all players with or without the expansion, the major centerpiece of Vessel of Hatred is the new Spiritborn class. The powerful new melee class focuses on swift strikes that smoothly combo into each other, from a variety of disciplines that can be mixed-and-matched.
Read our Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred review.
Disco Elysium
When it comes to writing, Disco Elysium is perhaps unrivaled. Developed and published by ZA/UM in 2019, Disco Elysium places you in the role of a detective suffering from amnesia and a serious bout of alcoholism. His quest to unravel a baffling murder and the details of his life that he’s forgotten takes you on an absolutely stunning adventure that thrives on its choice-based gameplay and exquisite dialogue. Disco Elysium balances humor and serious life dilemmas with astounding grace, and the freedom it gives you to shape the narrative and your interactions with its many colorful characters you meet allows you to make this detective story your own. Its gorgeous world is teeming with life, and viewing it from the eyes of a nameless cop with memory issues makes it all the more immersive. It earned a rare 10/10 from GameSpot, and we can safely say there’s nothing else exactly like it in modern PC gaming.
See our Disco Elysium review.
Dispatch
One of the big success stories of 2025, Dispatch nailed the idea of fusing a superhero workplace comedy with a Telltale-style adventure game format. In an era of cynical superhero TV series like The Boys and general apathy toward upcoming projects like Avengers: Doomsday, Dispatch is a breath of fresh air in this genre. An original cast of well-rounded do-gooders and supervillains is brought to life with stellar voice acting; the episodic structure keeps the story flowing smoothly; and the actual dispatching of heroes to save the day adds a delightful role-playing element to the experience.
Echo Point Nova
Echo Point Nova is also on our list of best first-person shooters, and with good reason. It’s an ultra-satisfying blend of speed and first-person action that will appeal to fans of classic shooters like Tribes. As you explore its many floating islands, you’ll accumulate more weapons and abilities, including a number of options for getting around–you can use a grappling hook to pull yourself up and around the environment or send yourself flying through the sky, or leverage your hoverboard to zoom along the ground at high speeds. However you choose to approach a given situation, the movement is the real highlight here, making every moment feel like a thrill.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring was our Game of the Year in 2022, and ever since we’ve been waiting to explore even more of The Lands Between. From Software delivered with Shadow of the Erdtree, a massive expansion that almost overwhelms with its sheer scope. Elden Ring’s lore has been expanded in thoughtful and surprising ways, letting you dive as deep into the story as you care to by exploring a world rife with secrets to uncover. Combat is just as difficult as ever, with an inventive balance system that lets you continue to play with your current character without being immediately overpowered. That lets you experience the thrill of overcoming new obstacles all over again, with a wide array of new weapons to master.
See our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
It’s true that since its release in 2012, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been ported to just about every platform that can play games, including Amazon Alexa speakers and smart refrigerators. But the king of all Skyrim versions is the one on PC, and it’s not even close. That’s because the PC version gives you access to years of mods created by the Skyrim community. From adding serious RPG story content to providing ridiculous possibilities like replacing all dragons with Thomas the Tank Engine, the PC version of Skyrim adds nearly endless options to an already expansive, enormous game. You absolutely should play Skyrim on PC if you haven’t, and you absolutely should mod it to see how the game has become so much more than it was when it was released. Skyrim is also available with Xbox Game Pass for PC.
See our The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review.
Final Fantasy 14 Online
The Final Fantasy series is known for having a strong focus on storytelling with colorful characters who get into over-the-top battles, and the MMO Final Fantasy XIV manages to stay true to what the series is all about. Though you might assume the familiar Final Fantasy tenets of storytelling and strong character moments would be absent in an online game, FFXIV is one of the more story-driven MMOs out today. Final Fantasy XIV is the franchise’s second crack at an MMO, and it features a sprawling story about rebellion, equality, and friendship that manages to hit the same highs of the franchise’s best single-player games. Though MMOs have a reputation for being inaccessible and time-consuming, Final Fantasy XIV offers an excellent gateway for lapsed and new MMO players to jump into–and it’s also a fantastic Final Fantasy game in its own right.
See our Final Fantasy 14 reviews for A Realm Reborn and its expansions.
Fumes
Car-combat games are not nearly as prominent as they once were, but Fumes does the classics proud. Despite being in early access, it’s already a satisfying experience, letting you accumulate parts and customize your vehicle as you navigate a Mad Max-ish desert full of hostile vehicles and other tasks to deal with. There are extensive early-access plans to add more to do, melee combat, and other features that sound exciting, but what’s already in place is already unlike anything out there. If there’s a Twisted Metal or Vigilante 8 fan in you, or you’re just someone who wants to customize a car full of weapons, Fumes is well worth a look.
Hades 2
Hades 2 builds on everything that Supergiant established in the first game, offering an experience that is both familiar and new at once. You play as Melinoe, sister of former protagonist Zagreus, as you attempt to destroy Chronos, the Titan of time. New weapons and abilities, combined with a new resource management system, make it a joy to experiment with new combinations as you attempt your runs over and over.
See our Hades 2 review.
Hell Clock
Many games offer their own spin on roguelikes and Diablo-style ARPGs, but Hell Clock does both of those in one go. It’s an isometric ARPG in the mold of Diablo, but one that takes place within the context of a roguelike where you have a ticking clock for each run. That provides a decidedly different feel to it from the average ARPG; you’ll still gather new loot and become more powerful, but items are automatically equipped (with time pausing occasionally to let you pick from several potential upgrades that can meaningfully impact your play style). Every decision to fight enemies or wander down a corridor thus takes on new weight, as you try to rapidly evaluate whether it’s worth it to take a risk that might further power you up but reduce how much time you have to deal with the next boss.
Helldivers 2
This follow-up from Arrowhead Game Studios was a surprising success, not least because it was so different from the original game that inspired it. Helldivers 2 takes the hordes of enemies from the top-down first game and makes it a third-person shooter, and the new perspective works beautifully. Squadding up with your friends leads to tense survival moments and hilarious mishaps in equal measure as you fulfill objectives and call down Stratagems on your foes. And like the first game, there’s a galaxy-sprawling meta-game at play, as you and every other Helldiver fights to free territory controlled by vicious bugs and robots. This was also a rare Sony Interactive game published simultaneously on PC alongside its PS5 release, with optional cross-play, which likely helped it find and sustain an active player base.
Read our Helldivers 2 review.
Hitman: World of Assassination
IO Interactive’s grand World of Assassination trilogy reached its final chapter in 2021, as Hitman 3 built on the efforts made by its predecessors to create a perfectly executed experience. Bigger, bolder, and more cunning than ever, Agent 47’s journey around the world saw him explore an opulent Dubai skyscraper, solve a murder mystery in an ancient British mansion, and turn a train into a slaughterhouse as he worked his way through each cabin. Each destination offers not only some devilishly delicious ways to eliminate targets, but also plenty of room for experimentation that leads to hilarious and grim demises for anyone who gets in your way.
See our Hitman 3 review.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
The long-awaited sequel to Hollow Knight has finally arrived and as expected, it’s a fast-paced, tough-as-nails and impeccably polished metroidvania. The long wait for the sequel caused some consternation among fans, but Team Cherry has delivered, as Hornet’s adventure feels like a worthy successor to the original and highly-regarded Hollow Knight. After eight long years, it’s safe to say that Silksong was worth the wait.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
The team behind Danganronpa and Zero Escape are incredibly skilled at subverting expectations, and in The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, this talented crew fuses ideas from those franchises to create a story-rich experience full of strategy, style, and dozens of paths to explore.
Inscryption
At first glance, Inscryption looks like a mixture of tabletop card games with a healthy dose of deckbuilding thrown in for good measure as you risk your very life in a high-stakes game of survival. Throw in some roguelite progression, mystery, and a creepy art direction, and you’ve got the perfect mix for a game that hides more mesmerizing content beneath its surface. Absolutely strange while it deals out its ideas, that weirdness makes Inscryption the type of game that’ll stay in your head long after you’ve played your last card.
Read our Inscryption review.
Killing Floor 3
We’ve seen plenty of co-op games launch this year, but Killing Floor 3 is a highlight thanks to its gory design and polished gameplay. Removing a lot of the friction that was present in its predecessor, Killing Floor 3 offers a distinct class system and hordes of Zeds to take on with reckless abandon as developer Tripwire aims to continue growing it into a feature-packed co-op shooter.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a surprise hit in 2018, and its direct sequel now expands upon the world in significant ways. Like the original, KCD2 carries an acute emphasis on actually playing a role, thanks to a great deal of flexibility and choice in both the combat and conversation systems. Combat in particular has been streamlined to feel more fluid, without sacrificing what made the original feel so special to fans.
Read our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review.
Level Devil
Surprise is the key to great comedy, and in that light Level Devil is hilarious. A series of platforming challenges constantly finds new ways to pull the rug out from under you, playing on your expectations. It’s basically a series of gameplay pranks, presented in a simple monochrome Atari-like style, but the sheer variety of ways it manages to surprise you is incredible.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes defies easy categorization. While it is clearly a puzzle game, it frequently twists the medium on its head. It encourages you to use a notebook in real life to help track its many secrets and interlocking pieces, which all unfold into a marriage of design and narrative that need to be seen firsthand. The puzzles can be challenging, but they’re consistently satisfying and help drive you forward to the next one. This is a can’t miss.
Read our Lorelei and the Laser Eyes review.
Luto
Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hill project PT never got a full release, but several games like PT have picked up that spiritual baton since then. To its credit, Luto doesn’t just invoke a feeling of dread like PT did in its short demo, because it uses that inspiration as a springboard to reach spookier heights. The debut title from developer Broken Bird Games is a spine-tingling delight with its atmospheric design and challenging puzzles.
Read our Luto review.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Persona series director Katsura Hashino has returned with his first new game since 2016, and it’s a fantastic one. Metaphor: ReFantazio features a new original storyline set in a fantasy world, and a wide array of characters to find and classes to unlock. The turn-based RPG combat unfolds beautifully into deep layers of strategy, and the story is an affecting meditation on the power of storytelling. It will seem familiar to fans of the Persona series, but the new setting and mechanical wrinkles make it feel very new as well. Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of the few games in our history to earn a 10/10 review.
Read our Metaphor: ReFantazio review.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds is the new hotness in the Monster Hunter space, streamlining various aspects and placing more of the focus on both narrative and combat. Tracking monsters is simpler than in the past, letting you get into fights more quickly, while a new wound system allows you to more easily have miniature goals during the extended battles and better track your progress at taking down the wonderful array of monsters you’ll go up against.
It’s a terrific action-RPG experience that’s worth playing on any platform, although a disclaimer is warranted: The PC performance can be a struggle, particularly without high-end hardware to brute-force a decent frame rate and great visuals. Monster Hunter has never been known for cutting-edge visuals or stellar frame rates, so this isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, depending on your exact hardware (Steam’s refund policy can come in handy here). It’s disappointing to see the poor performance, but if you can tolerate it, you shouldn’t pass up what is otherwise a terrific game.
Ooo
Ooo is a retro-style Metroidvania where you’ll control an adorable little caterpillar with a penchant for explosives. He’s been swallowed by a bird and is frantically trying to use bombs to escape his newfound containment. Starting with just one bomb, you’ll soon be granted more, and the puzzles will grow increasingly complex. Some of the solutions won’t be obvious, and some will be downright ludicrous, but it’s this thinking outside of the box mentality that grasps you as you play. You can complete Ooo in a single sitting too, so it’s perfect for a cozy afternoon gaming session.
Pacific Drive
On the list of great PC games, Pacific Drive is both fairly new and quite weird, which is funny since it’s also firmly planted in the New Weird genre alongside stuff like Welcome To Night Vale, The SCP Foundation, and Remedy’s Control. Built as a rougelite at heart, Pacific Drive has you going on numerous runs through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a sectioned-off mass of forest roads in the Pacific Northwest, all while you dodge head-scratching (and often spooky) supernatural elements like crash test dummies that move when you aren’t looking at them and buzzsaws that skim the roads like the shark skims the waters in Jaws. Its super-deep systems, intoxicating atmosphere, and incredible audio design combine to create a one-of-a-kind survival game.
Read our Pacific Drive review.
Promise Mascot Agency
There’s a good chance that you’ve never played a video game with a similar premise to Promise Mascot Agency. We’re pretty confident that the tale of a disgraced yakuza being sent to a backwater town to manage the careers of creatures that resemble cutesy mascots is pretty unique. Beneath that intriguing setup is a compact open-world game full of interesting tales, lovable characters, and lots of things to collect.
Resident Evil 4
Capcom’s venerable Resident Evil series has been progressively producing remakes of its classic library, but none of them held the expectations and weight of Resident Evil 4. It’s long been regarded as one of the best survival-horror games of all time, and a trendsetter for the action-focused style of the genre. Capcom approached this remake especially cautiously, giving it a light touch of upgrades that make the whole experience feel modern without losing its soul. It’s also never looked more beautiful, so you can see the horrific monstrosities of Las Plagas with newfound fidelity.
Read our Resident Evil 4 review.
The Rise of the Golden Idol
The Case of the Golden Idol was an ingenious deductive puzzler that challenged players to carefully examine scenes of grisly incidents and piece together the details of what occurred. It was a meticulous series of visual riddles, which led to a series of Golden Idol Mysteries as DLC spin-offs. Rise of the Golden Idol brings another array of brain-boggling mysteries to uncover, this time set against the backdrop of the 1970s. The setting is semi-modernized compared to the antiquity of the first game, but nothing has been lost in the translation. The mysteries are just as tricky as ever, letting you pore over the evidence until the answer suddenly clicks.
Read our Rise of the Golden Idol review.
The Roottrees Are Dead
A PC-only investigation game, The Roottrees Are Dead has you combing through a browser-like interface as you investigate a mysterious family tree. The interface will feel familiar to anyone who’s accustomed to browsing the Internet–aka literally everyone–and it uses that premise to delve deep into an intriguing puzzle and uncover the family’s secrets.
The Séance of Blake Manor
The Séance of Blake Manor sees you, a supernatural detective, head to rural Ireland to solve a mystery taking place at the haunted Blake Manor. Here, a gathering of fanatics claiming to possess magical powers have gathered for a high-profile séance in 1897. Investigate the disappearance of Evelyn Deane by exploring the remote hotel, talking to the guests, and finding out secrets. You’ll feel supremely clever as you inch towards solving the mystery, and you’ll even learn a lot about Irish history along the way.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Sega’s revival of Shinobi from Streets of Rage 4 developer Lizardcube is a visual stunner, but it’s also much more than just a pretty face. This is a stellar action platformer that will have you feeling like a real ninja yourself. The stages blend quick, kinetic platforming with rich combat that feels immensely satisfying as you chain one deadly move into the next. And while stages are mostly traditional and linear in structure, they also reward exploration, as the new abilities and moves you find in later stages will let you reach new areas in the ones you’ve already conquered.
Shotgun Cop Man
Any game that starts with Satan flipping you off is worth paying attention to, and Shotgun Cop Man maintains that momentum as you blast your way through hell. An action-packed platformer where you’re required to master high-level precision gunplay to propel yourself through the air, Shotgun Cop Man keeps you engaged with every pull of the trigger.
Silent Hill F
Not just one of the best survival horror games of the year, Silent Hill F is a turning point for Konami’s long-running franchise. Dethroning Silent Hill 2–and its brilliant remake–as the gold standard for the franchise, Silent Hill F isn’t bound by the lore or settings of the wider franchise. Instead, it’s a deep and grisly dive into new territory, exploring heavy themes like generational trauma. Throw in grotesque horror, an atmospheric recreation of 1960s Japan, and gut-wrenching performances from the cast, and you’ve got a bold entry in the series that doesn’t pull any punches with its subject matter.
Skate Story
Arriving right at the end of 2025, Skate Story might have kickflipped its way under your radar as the year began to wrap up. A game about a tormented demon aiming to eat the moon so that it can get some much-needed sleep, Skate Story is an absurd and visually striking leap into skateboarding. More importantly, it’s a game that wants you to feel something as you use your arsenal of ollies and pop-shove-its to move the granite hearts of stoic–and disembodied–philosophers. With deliciously tactile gameplay and an aesthetic that looks like a highlight reel of early 2000s heavy metal album covers, Skate Story shoots for the moon and gobbles it up with style.
Skin Deep
Space, the final frontier…for high-stakes action where you play as an insurance agent tasked with keeping a spaceship full of cats safe from pirates, that is. While the premise sounds silly, Skin Deep does a fine job combining its absurdity with levels where–in the fashion of a quality immersive sim–you’re encouraged to think outside of the space-box and rid your starship of its criminal infestation using delightfully creative methods.
Read our Skin Deep review.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
Only The Stanley Parable, a nearly unexplainable game where things get regularly weird and meta, could get away with hiding what amounts to a sequel within the frame of an expanded re-release of the original game. Like the original title, the strange and hilariously distracted nature of The Stanley Parable is something that you have to experience for yourself, as words simply do not do it justice. With the Ultra Deluxe edition, you’re getting an experience that feels like a game within a game, adding the illusion of freedom and other surprises along the way. It’s nothing short of a clever and thought-provoking examination of video games and the relationship that we have with them.
See our The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe review.
Stardew Valley
It starts with an old broken-down farm and a handful of seeds. You clear out the weeds and rocks until you get tired, and then you do it again. You get into the rhythm of daily life–visiting friends, watering crops, occasional light spelunking. Before you know it, it’s been 75 hours and you’re mostly managing your complex irrigation system and planning for next season’s harvest. Stardew Valley is a friendly, relaxing experience that also somehow manages to be endlessly addicting. Fans know the feeling of assuring themselves they’ll play just one more day before bed. And while it’s appeared on just about every platform, PC often gets the first chance to test all of the little quality-of-life tweaks and new features that come with patches. Most recently, the massive Stardew Valley 1.6 update put a nice bookend on the game while developer ConcernedApe prepares for the next project, The Haunted Chocolatier.
See our Stardew Valley review.
Starless Abyss
Starless Abyss is a tactical space strategy game melded with a deckbuilder, as if someone mashed up FTL, Slay the Spire, and Into the Breach. If you’re a fan of those games, that’s probably enough to sell you on it. You’re presented with a hex-based grid and equipped with a few ships, and your deck of cards dictate the abilities you can use to defend yourself and fight off hideous, Lovecraftian horrors. As a roguelike, repeated failure is all but assured, but along the way, upgrading your ships, finding fun combinations of cards, and pulling out victory by the skin of your teeth make for a fun ride.
Stellar Blade
Admittedly, Stellar Blade has a barebones story and a narrative heavilyinspired by Nier: Automata, but at its core, it’s one of the best action games of recent memory. From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another big influence here, but Stellar Blade pinches a few ideas from that classic souls-like and sprinkles in an arsenal of high-impact gunplay and special moves to make every combat sequence feel like a high-budget martial arts epic. It’s a gorgeous game as well, and thanks to its beginner-friendly gameplay options, it’s perfect for souls-like first-timers or people who find themselves hesitant to give that genre a go.
Read our Stellar Blade review.
Sunderfolk
Sunderfolk isn’t the first game to offer a tabletop-inspired gaming experience on PC and console, but it’s definitely one of the best to do so. It’s a game that’s best experienced when you have a few friends to join you, but once the gang is assembled, this tactical-focused tabletop game shines once you start to see how teamwork makes the fantasy dream work.
Read our Sunderfolk review.
Sylvio: Black Waters
The third in a series of underappreciated horror game gems is another haunting entry perfect for fans of the genre. As the ghost hunter Juliette, you explore a surreal and shifting alien-like landscape that adds an otherworldly spookiness to the prior two games’ more grounded horror. It largely retains and refines the mechanics of those earlier games, while also including their panache for incredible sound design that enhances the frights. Be sure to play with your headphones on, and the lights off. And if you need even more horror recommendations, especially for spooky season, check out our favorite horror games.
Read our Sylvio: Black Waters review.
The Talos Principle 2
The follow-up to the philosophical first-person puzzle game is once again a contemplative experience that raises big questions even as you stay occupied with a series of clever puzzles. The philosophical underpinnings create a sense of expansive mystery as you explore deep existential questions and unravel the nature of the world. The first game was an unexpected treat but The Talos Principle 2 shows that developer Croteam can still create a delightful puzzle box even when we think we know what to expect.
Read our Talos Principle 2 review.
Tactical Breach Wizards
Despite the name, Tactical Breach Wizards doesn’t play very much like a tactical game like XCOM. Instead, this brain-tickling strategy game has distinct puzzle-like qualities, letting you glimpse ahead at possible outcomes and plan your perfect turn. The result is something along the lines of Into the Breach, albeit with a much funnier premise: You’re a team of Operator-like wizards, each imbued with special powers. Those powers manifest both in the tactical gameplay and in a wide array of impactful upgrades, and the fantastical premise makes for some genuinely hilarious story moments.
Read our Tactical Breach Wizards review.
Tempest Rising
We don’t know if Command and Conquer will ever be revived–at least, as a non-mobile game–but Tempest Rising is more than capable of stepping into the real-time-strategy shoes of that beloved franchise. A spiritual successor to Westwood’s classic strategy games, Tempest Rising is a good-looking slice of cerebral action for starving C&C players in 2025.
Thank Goodness You’re Here
A rare comedy game that’s actually funny, Thank Goodness You’re Here takes the absurdism of good comedy improv and merges it with the interactivity of an adventure game. The animated adventure is on the short side–just around two hours by some estimates–but it uses that time to the fullest with surreal humor and an animated style that recalls great British comics like The Beano. Its sense of humor won’t be for everyone, but it’s a game that does what so few manage, even when they’re trying their best: making us laugh.
Read our Thank Goodness You’re Here review.
Valorant
The initial response to Valorant was that it’s basically a mashup where Overwatch meets Counter-Strike–and yeah, that’s pretty accurate. That’s also a good thing, because Valorant draws on many of the strengths of those games to make something unique. It focuses on the round-based demolition-style game mode with two teams of five (attackers and defenders) on balanced maps with specific lanes and sightlines and an extremely fast time-to-kill. However, each agent (or character) has their own unique abilities that add another strategic layer to combat. Team composition plays a major role, and each agent affects what the team is capable of in each high-stakes situation. It’s intense and demanding, but so rewarding.
Valorant is still early in its lifespan. But we’ve seen content updates and changes in its first year and it’s been quite successful, so you can expect the game to get more support moving forward. If a competitive FPS with layered tactics, precise gunplay, and intense moments is your thing, Valorant is worth a try.
See our Valorant review.
Wanderstop
Everyone needs a break sometimes, even badass heroes. That’s the idea behind Wanderstop, a relaxing narrative game that deals with mental health and burnout. As a sword-wielding hero, you find yourself unable to go on or even lift your sword, when you encounter a zen tea master who teaches you how to slow down. It’s a smart look at a modern issue through the lens of video game heroism, and may just teach you a thing or two about slowing down yourself.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was a cult classic when it released more than a decade ago, and at long last, its sequel has delivered just what fans of the bone-crunching action series have been waiting for. That means a return to the bloody, brutal combat from the first game, but with refinements that make it feel more fluid than ever. And as fans can attest, it uses the Warhammer tabletop license to great effect for world-building and a massive sense of scale, which goes nicely hand-in-glove with the crunchy combat that should appeal to fans and newcomers alike.
Read our Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 review.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
One of the best RPGs of all time, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt brings the incredible story of Geralt of Rivia to a close. The Witcher 3 puts Geralt on a quest to find Ciri, a witcher in training who’s like a daughter to him. He reconnects with old flames, friends, and adversaries as he searches far and wide for her. Of course, there’s an abundance of side quests and characters to meet along the way, which will undoubtedly keep you busy for hours. Many of these quests require you to slay monsters, a witcher’s main trade, and you’ll have to prepare accordingly to defeat them by sword, witcher magic, and potions. All this–and we didn’t even get into the two excellent expansions–makes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt an essential PC game.
See our The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review.
World of Warcraft: The War Within
The start of a new story arc is often the most exciting time for World of Warcraft, and the new War Within expansion is no exception. As the start of the Worldsoul Saga, War Within feels like a fresh start in many ways for the extremely long-running game. It’s more approachable than ever, letting players engage as much or as little as they want to while still having an enjoyable experience. At the same time, WoW veterans will find all of the staples like Mythic dungeons and world quests intact, along with game-changing new features like Warbands and Delves.
Read our World of Warcraft: The War Within review.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
There’s no denying that Wuchang: Fallen Feathers lifts a lot of ideas out of the From Software playbook, but the game is more than just a highlight reel of challenging boss fights and gloomy landscapes. It might be lacking in originality, but it has rock-solid gameplay that feels great, a gorgeous art direction, and it offers a streamlined approach to the souls-like genre that makes it highly recommended for fans of these tough games, if you don’t mind a few extreme difficulty spikes along the way.
Read our Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review.
Removed Games
In our effort to curate the very best in PC games, sometimes we trim older games to make room for our latest recommendations. We don’t want to forget those entirely, so this is where you’ll find all of our previously removed games. All of these come highly recommended as well.
9/8/2025: Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Before Your Eyes, Dune Awakening, Destiny 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
5/7/2024: Cocoon, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Loop Hero, Pizza Tower, Project Zomboid, Viewfinder
7/1/2024: Apex Legends, Civilization 6, Control, Counter-Strike: GO, Deathloop, Dota 2, League of Legends, Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Grand Theft Auto 5, Halo Infinite, Minecraft, Portal 2, Rainbow Six Siege, Red Dead Redemption 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Starfield, Tunic, XCOM 2
9/9/2024: Forza Horizon 5, God of War, Return of the Obra Dinn
5/15/2025: Children of the Sun, Monster Hunter Rise
1/7/2026: The Rogue Prince of Persia, Silent Hill 2, and Echo Point Nova
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.
