Which games to buy?

A new PC can futureproof your setup for upcoming blockbusters or help you get the most out of games you already enjoy. There are obviously a lot of options to choose from, so we have suggestions for any situation. Want to work and play on the go? Check our suggestions for the best gaming laptops. If you want to get building but need a few pointers, head over to our tips on how to build a gaming PC. Should that all sound like too much, we of course also have recommendations for the best gaming PC out of the box for you. Happy gaming!

Plenty of recent releases haven't quite made our top 30 list – which starts a little further down the page – but are well worth having a look at. If you want to stay on top with new releases or our top 30 PC games list isn't quite for you, here are some recent top picks.

After many former PlayStation exclusives have made their way to PC, and with The Last of Us Part 1, you get the version rebuilt for the current PlayStation generation on your machine. This means Joel and Ellie’s story of the apocalypse has never looked better – thanks to astounding facial animation work, the emotional moments in the story are even more poignant than before.

Seeing as players on PC have previously not had the opportunity to play The Last Of Us, paying full price for it (which is still lower than the console version) feels justified here. This is your time to play the best version of a game that has made video game history (and TV history, thanks to the Last of Us TV show on HBO setting multiple viewership records). Read our full The Last of Us Part 1 review for the PS5 version.

Get it now:

Steam

Epic Games Store

The latest WWE game is likely the best-looking one yet, with outstanding models and lighting effects. This year’s star of the show is John Cena, who tells us all about some of his biggest failures in the WWE showcase mode. Everyone who isn’t that much of a Cena fan can still find some worthwhile quality of life improvements in this version, and answering the central question in WWE 2K23 – should I use my special bar to recover quickly or to land a special attack – makes for consistently entertaining matches.

As far as new content goes, the MyRise mode tells the best stories yet, and Wargames allows for multiplayer battles of up to 4v4 constellations. WWE2K23 is an all-around good package with enough incentives for existing fans to play, and a no-brainer for fans of John Cena.

Get it now:

Steam

The Early Access game of the moment is Sons of the Forest, the sequel to 2018’s The Forest, one of the most popular and creepy crafting survival games out there. This sequel, while definitely still recognisably an Early Access game, is stunningly gorgeous, and even more atmospheric than the first game.

Our Sons of the Forest review-in-progress calls it a survival horror that’s already “full of intrigue, danger and surprise”, with the cannibals exhibiting some of the best AI behaviour out there. If you’re a fan of the Forest this is a safe bet, and we see Sons of the Forest developing into an even better game over its Early Access period.

Get it now:

Steam

This environmental strategy game, as Terra Nil calls itself, takes city building and turns it on its head. What if, instead of building a sprawling metropolis and going through natural resources, you were tasked with revitalising a barren landscape? Made by the developers behind indie action hits such as Broforce and Gorn, Terra Nil is a genuine surprise, a relaxing, gentle experience about doing something good for the planet.

The landscapes in this game look beautiful, and the experience is customisable from undemanding earth restoration to something a little trickier. Terra Nil is the perfect game for those who often find the multitasking of citybuilding stressful, an experience in doing good rather than building bigger and bigger things.

Get it now:

Steam

Epic Games Store

With Tchia, developers Awaceb do a great job at introducing you to New Caledonian culture, immersing you in a sweet coming-of-age tale and giving you a massive world to explore besides. As 12 year-old Tchia, you’re making your way across an archipelago in search of your kidnapped father.

Over the course of the adventure, as Tchia, you will make new friends, freely explore a truly massive island and whip out her ukulele to play a tune whenever the mood strikes you. It’s the perfect game for a dreary rainy day, and the game’s stand-out mechanic, soul-jumping into different animals to help with traversal, is truly fun. Tchia is a kind, sun-drenched adventure that will make it easier to bear with hard times. Read our full Tchia review for more.

Get it now:

Epic Games Store

Sometimes, Dredge is just a normal fishing game, our Dredge review points out, a gentle experience centred around a fun fishing mini-game that manages to set itself ever so slightly that even fishing mini-game aficionados will enjoy it. Where Dredge comes into its own however, are the quiet, creeping Lovecraftian elements that come with fishing at night.

Time only passes if you move or fish, and soon you will find out that higher prizes await you for travellig the dark waters at night. However, there is a catch (hah) – reeling in the otherworldly or witnessing stressful events impacts your sanity, and with decreasing sanity, dangerous things start to happen. Over the course of the game, you have to decide whether your decreasing debt is worth your decreasing sanity. Dredge lives from making its players curious – you want(don’t want to see the next strange tale that awaits you in this pleasantly creepy game that never veers into outright horror.

Get it now:

Steam

GOG.com

Monster Hunter: World is an elaborate, extravagant game about slaying huge beasts and turning their tails into axes. Its gorgeous maps – from the bright, enchanted Coral Highlands to the toxic clouds of shrouded unbelly of the Rotted Vale – are fitting backdrops for some properly brilliant fights. The monsters are huge yet elegant, and both learning and countering their moveset makes it feel more like a fighting game than a button-mashing hack-and-slash.

With 14 weapon types and hundreds of items to craft, climbing the gear tree can feel overwhelming, but it’s still the most accessible Monster Hunter to date. A generous loot system means that, even when you’re grinding for a particular armor set, you’re constantly picking up useful items you didn’t know you wanted. Plus, finding clues about monsters will automatically lead you to their location, meaning you can travel between its excellent fights faster than ever. Happy hunting.

If you’ve already been playing Monster Hunter World for a while, chances are you’ve moved on to its sequel Monster Hunter Rise. While Monster Hunter Rise doesn’t beat Monster Hunter World, it’s also a great game, made greater by the addition of the Sunbreak DLC, which adds reams of new content to the game similar to what Iceborn did to World.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store

We’re as happy to say that Forza is getting better with every game as you are to hear it. There is no other racing game out there that feels or looks like Playground Games’ racing spectacle, a game that trades the accuracy of other racers for beautiful vistas and a whole host of activities.

Trading the streets of Great Britain for Mexico, Forza is like a holiday on wheels that even manages to teach you some interesting aspects of its home country – this game’s job is only done if you want to pack your bags and take a trip once you put the controller down. Whether it’s designing your own cars and courses or hurtling down cliff sides in trick races, there is plenty to do, see and collect in Forza Horizon 5, an exhilarating racing experience for everyone. Read our full Forza Horizon 5 review for more.

Get it now: Steam

With new weapons, a more agile Doomguy, and a fresh emphasis on resource management (yes, you read that correct), Doom Eternal somehow 1UPs Doom 2016, which was already deserving of a spot on this list. It’s an over-the-top celebration of guts and gore in which you chainsaw enemies in half, rip eyeballs from sockets and stomp on demon’s faces with a giant boot. But, at times, it’s also about restraint. Enemies have weak points to target and weapons that you can disable, so sometimes it’s worth finding a spare half-second in the heat of battle to pause, aim, and hit your shot, because it will save you a lot of pain later. Some enemies are even invulnerable to damage unless you perform a specific counter at a specific time, which is something you don’t expect in a Doom game.

Fights are still, for the most part, unbearably tense and hectic. You’ll scramble and double jump to avoid packs of enemies, using the super shotgun’s meat hook to grapple to far-off enemies before turning them into red mist. You have to plan two steps ahead to avoid being overrun, and a new resource system makes firefights feel more strategic, less random. Ripping an enemy in half with a chainsaw nets you armor, while lighting them on fire before sending them to an early grave gets you armor. It turns minions into health packs, and you’ll want to keep a few of them alive for when you really need them. We knew Doom Eternal would be this ballsy – but we didn’t expect it to be clever, too.

Buy it now: Steam Humble Store

After A Way Out, Developer Hazelight is back with another co-op only adventure with It Takes Two, this time focusing on a couple that wants to get a divorce. May and Cody have reached the end of the rope in their relationship, but their daughter wants to hear none of it and traps her parents in two dolls using the help of a sentient self-help book. It’s completely fair to raise one, even both eyebrows at this elevator pitch, but designer Josef Fares has proven since Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons he knows what he’s doing.

It Takes Two really delivers on its name – there isn’t any game out there right now that comes up with as many ways to have two players work together as this one. Most importantly, thanks to an array of gadgets and locations, It Takes Two keeps things fresh, and it even adds several mini-games to the mix – truly a co-op experience with something for everyone.

Get it now: Steam

Beep, beep, beep. Alien: Isolation’s motion tracker is a blessing and a curse: a terrifying sign that the beast is near, and even the thought of the sound puts our hair on edge. But we daren’t put it away in case we turn a corner and, bam, the alien is on top of us, and it’s game over, and we have to leave our PC to go outside for a long, slow walk. So we clutch the tracker close, hiding under a chrome desk in the hope the alien leaves us alone.

Isolation’s tech helps create a sense of place — the flickering monitors and clunky computers are straight out of ‘70s sci-fi films. And then there’s the alien itself, one of the greatest video game monsters ever spawned. Intelligent, crafty and horrifying, it’s always stalking you, always searching. Grab your tracker and hide for your life.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store

Football, but with cars: it’s that simple, and that complicated. Rocket League is, to the beginner, a fast arcade sport where vehicles slam into each other at 100 mph and occasionally bundle the ball into the net. But as you get to grips with the controls, it turns into an aerial acrobatic show with front flip assists, mid-air twirls and last-second winners. The great thing about Rocket League is that it’s fun at both of these levels.

You can gather some friends on a sofa and set up a casual 1v1 tournament, with bonus scores for the flashiest goals. You can team up with a squad and really dive into the tactics, rotating goalkeepers and trying to score the perfect team goal. If you want, you can switch it entirely to a game of hockey, with a puck instead of a ball. Each time you play you can feel yourself improving, and your first properly good goal – not one where you’ve accidentally tapped it in with your bumper – is a memorable moment.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store

Hollow Knight is an underground labyrinth of secrets: burrow in and you’ll be lost in its lofty caverns, tight tunnels, and beautiful, ruined cities, and you won’t want to find the way out. As you jump and slash through it you’ll slowly unpick the lore of this bug-inhabited world, and realise its story runs far deeper than you initially expected. The map feels endless, and even late in the game you’ll stumble on whole huge areas you never know existed. When you travel through them, they’ll connect to a familiar space in a way that instantly makes sense, and feels just right.

You’ll battle 28 bosses and visit varied locales, from grand greenhouses to snowy planes being dusted by the ashes of a long-dead being. As you progress you’ll upgrade your character, The Knight, with charms that change your playstyle: one damages foes anytime you get hurt, another lets you fire energy from your sword when at full health. Finding and equipping charms, and landing on the combination that works for you, is just one of the many reasons you’ll want to boot it up for a second playthrough, where you’ll likely get a completely different ending (all five are worth seeing, if you can find the time).

Play it now: Steam GOG Humble Store

Square Enix’s second go at an online MMO is one of the biggest comeback kids of gaming: the base game was repetitive and not much to write home about, but the team didn’t stop there, improving FF14 with every expansion. Now it boasts one of the best stories in online roleplaying, and is truly a game for everyone – those who like to play with friends and strangers as much as those who just want to roam a fantasy world by themselves.

The latest expansion, Endwalker, provides a bombastic conclusion to the Hydaelyn–Zodiark arc, somehow managing to up the stakes yet again. With it, Final Fantasy 14 hasn’t only proven that the best Final Fantasy game may in fact be an MMO, it’s also in a position to teach other MMOs a thing or two about crafting satisfying, year-long plot arcs. A preliminary roadmap for at least five more years of content exists, so it’s truly never too late to start the game.

Get it now: Square Enix Shop Steam

When this game first launched as a PlayStation exclusive, it immediately fulfilled the Spider-Man fantasy. Webslinging, whether in combat or as a traversal mechanic, simply feels fantastic, and Spider-Man’s New York is one of the most beautiful video game cityscapes to date. The story, which you can enjoy even if you’re not familiar with the Marvel comics universe, takes you on a tour with all of Spider-Man’s nemeses, friends, and family members, and even the side missions are continuously fun.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is the superhero action game to measure licensed games by, full of love for its subject and simply a joy to play, combining stealth, action, and a great story, all of it looking extra sparkly in the remastered PC version.

Get it now: Steam Epic Games Store

Call of Duty: Warzone is the best battle royale on PC right now. Apex Legends is a close second, and a better bet if you want to control ultra-mobile heroes with cool abilities, but Warzone plays like the greatest hits of the genre so far, with a few inventive twists. When you die, you get one chance to respawn by winning a 1v1 gunfight, which creates chances for memorable comebacks. Contracts give structure to each round by asking you to find a series of chests, defend a given area to reveal the next play circle, or hunt down an enemy, their location revealed on the map. All this gets you money, which you can spend on kill streaks and loadouts that you’ve put together between games.

It’s built on top of Call of Duty’s signature high-octane action and low-recoil gunplay, well balanced to allow PC players to team up with friends on consoles. Individual locations on the map have their own personality, and some are even based on existing maps from the Call of Duty series. It means that no matter where you’re fighting, whether it’s on a giant ice lake or the bunkers of a military base, the environment presents you with tons of tactical options. You can play solo, duos, trios or in four-player squads; trios feels like the sweet spot.

Play it now: Battle.net

Disco Elysium’s tale of a washed-up, alcoholic detective sounds like a cliche. 10 seconds in, you’ll realise it’s anything but. You might have a heart attack trying to unhook your necktie – which itself is arguing with you – from a ceiling fan. You can look in the mirror and convince yourself you were once a rockstar that played to screaming audiences, or discuss the complex political breakdown of a city plagued by corruption with a racist lorry driver. And that’s just within the first half an hour.

Disco Elysium is a game that celebrates language and characters: an RPG without combat where all your duels are verbal, and every conversation is peppered by funny asides from different aspects of your own psyche, all clamouring to have their internal voices heard. You have a long list of choices for nearly every piece of dialogue, and what you say meaningfully impacts the characters around you. It’s witty, it’s bleak, and we can’t get enough of it.

More than a year after release, Disco Elysium has been released as a Final Cut in March 2021 – if you’re yet to buy it, you’ll automatically receive the Final Cut version. This version adds full English voiceover to the game, as well as new animations, new characters, new cinematic sequences, a new location, full controller support, and more. According to Studio ZA/UM, this is the definitive version of the game, so the best time to play it is now.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store  GOG

Bungie’s co-op shooter had a rough start to life, but it’s getting better and better with each expansion. New campaigns, such as the most recent The Witch Queen, the best campaign so far, manage to combine an interesting story with challenging gameplay and even puzzle elements, while the  More than just an endless loot quest, much of Destiny 2’s brilliance comes from how good it feels to use your powers and see sparks and colours explode on your screen.

It’s a great pad shooter, but playing with a mouse and keyboard really lets you feel the weapons at work, and control your shots better. And if you’ve never played before then now is the best time to start, because last year it launched as a free-to-play game on Steam. You won’t get the most recent expansions, but you’ll still squeeze hundreds of hours out of the base game, its early expansions, and the slick PvP. You can even transfer your saves over from console.

Play it now: Bungie Steam

A joyful, playful space story about a character that dies every 22 minutes. During each life, you explore its wonderfully folksy sci-fi world and watch it change, entire planets splitting apart before your eyes. You try your best to learn something new, and then you close your eyes and you’re back at the start, the world reset, leaving you 22 more minutes to try and figure out what the hell is going on.

It’s the perfect window to dive into its intertwining stories. The world is small enough that your makeshift spaceship can reach any planet in a few minutes, giving you plenty of time to delve into ruins and talk to memorable NPCs. But it’s never long enough for you to uncover the whole truth, leaving you with plot threads to pick up in your next life. Slowly, you’ll start to tie these threads together, and the world only becomes more fascinating with every new expedition. Best of all, the conclusion is absolutely worth sticking around for.

Play it now: Epic Games Store Microsoft Store

The best life sim on PC never stops improving. The DLC is pricey, but always adds something new to the life of your Sims, such as magic spells, a tropical island world or a themed furniture set for your grumpy teenager’s bedroom. We never tire of the way it can generate dynamic storylines – family dramas, love triangles or personal struggles, and those tales keep us coming back, year after year, expansion after expansion. It’s more than five years old but, with EA showing no signs of slowing down new content, it’s still got plenty of life in it yet.

Play it now: Origin Steam

Subnautica’s premise reminds us of any number of survival games: it drops you into a foreign, inhospitable land, points off into the distance, and says, “Go build stuff”. But Subnautica is far from average. Its wilderness is entirely underwater, which changes the structure, pace, and tone of your adventure, and creates a palpable sense of dread as you descend further and further into the depths in search of materials (was that a tentacle that just flicked through your peripheral vision?).

Your goal is to expand your base and escape the planet, and in that sense Subnautica provides the kind of clear structure that other survival games neglect. It has a proper story and satisfying ending, and that narrative pulls you through your journey, always giving you a concrete goal. On top of all that, it’s just an incredibly well-made, and whether you’re mining, crafting or exploring, it’s a joy to interact with.

Play it now: Steam

Honestly, a lot of love for Psychonauts 2 may be nostalgia. After all it’s been 16 years since the first game, and it wouldn’t be completely unfair to say they don’t make action platformers like this anymore. The first Psychonauts (which you really should play even though Psychonauts 2 does include a short recap for its predecessor) followed a medium called Razputin on his journey to join the Psychonauts, a supernatural spy organization. But this soon devolves into a rescue mission that tales Raz into several people’s minds and the colorful worlds that await him within.

In Psychonauts 2, which takes place mere days after the first game, Raz still hasn’t made a Psychonaut, but at least he’s an intern. That means it’s now his job to navigate different minds and try to elicit actual meaningful change – in Psychonauts 2, the mind is no longer strange for the fun of it, but it’s something that reflects the myriad of issues humans can face. As such, Raz has his arsenal of different supernatural abilities such as levitation to get through the jungle of the mind. Psychonauts 2 isn’t just a fantastic sequel, it can genuinely imbibe you with child-like joy, going “whoah” at a new level’s myriad details or laughing yourself silly at Tim Schafer’s trademark humor. Within all that, it takes the time to be tender, too, to treat its character’s and their brains with respect, culminating in a wholesome experience. If you’ve gotten curious, check our Psychonauts 2 review for more.

Get it now: Steam GOG Game Pass

XCOM 2 is a slick, turn-based strategy game that doesn’t care about your feelings. As you battle an alien invasion you’ll grow attached to your squad, upgrading them, customising their gear and building personalities for them in their head. Then, one wrong move and you’ll watch them get their face torn off by a towering, faceless, pink mutant, and there will be nothing you can do about it. It’s agonising.

That loss is part of XCOM 2. Without it, the wins wouldn’t feel so good, and you wouldn’t spend so long deciding which piece of cover to sprint to next. The simple controls and intuitive UI make it easy to pick up, and once you get in the flow of a battle you’ll be barking out orders quickly, watching your soldiers pop in and out of cover. You’ll find the odd glitch, and it can be frustrating when your squad misses easy shots, but there’s still no better game for testing your tactical nous.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store

Arkane just knows how to deliver. Dishonored 2 has already spent a long time in our top 30, after much anticipation, but now the studio’s next game also deserves a spot. Deathloop is a first-person shooter with elements governed by a time loop. As assassin Colt, you’re trying to escape an island full of gun-toting inhabitants by killing nine targets and breaking the time loop forcing you to relive the same day. The only problem – these targets can’t be found in the same section of the island, and since you can only visit one section per day, you have to find ways to herd them together over the course of the story.

In order to do this, you not only need to familiarise yourself with your target’s routines Hitman-style, you also need to learn the ins and outs of each section. Arkane once again delivers on great level design, so that there’s plenty to explore. The gunplay feels amazing, and is in typical Arkane style bolstered by a selection of meaningful skills to give you an edge in a fight. This is a time loop game that allows you to retain enough in terms of equipment and progress that things don’t get frustrating. Similarly, there are next to no repeats. There’s a lot to see in Deathloop, and while it refines systems you’ll recognize from other games, it’s another uniquely Arkane affair – executed with style and deeply satisfying throughout.

Get it now: Steam

Once again one of the most successful Playstation-exclusive games has found its way to PC and -you can all exhale now – it’s a great port. God of War isn’t only an incredible tech showcase thanks to its looks and world with no loading screens, but also a carefully told story of fatherhood and a robust action game. Even if you have no knowledge of the other God of War games, you can understand and empathise with the story of a man trying to make peace with his past, thanks to great acting and a script that takes its time, letting characters express themselves authentically, pacing its big, show stopping moments well.

From a gameplay standpoint, the action in God of War may follow  easily recognisable patterns, but Kratos’ axe is fun to use, not least because of its recall mechanic, and there is an undeniable feeling of impact to your every action. Add some interesting puzzles and breathtaking locales and you get one of the finest action-adventures you can play, one that truly set the bar for years to come.

God of War's sequel God of War Ragnarok is a worthy successor to this great game – while it's currently a PlayStation exclusive, the existence of GoW on PC makes it likely that Ragnarok is going to follow in the not too distant future.

Get it now: Steam Epic Games Store

Alyx is the best VR game to date, and feels like a proper evolution of Half-Life 2, one of the greatest shooters of all time. It combines a gripping, emotional story with the most detailed level design you’ve ever seen. It feels like every object can be picked up, examined, and smashed. Sometimes, that’s incidental – when you’re opening draws, crushing cardboard boxes or plucking bottles of vodka from shelves – but often, it’s central to progression. At one point, you must cover your mouth to stop Alyx coughing as you sneak past a blind monster, for example. This level of interaction makes the whole game feel alive, and makes you feel like a very real part of it.

The shooting isn’t half bad, either. You don’t have many weapons, but your arsenal is punchy and lethal, and feels perfect in your hand. Reloads are done manually, which feels fiddly at first, but speeding up over time is satisfying, until eventually sliding magazines into place is second nature. Frantic firefights are broken up by smart puzzles and slower, atmospheric sections when your only light is a torch. Being in VR makes City 17 feel far spookier than we remember.

The action is driven by a narrative worthy of the series. As Alyx Vance, you journey through City 17 trying to find your father Eli, while your witty sidekick Russell chats away in your ear. Your quest acquires larger stakes, but we don’t want to ruin anything – suffice to say the spectacular ending is worth waiting for.

Buy it now: Steam

With Elden Ring, FromSoftware combines the best of its Souls games with a genuinely exciting open world. You’re given the freedom to actually explore, without task markers guiding you, and customary to FromSoft games, there are plenty of secrets and hidden paths to discover. This is a dark but beautiful world, stuffed to a point some of its secrets will likely not be discovered until much later.

Of course, Elden Ring is a difficult game, maybe the most difficult FromSoftware game yet, but since you can set your own path and some quality of life changes likely inspired from previous games, Elden Ring is likely to attract even those who weren’t sure about the Souls games. This is a genuine breath of fresh air for open-world games, and a game people will be enjoying and talking about for years to come. It’s a perfect example of what makes FromSoftware so popular. Read our in-depth Elden Ring review for more.

Get it now: Steam

Much like the structures you can build in its world, Minecraft just keep getting bigger. Among other sandbox games, it stands alone in delivering on its promise of total freedom: you can break and place blocks in any way you choose, recreating the whole of Game of Thrones’ Westeros – or crafting a simple seaside shack and living off the land with a fishing rod.

Its multiple modes mean you can play it any way you like, which is a liberating feeling, but the presence of enemies, hidden treasure and twisting cave systems help lend it structure. Its sandbox world never fails to throw ambitious ideas into your head, and then before you know it you’ve spent five hours working, block by block, towards your next self-made objective. Mods and custom maps broaden its scope even further, and it’s at its best when you’re building your next project collaboratively with a friend.

Play it now: Mojang

When Resident Evil 4 first released, it marked the switch for the series from a fixed camera perspective to a third-person over the shoulder viewpoint. This made things tense and much more immediate and intimate, causing countless other games over the years to adapt the style. Not only that, a new inventory system and shooting controls meant Resident Evil 4 was completely different from what came before, and you weren’t even shooting zombies anymore.

Our full Resident Evil 4 Remake review calls it a "spectacularly pretty" remake, which also modernises the controls and some story beats to great effect. The fighting and set pieces combine old and new in exhilarating ways that will satisfy both old and new fans of the series, making sure (almost) everyone’s favourite Resident Evil is ready for the next generation. Join us in celebrating 27 years of Resident Evil with our RE coverage.

Get it now:

Steam

One of the best FPS games on PC for online multiplayer, and it just keeps getting better. Siege punishes you for going in all guns blazing: instead, you need to think about your approach, and co-ordinate with your teammates. The best plans come together like clockwork as your squad shoots out CCTV cameras, breaches the wall on an enemy’s position and holds the perfect angles, pinging headshots.

It can feel overwhelming to new players, but the depth of its roster means you’re bound to find your groove. Each operator has a role to play, whether you’re a marksman, a demolitions expert or just a muscly man with a giant hammer, and out-thinking your opponents feels as good as out-gunning them. Ubisoft continue to support Siege with regular new maps and operators, and improved tools for new players, as well as an unranked playlist that was added last year, means there’s no better time to pull the trigger.

Play it now: Steam Uplay

After a successful Early Access period of almost two years, the rogue-like by the makers of Bastion is now out in full. Hades combines the best of Supergiant – stunning art direction, sound and music, and of course a story full of characters that will grow on you for more than the fact that they make for great cosplay. From the get-go, this is supposed to be an inclusive roguelike, dipping its toes into roguelite territory for some permanent buffs to your character.

Zagreus, the prince of the underworld, is looking to escape, battling through several dungeons on his way to Olympus. Not only is this the best attempt at genuine storytelling in a roguelike, with plenty of surprises, Hades is also just genuinely great on a technical level, featuring speedy combat with different skills and weapons to fit your preferred playstyle. Since losing doesn’t feel like a punishment, you’ll soon find yourself in the flow of “just one more go”, getting to know a varied cast of gods better with every run. There's a reason it's our top pick for the best games of 2020.

Play it now: Steam Epic Game Store

Dishonored 2 is a near-perfect assassin sim. In the original, you were hunting a target in a huge level, and you could kill them in any way you liked: in this sequel the maps are bigger and more intricate, your supernatural powers more impressive, and you have the option to play as a second character, Emily, who has her own murderous style.

Every level is full of lavish detailed, and every avenue to your target feels like its own, perfect assassination. The smooth traversal makes it easy to get around and explore every corner of the map, searching for clues until you’ve planned your route to your final target. Maybe you go in shotgun blaring, maybe you spirit blink to a rooftop and sneak in through a window, or maybe you trick enemies into walking into their own electricity traps until all the guards are dead. And then, in a flash of metal and a blur of blue magic, your blade is in your target’s neck, and you’re vanishing into the night. It’s simply glorious.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store

It’s finally here. After more than a year of waiting, the previously PS4-exclusive cowboy simulator from GTA giants Rockstar galloped onto PC in 2019, and it’s the definitive version of the game. It’s the same story of Arthur Morgan’s quest for redemption in the US wilderness, with the same complex characters and detailed world to explore, but with improved graphics and the option to add Red Dead Redemption 2 mods that let you skip the prologue, transform into an animal, or turn Arthur into the Joker. No, seriously.

Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC runs far better than the console versions, and thanks to a recent DLSS update, The Wild West has never looked so beautiful.

Play it now: Rockstar Epic Games Store

Into the Breach’s predictability is its strength. Its rules are so clearly explained, so explicitly laid out, that it leaves no space for chance or mystery. All of your focus can go into finding the ideal place to move your tank, or the perfect spot for a missile strike – and when you inevitably cock it all up, you’ll know exactly where you went wrong.

It’s part one of the best strategy games, part puzzle game in which you move pixel art pieces across a chessboard-style map, squashing alien invaders. Each squad you can control has their own gimmicks. One relies on pushing enemies into danger zones rather than dealing direct damage, another is an expert at freezing aliens with icy attacks. Its brilliance comes in applying your arsenal to any given situation, taking 15 minutes to stare at the board until – Eureka! – the perfect next step finally hits you.

And it has near-endless replayability: if you overcome the final boss you can try again with a new squad that feels completely different. And even if you fail, the randomised, rogue-like world structure means you can instantly load up another round, complete with a fresh set of challenges to scratch your head at.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store GOG

The first two Witcher games showed flashes of brilliance in their believable, gritty characters and low-fantasy setting, but lacked polish. The Witcher 3 pairs CD Projekt Red’s excellent writing with compelling gameplay, and one of the most expansive, beautiful worlds ever created. There's a reason it's at the top of our best open-world games and best RPG games lists.

The Northern Kingdoms, inspired by European mythology, are populated by fascinating creatures and, more importantly, multi-dimensional characters. They’re all flawed, not least protagonist Geralt of Rivia, but whatever you feel about them, you can’t help but become invested in their fates. Speaking to any of them might launch a five-hour side quest that takes you across mountain and bog, vineyard and dusty city. Perhaps you’re hunting a mythical creature, or simply trying to solve a lovers quarrel: either way, you’ll care about what you’re doing, and you’ll visit some stunning locales while doing it.

Play it now: Steam Humble Store GOG

In some cases, PC gaming can even be preferable to consoles due to the technical advantages that the best graphics card and best PC processor can offer. Some of these enhancements include higher framerates, resolutions, features such as ray-tracing and HDR, the best gaming monitor that can create incredible immersive experiences, and more. For those among you who prefer using a gamepad, we highly recommend the Xbox controller. Black Friday is the best time to get one, and this year, the deals start around November 25. Keep an eye on our Black Friday Xbox Controller Deals page to be in the know when the best deals drop. Wanna sit comfortably even during long gaming sessions? Then consider picking up a gaming chair during Black Friday. Our Black Friday gaming chair deals page can help you find the best options.

So whether you have a tricked-out PC gaming setup or looking for games to play on your productivity laptop, we’ve put together a list of the best PC games you can find right now. Of course, not every game is for every person, but there are definitely at least one or two titles on there for you.

Elden Ring is all anyone can really talk about these days, and for good reason. FromSoftware's latest punishment-simulator has all the familiar touchstones of a Souls-like, but expanded out into an open world with a story crafted by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, so you know it's not going to pull any punches.

The PC version of the game has had some performance issues that FromSoftware is working on patching. Still, even with these issues, it's unquestionably one of the best games, if not the best, that the studio has ever put out.

As devoted fans of the studio's work since the original Demons' Souls on the PS3, we don't offer that kind of praise lightly, but like the Souls-like genre itself, you gotta earn it, and FromSoftware unquestionable does with Elden Ring.

Read our full Elden Ring review

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is aging like fine wine. Even several years after it hit the streets, it’s still one of the most impressive open world games that’s ever existed – mixing Skyrim’s unapologetic scale with Grand Theft Auto V’s incredible depth. It’s such a jam-packed game, which is why it's still near the top of the best PC games in 2022.

Staggering, beautiful and an absolute time sink – in a good way – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt isn’t just one of the best PC games of 2022 or among the best open world games on PC. It might just be one of the best video games of all time.

Ultra-violence and constant motion meet in this post-apocalyptic dystopian game. This FPP is not for the faint of heart – it’s tense, exhilarating, and you'll probably die repeatedly trying to beat it. If you ever wanted a game that came in equal parts Doom Eternal and Mirror’s Edge, you found it in Ghostrunner.

The game is set in Dharma Tower, a sort-of last refuge for humanity, where you ascend the tower through platforming and katana-induced carnage to take revenge on a ruthless ruler. You do so by slicing up your enemies, dodging bullets, and using a number of unique abilities to continue making your way to the top. This is the kind of game that will leave you out of breath just playing it. If that sounds like your kind of game, then you’re in for a treat.

Open-world zombie games may seem a little clichè these days but the Dying Light series has managed to keep things fresh with its parkour-style gameplay and day-night cycle, where the zombies go from slow and lumbering and extremely aggressive and much more dangerous.

In Dying Light 2, not only do you get to explore a map that’s four times larger than in the original game, you’ll be able to make decisions that fundamentally change the in-game world. That even opens up certain sections of the map depending on what you choose to do. And, like the original Dying Light, coop play allows you to tackle the game with up to three other players.

Read our full Dying Light 2 review

Supergiant Games made a name for itself thanks to the great reception that Pyre, Transistor, and Bastion received. Now, fans of the studio have a new entry to add to the studio’s pantheon of great games: Hades. Hades uses the same isometric view of the other games and tells the story of Hades’ son, Zagreus, trying to escape the underworld.

This roguelike dungeon crawler has a few new features up its sleeve. Not only can you romance some characters for extra bonuses, but dying in the game doesn’t start you at the last checkpoint. When you die, you might start at the beginning but you’re not starting over. You’re able to upgrade your character and weapons to improve your chances of escaping with each subsequent death. This leads to a sense of progression that makes for a very addictive game.

God of War as a series has been around since 2005. And, though it’s had many entries over the years, the one from 2018 has reinvigorated the series, whether that’s due to a new setting – you’re not exploring some hellscape version of Greece anymore – or the fact that Kratos now has a companion on his journey.

This former Playstation exclusive finds you playing as Kratos, the demigod that’s taken down just about the entire Greek pantheon in the previous games, as he and his son travel to the top of the mountain to scatter his dead wife’s ashes in a Norse-inspired mythological setting. Of course, being a God of War game, you’ll have to fight your way through all sorts of creatures and gods on the way.

If you ever wondered what Groundhog Day would look like in-game form, wonder no more. Deathloop, from the makers of the Dishonored series, gives the first-person shooter a fun little twist with some added strategy.

In this stylish game, you play as Colt, who’s stuck on an island in a time loop with a rival assassin. To break the loop, you have to kill eight targets before the day ends; otherwise, you start over. However, as each day resets, you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t, changing playstyles and learning the terrain until you find the best way to break the loop.

Read our full Deathloop review

Beyond its impeccable graphics and its excellent peripheral support, it won’t take you long to realize that Microsoft Flight Simulator is a labor of love. There’s a great attention to detail here, as well as a level of realism and immersion you won’t find elsewhere.

So much so that if you’re not a fan of flight simulations, you’ll want to start getting on the bandwagon. Though that also means this game won’t be for everyone. Still, if you’re a flight sim fanatic or you love planes and flying, you’ll relish the chance to fly iconic vehicles in some of the most beautiful yet dangerous locations and conditions in the world.

Read our full Microsoft Flight Simulator review

Hitman 3 closes out the rebooted trilogy with another gorgeous entry that shows what makes these games so unique. It doesn’t redefine the gameplay, yet it does introduce six new maps and wraps up the story started in 2016’s Hitman. Just like the previous games, Hitman 3's maps will take you worldwide, between Dubai, England, China, and more.

If you’re not familiar with Hitman's gameplay, you’re in for a treat. As Agent 47, you play a calm and calculating hitman whose job is to move around large maps like an English manor, finding and eliminate your targets quietly and undetected. On top of that, you can play the same map multiple times to find fresh ways or new story paths to take out your targets, giving this entry, alongside the previous ones, the kind of replayability you don’t see in most games.

Read our full Hitman 3 review

If the name Norman Reedus is what got your attention when someone mentioned Death Stranding, well then you’re in for a treat. However, this game is getting a lot of attention for more than just the big names attached to it, which incidentally include Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux.

As porter Sam Bridges, you bravely traverse an apocalyptic United States to deliver valuable cargo, navigating lands overrun by terrorists, bandits and these invisible creatures called Beached Things. This award-winning action game is a treat to all the senses as well, thanks to its great storyline, which may be reminiscent of the current pandemic, good gameplay, fun quests, and impressive sound and visuals.

Read our full Death Stranding review

Mass Effect Legendary Edition may not be a new game, per se, but it gets a shiny coat of paint as well as a few extras that make one of the most exciting gaming series ever worth revisiting. It’s not only been remastered with the ability to play in 4K, but it comes with just about all the content of the first three games including their DLCs. Additionally, there have been some technical and gameplay improvements for a more seamless experience.

If you’ve never encountered Commander Shepherd and the vast ME universe, this is the perfect time. This epic space saga not only takes you across multiple galaxies and worlds but pits you against all sorts of enemies. Whether you follow the main story or one of the many side quests, the narrative is engrossing. Best of all, you get all three games in a single package.

The newest release from Rockstar Games was an instant hit at release. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an engrossing western following Arthur Morgan and his gang, trying to survive a fictionalized Wild West as outlaws on the run. However, the game is much more than just that.

Whether it’s getting lost in the story, following through on every side quest to its conclusion, or just bonding with your horse, RDR2 is one of those games where you can easily sink 50+ hours into and still have something to do. The gameplay is stellar, and the graphics are gorgeous. You can even run the game in 8K, if you have the hardware. Definitely give this a look if you haven’t already.

Doom Eternal takes everything from the remastered Doom (2016) and turns it up to 11. The game is intense, visually and sonically overwhelming, and is exactly what you would expect a fever dream inspired by Doom would feel like.

The gameplay is a seamless first-person shooter where you trek into hell to battle an assortment of never-ending demons and reclaim an overrun earth. Refilling your health sometimes requires quite literally tearing monsters apart, and there is some need to be creative with your weapon choice, depending on what demon you’re facing. However, this game is all about creating havoc and rushing into battle as loud and as brash as possible.

Not only is Doom: Eternal a hell of a ride (pun intended), it’s also a gorgeous looking game that takes advantage of the newest hardware. And, it’s a 2v1 multiplayer mode where one player takes control of the “slayer” and faces off against two more player-controlled demons.

Read our full Doom Eternal review

No game has been as anticipated for as much or as long as Half Life 3. While you'll need to wait a little longer for it, Valve has graced us with what may be the most compelling reason to get a VR headset: Half-Life: Alyx.

Half-Life: Alyx is set 5 years before Half-Life 2. What starts as a rescue mission for the protagonist’s father evolves into attempting to steal a superweapon from the alien overlords. From the interactive puzzles, the well-thought out combat and the fantastic story, this prequel is a welcome dive back into the Half-Life world that has been universally praised for its quality.

If you’re looking for an excuse to get into VR gaming, this might be the one for you. Half-Life: Alyx’s attention to detail shows what can be done with VR when taken seriously.

Microsoft's racing series is only getting better with each release, and in many ways this spin-off has exceeded the main Forza Motorsport line as the best racing games on PC at present. They're definitely more fun, adding a dash of arcade fun to the strikingly recreated cars and race tracks we've come to expect from Forza.

Forza Horizon 4 is easily one of the best PC games you can buy today, and this entry brings the racing to the UK after having explored America, France, Italy and Australia in the previous three instalments of the franchise. Now, you can rip through charming villages, seaside towns and the city of Edinburgh by way of many miles of country roads and dirt tracks in between. It's fast, frantic and a lot of fun.

You can purchase Forza Horizon 4 through the Microsoft Store. It's also available as part of the Xbox Game Pass for PC, or you can buy the Xbox One version and get a download code for PC using the Xbox Anywhere feature.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is finally on PC, and it comes out swinging (pun intended!). Not only does the super smooth web-slinging and combat make the transition perfectly, but the enhancements to both resolution and framerate showcase just how much care went into this remastered port.

There are also plenty of other features in this PC version including ray-tracing,  NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA DLAA, and monitor setups like ultrawide 21:9, panoramic 32:9, and NVIDIA Surround multi-monitor. The PS5's DualSense controller is also fully supported alongside mouse and keyboard.

Read our full Marvel's Spider-Man review

From Software is a household name when it comes to designing the best PC games. The minds behind the critically praised Dark Souls series have transported PC gamers to some of the most forsaken landscapes and through some of the most challenging yet rewarding gameplay. From Software is back at it once more, with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Sekiro places you in the shoes of the Young Wolf, a shinobi tasked with rescuing his young master. The game will take you through 16th-century Japan, but things will get eerie and supernatural: this is From Software we’re talking about.

Don’t expect an easy time of it, however. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an awfully difficult game to master, and you’ll need quick reflexes to deflect enemy attacks, as well as to master stealth. You won’t be able to hide behind a shield all day, like you were able to in Dark Souls III.

Read our full Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review

The phrase "build it, and they will come" rings truer than ever with Minecraft, the survival-based sandbox RPG that has now been bought more than 100 million times since its release in 2009. In it, you can construct your own worlds using resources you find in the wild, or discover existing ones created by other players online.

In Minecraft, you can either limit yourself to the numerous tools and blocks offered by the developer, Mojang, or you can install mods to truly capitalize on your investment. Moreover, sometime in 2022, you’ll be able to take part in the Super Duper Graphics Pack, an optional piece of DLC that offers more realistic lighting effects and textures to an already amazing game.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI is the most recent installment in the iconic turn-based strategy game, and it's without a doubt among the best PC games you can play to date. One of the things that make the PC the best platform for gaming on is the sheer breadth of different game genres on offer. And, what Civilization VI has to offer is its massive scope, despite the fact that it might seem slower paced next to the likes of Fortnite.

Spread your empire across the map and crush your enemies. You build up your empire from a simple settlement to a world power, and you can decide to do this through military might, technological supremacy or cultural influence. Since its launch in 2016, it has had two expansion packs that really cement this game as an epic entry in our best PC games list. Civilization VI: Rise and Fall released in February 2018, with Civilization VI: Gathering Storm following in February 2019.

Diablo 4 is the latest entry in Blizzard's iconic action RPG series. With its distinctive gothic art style and modern open world layout, Diablo 4 offers a co-op-friendly dark fantasy experience. Join up with friends or play solo as you attempt to save the world of Sanctuary from the dark machinations of the nefarious Lilith.

Customize your character with dozens of different abilities and hundreds of different gear options as you craft your own bespoke adventurer. Choose from five distinctive classes, each with its own unique mechanics and ability combinations. Diablo 4 also offers a seamless multiplayer experience, allowing you to enlist the help of friends as you delve into the game's foreboding dungeons.

• CD Projekt RED / The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
• Warhorse Studios. Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
• Battlestate Games. Escape from Tarkov.
• Coffee Stain Publishing. Satisfactory.
• Rockstar.