The best PC games 2024

What are the best PC games? From triple-A world-beaters like GTA 5 to enchanting indie releases such as Rocket League, these classics are the biggest games across Steam, Epic Games Store, and more.

Finding the top PC games is no easy task. There are, you may have noticed, quite a lot of them. From the 50,000-plus Steam games to… all those other platforms you love so much, there has never been more choice available to the discerning PC gamer. From the best RPG games to the most mind-blowing FPS games, here are the best PC games of all time, according to us. There are even some free PC games thrown in there, too.

Here are the best PC games, in our opinion: 

Pacific Drive

Take a journey through the radiated Olympic Exclusion Zone in the only vehicle available, a beaten up, hunk of junk, station wagon. The zone is filled with plenty of horrors and creepy crawlies, fortunately, your car is here to protect you. As you drive through this terrifying area, you’ve got to piece together evidence that shows how this area came to be and who caused this destruction.

Your journey should contain a few stops to gather materials and other helpful resources to bolster your vehicle. By the end of the game, the relationship you have between you and your car is going to be determined by how well you treated it with the latest upgrades. Give our Pacific Drive review a read to see what we thought of this impressive indie game.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

By embracing turn-based RPG mechanics, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth perfectly blends serious Yakuza crime drama and a surreal fever dream. One minute, you are getting to the bottom of the disappearance and sudden emergence of Ichiban’s mother. The next, you’re cycling through the Hawaiian streets, collecting burgers in the street to be a more efficient DoorDash, or phoning up “Poundmates” to summon a lobster and hermit crab to attack an enemy.

Our Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth review calls it “the end result of two decades of iteration” and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku’s “best game yet”. Those just starting should check out the new Infinite Wealth jobs system, as well as our guide to all that Infinite Wealth Dondoko Island has to offer.

Persona 3 Reload

2024 has been an excellent start for fans of JRPGs, and Persona 3 Reload is just one of them. Its story mixes impressive writing with sincere heart and soul in its themes of loss and dealing with the consequences left behind by others. Reload’s most remarkable feat, as mentioned in our Persona 3 Reload review, is just how streamlined the battle system gets, making it more playable than ever.

Despite all the changes, the one thing Reload maintains from the original is its sense of style. No RPG, not even the other games in the Persona series, has quite the same level of coolness about it. It’s on Game Pass, too, so it’s well worth a look if you’re vaguely intrigued. Oh, and we have the new Persona 3 Reload class answers, should you need them.

Street Fighter 6

Capcom’s hot streak continues as they release yet another scorcher. This time, it’s Street Fighter 6 that has been incredibly popular among the game’s usual hardcore audience, and it’s managed to reach a new set of fans thanks to its casual approach. Street Fighter 6 includes the usual 1v1 fighting mode the series is known for, but now there’s a 15-hour story mode for players to learn the mechanics and brush up on their Street Fighter lore.

The fighting side of Street Fighter 6 has never been better, featuring the Drive Bar, which incorporates several new and returning mechanics. Not only is the classic parry back, but players also have access to Drive Rush, a new technique that lets fighters cancel specific moves, leading to spectacular combos. Check out our Street Fighter 6 review to see why we awarded this game a 9/10. We also have a Street Fighter 6 tier list if you’re wondering who to main first.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake is a familiar name in gaming, following the success of the 2010 psychological thriller game in which he was introduced to us. The first game had an expansion, American Nightmare, and a remastered re-release, but all fans have wanted for the last decade was a sequel to the Remedy game.

Announced during The Game Awards 2021, the Alan Wake 2 release date arrived in 2023, where we find Wake rotting away in the Dark Place. At least we know where he’s been all this time. As we explain in our Alan Wake 2 review, a lot of the new game doesn’t take place with Wake in the Dark Place; we take on the role of the new character Saga Anderson, an FBI agent uncovering the dark secrets of Bright Falls. Switch between the two characters as you progress through this unique story game and uncover the link between Bright Falls, the Dark Place, and the novelist himself.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Larian’s reputation as one of the best developers around was solidified with the release of Divinity: Original Sin 2, but if you had any doubts, Baldur’s Gate 3 is sure to cement its place. Built upon the foundations of Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition ruleset, BG3 lets players use their creativity to solve problems, accomplish tasks, and set goblins on fire.

A lot of games promise this level of depth, but BG3 is designed to continue even if the player decides to kill every useful NPC around. In this 70-hour epic, the story will adapt to your actions, even if you murder fan favorites like Astarion and Karlach. Read our BG3 review to see why we gave this incredible game an excellent score of 9/10, and don’t forget to check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 builds guide if you want to design your character from scratch.

Diablo 4

The Diablo series is the jewel in Blizzard’s crown – a long-running tale of good versus evil, heaven versus hell, and clicking until you develop a repetitive strain injury. Diablo 4, as our D4 review suggests, is the biggest and the best of the series so far, giving us an engrossing story, a rewarding gameplay loop, and beautiful visuals.

If you’ve yet to set foot on the land of Sanctuary, we have plenty of guides to help you get started. Our Diablo 4 classes guide will help you nail down which of the five classes suits you best, we have the best Diablo 4 builds here so you have all the advantages you need when it comes to facing off against Lilith and her armies of evil.

Valorant

The Counter-Strike series has sat unchallenged as the pinnacle of competitive FPS games since its inception, featuring shooting mechanics that reward mechanical skill above all else, a weapon economy that provokes constant strategic reshuffles, and perfectly balanced maps. Valorant, from Riot Games, does all of that while mixing in a roster of heroes, each with passive, active, and ultimate abilities. Some of those abilities have Counter-Strike counterparts, like smokescreens, flashes, and grenades, but there’s nuance to how each Agent’s kit works that ensures every round plays out differently.

Valorant may not win over the FPS purists, but it’s infinitely more accessible and offers new players an inroad that doesn’t involve being good at clicking on heads. And if you are one of those new players, then allow us to help you out with a guide to all the Valorant characters, a ranking of them in the form of a Valorant tier list, and a helping hand getting used to the gun, spray patterns, and Valorant crosshairs so your shots will always be on target.

Half-Life: Alyx

Okay, so maybe a VR game wasn’t what we all had in mind when Valve announced its first new Half-Life game since the long-abandoned Half-Life 3, but Alyx isn’t just an incredible Half-Life game. It also – finally – validates the years of VR hype.

The scope is certainly smaller than the main Half-Life games, but whereas missions in Alyx will often take place in a single building, the level of interaction available to you far exceeds even that of the Gravity Gun. Whether that’s in flashy moments like using a wooden beam to play baseball with enemy grenades or simply sweeping clutter off shelves in search of extra ammo. It’s got that good game feel, just like a shotgun blast in Doom or Mario’s “wahoo!” but this time, it makes you feel as much a part of City 17 as the looming Combine ships. You can read our full Half-Life: Alyx review here in case your mind’s not made up yet.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

The first of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games introduced us to frantic combat and rapid web-swinging through the bustling streets of Manhattan that we’d never seen before in videogames, and the Miles Morales sequel is essentially more of the same but improved in every way. Side filler missions like sneaking through an art gallery as MJ is gone, combat abilities and skills have been given more gusto, and the story is a little shorter to ensure it never dips in quality at any point.

What’s even better is that while Miles Morales is technically a spin-off and, as a result, it uses the same map of Manhattan, it’s set during the festive period, so it automatically becomes one of the best Christmas games, with snow and festive decorations everywhere. The story is all about Miles proving himself as Spider-Man while Peter’s taken a leave of absence, and it’s certainly one of the best superhero games, if not the best.

Inscryption

Very few games blend genres like Inscryption, where a simple card game meets atmospheric horror. Who knew you could feel such tension – or, in our case, existential dread – by placing the wrong card on the table?

Inscryption takes inspiration from the tabletop games you’d see over on Wargamer. Its price tag is a steal, with a compelling gameplay loop that will leave you wanting more. It also packs a story with more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but the less we say about that, the better.

Outer Wilds

In Outer Wilds, you’re an alien, reliving the same 22 minutes in space before a star goes supernova. You learn how to pilot a spaceship, then explore the galaxy on a hunt to figure out why the star is going supernova and, more importantly, how to stop it – if that’s even possible.

Outer Wilds is all about the journey along the way, though, as you explore several planets with weird and wonderful happenings, including some lost friends who have been resigned to see out their existence on these planets. You’ll be left scratching your head at times, too, because there are plenty of logic puzzles to solve in one of the best space games of all time. The brilliant nature of Outer Wilds is truly difficult to explain, though, as it’s an experience everyone should experience without knowing much more going into it, so what are you waiting for?

Monster Hunter Rise

While the base game was a lot of fun, as you can tell from our Monster Hunter Rise review, it’s only with the Sunbreak expansion that Monster Hunter Rise finally feels complete. What begins as a mission to protect your village from rampaging beasts soon becomes an adventure to the other side of the world to stop evil creatures from destroying everything.

Taking on these colossal creatures, whether playing with friends or on your own, is a thrilling, white-knuckle ride against some of the best-designed bosses ever. If this sounds like your idea of a great time, check out our Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak weapon tier list to get started with the best weapon.

Hades

After its full release in September 2020, Hades garnered a lot of praise as one of the finest indies and made plenty of GOTY lists, including our own. Three years later, this isometric roguelike is still one of our favorite games on PC.

Playing as Zagreus, son of Hades and prince of the underworld, you must fight your way out of hell using various weapons and boons sent from the Olympian gods. With each failed attempt at escape, you’re resurrected back at House of Hades, where you can converse with friends and use your chambers to acquire upgrades and perks.

Hades has a compelling narrative at its core, as well as a cast of witty characters and challenging combat to make this one of the best roguelike games of all time. Give our Hades 2 release date guide a read to discover what’s coming to the highly anticipated sequel.

Total War: Warhammer 3

Rounding off an epic trilogy of strategy games, Total War: Warhammer 3 brings together the highlights from the previous games in the series into one magnificent conclusion. It’s the culmination of years’ worth of iteration by Creative Assembly, and it’s the ultimate Warhammer Fantasy experience and one of the best Total War games. Seven factions, multiple different campaign types, and online campaign co-op are but a few reasons to take a stroll into the Old World once more, but you’ll stick around for longer than ever, thanks to thoroughly applied polish at every level of the game.

It’s also wildly ambitious, with the sprawling Immortal Empires map encompassing everything that Creative Assembly has ever made for the three Warhammer games. Take a glance at our Total War: Warhammer 3 review for our complete take.

Slay the Spire

We’ve seen other developers try their hand at creating a roguelike deck builder, but no one has perfected the genre like Megacrit’s Slay The Spire. It’s easy to understand all of the deck archetypes for each class, and you can take things to another level when you incorporate Relics. These powerful items contain special buffs that permanently affect your deck.

Relics open up endless deck-building possibilities as you can discover game-breaking combinations, but therein lies the problem. You may not receive the same mixture of Relics and cards in your next 50 attempts, leading you to discover stronger setups than you ever imagined. With 20 difficulty levels to get through, a deadly secret boss at the end of each run, and four unique classes to learn, there’s a good reason why most Slay The Spire players have hundreds of hours logged on Steam. See our PC Slay the Spire review and see why we love this game.

Dishonored 2

Sometimes, in Dishonored 2, you have to kill yourself to save yourself. Playing as Emily Kaldwin, you’re able to cast a ghostly doppelganger at street level and jump down onto its head, plunging your dagger into its neck to break your fall, negating any damage.

Doppelganger’s intended function is to be used as a distraction, a way to escape from a confrontation. But developer Arkane wants you to bend the rules; to see what’s beyond the veil. You’re supposed to experiment, to see what’s possible – and, oh boy, there’s so much you can do if you are inventive enough. There’s so much to revel in; Arkane’s sneaker is one of the few games we’ve awarded a perfect score. Read our Dishonored 2 PC review to find out why we love it so damn much.

You get to play with these systems in Karnaca – a gorgeous, stylized, fictional slice of the Mediterranean. It is one of the most cohesive, story-rich environments in video games, with every room telling a story with its props. Whether you’re slinking across the rooftops or sprinting through, knife-in-hand, it’s a place that begs to be explored as much as your abilities do. If you like your games with both violence and brains, don’t overlook this clever assassination sim. Indeed, it’s one of the best stealth games on PC ever.

Deathloop

First-person shooters have been around long enough that it’s difficult to come up with ways to meaningfully innovate on the formula. Fortunately, there’s Deathloop, which happens to be our favorite game of 2021. You start on a desolate beach as Colt Vahn, vaguely remembering that you’re the head of security for a mysterious North Atlantic island that’s been converted into an eternal playground for the ultra-rich, thanks to a time loop machine that resets time every day and ensures nobody suffers consequences for anything.

It’s Groundhog Day with guns, set in an alternative ’60s full of the chaos that characterized the decade. Experimental Bauhaus art, a scorching funk soundtrack, a set of Dishonored-style special abilities, and massive guns you can dual-wield make Deathloop a terrific shooter. It doesn’t stop there, though: to line things up so that every boss can be taken out in a single day, you’ll have to explore, solve puzzles, and plan carefully – or you can decide to screw up someone else’s run by invading their game as Julianna.

Deathloop is fast-paced and dazzling from beginning to end, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome – while you can invade other players’ games as Julianna until the end of time, the Deathloop campaign wraps up in around 30 hours – and that’s time well spent. If you’re jumping into the campaign for the first time or you need a refresher, check out our Deathloop safe codes and Deathloop glowing items guides. Read our Deathloop review for the full rundown.

Red Dead Redemption 2

In Rockstar’s follow-up to one of the greatest western games of all time – you’ll take on the role of rugged outlaw Arthur Morgan, part of the reckless and depleting Van der Linde gang. As you ride through the merciless fictional US landscape, Red Dead Redemption 2 not only thrusts you into a perilous world in which outlaws are facing extinction, crushed under the accountability of law and order but propels you into a downward spiral of morality versus survival.

Red Dead Redemption’s beauty lies in the imminent fate of the gang and stolen moments around the campfire. Arthur feels a crushing responsibility to rescue and reassure his entire hapless family, even the rotten rogues who appear hell-bent on steering the group toward a cataclysmic end.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of those games that will stay with you for many years after the credits roll. From quiet haunts tracking legendary animals and plucking herbs from the side of old railways to moments of desperation where the gang leads a retaliation against rivals, – there’s an immense amount of detail in this world and just as much heart. Check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 PC review for the full verdict. If you get stuck, try our Red Dead 2 cheats, which are sure to get you out of a metaphorical, and literal, bind.

XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is a special sequel. Most gaming follow-ups are iterative improvements on a formula, but this one works to justify its existence by being a different game altogether. Where Enemy Unknown granted you the support of all the planet’s governments and asked you to watch it dwindle, XCOM 2 starts you off with next to nothing: a handful of ragtag fighters of questionable backgrounds fighting against the might of an alien enemy that has already conquered Earth.

This new guerilla perspective produces some of the best tactics the PC has ever seen, and as our XCOM 2 PC review attests, it’s one of the best strategy games in years. Timed missions force hard choices between potentially saving the rookie with your best grenade or the sniper you’ve been fondly upgrading. Cold, cruel decisions like these will bring you success and guilt – only exacerbated by the War of the Chosen DLC, which binds soldiers in relationships just so that it hurts all the more when those bonds are inevitably broken. If you’re struggling to save the human race from those pesky aliens in the expansion, check out our XCOM 2 War of the Chosen guide.

While we’re still nowhere near an XCOM 3 release date, the recent XCOM Chimera Squad is a character-focused game where you’ll be able to play as both aliens and humans and fight against a movement that threatens the new peace in City 31.

Grand Theft Auto 5

There’s a reason GTA 5 still consistently tops the charts and boasts incredible player counts years after its release: it’s still the pinnacle of the sandbox genre, not to mention one of the best PC games of all time. We have had a bunch of other open-world games launch since, but none match the fidelity of GTA 5’s fictional recreation of LA; its sprawling hillsides, the distant Mount Chiliad, its jutting metropolis, and the dusty trailer parks surrounding it all.

It’s a world that calls to you, begging for you to speed across it on a motorbike, weaving between traffic as you go. Plenty of games lure us to the peaks of their mountains, but very few let us then base jump from the mountain’s peak while being chased by the armed forces.

Rockstar’s crime series generally attracts headlines because of its violence, but it’s not the shooting that keeps players exploring its world – it’s the feeling that anything can happen, the Rage engine’s slapstick physics system providing endless entertainment as you barrel down hills or take a clout to the head with the wing of a plane. The fact that you can experience all of this online with friends makes it all the sweeter, and that online portion of the game is now as popular as the main game, boasting rich GTA RP communities who fill in for ordinary civilians as if part of a rich MMO. The game keeps growing with GTA 5 mods If you get stuck, there are plenty of GTA 5 PC cheats. There’s also news on a GTA 6 release date and a new trailer for the next in the series.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The best RPGs keep their greatest stories in their side quests, and those in The Witcher 3 contain some of the most memorable and heartbreaking moments in video games.

Its genius lies in how nuanced its characters are. Take the Bloody Baron – when you first meet him, he comes across as a hateful, nasty man with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. You begrudge helping him at all. By the end of his plot, you’ll empathize with him, despite his disgusting character flaws. It’s dark fantasy at its very darkest – an adult game that is actually for grown-ups, full of moments that will stay with you well after the credits roll. Simply put, it’s one of the best PC games ever made, as you’ll find out in our The Witcher 3 PC review.

When the credits do roll, though, you still have two of the best videogame expansions in existence to get stuck into. The first, Hearts of Stone, takes a seemingly innocuous character you meet at the start of the main game and turns them into the most menacing, disturbing adversary you’ve ever seen. The second, Blood and Wine, is almost another game in itself, taking you to the sunny land of Toussaint to combat a growing vampire problem. If you’re looking to lose yourself in another world for well over 100 hours, it doesn’t get better than staring at this beauty’s burnt orange sunsets. Want to make the game even better? Read up on the best The Witcher 3 mods, although we aren’t sure you’ll need to change much.

Stardew Valley

Indie farming games are a dime a dozen these days, but Stardew Valley is the genre’s shining star and absolutely the best place to start. After giving up your dull office job, you move to your grandfather’s farm and take over the reins. It’s not quite as simple as growing crops and looking after animals though, as the quaint village of Stardew Valley is full of interesting characters and mysteries to uncover.

Expanding is just one of the tasks on your list, as you make friends and give gifts to plenty of budding bachelors and bachelorettes, all while helping to restore the community center at the heart of the town, and prevent – or assist if you’d rather – supermarket conglomerate Joja Corp from taking over. Combat is a vital aspect of the game too as you head deeper into the mines, as is fishing and exploring secret areas away from the village itself. Stardew Valley is the ultimate relaxing game, though you may find you blink and several hours have passed. If you fancy spicing up the experience even more, our list of the best Stardew Valley mods will have something for you.

Hitman

If you thought Hitman: Absolution was a misstep, put those worries aside – everyone’s favorite barcode-headed baldie is back on fine form in Hitman.

The Hitman series is full of incredible, tense, and sometimes hilarious missions, and this episodic entry houses some of the best. Sapienza is an instant classic, asking you to take out a mob boss in a picturesque Italian town. In it, you can eliminate your target by popping an explosive golf ball into their caddy sack and watching them take a swing at it.

Whether you’re drowning folk in a toilet or carefully lining up a sniper shot in time to some fireworks, Hitman is full of inventive ways to dish out death. Each mission is designed to be played over and over again, begging for you to approach it in myriad ways. As you’ll discover in our Hitman PC review, you can spend days mastering each; there is that much to do. If you want murder in your games to be more meaningful, flex your fiber wire and grab Hitman by the throat.

The sequels, both Hitman 2 and Hitman 3, don’t do much to excel the formula, but with several new sandboxes for you to murder your way through, it’s well worth picking them up if you enjoy the first game. Check our guide to the Hitman timeline to see the full story of Agent 47.

Psychonauts 2

New, big-budget 3D platformers are an increasingly rare sight in gaming, but Double Fine’s return to a cult classic makes us pine for the genre’s heyday. It’s a sequel that improves on practically every aspect of the original, with sharper movement, more varied combat, and most importantly, a story that uses its setting and conceits to say some insightful, important things about mental health.

Every level is based inside a character’s mind, providing completely different types of gameplay in each instance. In one, you might find yourself inside the head of a doctor with a gambling addiction, trying your luck at casino minigames to access the high-roller suite and set things right. In another, you take on an Overcooked-like cooking show challenge on behalf of someone whose fear of judgment is ruining their life. They’re tonally, aesthetically, and narratively consistent – and they’re always a ton of fun. Check out our glowing Psychonauts 2 review for the full verdict.

Alien: Isolation

If you’ve ever watched Ridley Scott’s horror film Alien and thought, ‘I’d love to be inside that movie’, then Alien: Isolation is your golden ticket, also, you might need to talk to someone professionally. Creative Assembly’s survival horror game replicates the world of Wyland Yutani and xenomorphs with astonishing attention to detail, right down to the computer terminals that flicker and hum as if it were 1979 all over again.

But Isolation’s pitch-perfect recreation of the movie’s setting and era is only part of what puts it among the best PC games. The real triumph is the xenomorph itself: a solitary, unstoppable beast that stalks you incessantly on your journey through the game.

What makes it truly remarkable is the adaptive AI system, which means it’s constantly learning – if it discovers you hiding in a vent, it’ll begin to search vents during subsequent encounters. This turns the creature into a true menace, keeping tension levels high both during play and long after you have shut down your computer. Read our Alien Isolation review, and if you have nerves of steel, you can hook up Isolation to Oculus Rift for one of the best VR games on PC you’ll ever play. And looking ahead we can only dream of Alien Isolation 2.

World of Warcraft

One of the only subscription MMOs to get it right, and always capable of a resurgence in popularity and quality, World of Warcraft is an easy recommendation. Its Warlords of Draenor low point left many wondering if there was still a future for one of the most famous games of all time. Fortunately, recent expansions have shown that it’s still alive and well, and it’s not going away any time soon. No matter what you’re logging on for, it remains one of the best PC games around.

Each expansion provides a massive, co-op-enabled RPG storyline of its own, with only the most climatic moments requiring the presence of other people. Of course, if you want to delve into the endgame and join 24 others in taking down the world’s biggest bads, all that is there as well. World of Warcraft raiding remains amazing, while constant updates and a solid content plan make it one of the best MMOs on PC.

If WoW appears too daunting you can play it in its base form with World of Warcraft Classic. In our WoW Classic review, we call it “a well-implemented redux of a moment in time, which may surprise you with its engaging focus on leveling and the friendliness of its players”. If you’re looking to get off to a quick start, then our WoW Classic leveling guide or WoW classes guide will be all the prep you need.

Her Story

Talk about a revolutionary game. Her Story is made all the more impressive by being built around one of gaming’s oldest technologies: full-motion video. FMV was used at a time when it was too expensive to create good CGI cutscenes. Over the years, it began to get a reputation for cheapness and kitsch and fell out of use. In Her Story, though, it’s used to create a sense of reality.

Where the game shines is in the openness it gives you to investigate its central crime. Other detective games often make investigation a matter of finding a glowing object at a murder scene. As you can find out in our Her Story PC review, you have to scour short archived clips for clues, entering keywords into the in-game search engine as though you were directly questioning the woman on film. Her Story has to make this list because, since its release in 2015, no one has dared to copy it.

Titanfall 2

Everything Titanfall 2 does, it does flawlessly. It’s simply one of the best PC games ever made. The flow of Pilot combat is still unmatched in showcasing how well shooting and movement can be combined in a first-person game, even with a time-to-kill ratio matching Call of Duty. On the other hand, the hulking, slow, strategic combat of Titan fights brings an entirely different mode of play, and interaction between the two phases is a whole other kettle of fish. Only Doom (2016) – which comes close to having its own entry in this list – competes with the pure thrill of managing to melee execute an opposing Titan.

As we point out in our Titanfall 2 campaign review, this FPS is blessed with some of the finest set pieces we’ve ever seen. It’s a masterpiece of pacing and structure, which manages to make even its sewer level a joy to play through. The most well-known mission, Effect and Cause, has gone down as one of the finest in memory, and for good reason – don’t spoil it for yourself, but do play it as soon as possible.

League of Legends

Trying to decide which is the best MOBA is an argument that could rage on for hours, but League of Legends is a pretty good place to start. Since its release in 2009, it has become a global phenomenon, consistently one of the most-played games in the world, and at one point had a player base of more than 100 million.

Easier to grasp than Dota 2 but mechanically deeper than Heroes of the Storm, LoL hits a sweet spot in terms of approachability while still managing to constantly evolve. New and updated champions arrive on the Rift several times a year, keeping the game fresh despite its age. Every one of the best LoL champions is unique, too. From ancient gods to pirates and even monsters from another world, there is a way to enjoy the game no matter what you’re looking for.

Final Fantasy XIV

Set in the spectacular world of Eorzea, Final Fantasy XIV Online is a must for long-time fans of the franchise and MMORPG players alike – especially in the wake of Endwalker. With a dramatic storyline, soaring soundtrack, and stunning visuals, it’s well worth taking the free trial for a spin. Check our Final Fantasy XIV review of the Endwalker expansion.

Aside from the action, the game’s ever-expanding community is incredibly friendly, offering players a virtual family that can set up events, participate in raids, and battle it out in competitions together. FFXIV is defined by its player base – so go and become part of it! If you’re already playing then check our FFXIV housing, classes, and races guides.

Elden Ring

FromSoft’s Souls series has established itself as one of the all-time great series of the past decade in gaming, but its reputation for difficulty has probably scared off at least as many potential players as it has drawn in with its moody, mournful worlds and esoteric narratives. While Elden Ring doesn’t break from Souls’ traditional challenge, it offers a far more welcoming experience thanks to its vast open world – the first of its kind for the studio.

And what an open world it is. Elden Ring’s The Lands Between is a revelation: it stretches for miles but never feels empty. Each area is packed with new enemies to outwit, ancient tombs to uncover, weird characters to meet, and fantastical Elden Ring bosses to die fighting again and again and again until you can finally bring knowledge and execution together and emerge victorious. Each of Elden Ring’s zones includes a ‘legacy dungeon’ that feels more akin to the more linear do-or-die levels of the Souls games, but each one merits revisiting to find the secrets hidden deep within.

But if, for example, a stray dragon guarding a lake is proving too difficult, you can always head off and explore somewhere else. You’re only ever given suggestions, and you’re always free to head off on your own to learn more about the world and grow stronger simply by following your sense of curiosity and adventure or trying out different Elden Ring builds.

Elden Ring is a great game when considered on its merits, but it’s also an important game: its approach to open-world game design plots a new course for the genre toward a world in which repeatable, cookie-cutter activities and endless map icons are relics of the past. There’s no seasonal reward track to follow because playing Elden Ring is the reward – and that’s more than enough. That said, if you are looking for even more Elden Ring content, don’t forget about the Shadow of the Erdtree release date, which is set to launch sometime this year. Check out our Elden Ring review for the full verdict.

Minecraft

It’s over a decade old, but it’s still nigh impossible to recommend another sandbox crafting game over Minecraft. Simply put, it’s one of the best PC games for creators – something so simple it has become a bona fide phenomenon among kids and families. And yet, it also boasts sufficient depth and complexity to sustain massive communities of modders, architects, warriors, roleplayers, survival experts, game designers, and storytellers.

It’s easy to forget that below all of the headline-grabbing Minecraft maps and the best Minecraft mods, it remains a remarkably humble game about building yourself a shack to survive the myriad monsters that come out at night. The beauty is that it works on both levels, so if you fall in love with it, there are infinite possibilities as to where the player-made add-ons can take you. Suffice it to say, we’d be tickled a particularly delighted shade of pink if Minecraft 2 gets announced.

Portal 2

Portal 2 may be over a decade old, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive in 2024. A fully-formed sequel to the bite-sized first game, Portal 2 transcends the test of time with its effortlessly funny story and sheer variety of head-scratching puzzle rooms.

Portal 2 is a must-play for any puzzle fan, and with distinct solo and co-op campaigns, there’s a lot to dig into. Valve removed the size limit on Steam Workshop levels in 2021, meaning that there are now plenty of even bigger and better ways to test your noggin for science, you monster.

Rocket League

‘Football with cars’ sounds like a simple concept, and at its most basic level, that’s more or less exactly what Rocket League is. You blast around the map in a rocket-powered car, trying to get an oversized football into the opposing goal.

But scratch away the surface, and you’ll realize that this soccer speedster, as we point out in our Rocket League PC review, is one of the most complex and demanding sports games ever made. A single second of indecision can be fatal, one wheel out of place can throw an entire match. You’ll need lightning reflexes, tactical genius, and mechanical mastery to succeed in a game that is as much a white-knuckle ride as it is FC 24.

At its peak, Rocket League is a fast-paced aerial ballet, a game that takes seconds to understand but years to master. And if you want to achieve said mastery, read our Rocket League tipsclass="gallery"> for guaranteed soccer success.

Crusader Kings 3

We like Crusader Kings 3 a lot. Paradox’s grand strategy game takes every facet of medieval dynastic life and lets you mess around with it to no end. From declaring war on children to finding out one of your court members is a cannibal, this is a Dark Ages tragedy simulator. Our Crusader Kings 3 review can tell you how it’s a fantastic grand strategy game – and an even better RPG – to get into if you’ve never tried one before, and yet it also picks up where Crusader Kings 2 left off, for long-time CK fans. An updated UI, a more comprehensive tutorial, and even more ways to tinker with your kingdom and interact with other leaders we couldn’t ask for much more from a Paradox game.

If you’re looking for a PC game that teaches you a little about the customs of Europe and Northern Africa before you ruin them as much as you like, this game is for you. With CK3 mods already pouring in, you can also be sure that you’ll never run out of new ways to approach the life of a medieval ruler. Check out our Crusader Kings 3 beginner’s guide for help starting in the sometimes-bewildering genre.

Spelunky 2

Just when you thought this roguelike game couldn’t get any better, Spelunky 2 sticks to its hardcore roots to create a long-awaited sequel for its dedicated community. Spelunky 2 takes players on a deadly journey in search of treasure, but you need to keep your eyes peeled for hidden traps, as the world wants nothing more than to stop you in your tracks. This game is a roguelike in the truest sense of the term, forcing you to go back to square one as soon as you make the tiniest mistake. That’s part of what makes Spelunky 2 so addicting to play; it’s exciting to explore new parts of the game while overcoming sections that you once felt were impossible to get through.

After you’ve finished the main set of levels of Spelunnky 2, you can attempt to go on a Cosmic Run, which is designed to test your spelunking skills. Do you have what it takes to ascend to the astral plane and become a star constellation? Spelunky 2 ramps up the carnage by introducing cross-play co-op, giving you and up to three friends the chance to complete a campaign together. While you might think adding more people should make the game easier, you need to try it to understand why things become so tricky.

Tetris Effect: Connected

Created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the video game designer behind Lumines and Rez Infinite, Tetris Effect is known best for its incredible journey mode.  Fly in hot air balloons above the desert, swim in the ocean surrounded by sea creatures, and take a trip through a dense forest in this impressive single-player campaign.

The best Tetris game ever made just got better with Connected, a free expansion that adds cross-platform multiplayer and cooperative modes to the puzzle game. As the name implies, up to three friends can connect as they fight against AI-controlled bosses. Using the Zone mechanic, players combine their screens to create one super-sized Tetris board, granting you the ability to fire off massive amounts of garbage lines. If you’re feeling competitive, you can play a modern version of Battle Tetris using the zone mechanic or rewind the clock with classic NES rules.

The PC version of Tetris Effect: Connected is as good as it gets, featuring optional VR support, support for ultra-wide aspect ratios, and an uncapped frame rate.

Dark Souls 3

We could’ve picked any of the games from the Dark Souls trilogy, including Dark Souls 2, according to some people, but we settled on Dark Souls 3 due to its excellent pacing throughout the entire game. Dark Souls 3 takes players on a journey through Lothic, starting with the Cemetery of Ash. Just as you’d expect from a Souls game, the combat is tough as nails yet incredibly rewarding.

From the enhanced weapon arts system from Bloodborne, to the improved fast travel mechanic from Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3 is a culmination of everything From Software has learned and has been brought together to make their best game yet. Read our Dark Souls 3 review to understand exactly what it is that makes this game worthy of a 9/10.

Half-Life 2

Ignoring for a second its environments, its characters, and all of its wonderful aesthetic details, what Half-Life 2 managed to create was an almost perfect chemistry between action and story, and videogame developer and videogame player. The fact it did this in 2004, before BioShock, The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption 2, or any of the modern, acclaimed narrative adventures, is testament to what was once Valve’s visionary game-making ability.

Set pieces are intricate, original, and entertaining. The pace is electric, pushing you from City 17, to the canals, to Ravenholm, the coast, Nova Prospekt, then back to the city for a spectacular finale. And virtually every aspect of Half-Life 2 feels pored over and refined. It’s a supremely enjoyable game to play, but your expression and your fun as a player never comes at the cost of the game’s integrity, and its creators’ intentions. Two decades later, Half-Life 2 still feels groundbreaking.

There we have it, the best PC games you can buy today. While we impatiently wait for The Witcher 4 release date and Half-Life 3, why not read up on some of the most exciting upcoming PC games headed to a rig near you? Alternatively, here’s our round-up of all the new PC games worth checking out. To be honest, the above masterpieces could easily last you a lifetime, so perhaps you never need to play a new release ever again.

Additional contributions by Paul Kelly and Ed Smith.