The Best PC Games for 2025

South of Midnight is a soulful odyssey into the American Deep South, a region rich with culture rarely seen in video games. As Hazel, you use magical weaving powers to fight monsters and heal pain. The gorgeous world draws inspiration from myth and folklore, presented with a subtle stop-motion style. Nimble platforming makes environments a joy to navigate. Ultimately, it’s the heartfelt storytelling that turns South of Midnight into an experience that sticks with you.

For more, check out The Best PC Action Games.

For nearly three decades, atmospheric point-and-click game Myst has stood as one of the best, most successful, and most influential PC release of all time. This latest update enhances the beautiful visuals, adds virtual reality support, and randomizes puzzles to make each playthrough unique. Get lost on the island all over again.

For more, check out The Best PC Adventure Games.

Fortnite is the super-popular, mainstream face of the battle royale genre, but that doesn’t mean that the title is without merit. Fortnite has a lot going for it, including approachable gameplay modes, bright and zany graphics, and an excellent construction system. The heavy reliance on microtransactions detracts from the experience a bit, but fans of PUBG and other genre releases should still give this free-to-play game a shot.

For more, check out The Best Battle Royale Games.

A love letter to TMNT fans, Shredder’s Revenge sees developer Tribute Games pull from past games, comics, and TV shows to create what may be the definitive Turtles title. Featuring six-player action in local and online co-op, Shredder’s Revenge has all the humor and wonderful animation that you’d expect from a property that pits mutated reptiles (and a rat) vs. ninjas (and an alien brain). Like Streets of Rage 4, it incorporates fighting game elements to keep the combos flowing.

For more, check out The Best Beat ‘Em Up Games.

King of Fighters is great, but Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves resurrects the SNK fighter that started it all. Familiar faces like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, as well as odd real-life guest characters like Ronaldo and DJ Salvatore Ganacci, gather for an excellent take on fundamental, 2D fisticuffs. Rich mechanics add depth to both offensive and defensive play, and comic book-inspired graphics give brawls a distinct visual identity. Crossplay multiplayer shines with rollback netcode.

For more, check out The Best PC Fighting Games.

More than just a clever acronym, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a delightful reimagining of Capcom’s other zombie-slaying franchise. You still play as a photojournalist, Frank West, who slaughters the undead inside a shopping mall. However, this version features modern visuals and conveniences to bring the 2006 game up to today’s standards.

For more, check out The Best PC Horror Games.

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft is a MMORPG that has evolved into a cultural icon over the past 12 years. The list of accolades that WoW has accumulated since its release is simply staggering. While it is certainly not the first or only entry in this particular genre, WoW is the standard by which all other MMOs are judged. The game, bolstered by many expansions and a recent visual makeover, is a rich and rewarding experience that boasts a large selection of customizable races and classes battling in a fantasy world.

For more, check out The Best PC MMO Games.

League of Legends, Riot Games’ free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena title is, simply put, the best MOBA game you can buy. Its gameplay incorporates elements of role playing, tower defense, and real-time strategy—a combination that differentiates it from the many cookie-cutter MOBAs flooding the market. More importantly, the playable characters (known as Champions) show a deep level of variation, and each match’s competition level increases as the game sinks you deeper and deeper into addiction.

For more, check out The Best PC MOBA Games.

UFO 50 defies characterization. A team of indie developers came together to create 50 full 8-bit games that chronicle the history of a fictional console. We’re putting it in the puzzle category since some of our favorite games are real headscratchers. But this anthology has games that span all genres and appeal to many players.

For more, check out The Best PC Puzzle Games.

2010’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing was an enjoyable racing game that placed Sega’s many iconic characters in a kart competition. Its sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, expanded the game with new characters and unlockables, and introduced transformable vehicles that took to the land, sea, and air. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection, the series’ final form, adds free, PC-centric characters from Sega and Valve’s libraries, and bundles all the previous DLC goodies.

For more, check out The Best PC Racing Games.

With this Oblivion remaster, Bethesda returns to an earlier Elder Scrolls title to remind modern fans why the series remains such a classic. This updated take on Oblivion gives the epic fantasy world a gorgeous visual overhaul, making it nearly indistinguishable from a contemporary release. The vast quest includes all the previously released DLC, too. Some pesky bugs may betray the game’s 2006 roots (perhaps to the delight of veteran players), but for all intents and purposes, this is an awesome adventure regardless of nostalgia. Plus, you can turn into a vampire.

For more, check out the Best PC RPGs.

Whisker Squadron: Survivor is an unashamed homage to Nintendo’s famous Star Fox franchise. You play as adorable talking cats in space who pilot starships and blast enemy waves. Unlike Star Fox, Whisker Squadron is a roguelike, so no two corridor runs are precisely the same. Cool power-ups, a sleek art style, and charming characters encourage you to keep playing.

For more, check out The Best PC Shmups.

Taking place in the past, Doom: The Dark Ages adds more medieval flair to the gory, demon-slaying action. Alongside your trusty shotguns, you slaughter monsters with a sturdy shield and heavy mace. The combat is grounded yet open to creative tactics. Take a break from shooting and hop on a flying dragon or into a towering mech. The story may take itself a little too seriously, but Doom: The Dark Ages gets your blood pumping the way only developer Id Software can.

For more, check out The Best PC Shooters.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of PC gaming’s most beloved series, a franchise cherished and supported by aviation enthusiasts. The 2020 edition, crafted by developer Asobo Studio in tandem with Microsoft, is a delight. Improved graphics aside, the near-magic addition of a fully recreated and explorable Earth, built and populated with Microsoft’s Bing satellite imagery and real-time weather conditions, elevates the franchise to new heights.

For more, check out The Best PC Simulation Games.

The odd thing about aging is just how often it makes you look to the past, perhaps as a way to cope with an ever-shrinking future. The resulting nostalgia can sometimes soften the rough edges of the things we love, making them seem better than they truly were when we first experienced them. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2—a bundle that remasters two iconic late-1990s and early-2000s skateboarding games—doesn’t fall into that trap. In fact, it proves that, yes, those brash and exciting action-sports titles are as good as our memories recall, but they now exist with a beautiful visual overhaul and new, bountiful options that make them even better than what we remember.

For more, check out The Best PC Sports Games.

Back in 2016, IO Interactive established a new era for its cult-favorite Hitman franchise with Hitman: Season One. While the episodic release model didn’t stick on PC or consoles, that game’s grand levels and inventive murder carried over to 2018’s Hitman 2. Now, the studio has delivered Hitman 3, the capstone to the World of Assassination trilogy. Featuring expansive levels, new ways to kill, and graphical improvements, this excellent stealth title makes it easy for anyone to become a bald, bar-coded assassin.

For more, check out The Best PC Stealth Games.

The third and final StarCraft II expansion is a fantastic conclusion to Blizzard’s five-year saga and a great entry point into one of the most complex, but satisfying, strategy games ever made. Unlike the previous StarCraft II expansion, Legacy of the Void doesn’t require you to buy any previous versions of the game to play this package. It’s completely standalone. Factor in a varied single-player campaign, gorgeous cinematics, and new noob-friendly co-op modes, and you’ll see that Legacy of the Void is one of the best PC games of all time.

For more, check out The Best Strategy & Tactics Games.