The best PC games right now

God of War
The former PlayStation exclusive about parenting and god drama is now on PC, and it’s the best version of a fantastic game.

Monster Hunter: Rise
You won’t find MH: World’s spectacle, but you will find ultra-deep combat in this excellent Nintendo Switch port.

Halo Infinite
The battle pass has been contentious, but the campaign is fun (needs the co-op update ASAP) and the free-to-play multiplayer is full of our favorite kinds of Halo moments.

Forza Horizon 5
It’s more Forza Horizon. Good thing that’s basically all we needed to be satisfied by the latest in Microsoft’s racing series.

Back 4 Blood
The closet thing we have to Left 4 Dead 3, which Morgan called “an exceptional FPS” in his review. It’s on Game Pass, too, if you don’t want to drop $60.

Age of Empires 4
“A worthy new entry in the legendary series that’s equal parts progressive and dated,” said our reviewer.

Valheim
It turns out, we really did need yet another survival game. Our 2021 Game of the Year is fun in co-op or solo.

Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
Our 2019 Game of the Year and #1 best PC game for two years running. We are literally out of ways to recommend detective RPG Disco Elysium more highly.

God of War (90%)
The former PlayStation exclusive about parenting and god drama is now on PC, and it’s the best version of a fantastic game.

Monster Hunter: Rise (90%)
You won’t find MH: World’s spectacle, but you will find ultra-deep combat in this excellent Nintendo Switch port.

Forza Horizon 5
Microsoft’s racing series goes to Mexico. Otherwise, it’s not all that different from Forza Horizon 4. That means it’s still really good.

Sable (93%)
A heartfelt open world odyssey that is one, super stylish, and two, has jetbikes. Hard to go wrong there.

Chivalry 2 (91%)
A brilliant mix of swordplay, team tactics, and slapstick humor. Consistently fun.

Cruelty Squad (93%)
A garish and surprising immersive sim. Tied for highest score of 2021.

Wildermyth (90%)
Want the tabletop roleplaying experience, with surprising, dynamic storytelling, but don’t want to play according to other people’s schedules? Wildermyth is the game for you.

Knockout City (90%)
It may not become the next big esport, but this competitive dodgeball game is deep and fun.

Hitman 3 (90%)
Our first 90% score of 2021 went to one of our favorite contemporary series—if you haven’t checked out IO’s modern Hitman games yet, you’re missing out. 

Nioh 2 (92%)
Dark Souls has many off-brand imitators, but Nioh 2 is the real deal—a great samurai adventure set in Japan’s Sengoku period.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (92%)
It’s the best Assassin’s Creed yet, said Steven in his review, which is pretty impressive given the breadth of the series. Go have a Viking adventure—it’s worth it.

Crusader Kings 3 (94%)
“Crusader Kings 3 is incredible,” said Fraser in his review of the new medieval grand strategy game and family drama generator. “I can’t imagine being done with it.”

Factorio (91%)
The factory-building game is finally out of Early Access, and it’s brilliant. A “stupendously intricate mechanical cake,” as we put it in our review.

Half-Life: Alyx (92%)
It isn’t Half-Life 3, and it’s VR only, but it’s one of the best VR games you can buy, so if you’ve got a headset it’s a must have.

Hades (90%)
The one roguelike that doesn’t punish you for death, instead rewarding you with more of its excellent NPCs drawn from Greek myth. 

Super Mega Baseball 3 (90%)
It’s the best baseball game on PC, and helped get us through the sportsless times.

Doom Eternal (94%)
High-tempo demon slaying that’ll make you sweat. It might take an hour or so to click, but when it does it’s better than the 2016 reboot.

Paradise Killer (91%)
The zany vaporwave world might be a bit much for some, but the sleuthing is good. One of the best detective games you can play.

Call of Duty: Warzone (82%)
Warzone is the most popular battle royale game you can play right now. It’s an interesting time to be playing it, too, because we’re expecting changes to come with the launch of the new Treyarch Call of Duty game, Black Ops – Cold War.

Apex Legends (93%)
Apex Legends is one of our favorite current battle royale games. The map is fantastic, the ‘ping’ communication system is something every FPS should have from here on, the guns and movement are great fun (no wallrunning, but sliding down hills feels great), and it’s free-to-play with nothing to pay for except cosmetics. It isn’t the game we expected from Respawn, but we’re glad it’s here. Check James’ review for more.

Valorant (90%)
Riot’s take on CS:GO, Valorant successfully adds character abilities to that design sheet, which introduces new possibilities for surprise tactics and delightful skill shots. It also adds a bunch of quality of life improvements.

Rainbow Six Siege (90%)
Siege might lack the sharp hit detection and purity of CS:GO, but it’s a more accessible and modern FPS that rewards clever timing and coordinated teamwork as much as aim. Siege’s learning curve is a result of all the stuff (characters, gadgets, elaborate maps, and guns) that’s been added since December 2015, but eventually you find yourself picking operators, map spots, and roles that you’re comfortable with.