The best PC games of 2024 you need to play right now

Oh, Elden Ring - what can be said that hasn't been made obvious already? FromSoft's latest addition to their ongoing epic fantasy saga is a monumental achievement of superb storytelling, wonderful mechanics, and aesthetic splendour.

FromSoft's first plunge into the open-world gaming genre is yet even further proof that Hidetaka Miyazaki and the FromSoft team have boundless inspiration, a deep love for high fantasy, and are unafraid of even the greatest of technical challenges.

In collaboration with the ever-brilliant George R.R Martin, Elden Ring is steeped in more lore than any other FromSoftware title to date, yet unlike games of the open-world fantasy genre, the story of the world is left for you to piece together in its entirety.

Elden Ring tactfully strikes a balance between gruelling brutality, the grit of a bloody war, and the otherworldly, ethereal beauty of The Lands Between that is unlike any other gaming experience we've had.

War-torn battlefields, rock-hewn ramparts and the remnants of long-ceased conflicts litter the landscape, and yet, should you explore long enough, you'll uncover a truly beautiful, boundless world within. Ruins of ancient cities deep beneath the earth, smitten by the mysterious outer gods to lay dormant, illuminated by a subterranean cosmos, the sprawling, luminous sorcerer's academy of Raya Lucaria; Elden Ring's world is a major departure from FromSoft's traditionally bleak, steadily decaying worlds despite The Lands Between's war-ravaged state we find it in upon the player-character's awakening.

So, if you're willing to face the challenge of the largest Souls-like ever made, don't hesitate to try your hand at one of the finest games to make its way onto PC - follow the guidance of grace, and become Elden Lord.

If you're planning on picking up Elden Ring, there's an absolute certainty that you'll be spending hours sitting in front of your screen. Hours upon hours of gaming slumped over can lead to some particularly awful back problems that can be avoided if you have the right chair. Check out our terrific review of the excellent Secretlab Titan Gaming Chair, personally tested by one of our resident gamers.

2018's beloved PlayStation 4 classic God of War found its way to PC this year, transporting us back to the realm of the Æsir gods once more. Sony's Santa Monica studios truly captured lightning in a bottle when they made this thrilling epic drama unlike any other game we've ever played. A cinematic, gripping narrative about grief, loss, and fatherhood intertwines with Kratos' blood-soaked history of vengeance and defiance of fate.

The team at Santa Monica Studios expertly weave what is fundamentally a very tried and tested story dynamic of a budding father-son relationship amidst the harsh yet beautiful world of the Nordic gods.

Complementing the particularly gritty, grounded interpretation of the Æsir, combat has a wonderful weighty flow that feels sublime when using a controller. As hundreds of other critics had reiterated upon God of War's initial 2018 release - just that subtle vibration after catching the Leviathan axe in combat is just so utterly satisfying. The game is filled with wonderful ways to draw players into nail-biting cut-throat combat, where a single false move is cataclysmic (just wait till you reach Sigrún).

God of War is meant to be experienced with a controller, don't rob yourself of an even more fantastic experience, pick up one of the best PC controllers available now.

Set in the iconic Dungeons & Dragons universe, Baldur's Gate 3 uses the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset to deliver a turn-based combat system. Allowing for strategic and tactical engagements, this really brings depth to character progression, abilities, and the overall gameplay experience. Players can customize their characters extensively, choosing from various races, classes, and backgrounds too.

The game's visual presentation is stunning as well. Featuring some of the most detailed character models we've seen, it all takes place in a vibrant game world with some richly detailed environments. The spell effects are also super-satisfying. Several branching storylines create a dynamic feel to the world you inhabit too - you might want to play it through again to explore the various outcomes. Classic RPG at it's best.

Since playing Treyarch's Spider-man movie game on the PlayStation 2 as a kid, we've dreamed of web-slinging across New York City as the eponymous friendly neighbourhood Spider-man - jumping from building to building, catching bank robbers, battling the infamous Sinister Six, there's nothing more that I wanted to experience in gaming, and after 16 years, Insomniac's Spider-man was released.

And just a few years after the initially exclusive PlayStation title was released, PC gamers finally have their shot at superherodom, and we couldn't be happier.

While the story doesn't reinvent the wheel, we know the deal when it comes to Spider-man's antics - the city faces a rampant villainous threat, and Spider-man has to step in to save the day, but we've got to admit there's just something so magical about it.

From the get-go, the game knows what players want to do, and Insomniac gives it to them almost immediately - you start web-swinging, and you save the day.

Combat is a fun, more-ish blend of button-mashing combinations that don't prove particularly difficult, but have an exceptional fluidity that, in our opinion, puts competing superhero games to shame.

Despite a sudden wave of previously PlayStation exclusive titles making their way onto PC, there are still tonnes of excellent exclusives that are yet to make their way to PC, check out the best PlayStation games that'll keep you entertained for hours on end.

A new rogue-like from the excellent Devolver Digital team steamrolled onto PCs in 2022's summer, awakening our inner demons like never before. From the creators of Enter the Gungeon - an utterly chaotic rogue-like where everything is guns - comes this latest enthralling take on the genre, combining base-building with procedurally generated dungeon exploration.

At the core of Cult of the Lamb, however, is the incredibly satisfying amassing of cult members as you gradually explore the world. Steadily, as you improve your base with careful resource management, you amass a small battalion of loyal cultists indebted to you, leaving you to harness their unique powers for use in battle.

Cult of the Lamb follows the tale of a lamb whose life is spared by a demonic god-like being named The One Who Waits, and in exchange for your life, you must accrue worshippers and overthrow the false prophets of the land, spreading the word of your cult.

Hack and slash your way through hordes of foes to gather the finest loot for your base, and watch your cult grow and dominate the land in all its satisfying splendour.

If leading a cult, slaying false prophets, and treading the path to godhood is right up your alley, don't even hesitate to pick up Cult of the Lamb, easily one of the best rogue-like titles this year.

Continue the legacy of Master Chief with the latest instalment of the Halo saga. Halo Infinite revitalises the rather dormant series with some refreshing new combat mechanics - we're talking about the excellent grappling hook, of course - alongside some wonderful little doses of nostalgia.

While the single-player campaign didn't leave a lasting impression, the same cannot be said about the incredibly riveting multiplayer gameplay.

Transporting us back to 2007 with the release of Halo 3, rolling through the enormous landscapes in a Warthog alongside your teammates in Big Team Battle mode gives a giddy wave of nostalgia that few games have successfully managed to capture.

And then there's the grapple hook, which is just excellent and should be a requirement for each and every shooter made in the future, it's just that much fun.

A glorious love letter to rubber-hose animation Cuphead leapt onto our screens in 2017 - and soon enough, we were swept along with obsessed fans who adore every facet of the Cuphead world. Accompanying some of the most beautiful, impeccable hand-drawn animation is a thrilling, bombastic, jazzy score by Kristofer Maddigan, which keeps us returning to Cuphead all these years later, time and time again.

This year, however, Cuphead received an expansion, the Delicious Last Course (or DLC - how clever), and so Cuphead returns once again with a huge new array of exciting bosses, making the challenge of the first game seem almost entirely trivial. Once again, Studio MDHR has achieved another technical feat that is so unfathomably brilliant that words ultimately fail.

If, for whatever reason, you've not yet experienced the wonderful Cuphead, put aside whatever you're playing and tuck into the Delicious Last Course, you won't regret it.

Doom Eternal is everything that we love about the unrelentingly brutal franchise. With gore galore, the Eternal is frantic and demands that you be brave, restless and merciless. You will jump breathlessly from swarm to swarm, fighting off the hoards threatening to overwhelm to an equally over-the-top heavy metal soundtrack. Occasionally you get a break with some light platforming, but otherwise, Doom Eternal is adrenaline-pumping FPS action at its finest.

Set in the dying days of the Old Wild West, Red Dead Redemption 2 has players explore the era’s last hurrah in the face of impending modernisation. The world is alive with detail, and there are plenty of cowboy deeds to undertake, both above and below the law, as you face off against gangs, governments, wild animals and local hicks. Rockstar, once again, has delivered a definitive open-world experience.

If you've been living under a rather large rock, then you may not have heard of Bethesda's rather infamous 2011 title, Skyrim. With over 30 million sales worldwide, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has one of the most loyal fan bases of a video game ever made, yet its longevity is in no small part thanks to the enormous modding community that Skyrim has amassed over a decade, with over 1.7 billion individual downloads of over 60,000 mods made by the Nexus community.

But why is modding for the game so popular? Well, the answer is that Bethesda's games usually arrive broken due to their sheer ambitiousness. When confronted with the promise of a vast high-fantasy world to explore that didn't quite reach its full potential, players took it upon themselves to mould the world to their whim.
But since its release, players have done more than fix the games, they've turned Skyrim into one of the most thrilling games ever made.

Fighting dragons is fun, but wouldn't it be better to be a dragon? There's a mod for that. What if you're tired of being a lackey for the kingdom's jarls? Become a jarl yourself, of course! Mod authors work tirelessly, day in, day out to bring an unfathomable amount of content to Skyrim simply for the pleasure of doing so - and we think it's the very best thing about Skyrim.

So pick up a cheap copy, crack into Nexus, and explore just what mods have to offer.

Ever wanted to pilot a flight from London to Tokyo in real time? Well, now you can. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a hardcore immersive flight simulator in which players pilot aircraft with the utmost dedication to realism. Not only is the gameplay realistic, but the game includes - over 10 disks in the physical edition - the entire world. It also runs real-world weather simulations downloaded from the internet. If you've got the rig to run it and the time to master it, this is a marvellous game and a compelling look at what sim gaming can offer in years to come.

Microsoft Flight Simulator's excellence comes ultimately from the vast, impressive visuals of a true-to-life world, so skimping out with a plain old monitor will leave you without a proper experience of the game. That being said, we've found some really excellent monitors ranging from the high-end all the way down to budget screens that will still manage to blow your socks off - here are the best PC gaming monitors this year.

Before we go any further: to play Half-Life: Alyx, you will need a PC-powered VR headset (ideally, the Valve Index). If you're set up with this, then plug it in and get playing. Chronologically, Alyx has the player return to dystopian City 17 a few years before the events of Half-Life 2. Valve has taken its time with it, ensuring that the game isn’t just some on-rails shooter cashing in on the Half-Life name but a finely crafted and fully formed VR experience that will likely define the VR space for years to come.

When Fortnite parachuted its way into society way back in 2017, we would’ve scoffed at the idea that its popularity was anything more than a flash in the pan. And, of course, we’d have been wrong - it amassed over 15 million concurrent players in December 2020. Loaded with quirky battle royale mechanics, kiddish sensibilities and a seemingly endless carousel of skins, celebrity appearances, maps and events, Fortnite is a game that gets all the right parts of the brain firing. It’s fast-paced, colourful and, we have to admit, incredibly addictive.

When amidst a hair-triggered shootout, when you're uncertain where the enemy lies, pinpoint audio accuracy is absolutely essential - don't put yourself at a disadvantage, see our picks for the best headset for gaming of the year.

Wild Hunt is brimming with memorable characters, inventive lore and meaningful RPG progression. Players take up the role of Geralt, the burly monster hunter and sword for hire, as he quests his way across the lush and sprawling Riva, fighting, magicking, bartering and card gaming his way to victory. The map is vast and world detailed with plenty to explore, and the massive quest log will have you engrossed in this award-winning game for hundreds of hours.

Witcher 3's wonderful world is only half-experienced without the proper amount of sound - roam the wind-battered isles of Skellige with the beating rain and swelling score to accompany you with the best gaming speakers of the year.

Given its gargantuan success, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Minecraft is an indie title that began life as an obscure alpha release. It’s amazing to see how far Minecraft has come. As it stands, this block-breaking sandbox title is home to immense imagination and community spirit, full of seemingly endless possibilities and applications. It’s truly a game that can work for any type of gamer.

And if you're wondering what Java and Bedrock are - they're both PC-compatible versions of the game that have different features between them. Java has lots of multiplayer options, whilst Bedrock supports cross-play and more. Check out the Minecraft site for a list of the features of each version. You do, though, get both versions with this edition, so it's a win-win.

Sid Meier’s Civilization series has been a mainstay of PC gaming for decades, drawing in players with its strategy-based gameplay and intelligent treatment of politics, diplomacy and history. The sixth instalment takes the tried-and-tested Civ formula to new levels of accomplishment. Starting from the Stone Age, you will endeavour to develop a world-dominating civilisation that can hold together right through to the tech-driven information age. Throughout, you’ll encounter historical figures and leaders, each of whom has a plan for the future of civilisation.

XCOM 2 is the turn-based strategy shooter that, for a time at least, seemed to define the PC gaming experience. In it, the player takes command of an elite military XCOM squad, rebelling against the tyranny of an alien force. Your squad is made up of a mix of classes, from standard Ranger and Sharpshooter roles to the telepathic PSI operatives. Skirmishes take place in procedurally generated levels, so no two encounters are ever the same. Outside of the fighting, studying fallen aliens and their technology, and upgrading your research facilities, can yield rewards to help further your rebellious efforts. Though years have passed since its release, it’s still a marvel, with sequel tie-ins like Chimera Squad only reminding us of its success.