The Definitive Guide to the Best PC Games of 2025: A Curated Selection for PC Gamers

Welcome to Gaming News, your premier resource for the best PC games of 2025. As the landscape of PC gaming continues to evolve, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of titles that exemplify the pinnacle of entertainment, innovation, and technical prowess. Our selections span a diverse range of genres, ensuring there’s something for every PC gamer, from hardcore enthusiasts to casual players. We meticulously evaluate each game, considering factors such as gameplay, graphics, story, replayability, and overall value.

Understanding Our Selection Process

Our approach to curating this list is rigorous. We analyze industry trends, monitor critical acclaim, and gather feedback from our community of PC gaming experts. The following criteria guide our decision-making:

• Playability: We prioritize games with intuitive controls, engaging gameplay loops, and a high degree of polish.
• Technical Performance: We evaluate how well games run on a variety of PC configurations, considering optimization and graphical fidelity.
• Innovation: We seek out titles that push the boundaries of the gaming medium, offering fresh ideas and unique experiences.
• Longevity: We favor games that provide hours of entertainment, with strong replay value and ongoing support from developers.
• Community Engagement: We take into account the level of community support, modding capabilities, and active player base.

This list is not static. It is regularly updated to reflect the ever-changing world of PC gaming. We remove older titles as new, outstanding games emerge, ensuring that our recommendations remain current and relevant.

The Best PC Games to Play Right Now

This is our core selection. These games represent the best experiences available on PC right now, from newly released blockbusters to enduring classics.

Alan Wake 2

• Genre: Psychological Horror, Action-Adventure
• Why It’s Essential: Alan Wake 2 is a masterclass in narrative-driven gaming, delivering a deeply unsettling and unforgettable experience. Remedy Entertainment has crafted a sequel that not only builds upon the original but also transcends it, creating a mind-bending journey through the Dark Place and beyond. The dual-protagonist narrative, the integration of live-action footage, and the haunting atmosphere make this a must-play for fans of horror and suspense.
• Key Features: Gripping Story, Atmospheric Horror, Dual Protagonist Narrative, Unforgettable Moments.
• Where to Buy: Humble.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

• Genre: Action-Adventure, Stealth
• Why It’s Essential: After years of anticipation, Assassin’s Creed Shadows places players in feudal Japan. The game tells a story of revenge from two protagonists: the shinobi Naoe and the historical Black samurai Yasuke, and the game is set in a beautiful version of Japan, filled with a shifting seasons system. The stealth mechanics are at their peak here, adding a layer of depth to a successful franchise.
• Key Features: Feudal Japan Setting, Dual Protagonists, Stealth Gameplay.
• Where to Buy: Amazon.

Balatro

• Genre: Roguelite, Card Game
• Why It’s Essential: Balatro is more than meets the eye. Beneath its deceptively simple poker-inspired framework lies an incredibly deep and addictive roguelite experience. You build hands and score points, then use Jokers, spells, and planet cards to change the game on the fly and build strategies. Whether you win or fail, it’s hard not to immediately start another run.
• Key Features: Unique Gameplay, Roguelite Progression, High Replay Value.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Baldur’s Gate 3

• Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
• Why It’s Essential: The return of the Baldur’s Gate series, Baldur’s Gate 3 continues the legacy of the CRPG genre. This is one of the best games of 2023. It’s set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, providing players with almost overwhelming freedom. You can tackle problems and navigate the world with an almost overwhelming amount of choice and agency.
• Key Features: Freedom, Vast World, Choice.
• Where to Buy: GOG.com.

Before Your Eyes

• Genre: Narrative Adventure
• Why It’s Essential: Before Your Eyes delivers a truly unique gaming experience. It uses a webcam to track your blinks, progressing the game’s narrative. It’s a short, emotional, and unforgettable experience about life, memory, and the human experience.
• Key Features: Unique Mechanic, Emotional Narrative.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Blue Prince

• Genre: Roguelike, Puzzle Adventure
• Why It’s Essential: Blue Prince is a new title that offers a fresh and engaging experience. The game sets a series of puzzles to solve as you explore a shape-shifting mansion. Rooms manifest into existence as you explore, and over time you come to learn the patterns of the manor as you unlock its many mysteries.
• Key Features: Unique Gameplay, Roguelike elements.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

• Genre: Action RPG, Cyberpunk
• Why It’s Essential: Cyberpunk 2077 has undergone a remarkable transformation. The “Phantom Liberty” expansion and numerous updates have revitalized the game, making it a compelling action-RPG with more choices and a captivating new story. The visuals are also very impressive for modern PC rigs.
• Key Features: Improved Gameplay, New Content, Stunning Visuals.
• Where to Buy: Humble.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape

• Genre: First-Person Shooter, MMO
• Why It’s Essential: Destiny 2 continues to evolve, and with the release of “The Final Shape,” the first major story arc has reached its conclusion. It’s a good time to play this game because you can see the full story through with the closing chapter of this first saga. There are story modes, cooperative missions, raids, and the Crucible, so there’s a variety of ways to experience the game.
• Key Features: Extensive Content, Improved Gameplay, First Major Story Arc.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred

• Genre: Action RPG, Dungeon Crawler
• Why It’s Essential: Diablo IV is a fantastic dungeon-crawling RPG, and it grew even larger with the addition of its first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred.
• Key Features: Story, Leveling, New Class.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

Disco Elysium

• Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
• Why It’s Essential: Disco Elysium is a masterpiece of writing, offering a truly unique RPG experience. The game provides a complex story, with a lot of choices. The game is known for its world-building and writing.
• Key Features: Writing, World, Choice.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Dune: Awakening

• Genre: Multiplayer Survival
• Why It’s Essential: Dune: Awakening has managed to successfully capture the spirit of the books and films, creating the desert planet of Arrakis. The game features gameplay.
• Key Features: Gameplay, World.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

• Genre: Action RPG, Souls-Like
• Why It’s Essential: The “Shadow of the Erdtree” expansion has a lot to offer for Elden Ring players. The game has expanded its story, allowing players to explore a world rife with secrets to uncover. Combat is difficult as ever, with an inventive balance system.
• Key Features: Content, Combat, Weapons.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Helldivers 2

• Genre: Third-Person Shooter
• Why It’s Essential: Helldivers 2 is a cooperative experience. Squadding up with friends leads to tense survival moments and hilarious mishaps in equal measure as you fulfill objectives and call down Stratagems on your foes. There’s a galaxy-sprawling meta-game at play, as you and every other Helldiver fights to free territory controlled by vicious bugs and robots.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Cooperation, World.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Hitman: World of Assassination

• Genre: Stealth, Action
• Why It’s Essential: Hitman: World of Assassination has a final chapter in 2021, as Hitman 3 built on the efforts made by its predecessors to create a perfectly executed experience. Each destination offers not only some devilishly delicious ways to eliminate targets, but also plenty of room for experimentation that leads to hilarious and grim demises for anyone who gets in your way.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Exploration.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

• Genre: RPG
• Why It’s Essential: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 expands upon the world in significant ways. The game carries an emphasis on role-playing, thanks to a great deal of flexibility and choice in both the combat and conversation systems. Combat in particular has been streamlined to feel more fluid, without sacrificing what made the original feel so special to fans.
• Key Features: Combat, Choices, World.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

• Genre: Puzzle
• Why It’s Essential: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes encourages you to use a notebook in real life to help track its many secrets and interlocking pieces, which all unfold into a marriage of design and narrative that need to be seen firsthand. The puzzles can be challenging, but they’re consistently satisfying and help drive you forward to the next one.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Writing, and Puzzle.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

Metaphor: Refantazio

• Genre: RPG
• Why It’s Essential: Metaphor: ReFantazio features a new original storyline set in a fantasy world, and a wide array of characters to find and classes to unlock. The turn-based RPG combat unfolds beautifully into deep layers of strategy, and the story is an affecting meditation on the power of storytelling.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Writing, Character.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Monster Hunter Wilds

• Genre: Action-RPG
• Why It’s Essential: Monster Hunter Wilds is the new hotness in the Monster Hunter space, streamlining various aspects and placing more of the focus on both narrative and combat. Tracking monsters is simpler than in the past, letting you get into fights more quickly, while a new wound system allows you to more easily have miniature goals during the extended battles and better track your progress at taking down the wonderful array of monsters you’ll go up against.
• Key Features: Combat, Narrative.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Pacific Drive

• Genre: Survival
• Why It’s Essential: Pacific Drive has you going on numerous runs through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a sectioned-off mass of forest roads in the Pacific Northwest, all while you dodge head-scratching (and often spooky) supernatural elements. Its super-deep systems, intoxicating atmosphere, and incredible audio design combine to create a one-of-a-kind survival game.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Atmosphere.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Resident Evil 4

• Genre: Survival Horror, Action
• Why It’s Essential: Capcom approached this remake especially cautiously, giving it a light touch of upgrades that make the whole experience feel modern without losing its soul. It’s also never looked more beautiful, so you can see the horrific monstrosities of Las Plagas with newfound fidelity.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Visuals, Horror.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Silent Hill 2

• Genre: Horror
• Why It’s Essential: The remake of Silent Hill 2 from Bloober Team is a haunting thrill ride, featuring tense combat that has been reimagined for the new perspective, more wide-open atmospheres that don’t compromise the original’s atmosphere, and great creepy sound design that enhances the experience.
• Key Features: Horror, Gameplay, Story.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

• Genre: Adventure, Meta
• Why It’s Essential: Like the original title, the strange and hilariously distracted nature of The Stanley Parable is something that you have to experience for yourself, as words simply do not do it justice. With the Ultra Deluxe edition, you’re getting an experience that feels like a game within a game, adding the illusion of freedom and other surprises along the way. It’s nothing short of a clever and thought-provoking examination of video games and the relationship that we have with them.
• Key Features: Unique Experience, Cleverness.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

SteamWorld Heist 2

• Genre: Strategy
• Why It’s Essential: SteamWorld Heist 2 takes the foundation built by its turn-based ricochet strategy game predecessor and builds and expands on it in every way. The missions and the world are bigger, and there’s tons more to do. A new class system lets you mix and match powerful abilities into a mind-boggling array of possibilities, and a smart overleveling system helps stave off the pain of grinding.
• Key Features: Gameplay, World, Strategy.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

Stellar Blade

• Genre: Action
• Why It’s Essential: From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another big influence here, but Stellar Blade pinches a few ideas from that classic souls-like and sprinkles in an arsenal of high-impact gunplay and special moves to make every combat sequence feel like a high-budget martial arts epic.
• Key Features: Combat, Gameplay.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

Thank Goodness You’re Here

• Genre: Comedy
• Why It’s Essential: A rare comedy game that’s actually funny, Thank Goodness You’re Here takes the absurdism of good comedy improv and merges it with the interactivity of an adventure game. The animated adventure is on the short side–just around two hours by some estimates–but it uses that time to the fullest with surreal humor and an animated style that recalls great British comics like The Beano. Its sense of humor won’t be for everyone, but it’s a game that does what so few manage, even when they’re trying their best: making us laugh.
• Key Features: Humor.
• Where to Buy: Steam.

Valorant

• Genre: FPS
• Why It’s Essential: The initial response to Valorant was that it’s basically a mashup where Overwatch meets Counter-Strike–and yeah, that’s pretty accurate. That’s also a good thing, because Valorant draws on many of the strengths of those games to make something unique.
• Key Features: Gameplay, Strategy.
• Where to Buy: Riot Games.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

• Genre: Action
• Why It’s Essential: That means a return to the bloody, brutal combat from the first game, but with refinements that make it feel more fluid than ever. And as fans can attest, it uses the Warhammer tabletop license to great effect for world-building and a massive sense of scale, which goes nicely hand-in-glove with the crunchy combat that should appeal to fans and newcomers alike.
• Key Features: Combat, Universe.
• Where to Buy: Fanatical.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• Genre: RPG
• Why It’s Essential: One of the best RPGs of all time, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt brings the incredible story of Geralt of Rivia to a close.
• Key Features: Story, Gameplay.
• Where to Buy: Humble.

Key Takeaways for PC Gamers

• Genre Diversity: 2025 offers a diverse range of genres, ensuring there’s something for every player.
• Technical Excellence: Games on this list represent a high level of technical achievement.
• Ongoing Evolution: The PC gaming landscape is constantly evolving.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How often is this list updated? This list is regularly updated to reflect the newest and best games available.
• Where can I buy these games? We’ve included links to various online stores where you can purchase these games.

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