We’ve played them all, and picked our favorites to give you a few choices for the holidays and beyond as we wait for a new batch of great games from 2026. As it stands, our nominees for the best PC games of 2025 are:

1. INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road

Intense football RPG action with a layer of anime polish can be quite appealing to either an anime or a football fan, but this one is more than that. It offers an almost endless amount of playable content thanks to a massive roster of characters, and a lot of replay value thanks to its single and multiplayer modes. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and a very rewarding journey along the way.

2. Dispatch

Joining Robert Robinson III on this charming and often hilarious take on superheroes is sure to have you very invested in its story and mechanics right off the bat. Dispatch hits all the right notes and brings a charming cast to the stage, while a riveting narrative weaves their lives together with the SDN acting as a binding thread. It captures your attention and manages to hold it long enough for this one to become endearing.

3. Hades 2

We always knew the long wait for this one was going to be worth it. Hades 2 is an absolute blast with its roguelike action-RPG gameplay loop, blending very well with its story and unique art style. Its potent combination of style, substance, and satire is sublime, while the combat does come with enough challenge to keep you on your toes. Look no further than this one for hours of quality fun.

4. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

If you haven’t gotten around to this one after playing the first game, or perhaps coming to the franchise after the live-action shows, this one is definitely going to have you invested. The remaster does a brilliant job of improving on the strengths of the original release, making it the best possible way to experience the adventure that awaits. For those of you already familiar with how it all ends, another playthrough is always on the cards anyway.

5. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Every hour you sink into this action-packed JRPG is going to be worth it, with its story, characters, combat, and general allure drawing you in and leaving you with so much to do in its world. It’s also very replayable, which is a great way to keep the story going and your characters’ stories playing out on increasingly harder difficulties. This one does its genre justice and is a world that calls to you at every turn.

6. Absolum

With a combat system worthy of a chef’s kiss, accompanied by a roguelike gameplay loop that’s very addictive indeed, Talamh is a place you might find pretty hard to leave. The battle against the Crimson Order and Azra is the perfect excuse for some good old beat ‘em up action, and this one is excellent on that front. Between all the character archetypes on offer, it’s probably going to keep you busy for a while.

7. Clair Obscur Expedition

This one’s already winning quite a few awards and nominations, and with good reason. The Continent and Expedition’s beloved cast of characters are reason enough to fall in love with The Paintress’s world. But all of the adversity and loss they have overcome have you invested in the entire journey. It’s almost as if you’re a part of the expedition too, and the one who decides its fate. It’s an experience that comes along every once in a while to show you what a great game can do.

8. Hollow Knight: Silksong

This one’s release was among the year’s most pleasant surprises, and taking over a new adventure as Hornet was an absolute treat. The combat was familiar yet fresh, while the explorable world’s size and scope were overwhelming at first, and simply delightful as we kept losing ourselves in its confines. Add a very enticing art style and excellent level designs, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

9. Blue Prince

This is among the more unique ones on this list. Helping Simon secure his inheritance of the Mt. Holly Estate might not be the most action-packed game on this list, but it certainly stretches your mental faculties in your quest to locate the mansion’s hidden room. No two days are alike, and you’re soon going to be thinking about this one even when you’re not in your gaming chair.

10. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Oh, what an RPG this one turned out to be. With a massive map full of quirky folks, mysteries, intrigue, and some good old adventures to be had along the road, it was a sequel that stayed true to its roots while building out the franchise in a number of meaningful ways. The story is top-shelf, while an abundance of things to do is going to keep you quite busy as you play it all.

11. ARC Raiders

This extraction shooter has been among the few games we’ve visited almost daily, not because we had to, but because we wanted to. It’s been the perfect choice for a quick session where we kick back, and set out to meet other players in a world where the community has now made identifying friends from foes a part of the fun. Its design lends itself to the chaos that such decisions can cause, and you’re going to have a lot of unpredictably fun moments with this one.

12. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

With a perfect blend of the samurai and shinobi’s ways, and a massive recreation of feudal Japan to let those two archetypes loose in, Shadows is a great addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Naoe and Yasuke are great characters, their skillsets lending themselves to some very interesting ways to achieve your goals. A stunning world and protagonists whose blades could strike from the shadows or the light is certainly an adventure worth having.

13. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Cloud Strife’s fight against the Shinra is the perfect backdrop for an explosive story, combined with some incredible gameplay mechanics that make this one’s long-awaited PC version worth playing even if you’re not a fan of Final Fantasy. We’d recommend hooking up a DualSense to your PC for this one to get the most out of its haptic integration, while enjoying all of the visual bells and whistles that it has to offer. It’s the best of both worlds, really.

14. Monster Hunter Wilds

Beautiful biomes, a wide variety of impeccably designed monsters to hunt, and a plethora of quests to keep you travelling across the Forbidden Lands make this one a fine choice for those of you looking for a meaty RPG. Excellent build variety and deep combat mechanics, along with a charming world full of things to pique your curiosity, are more reasons to jump in and enjoy yourself thoroughly.

15. Lumines Arise

Simple mechanics can often lead to complex gameplay loops, and Lumines Ares is a great example of that. No two rounds of this puzzle game are the same, and it takes the concept of Tetris to a whole new level with a very unique visual design and audio design that weaves itself into the game’s DNA quite creatively. This one’s impressive and addictive, which is quite a potent combo.

16. Battlefield 6

Among the year’s best looking shooters, Battlefield 6 might have drawn a bit of flak for its campaign, but that does not take away from the fact that its shooting mechanics are very much on point. If you’re looking for a multiplayer shooter that shows off what your PC can do while also being a great option for those extended gaming sessions, this one has everything you need and more.

17. The Alters

If a game that has you creating alternate versions of yourself to progress further in its story sounds cool to you, you’re in luck. Jan Dolski’s story might seem quirky on the surface, but there’s a surprising amount of depth on offer here, and your choices carry a lot of weight in the bargain. This one’s among the most creative titles we’ve played this year, and is going to remain among the most unique ones we’ve encountered over the years.

18. The First Berserker: Khazan

Khazan’s revenge-fuelled rampage is a stylish, well-designed game that puts its combat front and center and challenges you to play it on its terms before it gives you the satisfaction you crave from a title of its calibre. With an interesting story and characters backing up the action, along with a distinct visual style to sell it all, this one is going to have you white knuckled as you take on its many threats.

19. Bionic Bay

Atmospheric, immersive, and mentally challenging, Bionic Bay makes excellent use of a solid premise to give you an experience that’s going to have you wanting more. It’s a test of your patience just as much as it’s a test of your ability to get creative with solutions to the problem in front of you. It’s exhilarating when you get it right, while the way it all comes together is a reward on its own with this one.

20. Jurassic World Evolution 3

With Jeff Goldblum coming back to the fold as Dr. Ian Malcolm, and a very encouraging approach to setting you up for success as you manage your dinosaurs and facilities, this one gets you locked in pretty quickly. We still go back to our parks for some routine maintenance from time to time, watching the dinosaurs we’ve helped bring to life thrive. It’s quite relaxing and a lot of fun until Extinction Now rears its ugly head.

And there you have it. These are the PC games from 2025 we think deserve your attention. But there has to be a winner, right? We’ve an inkling you already know what’s coming.

The winner of the best PC game in 2025 is

Clair Obscur: Expedition

Clair Obscur: Expedition , a game that has surpassed expectations and goes above and beyond to enthrall its players.

Its visual style lends it realism while leaving room for artistic flourishes. Its cast of characters sells its material so well that you find yourself even rooting for its antagonist. You’re going to be humming its soundtrack and maybe even listening to it in the gym. Its story is going to take you to places you might not be ready to visit. Its combat might fool you into thinking it’s an easy experience with no challenge involved. In short, it’s everything a great game should be, and is one that’s going to remain close to our hearts in the years to come.

And that’s a wrap on the best PC games of 2025! We’re looking forward to doing it all over again next year, and to keep bringing more of gaming’s best to your screens.

15. Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2

Sure, the opening title crawl may be pretty standard and expected, but dang does it execute on the cinematic front. The bone-chilling music and slow letterbox transition to Tyranid hordes landing on the planet Kataku is just perfect and that classic green font just oozes grimdark from a mile away. After the cinematic sequence, you’re immediately met with waves of Tyranids and a handy Chainsword to mow them down with. The prologue isn’t a one-off either. The entire game continues that cinematic action fusion all the way to the end.

14. Forza Horizon 5

The Forza Horizon series has always been consistent about jumping right into the good stuff, and in Horizon 5’s case that includes supercars falling out of the sky, apparently. New and familiar players alike get something nice out of the prologue, whether it’s an early taste of hypercar speed or just a quick sampling of the controls and Mexican terrain you’ll be encountering. There’s no gritty plot being used as an excuse for the festive racing either. The Horizon series focuses solely on celebrating cars, and this opener succeeds brilliantly at that.

13. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

The opening of Jedi Survivor immediately captures Star Wars fans’ attention because it takes place within the capital of the galaxy: the seedy underbelly of Coruscant itself. Not only is there oodles of environmental worldbuilding and ambience, but the level design is supurb from the get-go. Cal is a more experienced Jedi at this point, so wall running, force pushing billboards, and chopping up baddies comes quick and often in the opening hours. The thrilling escape from Coruscant highlights some of the best cinematography I’ve seen from any Star Wars media in a while too.

12. Batman: Arkham Knight

What better way to begin an Arkham game than with Scarecrow and his fear toxin? Your first moments are spent casually ordering food in a Gotham diner. You’re given an ordinary glimpse into Gotham when villains aren’t wrecking the place; well, until Scarecrow’s fear toxin twists everything into a horror show. What follows is the Bat-Signal transitioning to you gliding around the Gotham skyline in search of Scarecrow, touring the best-realized version of Gotham we’ve ever seen in a game.

11. Resident Evil Village

Here’s another game with a subversive opener. Your first foray into Resident Evil Village is met with a Tim Burton-esque fairy tale animation, a very well-done one at that. You’re then placed in the perspective of a mother finishing telling the tale to her child, which dovetails beautifully into a first-person exploration segment around the family home. It’s a necessary little sequence that motivates the main characters and sets the stakes. Besides introducing exploration and controls, this clever opening sets the twisted fairy tale horror tone that Resident Evil Village executes so frighteningly well.

10. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

It may be a full-on remake, but MGS Delta: Snake Eater follows the original to a tee, and what a beauty it is. That cinematic shot of the USAF aircraft flying over Soviet territory, followed by the rising sun shimmering off Snake’s goggles as he parachutes down is simply stunning in its remade form. And the Virtuous Mission itself is so well paced and filled with character-driven tutorials that it gets us excited to play through the classic with a new lens. It’s a tone-setting prologue that does its job perfectly, and it’s never looked better.

9. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

There are few games that establish a character’s friendship and revenge as well as Uncharted 4. You play through a series of high-octane flashback sequences—one with Drake and Sam drifting through bullets on a motorboat, and another with young Drake and Sam on an adventure through town. The flash-forward to an older Drake with a Sam-sized chip on his shoulder sets the impetus for the rest of the game. And the high-action moments and twists that follow match that rollercoaster of an opener.

8. Final Fantasy 16

Like Uncharted 4, Final Fantasy 16 opens with a flashback; one of the most intense and electric flashbacks we’ve seen in a game. Two God-like Eikons battle it out in an almost Lord of the Rings-esque sequence, with you controlling the fire-breathing Phoenix. This battle transitions forward in time to when the main characters are much older, yet Eikons still shake the foundations of the world. This is perhaps the most mature and gritty Final Fantasy yet and the prologue quickly demonstrates that. It’s also in the prologue where you go through Clive’s childhood and see the formation of the tale to come. Even though you don’t get full access to your  DMC-like combat repertoire until much later in the game, the prologue does a good job giving a taste of power with that initial Eikon battle.

7. Ghost of Yotei

I may be getting fatigued by Sony’s obsession with revenge stories, but Ghost of Yotei introduces its particular revenge story in such a simple and gameplay-centric way that I can overlook it this time. The mercenary protagonist, Atzu, gets left for dead by a gang called the Yotei Six. A flashforward to an older Atzu sees her finally exacting revenge on one of the six as she rides to him for a one-on-one duel. I love the video gamey concept of outlining all the bad guys right from the get-go and Ghost of Yotei establishes as clear as a katani slice right in the intro. You can’t help but want to go for immediately to each one, when you’re not distracted by the wealth of side content and beautiful vistas, that is.

6. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Purists and progressives alike get the royal treatment with Rebirth’s top-notch prologue. Rebirth tries (and largely succeeds) to follow the main plot faithfully while also reimagining elements of it. This is immediately made clear with Zack Fair’s placement in the narrative at the start. But OG fans also get the most faithful and thorough portrayal of Cloud’s Nibelheim flashback right after. These two distinct sequences feature plenty of the freshly iterated hybrid ATB combat to top things off. It’s here in the opening where we finally get to control Sephiroth at the height of his SOLDIER career. Pulling off his synergy skills (new to Rebirth) with Cloud is an awesome treat.

5. Silent Hill f

Mystery and suspense? Check. Eerie and haunted atmosphere? Check. Bizarre mutated monsters? Double check. Silent Hill f’s opener establishes everything a Silent Hill game should. You explore a quiet, fog-laden village for answers and only get deeper into the haunted nightmare rabbit hole the further you go. The village is suddenly populated by spider lilies and mask-wearing monstrosities despite hanging out with friends and arguing with family mere moments ago. It may not be set in the traditional location we’re used to, and it may not be numbered, but Silent Hill f still captures all the tension and uneasiness the series has been known for.

4. Hogwarts Legacy

Anyone wishing to virtually attend Hogwarts owes it to themselves to play Hogwarts Legacy at some point. The opener has all the staples from the films—magical flying coaches, Portkey teleportation, the Sorting Hat ceremony, and more. You can even choose which of the four houses to join, each with distinct characters and arcs that reflect your decision. The opener doesn’t start slow either, rushing you off to the Scottish Hylands in an encounter with some nasty cave goblins and a dragon before getting enrolled at Hogwarts proper. It’s the perfect prologue for the aspiring wizard.

3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

This sequel does what surprisingly few entries on this list do: recap the previous game. I can’t fault it for doing a straightforward recap of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales though because it’s so well voiced and captured. This recap immediately cuts to a Venom foreshadow, and who wouldn’t be excited about that? Peter and Miles’ relationship also gets some good screen time here as they go after the notorious Sandman for an awesome boss fight.

2. Dead Space (Remake)

There’s still hardly any game better at capturing classic Aliens-style horror than Dead Space. You’re just one man with a plasma cutter exploring a derelict ship out in space. With quarantine broken, the monstrous Necromorphs stalk the many hallways of the dark ship. But it’s the diagetic HUD displays that particularly stand out when you first walk around. The dark and brooding atmosphere is amplified tenfold since every display and menu is shown via holo projection on Isaac’s own suit and arm.  The creaking Ishimura ship and its Necromorph monstrosities need to be experienced by every horror fan at least once, and the remake is the best way to do that today.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild starts off with an anime cliche. Link awakes with amnesia with no idea of where he is or what he was doing. But it’s okay because the rest of the prologue, and game by extension, was as revolutionary as it comes. You’re left to explore the huge starting zone at your leisure, playing around with all of the systems and objects in front of you. What’s remarkable is that The Great Plateau is just the tutorial of the game. Considering how much content and freedom you have at your disposal in the first handful of hours, it’s probably the greatest tutorial ever conceived for a video game.

Fortunately, that isn’t the case with the PS5 Pro. There are quite a few titles that make the most of its power, and it’s gamers who win as they get to experience games like never before! Here are a few great titles that have made the most out of Sony’s latest powerhouse, and come out all the better for it.

We’ve put together some of our favorite ones for you to check out. Let’s dive in!

1. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Insomniac’s take on the neighborhood-friendly webslingers is nothing short of a masterpiece on the PS5 Pro, with New York City coming to life on the Performance Pro mode. With full ray tracing via PSSR and a smooth 60fps guiding the action along, swinging across the game’s urban sandbox is a visual treat while making the entire experience feel authentic and immersive.

Of course, the grand set-pieces also benefit from the PS5 Pro’s raw power, making this one a game you shouldn’t miss on the console.

2. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

While the PS5 version of the game was certainly a looker, Insomniac really took things up a notch with the PS5 Pro update on this one. While the Performance Pro mode offered the standard version’s Fidelity mode at 60fps, the new Fidelity Pro mode brings some serious ray-traced goodness to push the visuals to the maximum.

With increased reflections and even pedestrian density in certain areas, this game makes great use of the PS5 Pro’s abilities to make the entire experience look and feel incredible to those of you playing through the iconic characters’ latest adventure.

3. Callisto Protocol

Although Striking Distance’s implementation of its new graphical improvements might not have been as impressive as other titles on this list, there’s no denying that the new ray-traced Performance mode makes the entire experience feel significantly better than the base version.

Additionally, the use of TAAU did make the game perform better, which is always a good thing for an experience that’s as riveting and scary as this one.

4. Gran Turismo 7

Codemaster’s excellent use of PSSR to improve the image quality on offer both on the track and outside of it earns Gran Turismo 7 a place on our list of PS5 Pro games that push the powerhouse to its limits. Diving into a race with the new graphical bells and whistles at 8K is quite immersive, with your car’s interiors now appearing more detailed, and tracks come to life as you blaze through them.

This is a title whose amazing visuals get even better when you play it on the PS5 Pro.

5. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

The developers took advantage of the PS5 Pro’s versatility mode to build on the PS5 version of this sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, combining the best of the base version’s Quality and Performance modes to make it the definitive way to enjoy Cloud Strife’s adventures.

This is a title that is a great showcase of just how well PSSR can function to bring incredibly designed worlds to life in all their glory.

6. F1 25

Codemaster certainly knows how to make use of the PS5 Pro’s power, with F1 25 bringing three different graphical options to the console. As if running races at 4K/60fps with Quality mode wasn’t enough, Performance Mode took the framerates up to 120fps on compatible displays.

But the real star of the show is Resolution Mode, which bumps things up to 8K/60fps for an experience that comes pretty darn close to the real thing, thanks to ambient occlusion, reflections, and shadows bringing incredible visual details to the track. This is a game that you might use to show off your PS5 Pro’s real power.

7. Death Stranding 2

Hideo Kojima’s follow-up to the original Death Stranding is simply stunning on the PS5 Pro. The Decima engine really shows off its chops in the game’s performance mode, allowing for an experience that you must see to believe.

Sam’s trek across Mexico and Australia is a visual treat that’s made even sweeter on the PS5 Pro, although the base PS5 also does a great job of bringing this new world to life.

8. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The decision to set the game in Sengoku Japan has been quite well-received, with a solid gameplay loop backing up an intriguing setting. The open world makes the experience even better when it’s played on the PS5 Pro’s Balanced mode, which offers a superb mix between Quality and Performance modes on the base PS5.

With ray tracing and 40fps enabled on compatible 120Hz displays, the PS5 Pro version of Shadows is the best balance of smooth graphics and incredible visuals that push the console to its limits.

9. Alan Wake 2

Remedy Entertainment’s survival horror experience does very well on the PS5 Pro, bringing an almost perfect balance between the base versions’ Performance and Quality modes. While the differences might not be as evident on paper, playing through this title on the new console makes the entire experience feel that much more immersive, drawing you into Alan Wake’s bizarre world right off the bat.

Playing the game at 40fps with ray tracing enabled across the board is something we’d do over and over again, thanks to how great it makes the experience look and feel.

10. Cyberpunk 2077

The PS5 Pro simply brings Night City to life in a way that makes it a very strong option for those of you looking to enjoy CD Projekt Red’s take on a dystopian future. With 40fps on Quality Mode and 80fps in Performance Mode, this is a title that really pushes the PS5 Pro and makes great use of its power.

Cyberpunk 2077 has certainly come a long way from its messy launch and is now a game that’s right up there with modern gaming’s greatest hits.

11. Resident Evil Village

Playing through Ethan Winters’ search for his daughter in the titular village on the PS5 Pro’s 120Hz mode is a great way to let the game’s many horrors terrify you even more than they did on the base console.

The official Pro patch makes good use of PSSR to bring ray-traced immersion and a solid framerate to enable new levels of immersion to the experience on offer, and earns Village a place on this list.

12. Dragon’s Dogma 2

Although we were quite impressed by Dragon’s Dogma 2 when it first came out, there’s no denying that the experience needed a lot of improvement on the base PS5. However, the game’s balance mode bought a lot of those improvements and then some to the table.

Performance was nearly locked at 60fps while ray tracing brought a fresh coat of paint to the Arisen’s world, making this one quite the looker on the PS5 Pro.

13. Returnal

How did Housemarquee make an excellent shooter even better? By giving it a free PS5 Pro update that brought a significant resolution boost, along with a buttery smooth 60fps to the table.

The end result is a game that showcases the Pro’s graphical prowess like no other, with the particle physics and visually stunning world and enemies looking their very best, while the gameplay loop keeps its players coming back for more. Returnal is a fun game to play on any platform, and a graphical marvel on the PS5 Pro.

14. Battlefield 6

We’re quite impressed with the graphics on offer in this one, even if its main campaign has drawn a bit of flak since its release. However, the Fidelity mode on offer for PlayStation gamers brings an impressive level of visual detail accompanied by excellent framerates that simply cannot be ignored.

If you’re looking to dive into this one on a console, the PS5 Pro is the one to beat.

15. Ghost of Yotei

Sucker Punch’s follow-up to Jin Sakai’s touching tale brings a lot of meaningful changes to the formula it set up in 2020. Among them is a visually stunning open world that comes alive from the second you first behold its expansive vistas as Atsu.

On the PS5 Pro, Ezo is an absolute stunner, with the RT Pro mode being the option that makes the game blend all of its visual splendor into an experience that can have you spending hours just exploring away while the Yotei Six wonder where the onryo meant to bring them to justice vanished off to.

And that’s a wrap on our picks for the games that push the PS5 Pro to its limits. Were there others that you think deserve a place on this list?

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak

If you talk to every NPC and exhaust all the dialogue available, there’s no escaping a 100-hour playthrough in Trails Through Daybreak. In Trails games, NPCs each have an ongoing story of their own that updates as you progress key story milestones. The main narrative of Trails Through Daybreak has tons of text on its own, not even counting the NPCs. Trails Through Daybreak’s English word count is well over 1 million, making it the second-largest script in the series to date. By contrast, the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy contains 455,125 English words while The Bible contains about 1 million. The ‘high speed’ fast forward toggle mitigates the time this can take by a bit, but unless you’re a super speed reader, sifting through the reams of text available here will be time-consuming. Interestingly enough, Trails Through Daybreak doesn’t feature the series-staple fishing minigame, so players can focus more on the intricate storyline and characters.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

The latest entry in the Yakuza series also happens to be the largest. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth features a turn-based RPG combat system, a distinct shift from Yakuza’s familiar beat-em-up formula. The 100-plus hour playtime is partly due to the turn-based combat, but mostly because Infinite Wealth is so chock-full of minigames. Infinite Wealth features well over a dozen minigames, some of them being full-blown games with progression and a grind all their own. For example, the Dondoko Island minigame has its own control scheme, which is fitting considering what it involves. Within Dondoko Island, you build an island resort destination by scrounging up resources and then placing objects around the archipelago. Other minigames are more basic, though no less intriguing, such as the returning karaoke songs, as well as fun parody games inspired by Pokemon and Crazy Taxi. But Infinite Wealth has much more than just minigames to occupy your time. The main campaign consists of 14 meaty chapters that take anywhere from 50 to 60 hours depending on playstyle, which makes it one of the longest campaigns in the Yakuza franchise to date.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a massive game unto itself despite it covering ‘just’ the middle section of Final Fantasy VII. Rebirth retreads some of the most beloved parts of the original Final Fantasy VII and recontextualizes them: the Gold Saucer, Barret’s Corel story, and Cloud’s famous flashback sequence all take place in this middle chapter, not to mention all the twists and deviations toward the end. Much like the previous game on this list, Rebirth goes all in on minigames. You have Chocobo Racing to enjoy, as well as the array of Gold Saucer attractions. Even without the minigames, Rebirth boasts a seamless open world rivaling the size of Final Fantasy XV’s map. There’s a checklist of stuff to do in the open world, but the Protorelic quest is particularly noteworthy since it features some core story content and culminates with a showdown against a familiar character making Rebirth one of the longest games of 2024.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

This turn-based JRPG features a wide number of allies you can recruit. There’s a total of 120 recruitable allies in this game, though less than half of them don’t join you in combat, instead helping you out by giving you intel and whatnot. The process of recruiting these characters can range from merely speaking with them to doing fetch quests, so it’s not quite as time-consuming as it could’ve been. The range of other side activities helps make Hundred Heroes a 100-hour RPG.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

Dragon’s Dogma 2 doesn’t have the longest story campaign on this list, but the open world littered with side quests and activities will take you some time to explore for sure. Some of the side quests are substantial affairs, taking you around the world map and requiring multiple steps to complete. With over 40 side quests, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not wanting in content. That said, the real heart of Dragon’s Dogma 2 lies in its procedural gameplay. Enemies react and behave in unpredictable ways, further compounded by the interactable environments. This leads to many hours had just messing with different builds and finding different ways to defeat monsters. It’s one of those games where you spend hours just messing around experimenting with stuff.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s campaign is swift and punchy, with about 24 hours or so of gameplay time. While it’s generally a well-received story with memorable characters, the real substance of this game revolves around its endgame content and co-op component. Think of Monster Hunter and you have the right idea. Raids feature difficult bosses and dungeons that you can tackle solo or with others. Leveling up characters and gear is a fixture of Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s endgame gameplay loop, and can take 100s of hours until you feel a sense of completion. All in all, this is a nice hybrid package that includes your traditional RPG story alongside a grindy endgame raid loop to dig into.

Rise of the Ronin

As an open-world samurai game, Rise of the Ronin features a lot of checklists and content to explore. There’s a total of 750 collectibles with 100 fugitives to save in Rise of the Ronin, some of which are very well hidden. The map in Rise of the Ronin measures 10.4 square miles. By comparison, Ghost of Tsushima’s map rounds up to 11 square miles. Though the main campaign comprises only three chapters, there’s still lots of side quests and stuff to collect in the open environment, making Rise of Ronin one of the longest games of 2024 so far.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic

In the video game world, you can’t really get any bigger than World of Warcraft. The Cataclysm expansion had the most lengthy story at its time of release, which is saying a lot considering WoW’s legacy. For reference, 25 players are polled on HowLongToBeat stating that Cataclysm takes around 385 hours to complete the main story and additional content. Cataclysm is the latest expansion to receive the Classic treatment, which helps smooth some things over with conveniences, but also adds additional wrinkles into the mix. Some additional features include the ability to use mounts, transmogs, and pets across all accounts, a streamlined auction house, and overhauled difficulty.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Just about everyone was surprised to hear that Elden Ring’s expansion featured another huge open-world zone separate from Elden Ring’s Lands Between. When we actually booted the game up and played ourselves, that feeling of discovering an ever-expanding map hit us all over again just like the base game. The Shadow Realm is far larger than the game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, said it would be in previews. The new zone is roughly the size of Limgrave, Caelid, and half of Liurnia of the Lakes combined. Add to this the additional verticality of the unpredictable terrain and you have another solid 60 or so hours of content on your hands, even if some of it is just empty space with one of those silly cookbooks waiting at a dead end.

Helldivers 2

As a live service co-op shooter, Helldivers 2 doesn’t have a definitive endpoint due to a lack of a traditional campaign or story. Still, despite having a mission-based structure, players clock in an average of 50 hours in Helldivers 2 according to HowLongToBeat. The mission structure revolves around 40-minute timers with a list of objectives to complete. There’s something to be said about completing stuff in 40-minute chunks. The compact time limit lets players know what they’re getting into while giving a sense of accomplishment, encouraging further commitment to the game’s loop. Getting to max level is one of the clear milestones you can achieve in this game, and that feat is typically accomplished around or just above that 50-hour timeframe.

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