But worry not, as it’s as real as it gets. The DLC adds a new endgame dungeon, accessed from within the Forlorn Swords region, complete with a boss you need to beat to get through the door. Overcome that challenge, and you’re going to work your way through a lot of new content, the goal being to collect the fragments of the King’s soul to reach the titular Merlin’s Tomb.

Get there, and you’re going to find that the once-great sage is now a corrupted reflection of his former self, and it’s up to you to step in and help out. Of course, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts, although the scars you might earn from the fight may never go away.

If you’re interested in knowing more, the game’s Steam page has some pretty detailed information for you, as does the DLC’s launch trailer below. We’d recommend just diving right in, though, and letting the game surprise you with all its new tricks.

To start with, over 20 items have been rebalanced, but to preserve that power fantasy, players who already own them will receive duplicates. The originals remain, as potent as ever, but if you find things too easy, then the dupes should restore some of that challenge. You can also enable soft caps on your stats, granting diminishing returns past a certain threshold.

You can check out the full balance changes here, but for those who care for new content, there’s much to sink your teeth into. Act 3’s Forlorn Swords offers a new cave, two new mini-bosses (Sleepwalker and Cairnguard), and features new terrain. You’ll discover new items and even some different enemies in the Stronghold.

How about a house? Because there’s also a new quest, “The Empty House,” which gifts the Seacoast Manor as a home for players to customize. Of course, that’s not even getting into all the audio improvements, or the new 40 FPS mode for console players (that will go live in a few days). You’ll need a supporting screen, though, so keep that in mind.

Perhaps the most insane thing is that Questline aren’t done. Free DLC, which it promises will be “worth the wait,” is out by the end of March, and there are even more additions to come. Stay tuned for updates, as always, and check out our reviews for the base game and Sanctuary of Sarras expansion.

The trailer doesn’t really show off any new details about the RPG. Rather, it focuses on showing off some of its environments, enemy designs, and boss fights that players will get to experience. Celebrating this milestone, along with the trailer, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, and its expansion Sanctuary of Sarras are both available at a 20 percent discount on Steam.

“We hope 2026 has been treating you well so far,” wrote the developers in its announcement. “We kicked the year off with an incredible milestone, and now it’s time to share that… Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has sold over 1 million copies across all platforms!”

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon was originally an Early Access release. After spending two years in community-centric development, it would eventually hit version 1.0 on PC, while also coming out on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in May 2025.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a dark fantasy take on the Arthurian legend, with the story largely taking place on the island of Avalon. The island is beset by many woes. Along with the overwhelming force of the Red Death, a strange phenomenon dubbed the Wyrdness has also been spreading across the land. The Wyrdness has been making life especially difficult for the denizens of Avalon, since anything it touches gets mutated in twisted ways.

The player takes on the role of a regular person that is dying from the Red Death. While you were scheduled to be vivisected, a mysterious knight barges in and rescues you. To make things more interesting, a part of King Arthur also seems to be following you around. To save the world, you are given an impossible-seeming task: travel the lands of Avalon to find the remnants of Arthur’s corrupted soul.

The story was further expanded through the release of Sanctuary of Sarras, which revolves around the eponymous deep sea locale and tells the story of those who decided to leave Avalon behind in their search for a better, less plague-ridden home.

While the open world and dark fantasy setting make for great selling points by themselves, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon also features fast-paced dynamic combat that allows players to seamlessly switch between their various weapons, shields, and even magic staffs. Throughout your encounters in the game, you can block, dodge and parry enemy attacks while waiting for an opening to land devastating counter attacks of your own.

The combat is further expanded on thanks to the intricate progression systems, allowing you to unlock brand new moves depending on your weapon type of choice, with some perks even promoting hybrid-style gameplay that, for example, mixes alchemy with long-range archery skills.

For more details, check out our reviews of the base game, as well as its expansion.

While the base game focused quite a bit on the classic Arthurian legend and twisting it into a dark reflection of itself, the DLC adds a surprising amount of extra detail that makes it fun to delve further into all the history that you can find through side quests, random conversations, books and item descriptions you might find along the way. Sanctuary of Sarras manages to accomplish the rare feat of actually making the story of the base game better just by existing.

"Sanctuary of Sarras manages to accomplish the rare feat of actually making the story of the base game better just by existing."

The core premise behind Sanctuary of Sarras revolves around a group that decides that Avalon under Arthur’s rule was turning out to be a little too hellish for their tastes, wants to return to what they call the “homeland” – a place far away from Avalon. This group was led by Merlin’s apprentice Nimue, and as you might expect, Arthur was incredibly displeased about this would-be rebellion happening under his rule. While he ultimately decided that he should let this group try and find their way to the homeland, and likely die trying, Merlin decided to take things a step further and sank the entire fleet while still cursing them with magic that kept them alive. This would ultimately lead to the creation of an entirely new kingdom forming underwater – the realm of Sarras, named after the ship leading the group.

The story itself ties into that of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon; you, along with Arthur, end up in the ocean after getting mysterious hints from a stranger telling you that the ocean’s depths hold important secrets to uncover. On getting there, you start peeling back layers of not only the story of the ship Sarras and how its sinking led to the formation of the realm of Sarras itself, but also more details about what Avalon was like under Arthur’s and Merlin’s rule in the fallout after the Red Death. In many ways, the central story of Sanctuary of Sarras is self-contained, with you never really leaving the underwater realm over the course of its runtime. However, the fact that it ties in so well with the base game is what makes the story especially interesting, since you also get to hear Arthur’s own thoughts about Sarras and its denizens.

"The core premise behind Sanctuary of Sarras revolves around a group that decides that Avalon under Arthur’s rule was turning out to be a little too hellish for their tastes"

Mechanically, Sanctuary of Sarras only really has one major addition to the game: a new progression system that revolves around exploring the world and finding a new passive skill tree that gives you some added bonuses to make your time in the DLC easier. Generally speaking, enemies in the DLC scale in power alongside your own level. This means that one of the best ways to get stronger than them is by getting the various buffs offered by the new skill trees, which are split across three distinct branches: Warrior, Rogue and Mystic. The bonuses are just passive ones, like letting you do more damage. They do affect your playstyle, however, since there are plenty of choices to specialise further in your preferred playstyle by, for example, getting damage bonuses according to the weight of your armour in the Warrior tree, or by applying damage-multiplying debuffs in the Rogue tree that encourages faster attack speeds.

You can switch your tree at any time, which makes experimenting painless. If you’re bored of playing an archer, for example, you can just equip the right bits of gear and switch to a magic using playstyle, while also getting power ups courtesy of the Mystic tree.

When it comes to core gameplay design, Sarras is quite an interesting place. Rather than being open for free roam like the base game, the DLC’s zone is instead separated into distinct underwater islands with access to other islands being blocked off by gates with guardian fish spirits protecting them. Each one of these islands is fairly small on its own, and as a whole, the map is smaller than what you would see from the base game. While this might sound like a letdown in theory, in practice, the relatively smaller zones throughout the map ensure that you’re never really running around for too long without something interesting happening nearby.

"Each one of these islands is fairly small on its own, and as a whole, the map is smaller than what you would see from the base game."

Eventually, however, you will want to travel to the other parts of Sarras, and to do this, you must convince the sea creature guardians – referred to as Maws of various things, like Maw of the Current or Maw of the Tide, for example – to let you use the gates to travel to other “islands”. Each one of the Maws tends to have a different request that you must fulfill before you are allowed entry through the gate. These requests can range from fighting off nearby enemies, to having a philosophical discussion about the nature of a dictatorship, to even cooking a specific food. Once you’ve completed the request, however, the gate is free to use at your leisure to travel back and forth across the various parts of the DLC’s map.

The DLC’s other major strength lies in its side quests. While there’s an excellent main quest to follow, with some downright fantastic writing that makes the whole world of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon more interesting, the side quests go a step further in giving you a glimpse into how this underwater realm survives. Just about every quest goes into some aspect, be it how humans mutated into hybrid ocean creatures, or how they established relationships with other sea creatures, and in some cases, even what their day-to-day life means in their present form.

Enemy design is also quite interesting, both in terms of visual design as well as their behaviour. Visually, the enemies fulfil just about every undersea creature you can think of, ranging from tentacled beasts to barnacle-crusted zombies, fish people, serpents, and everything in between. In fights, they tend to behave how you might expect them to; the more serpentine enemies, for instance, will tend to focus on hit-and-run tactics that let them take advantage of their agility. Zombies, on the other hand, don’t use much in the way of tactics aside from trying to swarm you.

"Enemy design is also quite interesting, both in terms of visual design as well as their behaviour."

Boss fights also don’t really get particularly complex, with most of them revolving around you hanging back for a few seconds to wait for an opening to take advantage of. Some of the bosses are slower, which tends to favour builds that focus on ranged attacks like bows or magic. Others will be faster, with moves that let them close the distance quite fast, which favours builds that either focus on heavy armour or dodging. While you’re not going to get intricate puzzle bosses in Sanctuary of Sarras, the bosses still end up leaving a lasting impact because of their visual design.

Most of these new enemies and bosses can be found in the many new dungeons you can find all over the new map. Generally speaking, only some of these dungeons tend to offer anything more interesting than groups of enemies to fight in your quest for epic loot. A few, however, can offer up more interesting encounters; these tend to be tied to side quests as part of a larger narrative, and can provide some unique chances to have a conversation with, for example, a pair of particularly intelligent serpents that are only out to partake in scientific research rather than attacking anything in their paths. Essentially, while the combat spaces might be simple, the context provided by the narrative tends to serve as their saving grace.

The DLC also brings with it a lot of new gear, from weapons to armour pieces and even accessories like rings. However, these offer little in the way of gameplay-altering changes, instead merely being different ways to boost your stats. Depending on at what point of your journey through Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon you decide to kick off your journey into the DLC, you might very well end up with gear that’s much more powerful than anything Sanctuary of Sarras has to offer. To that end, the biggest benefit to doing side quests and roaming off the beaten path to explore the world tends to be learning more about the world and lore rather than a shiny new sword. Since you need to reach Cuanacht in Act 2 to trigger the quest that starts the DLC, chances are high that you will have built up a tidy arsenal before you venture into the depths of Sarras.

"The DLC also brings with it a lot of new gear, from weapons to armour pieces and even accessories like rings."

While our review of the 1.0 release of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon had noted that the title suffered from quite a few technical problems, these issues have seemingly been smoothed out in the months since. Playing the title on an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, a Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU, and 32 GB of DDR5-6000 RAM allowed me to maintain solid frame rates of over 100, with only the occasional hiccup when loading into a new area for the first time. I was able to comfortably crank up the graphics settings to the High preset while playing the title at 1440p, facing no issues for most of my play time.

Sanctuary of Sarras is an excellent addition to Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, thanks in large part to how well it helps in fleshing out the already-excellent worldbuilding and lore of the base game. While the DLC’s story is largely self-contained, it also happens to give you a lot more context about the characters of Arthur and Merlin, and slowly learning about a medieval fantasy take on an underwater civilization is a cool concept in and of itself. It isn’t mandatory to understand the main story. Still, it meaningfully enriches the broader mythology of Tainted Grail, which helps to enhance the overarching story thanks to how it builds on the foundations that were already laid by the base game.

This game was reviewed on PC.

We quite like worlds that set us loose right from the get go, sprinkling interesting distractions along the way to keep us exploring away until our eyes, or hands, or even our controllers demand some rest. And 2025 has blessed us with quite a few of those titles, with each experience bringing a very unique bunch of mechanics to keep things interesting.

With that being said, we have a few that are believed to be a cut above their peers. The nominees for the best open-world games of 2025 are:

1. Where Winds Meet

Everstone Studios has blended wuxia with an action RPG adventure whose sprawling lands and bustling cities are a stage for a very ambitious take on player agency and freedom. This is a world that actively encourages going off the beaten track, its systems being a reward on their own for diligent players.

But that’s not all. With the game actively including clever touches upon actual history and using that to blend in fantasy elements makes for an experience that’s a wuxia fever dream. Where Winds Meet deserves a place of honour among 2025’s best RPGs for its sheer scale, ambition, and the sense of freedom it gives you from the get-go.

2. Dying Light: The Beast

By making the Castor Woods feel like a character in Kyle’s latest adventure, this open world survival horror loop never fails to entertain. You never know what you might end up against as you leave the safety of your hideouts, while the night conceals terrors that can bring a very quick end to your strolls.

But it’s in how the world blends several activities and a well-written story together with some excellent parkour-based traversal and new powers for your character to make an experience that continues to call out to us long after we rolled the credits on it.

3. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

A worthy successor to the first title, Deliverance 2 builds on everything that was great in the first game while expanding on it in both scale and quality. Its story brings a lot of interesting twists to the tale, while the wit and charm of its characters and NPCs can be both endearing and amusing.

This is a world where exploration feels like a very entertaining trek through a world in which you can find both conflict and comedy in equal measures as you go where the roads take you on your quest to witness an end to Henry’s story.

4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

This one definitely was a surprise when it was shadow-dropped by its developers earlier in the year, but it certainly isn’t a surprise that it has made its way back into our hearts after the many years since its original release.

A brilliant visual overhaul aside, improved animations and a revamped enemy AI made the entire adventure feel quite immersive. That’s quite an advantage in an open world like Cyrodiil, where there’s just so much to tease out through careful exploration and countless battles. This is a nostalgia fix you shouldn’t miss out on, and a must try if you happened to have missed the original game.

5. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Ancient Japan’s chapter of the Assassin’s finally made it to our hands, and Naoe and Yasuke didn’t disappoint. The Anvil Engine brought this excellent recreation of feudal Japan to life in a giant map that was both dazzling to see and riveting to explore.

With secrets to discover, targets to hunt down, fortresses to raid, and so much more, the changing seasons are a showcase of how this game continues to stand tall among 2025’s best RPGs, as resilient as the snow-capped structures it recreates so beautifully.

6. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Sam Porter’s second adventure was bound to be more ambitious than the first one, but On the Beach brings an astounding level of visual flair, engaging gameplay, and a vast world for you to work your magic on this time around.

The game’s opening hour was enough to showcase how Kojima Productions had managed to bring a sequel worthy of its predecessor in every way, while doing enough to stand out on its own as an open world title that’s unforgettable and melancholically haunting.

7. Elden Ring: Nightreign

While it can be easy to see open-world games as ones that have you gradually explore their maps and take things at a generally slower pace, FromSoftware’s roguelike debut put a timer on the exploration and gave you a set of moves and traversal methods that were built for efficient speed.

Making your way across a map before the Night begins to eat away at your life force demands strategy and skill, and taking on the many threats you find along the way with player-controlled Nightfarers at your side could lead to some truly memorable battles or some epic fails. Either way, this one’s a great option for a player who likes to pick up the pace.

8. Tokyo Xtreme Racer

Roaming the streets of Tokyo in your quest to become a street racing legend is a very entertaining part of this game’s racing experience. Challenging racers from rival gangs or just looking to make a mark on their own is never going to get old, and this is a title that is entertaining to both pro and casual racing fans.

This is definitely worth a shot if street racing in an open world is your thing, and it is sure to give you more than a few challenging tracks to take on and rivals to beat.

9. Ghost of Yotei

Atsu took over the reins from Jin Sakai in a sequel that has cemented the Ghost franchise as a powerhouse in PlayStation’s lineup of exclusives. This is a world in which serene beauty, deadly dangers, and riveting stories are waiting to be found, the wind at your back slowly guiding you to them.

Of course, there’s the entire quest for revenge and your blood feud to tend to, but they often take a back seat when an adorable little bird flits into view, urging you to follow it to potentially new discoveries. Ezo is a world that’s a treat to explore despite the many dangers you’re going to have to face down, weapons drawn and reflexes at the ready.

10. Monster Hunter Wilds

Among the more popular additions to the open world genre, this successor to Monster Hunter Worlds was quite an upgrade, adding new mechanics, systems, and massive biomes teeming with monsters to take on for its players.

The game pulled no punches with Wilds, and the effort has made the Forbidden Lands a game map that’s going to be as entertaining now as it was when we first began exploring it. And given the heavy competition in the genre, that’s an achievement worth having.

11. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Retracing the legend of King Arthur in this darker take on the king’s story was an interesting time, with a frankly astounding number of quests that you can find in its open world. Dealing with the Red Death and the Wyrdness is often the catalyst for smaller, more nuanced tales that tell you more about the world that once was, while also giving emotional heft to the world that now exists.

It’s a map that takes you to places you cannot forget once you visit them, while the game’s other systems and story work well to have you forgetting the hours as you immerse yourself into the adventure.

12. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (PS5)

With GSC finally bringing out the PS5 version of STALKER 2 and making great use of the console’s unique features, the experience that the studio set out to deliver is finally here. The Zone has everything you’d expect from a title in the iconic franchise, and exploring it is a gaming experience that remains unique among its peers.

This is a title that keeps you on your toes, its story and the grind for survival working well to make your character feel like the predator and the prey. This one is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t had the chance to experience a very unique flavor of mayhem.

13. Days Gone Remastered (PS5)

While the choice to remaster Days Gone might have raised a few eyebrows, this remaster is now the best way to experience the original title’s utter unpredictability and terrifying chases through uncharted territory with hordes of vicious zombies on your tail.

Deacon’s harrowing adventure is a great story and an even greater launchpad for an open-world experience that’s both chilling and engaging. It’s just you, your motorcycle, the open road, and of course, the zombies in a game that can stay with you long after you complete its story.

14. Borderlands 4

It was a joy to rejoin the ranks of the Vault Hunters after all this time and take on the Timekeeper in this addition to the Borderlands franchise. WIth laughs and a thrilling looter shooter making this one a very fun way to enjoy your gaming hours, this is an open world that can have you lost in its cel-shaded adventures.

It’s also a great option to get your buddies together for some cooperative play in a map that can have a lot of fun just waiting for you to discover.

15. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy – Enhanced Edition

If you’re wondering what the fuss about the STALKER franchise is all about, this one is a great way to experience the original games in all their glory and then some. With improvements to both visuals and performance on each of the three titles packed in, there’s a lot to like in this bundle, thanks to how the STALKER games are engaging enough to gain a following over the years.

These are worlds that you just cannot miss, thanks to how memorable they have managed to be despite the years that followed their release.

While each of these games brought a lot of fun and innovation to the table, we must pick a winner.

The winner of best open world game of 2025 is:

GHOST OF YOTEI

Atsu’s story and her trip across Ezo is simply too well-crafted to be ignored in favor of other games. This is an open world that engages with you just as much as you interact with it. It’s alive and humming, willing you to listen and follow its paths to your next hours of adventure. Mount Yotei and its surroundings have been a pleasure to explore, and Sucker Punch has nailed its take on the turbulent land.

Touted as a “whole new act,” Sanctuary of Sarras offers a brand new story with 10 to 15 hours of gameplay, 12 new enemies, over 20 hand-crafted dungeons and “interiors,” and four new bosses. You’ll encounter new characters and side quests, discover over 100 pieces of equipment (armor and weapons), and more.

There’s even a new progression system with three skill trees that require activating shrines for skill points. While you can only have one active at a time, they’ll level up concurrently.

To venture to Sarras, players need to unlock Cuanacht in Act 2. Stay tuned for more details on the expansion in the coming days, and check out our review for the base game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition

While traditional role-playing games never disappeared, they did become quite rare for a few years. The release of Clair Obscur: Expedition has managed to remind many people why that style of combat was so beloved. Along with an excellent setting that revolves around serious themes like loss and grief, Expedition also has a solid take on turn-based combat, with every single character in your party having their own bespoke mechanics, be it Maeve’s stance system, how Lune handles elements, or even Gustave’s Overcharge mechanics. Pair this with rewarding high-level gameplay with parries and dodging, and you get one of the best RPGs out there.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 finally managed to hit mainstream success, thanks in large part to its strong setting and ambitious design. Baldur’s Gate 3 adapts rules from the 5th edition of tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons, and features some of the most interesting and likeable characters that have been featured in games in quite some time. Along with this, it also has an expansive story that kicks things off with a great premise: figure out how to get rid of a parasite in your brain before you end up being turned into a mindflayer. What follows is an epic adventure that carries you through different cities and planes, where countless stories and challenges await.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition

What can we say about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that hasn’t been said already? An entire decade since its original release, the open-world RPG has continued to be awesome thanks to constant support from CD Projekt RED, not only through the release of excellent expansions—but also through updating the title to make use of more modern hardware with enhanced visuals. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt continues to have an excellent story, with plenty of wonderfully-written sidequests. All of this, paired with a great combat system leads to a generally fun way to spend hundreds of hours.

Elden Ring + Shadow of the Erdtree

In many ways, both Elden Ring as well as its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, represents the culmination of everything developer FromSoftware has learned in developing titles since 2009’s Demon’s Souls. Along with the slow-paced but heavy combat that the studio is known for, Elden Ring and its expansion also feature a great open world to explore, some of the best boss fights it has ever design, and some incredibly dense lore available for players who would care enough to pore through the dozens of item descriptions and conversations needed to uncover it all. Pair this with tools that provide plenty of options for players that might want an easier time through the game, and Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree simply prove themselves to be the best that FromSoftware has to offer.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer Rockstar has had many great games under its belt, essentially changing the entire concept of open-world games with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 and its host of follow-ups, but none of them have been as jaw-dropping or awe-inspiring as 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Acting as a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption, the title puts you into the shoes of Arthur Morgan as he experiences the age of the cowboy coming to an end as a member of the Van der Linde gang. Along with some excellent character-writing and fun missions, Red Dead Redemption 2 also offers dense gameplay, taking on a simulationist approach to even side activities like hunting or train robbing, giving players hundreds of hours worth of things to do in its massive and lush open world.

Days Gone Remastered

While Days Gone was originally a PS4 game that came out to a middling reception, its release on PC has been a glow-up for the open-world zombie title, with modern gaming PCs being more than capable of handling the hordes of zombies that get thrown at you. Sure, the main narrative may not be particularly noteworthy. However, the side-activities, as well as the general gameplay loop encouraged by the fact that upgrading your motorbike is important, make the overall idea of setting out to scavenge from long-abandoned medical facilities or even rival gang camps an enticing idea.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

While its initial release may have been a bit of a mess, in the years since, Cyberpunk 2077 has proven itself to be an excellent open-world action RPG. Taking on the role of V in the year 2077, you set out to become a legend in Night City. However, one of the jobs you take alongside your best friend Jackie goes horribly wrong, and now you’re slowly dying and the ghost of Johnny Silverhand lives in your head. Cyberpunk 2077, along with its expansion Phantom Liberty, tells an excellent story that takes you across Night City’s various districts and social strata as you try and figure out the evil machinations of the megacorporation Arasaka that led to the development of the thing that has been slowly killing you. Along with an excellent main story, Cyberpunk 2077 also features several well-written and fun side-quests that can range from getting into a rivalry with a Japanese pop group to discussing the nature of sentience with an AI taxi service.

Disco Elysium – The Final Cut

Quite easily one of the most interesting takes on the RPG genre that has been attempted, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut puts you in the shoes of a detective. You explore the city of Revachol, which is seemingly in the midst of a cultural upheaval in some parts, alongside your partner Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi. Disco Elysium focuses more on conversation than it does action, and one of its most unique aspects is the fact that each aspect of the protagonist’s mind and body has a personality of its own. Through these conversations, you learn more about yourself, about Revachol, and about the world at large.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect is one of those rare video game trilogies that deserves its “legendary” moniker. The three titles tell the story of a galaxy’s fight against a cosmic, existential threat, and puts players in the shoes of human Commander Shepard who must assemble a rag-tag crew of allies from the various species from across the galaxy as they try to figure out the mysteries behind the forces known only as the Reapers. Along the way, in true RPG fashion, there are also plenty of choices that players have to make, with many of these choices having far-reaching consequences for the galaxy as a whole. While the ending of Mass Effect 3 might be regrettable, the rest of the journey still holds up even today as one worth experiencing.

Prey (2017)

While it may not have anything to do with its 2006 namesake, Prey (2017) is an immersive sim that puts players in the shoes of Morgan Yu. Working for the TranStar Corporation on ethically-dubious experiments, you eventually start serving on the Talos I space station. However, these experiments eventually start going wrong, and the space station comes under attack by an alien threat known as the Typhon. The twist is that these aliens can shapeshift, which adds an extra layer of tension to the gameplay. Even when you’re just exploring an office room, one of the mugs might end up being a Mimic-type Typhon that can attack you at any time, after all. What makes Prey especially interesting is the freedom it gives the player in how they choose to tackle any situation, be it stealth, combat, or even something more creative, like building platforms out of nearby furniture and your Goo Gun to avoid any dangers.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition

Skyrim is still – at the time of publishing – the latest game in The Elder Scrolls franchise, and there’s a good reason that it has been the best-selling one so far. Taking place in the eponymous region of Skyrim, the game puts players in the shoes of whatever character they might like to be and, after a short opening quest, sets them free in the world. What makes Skyrim fun is that it has hundreds of hours worth of content, not only through its main story, but through several side quests as well. Along with this, the game also has an excellent modding community that has constantly worked on adding more content to the game, as well as improving what’s already there. Generally speaking, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is the closest thing we have to a game we can play forever.

Fallout 3

What Skyrim does for the fantasy genre, Fallout 3 does for players that might prefer a post-apocalyptic setting. Taking place in and around a post-nuclear fallout Washington DC – referred to in-game as the Capitol Wasteland – Fallout 3 sets you loose in an open world with a single goal: find your father. More interesting than the main story, however, is the sheer amount of side-content that is available right from the get-go. The first-person RPG will have you cover the entire length and breadth of the wasteland as you try and do as many side-quests as possible thanks to the excellent writing. While we’re at it, the gameplay isn’t bad either; it might be dated by modern standards, but the RPG systems in the game allow for plenty of player choice in terms of how you want to define your play style.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

After years of memes making the rounds on the Internet, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally out. Putting players in the shoes of new protagonist Hornet, Hollow Knight: Silksong features an entirely new world to explore, and tons of challenging boss fights to tackle. Along the way, there are also plenty of new gameplay systems to explore, including the new healing mechanics, as well as the ability to change up Hornet’s entire moveset if you so desire. Much like the original Hollow Knight, Silksong has an easy claim to the crown at the top of the genre.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

While Marvel’s Spider-Man was already a fantastic return of the webslinger to the gaming medium, Insomniac Games has taken everything about the open-world action game and turned it up to eleven with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Not only does it feature an even more epic storyline featuring plenty of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, it also features two whole Spider-Men taking on the threats to New York City – Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Throw on top a fun plot about both of our heroes growing together, as well as the unique personal issues affecting both of them, as well as the threat of the Symbiote over the whole plot, and you get a great time.

Little Nightmares 2

Little Nightmares 2 is an interesting game since, while it might appear like a cutesy platformer from the outside, underneath its adorable exterior lies a dark game filled with a surprising amount of horror. The title revolves around a boy, Mono, who finds a girl, Six, trapped in the basement of a dark and terrible house, and the two must work together to make it out alive.Along the way, they will have to deal with many terrifying enemies and other dark secrets of the main setting of the game – the Pale City – and the title makes heavy use of some psychedelic visuals to hammer home the point that the city is not a welcoming place for wayward children.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

While most open-world RPGs tend to make use of fantasy settings, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 instantly sets itself apart from its contemporaries by instead making use of real-world place, complete with accurate depictions of historical events. Taking place in the lands of Bohemia, protagonist Henry finds himself and his friend, Sir Hans, the victims of a bandit attack on their way to deliver a message to Trosky. What follows is Henry’s attempts to complete his mission, and along the way, grow as a person. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes a simulationist approach to its gameplay, with armours and weapons feeling appropriately hard to find and maintain, and crafting systems that will have you reading instructions from books before you go about mixing potions or forging a sword. The title offers hundreds of hours worth of gameplay, along with some of the best sword-fighting mechanics ever executed in a first-person game.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake was a masterclass in horror, but its sequel takes things a step further. In Alan Wake 2, players control multiple characters as they explore genuinely creepy locations, face terrifying creatures, and experience it all with an amazing score and exceptional gameplay. This is what horror games should strive to be, and it leaves us eager to see what Remedy has in store for the inevitable Alan Wake 3.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut

Hideo Kojima’s first major project after his departure from Konami, Death Stranding is a game that is quite difficult to explain. Essentially, you are a courier in a world where a global catastrophe has made humanity spread out far and wide, with little to keep them connected to each other. The core gameplay revolves around you taking on delivery jobs and then figuring out how to cross the terrain to get to your objective. What makes this interesting is that Death Stranding is one of those rare games where terrain is quite important, and you can’t just climb any surface you see. This means that you will have to figure out the best route to take that doesn’t risk too much damage to the cargo you’re carrying. Throw on top a bonkers plot that revolves around the concepts of death, the soul and the body, as well as the general creepiness that the ghost-like BTs exhibit, and you have a fantastic time experience, while long, is well worth it.

The Witness

From the developer behind Braid, The Witness is a strange puzzle game that takes a single mechanic – being able to draw lines – and turns it into the entire game. While most of the title will have you finding screens to then solve logical puzzles with your line drawing powers, the whole game essentially blows open at a certain point when you start to discover that the entire world around you is also a puzzle that can then be manipulated and solved in different ways. Along the way, the game also features narration that explores the nature of the island you’re exploring, and what its true purpose might be. All of this is paired with some wonderful art direction and a vibrant colour palette that makes sure that nothing in The Witness ever looks boring.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game where the protagonist – a samurai named Jin Kasai – survives an initial battle against an invading Mongol force, and must rally the citizens and soldiers of Tsushima island to mount a resistance against the invaders. Over the course of the fantastic open-world game, Sakai must also come to terms with meanings behind words like honour, and the caste system that Japan was living under at the time. Ghost of Tsushima features simple-but-excellent combat gameplay, as well as quite a few tools for the player should they decide to sneak around instead, as they go around Tsushima liberating settlements from the Mongols and ultimately figure out a way to get at the primary antagonist – Khotun Khan, cousin of Kubali Khan.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

While the original The Last of Us was a great game with a fantastic story anchored by wonderfully-written characters, The Last of Us Part 2 goes a step further, giving us a darker tale that focuses on two distinct characters and their quest for vengeance and redemption. Along with the larger overall scale of gameplay, The Last of Us Part 2 also tells a grander story, and features some of the most fun boss fights to have been put into a title where the gameplay is otherwise quite realistic. On top of all of this, the Remastered release on PC also has a host of extra content in the form of the roguelike survival mode No Return, where you get to take on combat challenges as the character of your choice in a variety of different levels.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware might be largely known for its slow-paced action RPGs in the Souls series and Elden Ring, but with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the studio instead decided to take on a much faster style of gameplay where being on the defensive was punished. Rather than hiding behind a shield, in Sekiro, you are instead forced to learn the timings of various enemy attacks so that you can instead parry them, eventually breaking your foes’ posture to then finish them off with a glorious killing blow. The title still maintains much of the FromSoftware DNA, however, including how death works and the emphasis on smaller-scaled levels that are more dense and intertwining, encouraging plenty of exploration. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, despite its differences from the studio’s other games, can easily be considered one of its best outings yet.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

A collection featuring two games – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy – Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection tells two excellent stories. While one tries to wrap up the ongoing plot of Nathan Drake trying to forge a legacy for himself, the other instead features two supporting characters from preceding Uncharted games in the roles of dual protagonists as they set off on an adventure of their own. Where Uncharted 4 offers a polished take on everything the series has had to offer so far, Lost Legacy instead goes for more experimental game design. All in all, both titles are well worth playing, even if you haven’t been able to play the first three games in the series.

Frostpunk 2

The original Frostpunk was a fresh take on the city-builder genre with a unique setting where you have to build and manage a city around sources of heat, since the planet has essentially frozen over. Its sequel pulls the camera back a bit, and instead of having you put down individual buildings, you’re now laying out entire districts with a single click. Despite this more zoomed out take on the gameplay, however, Frostpunk 2 still makes the player choose between two horrifying choices for the survival of their city, much like its predecessor, and the general progression of the title has been taken in interesting directions, such as how trade routes are managed and how districts can boost or bring down one another, depending on proximity. All of this is paired with some wonderful visuals and excellent sound design that perfectly manage to bring your cities to life.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence, and revolves around the two siblings once more having to travel together again. This time around, Amicia and Hugo de Rune have to travel south in order to try and look for a cure for Hugo’s affliction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers more of a refinement over its predecessor rather than any radical changes. Players take on the role of Amicia while Hugo helps out from time to time. However, both characters also have plenty of new abilities to play around with in combat encounters. A Plague Tale: Requiem also acts as an absolute feast for the eyes considering its incredible level of visual fidelity and strong art direction.

The Rogue Prince of Persia

After having spent several months in Early Access, The Rogue Prince of Persia was finally out a few weeks ago, and the fact that developer Evil Empire took player feedback quite seriously is evident. The title features incredibly-polished side-scrolling and platforming with smooth animations and a great visual style that still manages to work well with the randomly-generated levels. Throw on top some fast-paced combat that rewards quick timing, as well as a large variety of weapons, and you’re going to have a great time as you figure out the time-bending story of the Prince who is trying to save his people after previously having been the unwitting instigator of this doom to begin with.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Middle-earth: Shadow of War builds on everything its predecessor did in expansive ways. It brings back the much-beloved Nemesis system, which allows protagonist Talion to face down various kinds of Orc enemies, each with their own unique personalities and fighting styles. On top of this, the Orcs winning the fight also means that they’ll get stronger, making the subsequent rematch even harder. The Nemesis system alone makes Shadow of War worth your time, but if that’s not enough, it also has a fun story exploring an alternate timeline of the Lord of the Rings books where a giant war was waged against the forces of Mordor well before the events of the books take place. The gameplay also serves as an excellent evolution of the classical style of open-world action gameplay we saw over the last couple of console generations.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft embarks once again on a perilous hunt for a precious treasure. However, in her carelessness, Croft accidentally sets off a chain of events that threatens the world, and now she must find a way to stop the destruction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers fast and responsive gunplay as well as plenty of options for some stealth, including the ability for Croft to cover herself in mud to blend in with her surroundings better. The star of the game is undoubtedly the platforming, and with plenty of tombs for Croft to raid, Shadow of the Tomb Raider offers just about everything you could ask for.

Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong is an interesting take on a classic setting. The game features excellent boss fights, along with some gorgeous visuals. These aspects are further bolstered by the fact that the combat system is incredible and responsive. Even the encounter design deserves some praise, since Black Myth: Wukong has been designed around the idea of making the player use just about every tool they have at their disposal. There isn’t really much else to say that hasn’t already been said plenty of times already. It did, after all, manage to hold on to its concurrent player count records at launch when compared to any game out there on PC.

Mafia: The Definitive Edition

While the Mafia series has seen a newfound level of success thanks to the recent release of Mafia: The Old Country, the original Mafia is still worth revisiting, especially in its Definitive Edition form, since it now features modernised gameplay and combat systems, as well as a massive upgrade in visual quality. The story revolves around humble taxi driver Thomas Angelo in the city of Lost Haven, who finds himself embroiled with the local mob thanks to a recent car chase against a rival mob. Things slowly escalate as Angelo climbs up the ranks of the Salieri family. Interestingly, the story is told in the form of Angelo confessing to his crimes to a detective, with liberal use of flashbacks as the main storytelling device. The title also features a fun open world to drive through, especially since few games ever use the Great Depression as their setting.

Mad Max

Having come out at a time where many players and critics alike were suffering from open-world fatigue, Mad Max was quite overlooked. However, in the decade since, the title has been vindicated thanks to its excellent open world design and strong gameplay. Mad Max is a unique open world game where the player’s vehicle, the Magnum Opus, is an important form of progression. Much of the game will be spent with you, as Max, trying to find parts and blueprints to upgrade the car. Along with this, there is also an emphasis on vehicular combat, as well as good ol’ fisticuffs and some ranged weapons thrown in for good measure.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world game that perfectly manages to tap into the world of the Harry Potter books. The title takes place a hundred years before the events of the books, and puts players in the shoes of a budding young wizard joining the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As they live out their student life, players will also eventually discover a bubbling goblin uprising, as well as criminal wizards. Hogwarts Legacy is one of those games that any fan of the Harry Potter series owes themselves to play because of just how well it captures the magical feelings of the books.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

While Skyrim might offer a fun take on a fantasy open-world RPG, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon takes a darker turn. The game takes on the classic tales of Arthurian legend, albeit with its own unique interpretations. Along with its vast open world, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon also features quite a bit of emphasis on first-person combat, be it with swords or at range with a bow and some arrows. There are also plenty of other things to do while you’re out and about, from gathering crafting materials to simply taking a break by sketching some scenery or fishing by a lake.

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws stands as a redemption story of its own, overcoming early skepticism to win players over. While the game was a mess when it first came out, the developers have taken quite a bit of player feedback to then introduce a host of fixes to the game, from gameplay aspects like improving how stealth works, to the addition of plenty of story content through the release of two expansions. Star Wars Outlaws is a great way to experience the Star Wars universe without the baggage of having to play as a Jedi.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows represents something of a new leaf for the franchise. While many had found the last two releases—Valhalla and Odyssey—a bit too bloated, Shadows pulls its filler and padding back a bit, instead focusing on delivering a few core activities that are actually fun and make the world a joy to explore. It also finally takes the franchise to Japan, and introduces a pair of new protagonists: the stealthy Naoe and the fearsome Yasuke. The two have to work together to figure out the secrets behind Oda Nobunaga’s death, while also dealing with the machinations of an early form of the Templars.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered

While Skyrim might serve as a fantastic open-world RPG in its own right, its predecessor, Oblivion, was also a downright excellent game. And now, with the Remastered release, we can once more explore the lands of Cyrodiil as we take on the opening of the Oblivion Gates and a Daedric invasion. Along with this, there are also plenty of side-quests to take on, including a host of factions to join, from the fighter’s guild to the Dark Brotherhood. You can even simply become an arena fighter if that’s all you really want to do, it’s ultimately all up to you.

Atomfall

While Rebellion might be known for its excellent shooter series Sniper Elite, the studio decided to try something different with Atomfall. Rather than taking on Nazi soldiers on covert missions during World War 2, Atomfall instead has you scavenging for resources in a strange world where it is up to you to figure out the game’s story through your own skills of investigation and deduction. While there are plenty of fights you can still get into, you’ll want to be a lot more careful about the kinds of enemies you decide to take on, since you’re a lot more fragile and not as well-armed as you might be in a Sniper Elite game.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

While Rebellion has been experimenting with Atomfall, it still hasn’t left its Sniper Elite series behind. We also recently got the release of Sniper Elite: Resistance, where players take on the role of a brand new protagonist, SOE Agent Harry Hawker, who is taking on missions that run parallel to the events of Sniper Elite 5. Since it is ultimately a spin-off, Sniper Elite: Resistance features primarily the same gameplay as its predecessors, but with quite a bit more refinements in various things, from second-to-second gameplay all the way up to how its missions are structured.

Firewatch

Firewatch is a narrative adventure game where the goal is quite simple; on his first day at Firewatch tower Two Forks, protagonist Henry gets some interesting calls on his radio, which is otherwise only used to contact his supervisor who is based at the Thorofare tower. Things quickly start getting dark, and Henry must figure out who is calling him on the radio, and what exactly is up with his supervisor who he is yet to physically meet. Firewatch doesn’t really feature any combat. Rather, there is a focus on exploration and environmental storytelling, and it’s largely up to the player to figure out where to go and how to get there.

Dying Light

While there have been a couple of sequels out so far, the original Dying Light is still a game well worth playing thanks to its fantastic melee combat systems and parkour mechanics that make travelling through the streets and rooftops of the zombie-infected city of Haran. The story itself is also quite interesting, with protagonist Kyle Crane having been infected with the zombie virus and needing to find a way to curtail its symptoms before he ultimately turns. The title also features an interesting twist on the day-night cycle, with day time being safe for exploration but night time offering far greater rewards at the risk of the player having to deal with incredibly dangerous and more powerful zombies dubbed Volatiles. All of this combined with a fun crafting system that rewards creativity in your weapon choices make Dying Light often feel like it’s still the best game in the series so far.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Until the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the Ace Combat franchise felt like one of the worst-kept secrets in terms of how insane it can be both in terms of quality of gameplay and story. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown tells a brand new story in the world of Strangereal, with the plot primarily revolving around a massive war between the Kingdom of Erusea and the Osean Foundation. The title features excellent arcade-style dogfighting combat with a host of fighter jets from the real world, as well as quite a few fictional jets for some added fun.

Half-Life 2

Quite an easy contender for one of the greatest games ever made, Half-Life 2 has a sprawling campaign that holds up even to this day thanks to the sheer amount of variety it presents to players, both in the form of different weapons and enemies, as well as the mechanics of various levels. The title was also important in introducing the physics engine that is part of Valve’s own Source engine, and the feature was on incredible display thanks to a weapon like the gravity gun. Throw on top an impressive story that is told in an incredibly minimalistic way without ever cutting to a cutscene, and it’s easy to see why Half-Life 2 is so widely regarded as being such a great game, even in 2025.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

While PC as a platform is no stranger to first-person shooters, it is hard to argue that the Halo franchise isn’t one of the best that the genre has seen. Thankfully, thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, players can experience almost the entirety of the Halo storyline, starting from the original Halo: Combat Evolved, its sequels Halo 2, Halo 3 and spin-offs ODST, Halo Reach, and even the start of 343 Industries’ (now Halo Studios) run with the franchise, Halo 4. The collection also offers a way to play all of the various games’ levels in remixed orders, following distinct themes like levels that focus on vehicles, for example, to focusing more on certain subplots. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is essentially the best way to experience a seminal shooter series, warts and all.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Quite possibly the most refined gameplay offered so far in the Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds represents the pinnacle of the series, if not in its smaller roster of monsters when compared to its predecessors, then at least in its gameplay systems and massive, beautiful worlds. Monster Hunter Wilds features a short, fun story that takes you across the Forbidden Lands as you try to get young child Nata back to his family. Along the way you’ll get to take on several monsters, both new to the series as well as returning favourites, using the weapons of your choice out of 14 distinct options. Monster Hunter Wilds features plenty of gameplay refinements as well, including a mount system, as well as the ability to carry around two weapons that you can switch between mid-fight, which is great since each weapon feels like you’re playing a new game altogether.

Returnal

One of the rare instances of a AAA roguelite game, Returnal is an intense third-person shooter that puts players in the shoes of space pilot Selene Vassos who finds herself having crashed on an alien planet named Atropos. What follows is a psychedelic adventure as she tries to find the source of a mysterious signal called the White Shadow, but the twist is that Selene seems to be stuck in some kind of time loop where, every time she dies, she finds herself waking up at the moment of her ship’s crash. The title is filled with fast-paced and tense combat that has you dodging massive projectiles shot by strange creatures, and occasionally also getting your hands on upgrades for your weapons. The story itself is also quite interesting, pulling in plenty of allusions from myths as she tries to make it off Atropos alive.

Sleeping Dogs

Born from the ashes of the long-dead True Crime series of games, Sleeping Dogs is the closest we’ve ever gotten to having a Hong Kong action movie in video game form. The plot revolves around the adventures of undercover cop Wei Shen who must infiltrate a triad gang in order to take it down from the inside. When it comes to gameplay, Sleeping Dogs is an open-world game with several inter-mingling systems, from driving and vehicular combat, to melee combat with slick martial arts moves, and the occasional bouts of ranged combat when you can get your hands on a gun. The game wonderfully realises its setting of Hong Kong, often showing the stark contrasts between the cleaner commercial areas of the city and the but bright and colourful entertainment districts.

Metro Exodus

Whereas the first two games in the Metro series were more focused on offering linear experiences, Metro Exodus broadened its scope by a considerable amount by opting to set players free in more open environments. While far from an open-world game, Metro Exodus still provides quite a bit of freedom to players in terms of how they want to approach any situation. Along with this, the title also encourages plenty of exploration since, in keeping with series tradition, resources are scarce in Metro Exodus. Exploring is also a great way to get your hands on valuable upgrade materials to improve the arsenal of weapons you will ultimately end up using against not only human enemies, but mutated foes as well. The story is also quite interesting, since it revolves around Artyom, his wife Anna, and their friends the Rangers departing the Moscow Metro system in a train to explore the Russian wilderness.

Gears of War: Reloaded

When the original Gears of War first came out back in 2006, it was considered a mind-blowing experience for the time thanks to its visuals, as well as refinements over the turn-based shooter mechanics we had seen done much worse in plenty of other games. Gears of War: Reloaded, however, proves that the original title still holds up to this day thanks to its incredible campaign with plenty of set pieces, fun and varied weapons to play around with, and some downright fantastic visual upgrades that have been made to take better advantage of modern hardware.

Dead Cells

Dead Cells is one of those rare indie games that manages to get just about every single one of its aspects right. Even something as simple as movement and exploration feel great in the roguelite action game, and the level of variety on offer with the weapons, as well as the meta progression system that encourages not only mastery of the traversal systems, but also a willingness to explore, make just about every run of Dead Cells feel like a fun time. Throw on top some excellent pixel art that really makes its massive boss fights come to life, as well as the plethora of additional content – ends up making it very difficult to put the side-scroller down for good.

Detroit: Become Human

While games made by Quantic Dream might be quite divisive at times, Detroit: Become Human is outright the best title that the studio has put out so far. Featuring narrative-focused gameplay that largely involves having conversations and making choices at key moments, Detroit: Become Human tells three distinct stories in a world where humanity treats sentient androids that it has developed as slaves. All three stories have the player take on the role of a distinct android, where you have to figure out the complex moral quandaries that take place throughout the storylines.

Portal 2

When the first Portal came out, it was widely regarded as a radical new entry in a genre that was otherwise known to revolve around killing things. It ultimately ended up laying the foundations for what would become Portal 2 – a bigger, grander sequel in every way possible. Portal 2 takes place an unknown amount of time after the events of the first game, and has Chell once more pick up the portal gun to find her way out of the Aperture Science facility she’s trapped in. Along with GlaDOS returning once more as a major character, Portal 2 also features a new character in the form of Wheatley. We also get a lot of storytelling in the game, since quite a bit of it has you exploring ancient versions of the bathroom curtain company that would eventually become Aperture Science.

Outlast

There might be plenty of stealth-based horror games out there, but Outlast manages to be something quite special thanks to its use of some real-world history to build up its scare. Revolving primarily around the MK Ultra experiments that were conducted by the CIA, the game puts you into the shoes of independent journalist Miles Upshur who is trying to get the scoop on Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Unfortunately, owing to unethical experiments, most of its residents have essentially gone insane, and now Upshur must figure out how to survive and get out in one piece while also making sure he gets enough evidence along the way. Outlast also makes use of a handheld camera as its primary PoV device, since it offers a night vision mode. However, players will also have to keep a track of their battery consumption, since you don’t want to be trapped in the dark with murderous people around you.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Ostensibly the closest the Metal Gear franchise gets to having a “final” game since it takes place furthest into the future, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a major departure for the series. It trades in the tactical espionage action in favour of the more bombastic tagline of lightning bolt action, and puts you in the shoes of a fully cyborg-ised Raiden at the peak of his power. Developed by PlatinumGames, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance features a fantastic combat system that has an emphasis on not only long and vicious combos, but also parrying the enemy’s attacks to open them up for massive counter-attacks. This, along with the Zandatsu system that lets you cut just about everything, be it an enemy’s limbs or a bridge’s support, make Revengeance a treat to play. Throw on top an over-the-top but fun story about private military contractors and a cartoonishly evil US Senator and you have an explosive roller coaster.

Resident Evil

Before the remake of Resident Evil 2 back in 2019 was considered the high watermark for video game remakes, the series had already earned similar acclaim for its remake of the original Resident Evil. Originally released on the GameCube all the way back in 2002, the remake of the original Resident Evil eventually made its way to PC, complete with higher-resolution textures and all of the high-quality upgrades that it got over the original. Even after all these years, Resident Evil still manages to feel like a one-of-a-kind survival horror experience, thanks to its tight level design and generally excellent gameplay that melds environmental puzzle solving and tense action sequences, all while keeping you on the edge of your seat thanks to a constant scarcity of weapons and ammo.

Watch_Dogs 2

It’s no secret that the original Watch_Dogs was a bit of a disappointment, both in terms of its visuals, as well as its story and characters. The series’ second stab at the series in the form of Watch_Dogs 2, however, proved to be a much more interesting experience. Rather than focusing on the brooding Aiden Pearce, Watch_Dogs 2 instead stars a group of scrappy young adults as they venture into the real world to start their careers, but find themselves fighting against an authoritarian regime that is making use of high-tech surveillance technology to control the populace. Protagonist Marcus Holloway is a much more fun character than Pearce ever was, and the attempts of his rebel hacker crew, DedSec, to take down ctOS 2.0 are a wild, fun, and often emotional adventure.

Silent Hill f

After the Silent Hill franchise spent over a decade being missing from the overall gaming scene, the series made a bombastic return with last year’s remake of the seminal Silent Hill 2. A year later and now we even have a brand new entry in the stories franchise – Silent Hill f. The game takes place in the unique setting of a quaint Japanese finishing town in the 1960s, where school-going girl Hinako has a strained relationship with her parents and goes to meet her friends for some solace. However, a sinister fog starts covering the town of Ebisugaoka, and Hinako finds herself trapped and fighting for her life. While there is an emphasis on combat this time around, Silent Hill f is still able to effectively pull off the scares and tense atmosphere that the series is known for.

Dying Light: The Beast

The newest entry in the Dying Light franchise is seen as something of a return to form for the series. While Dying Light 2 Stay Human did well for developer Techland, the studio itself acknowledged that it had lost what made the original Dying Light great, and hence we get The Beast. Once more putting us into the shoes of Kyle Crane after the events of The Following, Dying Light: The Beast features improved parkour-based traversal over its predecessor, while also bringing in improvements to both melee and ranged combat, all of which is packaged into a fantastic new open world to explore with plenty of variety, both in terms of zombie types and the scenery.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

A reimagining of an absolute classic, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a ground-up 3D remake of a seminal 2D sprite-based RPG. As its name implies, it is the first part of the expansive Trails franchise, and puts you in the shoes of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua as they set off as members of the peacekeeping guild, starting out as bracers and slowly working their way up. The Trails series, while long, absolutely features several stories well worth experiencing, and there is currently no better way to start your journey than with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

Blue Prince

Puzzle games, especially in the indie space, tend to come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Very rarely, however, does one show up that ends up feeling like a revelation. This is precisely what developer Dogubomb achieved with Blue Prince. The premise is quite simple: you are stuck in a mysterious manor – Mt. Holly – where the rooms shift around for no apparent reason. The core of the game is exploring the mansion, but the twist is that the player decides what the next room will be every time they open a door. Blue Prince has a wide gamut of puzzles for players to figure out as they try to make their way to the rumoured Room 46. To throw another wrench in your plans, the house once again shifts its rooms around every dawn. Blue Prince is the kind of game where you can spend anywhere from between 15 minutes to several hours at a stretch as you try to comb through the mysterious rooms of Mt. Holly to find a way to their destination.

Commandos: Origins

While the real-time tactical stealth series Commandos doesn’t really need much of an introduction, the latest release, Commandos: Origins, proves that the genre and style of gameplay still has legs in the modern day. Taking us all the way back to the origin of the World War 2 crew of commandos you play in the original Commandos, Commandos: Origins offers entirely new challenges throughout its various maps, all with more modernised gameplay thanks to updated visuals, as well as a large variety of objective types that will have you make use of just about every ability you and your crew can muster.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

When Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was announced as a first-person title, many fans would have understandably been skeptical as to how such an action-adventure-focused title would work within the context of a first-person game. But those skepticisms were pleasantly washed away when the game actually came out. In addition to a very engaging story with memorable characters, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle features intriguing puzzles and a great deal of flexibility in how you choose to go about quests.

This guide lists a small selection of the best armor sets for various builds in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon.

Assassin’s Armor Set

Horns of the South

Abandoned Stronghold

Slay the assassin Silent Silia, and take the entire set from her corpse.

Assassin’s Mask

• Increases Sneak Damage by 5%.

Assassin’s Tunic

• Increases Sneak Damage by 10%.

Assassin’s Gloves

• Increases Sneak Damage by 5%.

Assassin’s Trousers

• Increases Sneak Damage by 5%.

Assassin’s Boots

• Increases Sneak Damage by 5%.

17 Armor total. This stealth-focused set grants a massive 30% boost to Sneak Damage as a whole, and can then be enhanced even further by equipping the Wolf’s Fang dagger that drops with it, which multiplies Sneak Damage by x1.5.

Battlemage’s Armor Set

Horns of the South

In a Reinforced Chest deep inside

Battlemage’s Hood

• Increases Max Mana by 10.
• Increases Spell Power by 15%.

Battlemage’s Tunic

• Increases Mana Regeneration by 3.
• Increases Magic Critical Chance by 5%.

Battlemage’s Gloves

• Increases Max Mana by 10.

Battlemage’s Trousers

• Increases Max Mana by 5.
• Increases Spell Power by 5%.

Battlemage’s Boots

• Increases Max Mana by 10.

19.5 Armor total. A heavy armor spellcaster set granting an increase of 20% to Spell Power and 5% to critical chance, as well as a generous 30 points to Mana reserves, supported by 3 points of Mana regeneration.

Duel Knight Armor Set

Horns of the South

Challenge the knight Abigor to a duel, and take the entire set from his corpse.

Duel Knight Helmet

• Increases Max Stamina by 5.
• Decreases Stamina Cost by 10%.

Duel Knight Armor

• Increases Attack Speed by 25% when your Health is below 25%.
• Increases Max Stamina by 10.

Duel Knight Cape

• Increases Stamina Regeneration by 25.
• Increases Critical Chance by 10%.

Duel Knight Gloves

• Critical Hits restore 10 Stamina.
• Increases Melee Damage by 20%.

Duel Knight Trousers

• Increases Critical Chance by 25% when your Stamina is below 20%.
• Increases Max Stamina by 5.

Duel Knight Boots

• Increases Max Stamina by 5.
• Increases Movement Speed Multiplier by 25% when your Health is below 25%.

Duel Shield

• On Block, deals 20% of your Armor as damage to attacking enemies, and 75% on a successful Parry.

27 Armor total. A heavy armor set focused almost solely on raising and regenerating stamina, making it an excellent set to use with two-handed and dual wield builds, and improving even further when you are low on health and stamina.

Elusive Armor Set

Cuanacht

North of the Toll House

On a corpse hidden in shrubbery atop the battlements.

Elusive Cowl

• Increases Magic Critical Chance by 25% when below 20% Max Mana.

Elusive Rob

• Increases Magic Critical Chance by 25% when below 20% Max Mana.

Elusive Pants

• Increases Magic Critical Chance by 25% when below 20% Max Mana.

12 Armor total. This balanced armor set for spellcaster builds is all about raising critical hit chances while running low on mana reserves.

Spellslinger’s Armor Set

Horns of the South

South of Pig Benis, near the Druidic Shrine across the bridge

In a Reinforced Chest at a bandit tent camp.

Spellslinger’s Hat

• Increases Mana Regeneration by 0.5

Spellslinger’s Jacket

• Increases Spell Power by 30%.

Spellslinger’s Gauntlets

• Increases Spell Power by 15%.

Spellslinger’s Trousers

• Increases Max Mana by 20.

Spellslinger’s Boots

• Increases Spell Power by 15%.

8 Armor total. A hard-hitting, but very lightly armored spellcaster set, the Spellslinger grants a massive 60% increase to Spell Power, while slightly increasing Mana reserves and regeneration.

Those are a handful of the best full armor sets that can be found in the open world of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon.

The timing is all the more incredible because it’s following The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, which introduced a whole new generation to one of Bethesda’s premier titles and reminded many why it still holds up so well (warts and all). But with how notable Oblivion is and the sheer value of its deal – since it includes all expansions and DLC – what makes Tainted Grail worth checking out and in some ways, even better?

The story begins in usual dire circumstances but not how you’d expect. A plague called the Red Death swept the world, forcing King Arthur to move his people to the island of Avalon to survive. This required battling the Fore-Dwellers and contending with a mysterious phenomenon known as the Wyrdness, which twisted and mutated living creatures. However, thanks to the power of the Menhirs and Merlin, the Wyrdness was repelled, and Arthur created Kamelot to rule until his death.

Beyond this point, all you know is that the Red Death has returned, and a mysterious Order is doing everything to devise a solution. That includes taking prisoners in an asylum and experimenting on them. Cue your start sans any hope for the future. Suddenly, someone assassinates your guard and gives you the keys to escape.

Yes, it’s very Oblivion-esque, but I won’t spoil the rest. Suffice it to say that things take multiple unexpected dark turns (that part about shaping King Arthur’s legacy is much more…literal than you’d think). It’s enough motivation to explore Avalon, starting with the Horns of the South and solving the core mystery. Or you could wander around, learning more about the inhabitants, their troubles and what can be done to help them.

Maybe you’ll unravel more about the land, its past heroes and your goals, but just like Oblivion, this isn’t a story about some chosen one setting out to fulfil their destiny. You’re capable of great things, but that first requires surviving in this weird land.

And really, you can do that however you’d like. The starting playstyles afford some pretty notable bonuses that could slot into a specific class like archer, battle mage, warrior etc., which is further reinforced by skill trees for Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and whatnot. But the relative freedom is truly liberating – as long as you have the stats, any equipment is usable, regardless of your starting bonuses.

Even if you’re keen on sticking to a straightforward playstyle, the options in other skill trees are often too good to pass off. It also doesn’t hurt that there are over 400 unique weapons and more than 55 spells (not including Soul Cubes) to diversify your playing style. Want to harness the power to lifesteal in one hand or both? Bash enemies with a sketchbook in between stabbing them with a pen? Turn your summon into cheese and cook that cheese into a Cheese Ball of Doom to level up your cooking. Why not?

As for the world design, Avalon itself isn’t going to dwarf Skyrim anytime soon, but the sheer density of content is pretty exciting. Exploring an unassuming location could lead you to partake in a limited-time hunt for some reward. Diving into a blood lake could lead to a cave where a powerful foe awaits. Even talking to different characters and choosing certain dialogue is enough to influence the story in the short and long term, sometimes to devastating effect. And that’s before really diving into the dozens of hand-crafted dungeons or the sheer multitude of side quests.

Perhaps the best thing about Tainted Grail is how dangerous its world feels (that is if you pump up the difficulty enough). Since there’s no level scaling for regular daytime mobs, you’ll level up, grow stronger and effectively curb stomp foes in earlier areas without much effort. However, this goes both ways, as you might encounter an overwhelmingly powerful threat and quickly die. So, while the urge to explore and see what’s around every corner is strong, there’s an innate thrill in the risk.

Danger can manifest in other ways, like nighttime when the Wyrdness infects and strengthens living beings. You’re encouraged to turn in at your campfire but there is a risk vs. reward element involved, since slaying Wyrd-infected enemies grants Ethereal Cobwebs used to fast travel, identify items, and even ensure a peaceful rest. It’s an ingenuous mechanic and reinforces the fact that you can’t escape the Wyrdness.

However, there are plenty of other things to love, like setting multiple loadouts for your hands and seamlessly swapping between a spell and melee weapon in one slot to a bow and arrow in another. Or the crafting system, which has a chance to reward better consumables if you invest more materials. Or the ability to kill vital NPCs, potentially locking off any quests. Even the armor weight system is a welcome bit of nuance, rewarding you beyond faster stamina regeneration for choosing to fight Light.

Now, it’s not perfect, if it rarely ever can be. Stutters and frame drops can occur pretty regularly, though this seems to be a CPU bottleneck on my end (as always, your mileage will vary). The third-person perspective was implemented shortly before launch, with Questline admitting it’s still experimental. There are still numerous bugs like quests not progressing, and iffy summon AI – heck, some have revealed that the in-game bug reporting feature doesn’t even work.

However, as with The Elder Scrolls, Fallout or any Bethesda Games Studios title in the last two decades, the question is whether the experience is currently worth tolerating these issues. More polish is needed, and for its part, the development team will launch several patches in the coming weeks to alleviate them (which should be a faster clip than Bethesda is usually known for). But all that aside, I think it is.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon imitates the gameplay from Oblivion and Skyrim in various ways, but its execution and unique mechanics win the day. That, and the absolutely fantastic world-building. Even after everything I knew from Tainted Grail: Conquest, Avalon felt distinctly new yet alive (timing of its events notwithstanding). It didn’t feel like a backdrop for random NPCs to blather about but a living, breathing world bearing complex situations that encourage different choices. Maybe you’ll make the right choice. Maybe you won’t. But there’s excitement in seeing what happens next.

And while there is a fair bit of role-playing involved, especially when optimizing your build – which strikes a balance between managing your stats, skills and equipment – it offers enough flexibility to experiment. The atmosphere is unique, and the overarching story is fantastic, with multiple endings to unlock. Questline estimated about 50 to 70 hours for the main quest and some side quests, but there’s plenty more to discover.

Even if Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has a ways to go before it’s completely polished, the fact that an Elder Scrolls-like title such as this can exist and resonate so well is nothing but good news. Where it goes next remains to be seen, and even if Bethesda may not be losing any sleep over the competition, it certainly has its work cut out with The Elder Scrolls 6.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.