“Our intention has always been to go back to Wolfenstein,” he said. “We wanted to finish the trilogy. And when we do that, that is something that I don’t want to comment on. It can be now, it can be later, but we’re not done with it. That’s what I can say.”

Speaking of the more recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Gustafsson spoke about the studio’s experience in making story-focused first-person games, and how the studio also wants to continue innovating while staying true to its roots.

“We have been doing very, very similar games, and very, very focused on first-person, story-driven titles for a long time,” he said, before noting that MachineGames is “looking more to see what we can do to innovate and expand within that genre. I often see us being able to do a mobile game. It just requires a different skillset that we don’t have at MachineGames. Maybe sometime in the future, but who knows?”

Looking to the future, Gustafsson expressed hope that there is still a market for the kinds of games that MachineGames makes. “I still hope that there will continue to be a market for the type of games we do, because obviously we love to do them,” he said. “And to be honest, I also see less of them, especially when it comes to what we call AAA.”

A report from January indicated that MachineGames has been actively working on a new Wolfenstein game. The report, courtesy of Windows Central’s Jez Corden, noted that the game is being developed because Amazon is working on a TV adaptation of the franchise. He also mentioned that the studio is “thought to be working” on a multiplayer game, which is said to be similar to Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege. While more precise details aren’t known yet, the comparison would indicate that it is a hero shooter with each team taking turns as being attackers and defenders.

Back in September, Gustafsson had spoken about wanting to revisit the Wolfenstein series, noting that there are still stories to be told in that setting.

“So that journey, for B.J., even during those first weeks at id when we mapped out New Order, we still had the plan for, at least, that character; What will happen in the second one, what will happen in the third one. I think that’s important to say, because, at least, I hope, that we’re not done with Wolfenstein yet. We have a story to tell,” he said.

While Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus was the last mainline entry in the series, it also got a pair of spinoffs—the co-op-centric Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and the VR-only Wolfenstein Cyberpilot. Check out our reviews of the three games for more details. And while you’re at it, also take a look at our reviews of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and its expansion.

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN

The moment you start swinging around New York City in Marvel’s Spider-Man, the game instantly has a hold on you. Luckily enough, that moment is mere minutes (if not seconds) into the game. From the physics-based swinging to the quick and zippy combat, from the game’s take on the Spider-Man universe to opening with an excellent boss fight against Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin- Marvel’s Spider-Man works overtime to make sure it puts its best foot forward right off the bat.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Like the original, the time required to beat the Resident Evil 2 remake can be deceptive for first-time players. You can easily breeze through a single character’s story in ten hours, six if you’re good enough. However, getting the entire story requires playing as Leon and Claire, complete with exploring both routes. Still, if you want an incredible survival horror with great gunplay and visuals, this is more than a given.

Signalis

Known for its cryptic story-telling, Signalis from rose-engine is a survival horror throwback, with players investigating a strange facility for answers. Despite the overhead perspective, it has manual aiming, plenty of back-tracking and a retro aesthetic that’s gorgeous to behold. Perhaps best of all, you can finish it in less than 10 hours, though there are some additional extras and endings.

Sunset Overdrive

Before Insomniac Games became the Marvel’s Spider-Man game studio, it released Sunset Overdrive. The bombastic art style, the approach to movement and style over straightforward third-person shooting, and best of all, the enjoyable setting all made for an incredible experience. You’ll want to complete the story for its set pieces and boss fights, but there are tons of optional challenges, side quests, and collectibles in Sunset City.

Cuphead

Studio MDHR’s Cuphead is the perfect mix of challenging and run ‘n’ gun action, replete with memorable bosses. Each has unique hooks and mechanics, whether you’re fighting Grim Matchstick through the skies or experiencing Sally Stageplay’s lethal drama. It’s all brought to life by the rubber hose-style visuals rife with details and an incredible old-timey soundtrack. Even if you ignore all the secrets and Expert Mode, it’s a tough but worthwhile action platforming journey.

Mafia Definitive Edition

The Mafia series faced scrutiny when 2K Games released Definitive Editions for the second and third games, effectively introducing new bugs and worse performance. However, Mafia Definitive Edition is a proper remake that added motorcycles, a rebalanced difficulty (and Classic for those who wanted it closer to the original), and Free Ride Mode. Don’t go into this expecting a Grand Theft Auto-scale adventure, and the narrative should more than carry you through.

Metro: Last Light Redux

Before Metro Exodus offered bigger levels with crafting on the go, Metro: Last Light Redux built on what the first game did best: A post-apocalyptic setting with tout pacing, terrifying mutants and excellent gunplay. As Artyom, players are caught up in a civil war weeping the metro and must sneak, assassinate and slay their way to survival. Be careful, though, as a morality system will influence the ending.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

MachineGames’ sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order has some nagging concerns with its level design, but the story-telling, characterization and gunplay are fantastic. The campaign sees B.J. Blazkowicz on a journey, once more, to battle the Nazis by unloading copious amounts of bullets into their foot soldiers (whether you play stealthy or not). From Manhattan to Venus, there’s much to see in this epic campaign. Perhaps the only real downer is that it’s followed by Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

You can complete Nintendo’s acclaimed Super Mario Bros. Wonder within 10 hours or so, and that’s very much intentional. The side-scrolling platformer is rife with incredibly designed levels and excellent new power-ups like Elephant Form and the Drill Hat, while the Wonder Flowers dramatically change levels in trippy and exciting ways. Still, those who want more can collect all the Flower Coins, Wonder Seeds, and more while experimenting with different Badges.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War 2 was beloved but came dangerously close to jumping the shark at many points. Gears of War 3 brought things back on track while introducing new mechanics, weapons, enemies and impressive set-pieces to set up the potential end of the world. If you’re only in it for the story-telling, there’s more than enough great content. However, the revamped Horde Mode and its tower defense-like mechanics also provided plenty of reason to stick around.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

From a confused project under Kojima Productions to one of the most beloved hack-and-slash titles under PlatinumGames, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is unmatched in many ways. The boss battles, the characters, the story, the memes, the parry mechanics and Blade Mode allowing players to dismember enemies – it all came together so well. Its length was criticized, but those who want more nowadays can pick it up with all the DLC and armor sets for even more fun.

Dishonored

Dishonored is Arkane Studios at its finest. An imaginative setting with astounding visuals rife with political intrigue and betrayal, not to mention a plague threatening to overtake it all – perfect for a supernatural assassin. As Corvo, the framed bodyguard to the slain Queen of Dunwall, players were tasked with discovering the truth. It meant lots of sneaking and slaying, but you could get creative with your approach, acting chaotically or bypassing missions without ever being seen. It’s an essential title for stealth fans that’s as tightly paced as they come.

Ori and the Blind Forest

As beloved as games like Hollow Knight can be, it’s nice to have options that don’t demand around 30 hours to experience the story, like Ori and the Blind Forest. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the aesthetics and music are simply awe-inspiring or that the level design is meticulous and the controls responsive. Whether on a mission to restore the forest or going out of your way to unearth all its secrets, Ori and the Blind Forest is a tight-knit journey.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

With Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 being about as long as the first game and promising a focused narrative, it’s easy to forget just how great Senua’s Sacrifice is. Roughly six years later, it still boasts cutting-edge visuals and facial expressions with an emotional narrative centred on Senua’s tortured state. Hellblade is precise, unforgettable and powerful, telling its story without overstaying its welcome.

Batman: The Enemy Within

Before its bankruptcy and eventual reformation, Telltale Games’ titles varied in quality. Batman: The Enemy Within is a standout though, improving on the first season’s writing, narrative and decision-making. Its take on the Joker is surprisingly refreshing as he works with Batman as a vigilante, depending on the player’s choices or against him. The gameplay may still feel more rigid compared to some more contemporary narrative adventures, but Batman: The Enemy Within is still worth playing.

Quantum Break

Will a standard playthrough of Quantum Break offer all the answers for its time-bending adventure? Probably not, but it’s an enjoyable journey regardless, backed by Remedy Entertainment’s penchant for gorgeous graphics and an immaculate presentation. Opinions are mixed on the TV side of the story, yet the third-person combat and abilities are on point. It’s not Remedy’s finest work, but it still provides an intriguing narrative with some solid performances by Aiden Gillen and Shawn Ashmore.

METRO EXODUS

The Metro series has always prided itself on pushing the envelope with its visuals, and Metro Exodus certainly didn’t disappoint on that front either. From how spectacularly it realizes all of its many post-apocalyptic environments to how thoroughly it immerses players in its world with its diegetic and detail-oriented aesthetic, Metro Exodus is still one of the best-looking games out there, over four years on from its launch.

DOOM ETERNAL

There aren’t a lot of studios out there who can boast an equal level mastery over both game design and technology as convincingly as id Software can, and DOOM Eternal is a perfect example of that. Not only are its hellish battle arenas a veritable attack on the senses in the best way possible, the game also excels at making every combat encounter feel breathtakingly explosive in a way that very few of its peers are capable of.

HUNT: SHOWDOWN

Crytek is no stranger to developing visually spectacular first person shooters, but Hunt: Showdown in particular deserves a special mention. The game boasts all the technical polish and obsessive attention to detail that you’d expect from a Crytek joint, but on top of that, it’s also uplifted by some of the strongest art design we’ve ever seen in a shooter, allowing its dark fantasy horror world to come to life in spectacular fashion.

RAINBOW SIX SIEGE

Rainbow Six Siege might be nearly a decade old, but that just makes its technical accomplishments that much more impressive. From the destructibility and dynamics of its environments to the impressive coat of polish that encases every inch of the experience, there’s so much about this game that can still easily be described as best-in-class, several years on from its initial release.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Even when Cyberpunk 2077 was as broken as it famously was in the immediate aftermath of its launch, it was still easy to see how impressive it was on a visual level. Now, with three years of updates and improvements under its belt, it’s nothing short of a graphical masterpiece. No matter where you are in Night City, it’s hard not to be taken aback by how gorgeous it looks and the painstaking attention to detail it exhibits on a consistent basis.

WITCHFIRE

Witchfire launched in early access earlier this year after years of anticipation, and instantly impressed the masses in more ways than one- its visuals being chief among them. The dark fantasy aesthetic of the setting alone is enough to elevate Witchfire’s visuals in and of itself, and the fact that the game has the technical chops to be able to properly back its artistic ambitions only makes it that much more an impressive graphical ride.

HALF-LIFE: ALYX

VR may not have managed to permeate the gaming mainstream the way many had hoped it would, but in Half-Life: Alyx, we do have at least one major game that truly demonstrates just what a AAA VR megaton can look like. Not only does the game look excellent on a consistent basis, it’s also crammed full of a level of interactivity and attention to detail that you would think would have necessitated some technical sacrifices in a virtual reality game. That Half-Life: Alyx so confidently has its cake and eats it too probably doesn’t get enough credit.

BATTLEFIELD 5

For all the problems DICE’s games have launched with over the years, one area that the studio is pretty much always guaranteed to excel in is the visuals. Take Battlefield 5, for instance- a game that divided fans upon release, but in spite of its issues, stands as one of the best-looking shooters you’ll ever play. From the snow-encased Norvik to the war-torn ruins of Devastation to the wide, open spaces of Panzerstorm, every map in Battlefield 5 is gorgeous to behold.

STARFIELD

It’s fair to say that Starfield has plenty of rough edges on the visual and technical fronts, but for all of its many typical Bethesda flaws, it’s still a game that’s capable of taking your breath away with its graphics. Whether you’re looking at the futuristic city of New Atlantis stretching out in front of you or standing on a desolate planet and watching the sun rise over the horizon, from time to time, Starfield showcases just how incredible it can look when it isn’t being bogged down by technical issues.

WOLFENSTEIN 2: THE NEW COLOSSUS

It’s hard to believe that Wolfenstein 2 is over six years old at this point, because even it certainly doesn’t look its age. Though perhaps not as much of a visual stunner as something like DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is still a gorgeous game. From the detailed character models to the explosive and gleefully violent combat, there’s plenty about this game that still stands out on a technical level.

FAR CRY 6

Ubisoft has got the balance between scope and visual fidelity down to a science by this point, and Far Cry 6 illustrates that point perfectly. You’d expect that a game as massive and sprawling as this one would have to make significant cutbacks in the graphics department, but that most certainly isn’t the case here. The level of detail and fidelity that Yara’s many biomes boast is partly why exploring Far Cry 6’s enormous map is as engaging as it is.

GTFO

You don’t need a massive budget of dozens of millions to make a visually impressive shooter, as evidenced so convincingly by GTFO. Made by indie Swedish studio 10 Chambers, the co-op horror shooter flexes its technical muscles almost constantly, immersing you in is terrifying reality that much more. GTFO’s impressive visuals alone making it worth checking out, even if its uncompromising approach to difficulty might turn some people off- though of course, for many that’s exactly what makes the game as good as it is.

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

The Resident Evil franchise has always been associated with cutting edge visuals, especially in its RE Engine era, and Village, like all of its siblings, demonstrates the series’ graphical mastery every step of the way. Whether it’s the varied and horrific environments of the titular village and the areas surrounding it or the many monstrosities you clash horns with throughout the experience, there’s no shortage of things in Resident Evil Village to remind you of just how impressive a AAA flagship Capcom release can look.

DESTINY 2

As a game that’s over six years old, Destiny 2 maybe doesn’t have the wow factor that many of the other games on this list do, but the fact that it is still comfortably earns itself a spot here is testament to just how good it looks. On a technical level, the looter shooter is one of many fine examples of Bungie’s mastery and knowhow, but it’s with its stellar art design that the game really cements itself in your memory.

DEATHLOOP

Arkane Studios’ games have never really been leaders of the pack with their graphical ambitions, but even though Deathloop isn’t the most technically impressive game you’ll ever play, it’s hard not to be impressed by how good it looks. A lot of that is obviously down to its unique art style and aesthetic, but the game is no slouch on a technical front either. The end product is one that looks significantly better than you’d expect from an Arkane game.

System Shock Remake (2023)

System Shock is considered to be one of the most important games of its time, as it was one of the earliest pioneers of systemic game design applied in a first-person space. But even apart from it, System Shock is an impressive game with a gripping story and a detailed world with plenty of lore to surround it all. Nightdive was hard at work on a full-fledged remake of the original, and System Shock Remake was finally released earlier this year to great reviews. It does a great job of modernizing this classic with plenty of clever design tricks and changes that make this experience a more digestible one for fans accustomed to modern first-person games. 

Red Dead Redemption 2

It’s incredible to revisit Red Dead Redemption 2, especially in light of the greedy re-release of the first game. The attention to detail, visuals, presentation, pacing and characterization are still on another level after all these years. The Van der Linde gang’s agonizing fall was a compelling story, told from the perspective of Arthur Morgan, an incredible protagonist. That’s without experiencing all of the activities and stories the world offered when you weren’t skipping baths for several days or committing dishonorable acts.

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil series has seen its fair share of remakes in the form of the stellar Resident Evil 2 and the disappointing Resident Evil 3, but it has consistently delivered high-quality follow-ups. These include Resident Evil 7 and its follow-up Village, the latter of which represent the best of what the series offers. Resident Evil Village majestically swerves from one kind of horror to the next without any hiccups, and the action keeps pace with the changing scenery and shifting mechanics. The core gameplay of shooting down zombies is much faster than Resident Evil 7, but it retains the heft and groundedness of a survival horror game that comes together to make it one of the best in its class.

A note before we begin: for the purposes of this list, we’re looking exclusively at strictly linear games. If a game is open world, semi-open world, wide linear, Metroidvania, places emphasis on exploration designed around backtracking, or anything of the sort, you won’t see it on this list. We know that’s a pretty strict way of defining linear design in games, but the very purpose of this feature is to celebrate that, after all, so do keep something in mind as we move ahead.

#15. WOLFENSTEIN 2: THE NEW COLOSSUS

MachineGames did an excellent job of redefining the Wolfenstein franchise with 2014’s The New Order, and then took the series’ new formula to even greater heights with its sequel. The biggest strengths of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus obviously lie in its story and storytelling, and getting to witness its gleefully over-the-top cutscenes and wonderfully bizarre personalities in a story that remains captivating until the last second is an unforgettable experience. It helps, of course, that the action itself can also be a lot of fun.

Batman: Arkham Knight

How ironic is it that Batman: Arkham Knight looked incredible on PS4 and Xbox One while running better on both consoles than on PC? Probably as ironic as it looking better than Gotham Knights, even though it’s also stuck at 30 FPS on consoles. I digress. Either way, there’s no denying that Arkham Knight is gorgeous with excellent texture quality and character models.

The rain effects and how they realistically interacted with the environment; the lighting and fog quality; the draw distance, and sheer attention to detail – it’s spectacular and ran at a rock-solid frame rate. Regardless of the Batmobile hate, almost everyone can agree that Arkham Knight is a technical marvel. Again, on consoles, but the PC version has improved over time.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Resident Evil 7: biohazard was the first RE Engine title, but it arguably shone brighter in Resident Evil 2. It leveraged the engine to reimagine many iconic levels and creatures in exquisite detail while providing excellent character models and animations. The effects and lighting depict events like meeting Mr X for the first time in ways that are in keeping with the original while feeling memorable on their own. It’s crazy that the RE Engine was created in 2014 and still provides some of gaming’s most gorgeous games.