Top 25 Must-Play PC Games

IGN's Top 25 Modern PC Games of 2025: A Subjective Celebration

2025 is here, and it's time for IGN's updated list of the 25 best modern PC games. This isn't an objective ranking; taste is subjective. This list reflects the collective recommendations of IGN's PC gaming team, using a weighted voting system to determine placement. It's a celebration of games we love, encouraging you to explore them if you haven't already. Many excellent games didn't make the cut due to space limitations and diverse preferences.

This list focuses on "modern" PC games released or significantly updated since 2013. Classic titles like Doom (original), Half-Life 2, and Skyrim are excluded but can be found on our Top 100 Games of All Time list.

Remember, this is our perspective. Share your top 25 using our Playlist tool in the comments!

(Last updated: February 13, 2025)

Games Under Consideration:

These highly-rated 2024 and 2025 releases are too new for ranking but will be considered in future updates:

Civilization 7, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, Marvel Rivals, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Sonic X Shadow Generations, MechWarrior 5: Clans, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Black Myth: Wukong.

The Top 25:

(Note: The image collage above shows the top 25 games. Individual game descriptions follow.)

1. Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
2. Hades (Supergiant Games)
3. Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
4. Slay the Spire (MegaCrit)
5. Elden Ring (FromSoftware)
6. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
7. Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red)
9. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (Firaxis Games)
10. Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios)
11. Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
12. Grand Theft Auto V / GTA Online (Rockstar Games)
13. Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios)
14. Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
15. Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
16. Outer Wilds (Annapurna Interactive)
17. Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
18. Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames)
19. God of War (Santa Monica Studio)
20. Resident Evil 4 Remake (Capcom)
21. Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
22. Doom (2016) (id Software)
23. Hitman: World of Assassination (IO Interactive)
24. Crusader Kings 3 (Paradox Development Studio)
25. Undertale (Toby Fox)

(Individual game descriptions were omitted due to length restrictions, but the original text contains detailed reviews for each game.)

Upcoming PC Games (2025):

Several promising titles are anticipated in 2025. We'll monitor their release and potential inclusion in future rankings.

This list represents IGN's current perspective. The gaming landscape is constantly evolving, and future updates will reflect new releases and shifting opinions. Let us know your thoughts!