Did you get a new PC (or the makings of a new PC) for the holidays? Perhaps yours arrived in little pieces, and your hands now bear the scars of attempting to screw them all together into one big wheezing box of power. Or maybe you had more sense and got someone else to do that for you. Maybe you just glued a new CPU on top of the old one, because that’s probably how it works, right? 

Whichever route has brought you to your new PC happy place, we’ve pulled together a selection of splendid games that’ll make you glad you did it. Whether you’re new to PC gaming or just need some inspiration for what to play first on your rig, here are the best games to celebrate the newest member of your family.

 

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

Warhorse Studio’s epic sequel to 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a vast, open-world depiction of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1403. Double the size of the previous game, this first-person RPG sees man-at-arms Henry of Skalitz leading a resistance against Sigismund of Luxembourg. See, we’re playing and learning.

It’s also a rip-roaring and extraordinarily deep RPG with swords, crossbows and even early firearms, that’ll push your new PC to its graphical best.

 

Cyberpunk 2077

When longtime The Witcher developers CD Projekt Red first released Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, the futuristic RPG needed more work. Five years later, after extensive updates and improvements and one major expansion, it’s one of the best role-playing games you can buy.

It's an extraordinary redemption arc for this Keanu Reeves-starring tale of Night City's criminal underworld, and the game continues to receive updates five years on. This year alone, CD Projekt has added self-driving cars, new vehicles, and a huge graphical update that allows it to take advantage of the latest fancy tech, along with extremely pretty raytraced lighting. Push your new PC to the limits and get lost in an enormous adventure.

 

Farming Simulator 25

The most famous of all the job simulator games, Farming Simulator 25 is one of the most richly designed and astoundingly realistic depictions of a career you can find. Each new edition—and despite the years in the titles, it’s not an annual release—is a huge step forward, with this latest version including over 400 different pieces of farm machinery alone!

Farming Simulator 25 also receives regular updates and DLC, including most recently the Highlands Fishing Expansion. Yup, you can now run a farm in the fictional Scottish town of Kinlaig, raising highland cattle, growing onions, and even going fishing in your own boat!

 

Strange Antiquities

How is the coziest puzzle game of 2025 also one of the creepiest? The magical Strange Antiquities has you running a store in a fantasy city, selling peculiar obscura to equally peculiar customers. The game is all about identifying which objects are which, based on clues found in books, pamphlets, and the strange feelings you get when you hold them.

It’s tremendously smart, and especially good at making you feel clever as you piece it all together. A follow-up to 2022’s Strange Horticulture, Strange Antiquities improves on the already excellent original in every aspect.

 

Super Fantasy Kingdom

With the release of Super Fantasy Kingdom, the work is complete! There’s now a roguelite take on every genre imaginable. In this case, Super Fantasy Kingdom is a city builder crossed with the constant threat of impending death.

Between attempts to build a vibrant city that can withstand enemy onslaughts, a bit of incremental progression means you get better and better the more you play, giving you that constant drip-feed of satisfaction. Super Fantasy Kingdom is still in Early Access with plans to add new ideas and elements over the next year, making this a great time to get in and offer your own feedback.

 

Escape From Duckov

Look, it’s not you. A game setting out to spoof extraction shooter Escape From Tarkov, but delivered as a singleplayer twin-stick action game all about a duck, does not sound like it should be one of the best games of 2025—but somehow it's true.

Escape From Duckov perfectly captures the compelling dare-I-keep-going loop of extraction shooters, with its constant desire for better (and more difficult to find) loot, all surrounded by fantastic combat. Also, you can make your duck look as ridiculous as you wish.

 

Path of Exile 2

Unsatisfied with simply being a Diablo-like, Path of Exile grew into one of the most elaborate action-RPGs of all time. Now its sequel, Path of Exile 2, is attempting to go even further. Out in Early Access for a year now, the dark fantasy battler has more challenging combat, a growing number of new classes, and a skill tree that promises to reach a mind-boggling 2,000 skills.

And it’s not too early to get in there—Path of Exile 2 launched with three of its six acts and six of its 12 classes, along with the beginnings of its endgame, but it’s already added a seventh class and elaborated on the progress paths for the rest.

 

Hades II

When we recommended you play roguelite action-RPG Hades II last year, we noted that the already excellent sequel was still in development. Now, fully finished, we can repeat the recommendation—but this time from our roof, yelling through a loudspeaker.

Melinoë, the Princess of the Underworld (and sister of the previous game’s protagonist) sets out to defeat the Titan of Time, Chronos, and prevent his assault on Mount Olympus. And she does this in extraordinary style, with intricate combat, beautiful art, and a phenomenal soundtrack that’s reactive to how you play the game.

The result is one of the best action games of all time, making it a fitting tribute to your shiny, new PC.

 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

While claims that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 revived the turn-based RPG after decades of obscurity are enormously exaggerated (Paper Mario, anyone? Persona? Baldur’s Gate 3?!), this dark fantasy tale is still one of 2025’s most impressive success stories.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 revolves around the Gommage, an annual event where an entity called The Paintress daubs a number onto a rock and then everyone that age or older disappears. When the game begins, the Gommage has plagued the people of the island of Lumière for 67 years, and the number keeps getting lower. You play members of the titular Expedition 33, attempting to slay The Paintress and end this anguish, in a tale with many twists and turns. Along the way you’ll meet an all-star cast, and master a new take on turn-based combat where you can dodge and react in real-time.

 

Delta Force

No, you haven’t fallen into yet another of those pesky time tunnels and accidentally landed in the early 2000s. Delta Force is back, and in its 2025 incarnation the first-person shooter series has returned as a free-to-play tactical shooter with enormous PVP conflicts, alongside a separate extraction shooter mode.

Chinese developers Team Jade have taken over from the original creators NovaLogic, and say they’re committed to a policy of including no “pay-to-win” aspects in the online shooter. This means microtransactions are reserved only for cosmetics, with the 64-player Warfare online matches, the extraction mode (called Hazard Operations), and a campaign that recreates 2003’s Delta Force: Black Hawk Down all available for free.

 

Silent Hill f

You know the problem with the holiday season? It’s not scary enough. Sure, family visits might give you the heebie-jeebies, but it’s still not enough to elicit the really creepy nightmares. For that, you’ll want to put Silent Hill f on your new PC.

As a standalone spin-off of the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill f is an excellent entry point for newcomers to the survival horror series. Set in the 1960s in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka—entirely separate from the events of other Silent Hill games—you play as Hinako Shimizu, a high school kid whose town is suddenly blanketed in fog and populated by hideous monstrosities. Off you must go into the horrors, solving puzzles and fighting creatures with pipes and sledgehammers.

There are five different endings to discover in a story that doesn’t shy away from some of the grimmer aspects of 1960s Japan. It’s also incredibly beautiful, and driven by an excellent soundtrack.

 

ARC Raiders

One of the biggest breakout hits of 2025, extraction shooter ARC Raiders has seen more players flocking to its post-apocalyptic Italian battlefields than the biggest names in the industry, outperforming even Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on PC!

So what is it? Well, things haven’t gone all that well on Earth by the late 2100s. Not only has there been complete ecological collapse, but to rub it in, deadly machines have arrived from space to kill anyone who’s still around. The wise stay underground, but you’re not wise. You’re a Raider who goes up top to try to find supplies, complete quests, and decide whether you want to work together with other Raiders—or kill ‘em and take their loot.

What’s been so surprising (and somewhat uplifting) is how much ARC Raiders’ playerbase has opted for cooperation, teaming up when ruthless murder could be more advantageous. So why not join them—or maybe betray them—now that you’ve got a PC capable of playing?