The 10 Most Graphically Demanding PC Games

They’re gorgeous, but these games have some high-spec GPU requirements. These are the most graphically demanding PC games to date.

Whenever the newest and most competent computer components are released to the public, so are the video games that fully utilize their potential. And with leading hardware manufacturers competing to push out the highest performing parts for the best price almost yearly, it’s clear why the gaming industry has been consistently experiencing a technological incline.

10 Hitman 3

Hitman 3 has become a notable title for Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs, yet it also serves as a fantastic benchmark for modern GPUs. The game can run on something as weak as a GTX 660, yet Hitman 3 truly shines with a GTX 1070 or above.

Interestingly, Hitman 3 has a VR version that can offer a more immersive experience at the cost of performance. The VR version requires an RTX 2060 Super or above to run, which is also the minimum GPU you’ll want to use ray tracing with the standard version of the title. Paired with the graphics options Hitman 3 offers, this serves as a solid benchmarking tool for PC enthusiasts.

9 Shadow of the Tomb Raider

The latest chapter in Lara Croft’s story is more visually stunning and diverse than ever. The previous game was no piece of cake when it comes to system requirements, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider continues the tradition.

Even at mediocre refresh rates, you won’t be able to enjoy this game with anything less than a GTX 1060 graphics card combined with the brainpower of something like an i7 4770K processor. Its performance does scale quite well when pushed to higher resolutions, but you’ll still want a 20 or 30 series RTX card from Nvidia to squeeze out as many frames as possible. This game is benchmarked frequently for a reason.

8 Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most stunning games released in 2021. Beautiful lighting, realistic car models, and incredible weather effects all make for one of the best-looking racing games you can find. It also makes for a rather demanding PC title.

The recommended GPU for Horizon 5 is a GTX 1070, quite a large leap from Horizon 4’s recommended GTX 970. And that’s just for 1080p resolution running at 60 FPS. As reported by Digital Foundry, if you want to push Horizon 5 into 4K territory, you’ll want at least an RTX 2080ti or an RTX 3070. You’ll also want a stronger CPU like the R5 3600 to maintain a solid 60 FPS during this game’s more performance-heavy races.

7 Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Ubisoft’s latest Assassin Creed game is, unsurprisingly, the most demanding of the series. The absolute minimum GPU required to run this game is a GTX 960, and that’s for 1080p resolution at 30 FPS on low settings. For 60 FPS on high settings, you’ll need a GTX 1080 or better. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given Valhalla’s open-world nature, yet it’s when you crank up the resolution that these requirements get extreme.

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If you want a smooth 1440p experience at 60 FPS with no frame dips, you’ll need an RTX 2080ti or a 30 series GPU, as reported by Digital Foundry. A solid 60 FPS at 4K resolution—mimicking what the PlayStation 5 outputs—is going to require an RTX 3080 or 3090 with a high-end CPU from AMD or Intel. Even then, expect a few frame dips during performance-heavy cutscenes.

6 Red Dead Redemption 2

Despite its performance on console hardware, Red Dead Redemption 2’s PC port is incredibly demanding. Stuttering and FPS dips are common on recommended hardware, although reducing some in-game settings can help with this.

The recommended requirements aren’t anything to laugh about either. For Nvidia users, a GTX 1060 or above is absolutely crucial for a great experience. AMD users will need to opt for a Rzen 5 1500X or above to get such results. Much like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2 requires a hefty amount of RAM, its recommended settings suggesting 12 GB. Should you meet those requirements, you’ll get to experience the most visually impressive Rockstar game to date with few issues. And for those with RTX 30 series cards, give this game a try at 1440p to give your GPU a serious workout.

5 Final Fantasy XV

In 2018 we finally got to see Final Fantasy XV on our desktop monitors. But this port came with a price: utilizing top-notch graphics and some of the most stunning graphics and advanced physics (GameWorks technology), the game will truly test your system’s mettle.

We’re still baffled by the required 155GB free space to play this game in 4K – that’s right, you’ll need 155 GB of storage space to play this game at its highest settings. And even then, we can’t guarantee 60 FPS with anything tamer than an RTX card and 16 GB of RAM. A GTX 1060 (6GB) is recommended for this game, but that recommendation is for 1080p resolution at 30 FPS. For most PC gamers, that’s unacceptable. Getting this game to run at 60 FPS will require a powerful GPU. And if you’re looking to run FFXIV at 4K or even 1440p, you’ll want a 30-series RTX card.

4 Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus features the fabled real-time ray tracing technology support to use the full potential of the new Nvidia graphics card lineup. Players planning on running the game on lower settings might have issues, as the game offers only a few possible tweaks to improve performance for lower-grade systems.

Benchmarks by PC Gamer on lowest settings reveal an average of under 60 FPS on anything worse than a GTX 1070. Cranking everything up to the max is going to require an RTX card like the 2060 or above. It’s not the most performance-heavy FPS on the market, but Metro certainly rewards powerful PCs with jaw-dropping visual fidelity.

3 Dying Light 2

Jumping across rooftops and drop-kicking zombies has never looked so good. Dying Light 2 is one of the more recent releases on this list, and its recommended specs are nothing short of brutal. An RTX 2060 is recommended to play this game at 1080p with 60 FPS, but don’t expect to run this game on high or ultra settings with a 2060.

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As great as Dying Light 2 looks, it is easily one of the most performance-heavy PC games on the market. Getting this game to run well on a 2060 will require playing the game with a mix of medium and high settings, as demonstrated with Digital Foundry’s analysis of Dying Light 2’s PC performance. If you’re looking to play this game at 1440p at ultra settings, you’ll need top-of-the-line hardware.

2 Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 is the most demanding Far Cry title yet, requiring a GTX 1080 and Ryzen 5 3600X to reach 60 FPS at 1080p resolution. If you want to play this game at 4K resolution, you’re going to need a whopping 16 GB of VRAM, meaning you’ll need an RTX 3090 to play this game at 4K. You’ll also need a powerful CPU to push this game to higher resolutions or a target FPS of 120 or higher.

1 Cyberpunk 2077

You’re going to need a fairly powerful PC if you want to explore Cyberpunk’s Night City. This game chews through your system memory, requiring at least a GTX 780 and 8 GB of RAM to play on minimum settings. If you want to bring out the beauty of Cyberpunk’s dystopian setting, you’re going to need at least a GTX 1060 (6GB version) and 12 GB of RAM.

Even with those specs, Cyberpunk will struggle to maintain a consistent framerate at times. And if you want to play this game at 4K with 60 FPS, forget it. Even the best PC specs can’t maintain that frame rate consistently. Fortunately, Cyberpunk has quite a few settings you can tweak to maximize your performance. Digital Foundry has an excellent guide on how you can increase this game’s performance with minimal visual impact.