The 25 Most Graphically Demanding PC Games

What are the most graphically demanding pc games?

Graphics are an important part of any video game, and there is always a push to make them better and more visually impressive than before.

While this has led to the creation of some truly stunning visuals, it also means gamers need some pretty tough hardware to make games run smoothly.

Today, we’re looking at the most graphically demanding games ever released and the specs you’ll need to run them at max settings.

The 25 Most Graphically Demanding PC Games

These games have been chosen based on their recommended spec requirements, as well as what you’ll need to run them.

All of these games can look truly gorgeous, so long as you have the right hardware to really make them shine.

If you’re ready to push your PC to its limits, here’s our list of the 25 most graphically demanding PC games:

25. Hogwarts Legacy

Kicking off our list, we have a game mired in controversy that requires a decent amount of power to play on max settings.

If you want the full 4k Hogwarts experience, you’ll need a pretty powerful rig, which is out of the question for many players.

To run Hogwarts Legacy in Ultra 4K, you’ll need an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800x, a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT GPU. 

Essentially, you’ll need some of the best graphics cards you can buy if you want to run this game with ultra settings.

Even the mid-tier high settings require an Intel i7 or Ryzen 5, which is a lot for just getting a high performance.

24. Uncharted: The Legacy of Thieves Collection

Up next, we have Uncharted: The Legacy of Thieves Collection, which includes Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

While both of these games looked gorgeous when they first launched, this collection boasts sharp 4k resolution and ultra-wide monitor support.

For ultra settings, you’ll need a powerful rig to hit 4K at 60 FPS.

This will include an Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3950X along with either a NVIDIA RTX 3080 or AMD RX 6800 GPU.

Now that is asking a lot from most gamers, easily making this one of the most demanding PC games you can buy.

While the game will look absolutely stunning in ultra, it is certainly going to push the boundaries of what many PCs can handle.

23. God of War

Easily one of the best God of War games; when this game dropped in 2018, it looked absolutely stunning on the PS4.

However, since being ported to PC, its amazing graphics have made it very demanding for gamers who want to play it with ultra-high settings.

The recommended specs for God of War include an Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD RX 570 CPU and a NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD RX 570 GPU.

This will give gamers around 1080p at 30 FPS, which, while not spectacular, is an all-around solid setup.

If you want to boost this to 60 FPS, you’ll need an Intel i7-4770K or Ryzen 7 2700, along with a more powerful GPU.

The ultra settings are even more demanding, including an Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and NVIDIA GTX 3080 or AMD RX 6800 XT.

Suffice it to say, while this will get you 4K graphics at 60 FPS, it is way beyond what most PCs can handle without catching on fire!

22. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty is one of the most popular video game series of all time, and Modern Warfare 2 made over $1 billion in sales in just 10 days of release.

While it is possible to run this game on an Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3, this is for the lowest settings possible.

If you’re playing this game for its competitive multiplayer, you’ll need either an Intel Core i7-8700K or an AMD Ryzen 7 1800X CPU.

Along with this, you will also need a powerful GPU, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700XT.

This, when coupled with a high-refresh monitor, can give you exceptional graphics and frame rates while playing online multiplayer.

However, if you want to experience Modern Warfare 2 in ultra 4K, you’ll need the best of the best, such as an Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X.

You will also need a powerful GPU, like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and 16 GB of RAM. 

With these specs, you can get the highest FPS while also enjoying a crisp 4K resolution, so long as your computer can handle the strain.

21. F1® 22

F1 22 looks absolutely amazing with raytracing; unfortunately, this feature will also put a ton of pressure on your PC!

Thankfully, you can still play this game without ray-tracing, and the specs are terribly out of reach for a majority of gamers.

The recommended specs for F1 22 include an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X CPU and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 590 GPU.

With this setup, you can easily play F1 22, but without raytracing, though the game will still look pretty awesome.

If you want the low settings, you can also get by with an Intel i3 or AMD FX-4300, but you will have very poor graphics.

That said, for gamers who want to experience ray tracing, you will need a better graphics card, either a GeForce RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6800.

This will get you high graphics settings, plus ray tracing with 60 FPS easily with 1080p resolution.

20. Bright Memory: Infinite

Bright Memory: Infinite debuted in 2020 and immediately became a hit on the Xbox Series X and PC.

However, because it is such a visually impressive game, you can imagine that it takes quite a bit to run smoothly.

While you can get away with an Intel E3-1230v2 or AMD FX-8350, this is the absolute minimum needed for it to run.

If you want Bight Memory Infinite to really show off its stuff, you’ll need an Intel Core i7-4790K or AMD FX-9590 CPU.

You’ll also need at least a NVIDIA GTX 1060 or NVIDIA RTX 3060 (for ray tracing), and 16 GB of RAM.

While it isn’t the most demanding PC game on our list, Bright Memory: Infinite definitely requires some series hardware to run well.

Of course, if you do meet these requirements, this game is absolutely amazing to play through, and it has some of the best graphics we’ve ever seen!

19. RIDE 4

RIDE 4 is one of the best racing games of all time, and it looks truly amazing if you are able to run it with high settings.

While the minimum to run this game is fairly tame, for the best graphics, things get a lot more intense.

To get the most out of RIDE 4, you will need an Intel Core i7-5820K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580.

If you’re able to meet these requirements, RIDE 4 can look incredibly gorgeous, especially with its dynamic weather system.

That said, if you’re on a lower-end rig, you can still have a lot of fun with this game, so long as you don’t try to demand too much from your PC.

18. Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite was created with PC play in mind, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most demanding pc games you can find!

Even with low settings, you’ll need an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5, along with a GeForce GTX 1050 or Radeon RX 570.

However, this won’t exactly give you the Halo Infinite experience that you may want, since everything will be pretty low quality.

To play this game on high settings, you will need an Intel i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU and a NVIDIA RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5700 XT GPU. 

That said, ultra settings are where things really get demanding, and you’ll need some of the best hardware for your PC.

The recommended specs for ultra settings are an Intel i9-11900k or AMD Ryzen 9 5900X coupled with a NVIDIA RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 6800 XT.

Without a really powerful rig, there is little hope of running Halo Infinite with the best settings unless you want a ton of issues.

Even on a decent gaming PC, high settings can cause frame rate drops down to 30 FPS because this game is so demanding!

17. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered started off as one of the best PS5 exclusive games, only to become one of Sony’s best PC ports.

On the PC, it also features a ton of visual options, such as DLSS, upscaling, ray tracing, and ultra-wide monitor support.

If you’re okay with 720p, 30 FPS, and very low graphics settings, you can get away with a GeForce GTX 950 and an Intel Core i3.

However, for ultra-high settings with ultimate ray tracing, you will need at least an Intel Core i7-12700k or AMD Ryzen 9 5900X.

You’ll also need either a GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU and 32 GB of RAM. 

Yeah, 32 GB of RAM is pretty steep for most gamers, but this game does look absolutely breathtaking if you’re able to meet these requirements.

That said, if you’re alright with 1440p and 60 FPS or 4K with 30 FPS, you will only need an i5 or AMD equivalent and 16 GB of RAM.

16. The Ascent

The Ascent is a solo and co-op top-down action shooter, and its cyberpunk setting makes for some really amazing visuals.

However, between all of the intricate locations and fast-paced action, this game can be very demanding to run.

On the lower settings, you can get away with an Intel Core i5 or AMD FX-8350 and either a GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon R9 390X.

With these specs, you can get about 30 FPS with 1080p graphics, which is an all-around solid experience.

That said, the recommended specs include an Intel i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and a GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 5700 GPU. 

If you meet these requirements, you will be able to get 60 FPS with 1080p resolution, perfect for fast co-op action!

That said, even on the lowest setting, the game runs pretty well, so this isn’t really a make-or-break in terms of gameplay.

15. Shadow of the Tomb Raider

The final chapter of Lara’s origin story, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, is extremely beautiful, and its jungle setting is perfectly designed.

However, because this game is so graphically busy, it can be very demanding to run on any PC.

At the lowest possible settings, you can play this game with an Intel i3 and GTX 660 GPU or AMD equivalent.

While this will make the game run, a lot of the amazing features and small details will be lost.

The recommended specs for this game include either a Intel i7 4770K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 CPU and a NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480. 

All in all, this is fairly reasonable, if a bit high for most gamers on lower-tier rigs, though it is nowhere near as demanding as some other titles here.

Overall, while this game is solidly demanding, it is one of the best video games of all time, so we suppose it comes with the territory.

14. Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village is one of the best PS5 horror games, but it is also an incredibly demanding PC game!

Let’s be honest, this game looks absolutely amazing, and CAPCOM really went above and beyond with this franchise installment.

That said, you’re going to need a fairly powerful gaming PC to run this game with high-quality graphics.

The recommended specs for Resident Evil Village require you to have a Intel i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU.

You’ll also need either a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 GPU and 16 GB of RAM.

If you meet these spec requirements, you can easily run this game in 1080p at 60 FPS, though the framerate may still drop during intensive scenes.

Additionally, if you want to use ray tracing, well, you’ll need a GeForce RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 6700 to support it without issues.

Although an Intel i5 or AMD equivalent could run this game, we definitely don’t recommend it if you value graphics over performance.

13. Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the most unique and visually interesting games on PC, and it is an absolute delight to play.

Unfortunately, it has been known to give older GPUs problems, meaning you’ll need some updated hardware to run it efficiently.

To run this game with high settings, you will need and Intel i7 4770K or Ryzen 5 1500 and either a GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580.

That said, for ultra-high settings, an Intel i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, along with a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or Radeon RX 5700, is needed.

Overall, while this game can be run on moderately high-end PCs, for the highest settings, you’re going to need the best hardware.

12. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Microsoft Flight Simulator is an absolute marvel, but it is one of the most demanding games you can play on a PC.

If you want to get the most out of this really unique game, you’re going to have to get ready to upgrade your hardware.

The ideal specs for Microsoft Flight Simulator include an Intel i7-9800X or AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 2700x and Geforce RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon Pro VII.

However, because this game features real-time images from Bing Maps, you will also need a fast and stable internet connection for it to run perfectly.

While the minimum requirements include an Intel i5 or Ryzen 3 1300x and a GeForce CTX 770 or Radeon RX570, the game won’t look nearly as good.

If you’re going to be taking in the world from a birds-eye view, you definitely won’t want to skimp on the graphics settings!

11. Hitman 3

Hitman 3 is an interesting game because it doesn’t necessarily require high specs to play, but it really shines if you have the right hardware.

While you can easily play this game on something as low as a GTX 660, the difference is day and night in terms of quality.

For the best graphics, Hitman 3 requires either an Intel i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and a GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56.

Of course, the higher your GPU, the further you’ll be able to push things, but this is a solid starting point for the best graphics.

That said, the VR version of this game is even more demanding, requiring an RTX 2060 Super and above to run.

If you have anything lower than that, your poor computer and you aren’t going to be having a good time!

10. Control

Along with being one of the best PS5 third-person games, Control is an absolutely gorgeous game to play on the PC.

That said, it is also one of the most GPU-intensive games, due in large part to its ray tracing, which is stunning when enabled.

The recommended specs for Control include an Intel i5-7600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X and a GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 580.

However, we’ve found that to run ray tracing, you will need an RTX 2060 or better to get it to work seamlessly.

That said, this game can run on a GPU as low as GTX 780 or Radeon R9 280x, though you will miss out on a lot of features.

9. Forza Horizon 5

When Forza Horizon 5 was first released, gamers were blown away by its realistic cars, lighting, and dynamic weather settings.

Naturally, with all of the upgrades made since Forza Horizon 4, it goes without saying that this game needs some power to run.

The recommended system requirements for Forza 5 include an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 4 1500X and a GTX 1070 or AMD RX 590.

However, this is just to reach 1080p at 60 FPS; if you want to experience this game in 4K, you’ll need at least an RTX 2080 Ti or RTX 3070.

You’ll also need a more powerful CPU, such as an R5 3600 or equivalent, to maintain 60 FPS at this level of resolution.

8. Forspoken

Forspoken is one of the newest games on our list, and you may need a brand-new PC just to play it!

While there is no denying that this game is gorgeous, it is an absolute beast to play on any PC.

The recommended specs for playing this game are an Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. 

Along with this you will need either a GeForce RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU and 24 GB of RAM!

However, with these specs, you will still only be playing at 30 FPS, which is absolutely astonishing!

If you want 4K or 60 FPS, you’re going to need an RX 6800 XT or RTX 4080 with a whole 32 GB of RAM.

This game is ridiculously demanding, and if that’s any indication of where new games are headed, we’re all going to need new gaming PCs!

7. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Valhalla is the most graphically demanding game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, though this may change when Mirage is released.

Not only is this game absolutely huge, but it requires some pretty serious hardware to run at its best settings.

To play AC: Valhalla at 1080p at 60 FPS, you will need an Intel i7 6700 or AMD Ryzen 7 1700 and a GTX 1080 or AMD RX Vega.

While this isn’t a huge surprise given the scale of this game and everything in it, it will take a toll on even some high-end rigs.

That said, if you really want to push the limits to 4K, you’ll need at least an RTX 3080 or better and a high-tier CPU.

6. Red Dead Redemption 2

Although Red Dead Redemption 2 has been out for a while, it is still more demanding than even some newer titles.

Even on standard hardware, you can expect to experience dips in FPS unless you lower the settings to their absolute minimum.

For a baseline, overall solid gameplay experience, you will need an Intel i7 4770K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X CPU. 

You will also need a GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 GPU and 12 GB of RAM.

As far as recommended specs go, these are fairly demanding, all things considered, and that’s just for stable gameplay.

If you’re using a GeForce 30 series, you can push this game even further to 1440p to really make the graphics outstanding!

5. Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy has always been a gorgeous game series, but XV really takes things to a whole new level.

As such, it will really give your PC a workout if you want to play it with high or ultra settings.

The recommended specs for Final Fantasy XV are an Intel i7-3770 or AMD FX-8350 and a GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 480.

However, that’s just the recommended specs; if you want to experience this game in 4k at 30 FPS or 1440p at 60, you’ll need a lot of power.

The 4K HDR requirements for this game are an Intel i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X and a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

You will need a seriously powerful setup to pull this off, but if you can, this game is absolutely stunning!

It’s one of the best Final Fantasy games for a reason, even if your computer can’t handle its highest settings!

4. Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus boasts real-time ray tracing that really gives NVIDIA RTX cards a run for their money.

Even trying to play this game in the lowest possible settings can be problematic, as there are few ways to improve performance.

To have an enjoyable experience playing this game, 4A Games recommends an Intel i7-4770K or AMD equivalent.

Along with this they also recommend having either a GTX 1070/ RTX 2060 or AMD RX Vega GPU. 

That said, this isn’t even scratching the surface of how far you can push the limits of this game!

If you want to play with ultra settings in 4K at 60 FPS, you’ll need no less than an Intel i9-9900K, RTX 2080 Ti, and 16 GB of RAM.

While Metro Exodus is a gorgeous game all around, if you have a powerful enough rig, it absolutely shines in 4K!

3. Dying Light 2

The zombie apocalypse looks better than ever in Dying Light 2, that is, if you have a rig powerful enough to run it!

Even the recommended specs are pretty steep, though it can run on an Intel i3 and GTX 1050 Ti with minimum system requirements.

It is recommended to play Dying Light 2 with either an Intel i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and a GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD RX Vega 56.

Keep in mind that these specs will allow you to run the game with a mix of medium and high settings.

If you want to set everything to high, you’ll need a top-of-the-line GPU, and even then, you’ll be putting it through its paces.

2. Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 is a beast of a game, and it makes lesser PCs break down in shame, and even powerful rigs get a bit nervous when you boost this bad boy up.

The recommended specs include an Intel i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 3600X with either a GTX 1080 or RX Vega 64, but this isn’t even for 4k!

If you want to experience this game in 4K with ray tracing, you’ll need a lot more power.

This means either an Intel i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU and a RTX 3080 or RX 6800 GPU.

Oh, and this will only get you 30 FPS, so you’ll need an even more powerful CPU if you want to boost up that framerate!

Fortunately, there are a lot of configurations that come with Far Cry 6, including a 2K mode, with or without ray tracing, that can support 60 FPS.

1. Cyberpunk 2077

Taking our number one spot is none other than Cyberpunk 2077, a game that will absolutely decimate your computer’s memory.

While there are many settings in this game to let you tweak the performance, the highest settings will require a lot of power.

If you want to run this game in 4k Ultra with ray tracing, you will need an Intel i7-6700 or AMD 5 3600. 

You’ll also need to have a NVIDIA RTX 3080 (or better) GPU and 16 GB of RAM.

While those are some steep requirements, even playing at 1080p with 60 FPS will need a seriously powerful rig.

At those settings, you’ll still need an i7-4790 and an RTX 2060 or better, which is asking a lot for many gamers!

Oh, and that’s not taking into consideration any of the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods that you may add to your game!

Suffice it to say, this game is incredibly demanding, and if you want to get the most out of it, you’ll probably need to get hired by NASA.

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the 25 most graphically demanding PC games and your computer didn’t overheat in the process!

Although each game on this list boasts some amazing graphics, only those with the most powerful PCs will be able to handle them.

If you have a PC that robust, count yourself lucky because you can experience these games at their absolute best!

Here’s a quick recap of the 25 most graphically demanding PC games:

1. Cyberpunk 2077
2. Far Cry 6
3. Dying Light 2
4. Metro Exodus
5. Final Fantasy XV
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
7. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
8. Forspoken
9. Forza Horizon 5
10. Control
11. Hitman 3
12. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
13. Horizon Zero Dawn
14. Resident Evil Village
15. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
16. The Ascent
17. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
18. Halo Infinite
19. RIDE 4
20. Bright Memory: Infinite
21. F1® 22
22. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
23. God of War
24. Uncharted: The Legacy of Thieves Collection
25. Hogwarts Legacy

Have you played any of these games on your PC? Leave a comment below.