The release of the PS5 and Xbox One Series X|S has once again brought the conversation of consoles vs. PCs back to the forefront of the gaming industry. The pros and cons can be debated for hours, but there’s one indisputable benefit of playing on PC. If someone has the funds to afford the high-end hardware, PC gaming provides the best visual and graphical performance around. Because the majority of gamers don’t own high-end PCs, many developers aren’t willing to spend too much time optimizing their games.
After all, the majority of players won’t get the chance to see them performing at the top level. That’s not to say that there’s a shortage of games that will test the limits of even the best hardware though. Numerous games compensate players for the eye-watering investments that top builds require. It’s worth pointing out that thebest-looking PC gamesaround are judged on the developer’s intended product;adding mods into the equationwould turn this into an entirely different list.
Updated June 30, 2025, by Hamza Haq:A fun part about owning a truly top-of-the-line PC is not just playing the latest and greatest AAA games but playing them at such a level and with such high fidelity that it would be impossible to replicate the look on any console, ever. The joy of experiencing a title in true native 4K with Path Tracing turned all the way up, and settings set to Ultra is not something the average gamer can aim for, especially not with new games. This privilege is only available to those with the beefiest of machines.
If it’s only visual fidelity one is after, there are very few games that can even hope to compete withSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, the direct successor toHellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.Hellblade 2’sgameplay leaves a lot to be desired. It’s short, the story is not the most inspired, and in some ways, the overall atmosphere and sense of tension is a downgrade from the first game. But where Hellblade 2 does not fall short is in how downright gorgeous it looks when played on a powerful PC.
If hyper-realism were a competition,Hellblade 2won, and it won it handily. From the environments to the textures to the combat effects, it’s all incredibly striking. The crown jewel, though, has to be the character of Senua herself. The amount of detail and complexity in her expressions, the way her eyes move when she’s scared, and how her face contracts when she’s angry are all portrayed with such mastery that it’s sometimes hard to remember that it’s a video game at the end of the day and not a film.
Ghost of Tsushimais one of the prettiest open-world games ever made, and it’s easy to see why its launch on PC was celebrated by the masses. Players loved the idea of rendering the beautiful visuals of Tsushima Island on their high-end PCs, and the stable nature of the game’s launch meant that players didn’t have to struggle while running it.
The combination of technical excellence and a stunning art style ensures that Jin’s adventures are easy on the eyes. Sony’s exclusives are known for boasting state-of-the-art visuals, andGhost of Tsushimadoesn’t disappoint in this regard.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakeis a game that everyone was anticipating with bated breath. While the game’s visuals were a cut above the rest, there was some poor texture work that prevented players from enjoying the full potential of this title’s graphics. Thankfully, all of these complaints were squashed when players got their hands on the PC port.
Without any of the restrictions that hampered the PS4,Final Fantasy 7 Remakelooked like a gemon the PC. While a PS5 port eventually fixed most of the complaints players had when it came to the console,Remakeis still one of thebest-looking PC gamesthat players will love staring at as long as they have the hardware to support the visuals.
Most people felt that a remaster ofMarvel’s Spider-Manwas completely unnecessary, given how good the game looked already. However, Sony was adamant about pushing out a release that further enhanced the game’s visuals, and fans couldn’t deny thatMarvel’s Spider-Man Remasteredlooked like an absolute treat when it came out. The change to Peter Parker’s face was the only downer in a game that looked stellar otherwise.
With its release on computers,Marvel’s Spider-Manquickly became one of thebest-looking PC gamesthat players could get their hands on. The visuals look spellbinding as players swing to their heart’s content, reaching extremely high speeds as they make their way through the streets of New York and complete the many missions that come their way.
There’s no denying thatAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorahad some problems that stopped it from becoming a worthy movie tie-in that most people wanted it to be. The dated world design, an incessant focus on gathering, and a poor main story all stopped this game from reaching the glorious heights it could’ve achieved.
However, one aspect of the game that has been universally lauded is its visuals, with the various biomes of Pandora looking downright breathtaking. The visual spectacle of this game will bombard players time and time again as they explore more and more of this gorgeous world. On a PC with the settings cranked up to the max, the sheer quality of the graphics is more than enough to make up for the game’s drawbacks.
Sony hasn’t enjoyed the best success with its PC ports, with most games launching in a less-than-ideal state that always takes away something from what should otherwise have been an immaculate experience for players who were salivating to play these PlayStation exclusives for the longest time. So,whenHorizon Forbidden Westdropped, players were more than pleased to see the amazing quality of this PC port and how it elevated the quality of this game to new heights.
The game’s visual quality was a step above in every way, making it one of the finest games players can check out on the PC in no time. The massive open world can be enjoyed in all its splendor, which more than makes this port worth the price of admission.
The hype forHogwarts Legacywas through the roof before it came out, with most people loving the idea of finally getting their hands on a game that feels like an original adventure through the halls of Hogwarts instead of a rehash of the movies. Despite some flaws revolving around the story, voice performances, and the immersion of the player as a student, Hogwarts Legacy was an incredible celebration ofHarry Potter’s legacy in every way.
The world of Hogwarts and the Scottish Highlands is a blast to explore, and it’s easy to see why people couldn’t get enough of this game when it launched. The PC port was shambolic but has been fixed with numerous patches, making it worth checking out if players want to push the graphical fidelity of this game to the max.
Ray-tracing is the biggest craze to hit PC gaming, and it’s easy to see why players are going crazy about this new revolution in graphics. Lighting plays a huge role in deciding how a game looks, and ray-tracing aims to overhaul this aspect of a game’s graphics to make things look more realistic than ever before.
Ray-tracing madeCyberpunk 2077look gorgeous once the game was stable enough. For players who have the hardware, Overdrive mode can be triggered to unlock a version of ray-tracing so complex that it’s downright impossible to use this mode without DLSS, even on high-end graphic cards!
The release ofPlayStation exclusives on PChas been a boon for people who game on the latter. As long as games are released with proper optimizations, the PC can render PS exclusives at higher resolutions and frame rates, making these titles look more impressive than they already are.
Miles Moralesis a great standalone expansion toMarvel’s Spider-Man, with the powers of this hero being a joy to mess around with. Fans can’t wait to get their hands onMarvel’s Spider-Man 2and play as both Spider-Men in one game. With the release of the sequel coming sooner rather than later, there’s no better time to check out the first few games in the series if players want to get up to date with the story of Insomniac’s amazing Spider-Man adventure.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2takes what its predecessor,Kingdom Come: Deliverance,did, and improves in every single way imaginable. The gameplay loop is more rewarding, the combat is more streamlined, the quest permutations are increased, the NPC dialogue is even more lifelike, and, of course, the visuals are much, much better.
KCD 2stands as an example of how making the most graphically impressive games is not the exclusive domain of Unreal Engine 5. Lesser known and less acknowledged engines like CryEngine can make for some truly spectacular graphics as long as the developers working on it are true professionals. For players looking to immerse themselves in a low-fantasy medieval setting like no other, there is no game that comes even close toKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, in visuals or otherwise.
