These are the standout PC games released in 2024, combining professional review scores with player reception and a deliberately broad mix of genres. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Metaphor: ReFantazio lead the critic consensus at 92 on Metacritic, while Balatro has exceptional player approval in SteamDB’s captured ranking. The selection also includes a remake, a major expansion, an open-world RPG, tactics, mystery puzzles, a Metroidvania, and a short comedy adventure.
“Best” is ultimately about the experience you want: punishing combat, a long character-driven story, endless runs, dense puzzles, or a funny game you can finish in an evening.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Doom - PC | $15.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Star Wars: Battlefront - Standard Edition - PC | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
![Battlefield 6 Standard -- PC EA App [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/410BzrfvqwL._SL160_.jpg)
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Battlefield 6 Standard -- PC EA App [Online Game Code] | $69.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
![Borderlands 4 Standard - PC Steam [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51gpM4oUSEL._SL160_.jpg)
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Borderlands 4 Standard - PC Steam [Online Game Code] | $35.00 | Buy on Amazon |
How this 2024 PC list was assembled
Metacritic’s official 2024 PC ranking covers games released between January 1 and December 31, 2024 and requires at least seven professional critic reviews. Its scores provide the critic-consensus backbone here. SteamDB measures a different thing: user reviews for 2024 Steam releases. Its snapshot places Balatro first with 96.63% positive feedback from 198,007 reviews. Those figures are time-sensitive, so Steam percentages, review totals and displayed prices can change.
The list is not a claim that every game is directly comparable. It includes a substantial expansion, standalone releases, a remake and a live-service-style ongoing format, reflecting the breadth of what PC players actually played in 2024. GameSpot’s year-end list likewise combines standalone games, expansions and live-service games and presents them alphabetically rather than as a strict ranking.
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#1 Best Overall
- A Relentless Campaign: There is no taking cover or stopping to regenerate health as you beat back Hell's raging demon hordes
- Return of id Multiplayer: Dominate your opponents in DOOM's signature, fast-paced arena-style combat
- Near-Limitless Gameplay: DOOM SnapMap - A powerful, but easy-to-use game and level editor that allows for limitless gameplay experiences on every platform
The 10 best PC games of 2024
| Game | What it is | Metacritic PC score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Open-world action-RPG expansion | 92 | Challenge and exploration |
| Metaphor: ReFantazio | New medieval-fantasy JRPG | 92 | Story and hybrid combat |
| Balatro | Roguelike deckbuilder | Not stated | Replayability |
| Animal Well | Pixel-art Metroidvania puzzle-platformer | 90 | Secrets and discovery |
| Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Large role-playing game | 89 | Character-rich adventure |
| Persona 3 Reload | Remake of a JRPG/social simulation | 89 | Routine, relationships and combat |
| Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | Nonlinear mystery puzzle game | 88 | Hard, surreal puzzles |
| Tactical Breach Wizards | Turn-based tactics campaign | 87 | Planning and experimentation |
| Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Open-world action RPG | 88 | Emergent party adventures |
| Thank Goodness You’re Here! | Short comedy adventure/puzzle game | 89 | A compact change of pace |
1. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
FromSoftware’s expansion is Metacritic’s Best Overall PC Game of 2024, with a 92 Metascore. The Realm of Shadow is smaller than the base game’s map but unusually dense, rewarding players who investigate paths, landmarks and hidden encounters. It adds up to 30 hours of content, although the real value depends on how thoroughly you explore and how quickly you overcome its demanding fights.
This is the pick for players who want the year’s strongest combination of combat mastery, environmental discovery and high difficulty. You need the original Elden Ring to access the expansion, and its challenge assumes familiarity with that game’s systems.
2. Metaphor: ReFantazio
Atlus Studio Zero’s new medieval-fantasy JRPG is Metacritic’s Best New PC Game of 2024, also scoring 92. Its politically charged story gives the fantasy setting an unusually direct interest in power, prejudice and social change. A distinctive visual identity and a hybrid combat system make it feel like more than a conventional successor to Atlus’s earlier role-playing games.
Choose it for a long, character-focused campaign in which time management, relationships and battles all feed into the same journey. The appeal is strongest if you enjoy narrative ambition alongside turn-based strategy.
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Balatro turns poker hands into the foundation of a roguelike deckbuilder. Each run asks you to build combinations, manipulate scoring rules and decide when to risk a promising build. It is easy to understand at the start but has enough interacting effects to keep revealing new strategies.
Rank #2
- Product Packaging Notice: This product includes a download code in packaging, no physical media disc included.
- Visit classic planets from the original Star Wars trilogy, detailed with an unprecedented amount of realism and sense of authenticity that will transport you to a galaxy far, far away
- Pilot a diverse set of ground-based vehicles including nimble speeder bikes, massive AT-ATs, and more
- Encounter a variety of beloved characters from the original trilogy such as C-3PO and R2-D2
- Pilot the Millennium Falcon, X-wings, TIE fighters, and more of your favorite vehicles in exhilarating aerial combat
SteamDB’s captured ranking of 2024 Steam releases lists it first, with 96.63% positive reviews from 198,007 users. The snapshot displayed a $14.99 price when recorded; both the price and review totals can change by region, sale and date. No Metacritic score is established in the supplied figures, but its player reception makes it the clearest choice here for repeatable short sessions.
4. Animal Well
Built by Billy Basso, Animal Well is a pixel-art Metroidvania that treats exploration and puzzle solving as equally important. Its 90 Metascore reflects a design packed with secrets: new abilities open routes, while environmental details often suggest solutions without spelling them out.
It suits players who enjoy mapping an unfamiliar space and revisiting earlier areas with fresh tools. The game can be quietly demanding because many of its best discoveries are optional and easy to miss.
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SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth expands the series’ role-playing format into a large adventure that spends significant time in Hawaii. Its 89 Metascore reflects the combination of turn-based battles, an expansive setting and the series’ unusually generous cast of personal stories and side activities.
This is the choice for players who want a big, warm-hearted RPG that can move from serious drama to absurd comedy without abandoning its characters. Its scale rewards commitment rather than quick completion.
Rank #3
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6. Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload rebuilds the 2006 JRPG and social simulation with a modern presentation, while adding scenes and activities. Its 89 Metascore recognizes how effectively the remake connects a daily schedule, relationships and dungeon battles into one loop.
Pick it if you like deciding how to spend each in-game day and watching those decisions improve both your social life and combat options. It is a remake with substantial presentation work, not merely a resolution upgrade.
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7. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Simogo’s nonlinear mystery takes place around a strange European hotel and contains more than 150 surreal puzzles. Its 88 Metascore reflects a game that expects players to notice patterns, retain clues and choose their own route through an intentionally disorienting structure.
This is best for patient puzzle fans who prefer forming theories to following a straight sequence of objectives. Keep notes if you want to get the most from its interconnected riddles.
8. Tactical Breach Wizards
Tactical Breach Wizards is a PC-exclusive, turn-based tactics campaign from Suspicious Developments. Its 87 Metascore highlights the ability to rewind and replay actions, making experimentation part of the strategy rather than a punishment for trying something new. Adjustable difficulty lets you tune the campaign to your preferred level of pressure.
Rank #4
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It is an excellent fit for players who enjoy solving a combat puzzle, testing a plan, then refining it until every move clicks. The rewind system lowers the cost of experimentation without removing the satisfaction of a successful breach.
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9. Dragon’s Dogma 2
Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 combines an open world with customizable “Pawns,” AI companions who fight alongside you and can be shaped to support your approach. Its 88 Metascore reflects the memorable, emergent situations that result when the world, enemies and party interact unpredictably.
The game is demanding for newcomers. Choose it if you want an adventure that generates stories from travel and combat rather than delivering every encounter as a tightly scripted set piece.
10. Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Coal Supper’s short comedy adventure, published by Panic, is a compact sequence of jokes, odd characters and puzzle-like interactions. Its 89 Metascore makes it the strongest change-of-pace recommendation on this list: a deliberately brief game that concentrates on comic timing instead of a huge progression system.
Play it when you want something funny and inventive without committing to a 50-hour campaign. Its concise format is a feature, not a missing endgame.
Which game should you play first?
- For the highest critic consensus: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree or Metaphor: ReFantazio, tied at 92.
- For exceptional player approval and repeat runs: Balatro.
- For secrets and exploration: Animal Well.
- For a major story-driven RPG: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth or Persona 3 Reload.
- For dense, demanding puzzles: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
- For turn-based tactical planning: Tactical Breach Wizards.
- For emergent open-world adventures: Dragon’s Dogma 2.
- For a short comedy game: Thank Goodness You’re Here!.
Critics versus players: how to read the list
The Metacritic numbers are professional-review aggregates, while SteamDB’s percentage and count are user-review data from Steam. They answer different questions: critic scores compare a game’s design and execution across a review sample, whereas user sentiment shows how a large player community responded over time. That is why Balatro can be the strongest player-reception story here without having a listed Metacritic figure, and why an expansion can sit beside new games in a year-end conversation.
Quick Recap
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