The Most Demanding PC Games To Make Systems Sweat

Now and then, a technical masterpiece of games comes out and propels the entire industry forward. However, getting those games to run flawlessly on PCs is another story altogether.

Some video games have extreme texture resolutions, while others implement realistic reflections. In one way or another, demanding PC games that typically look great also heavily tank performance.

1. A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022)

This title has most recently earned the title of a benchmarking test for demanding PC games.

Even without ray tracing, Requiem gives the beefiest builds a hard time. To achieve 60FPS (frames per second) at 1080P Ultra Settings, players need at least an RTX 3080 card or above. Players below the recommended specifications must use upscaling methods to achieve playable framerates.

2. Crysis (2007)

Crysis still poses a challenge for mid-tier builds more than 15 years after release. This game implemented new rendering techniques at the time of release, pushing the envelope. Many enthusiasts would test their powerful builds by running Crysis at Ultra. Even today, Crysis still looks comparable to the best. The same can’t be said for most other titles released in the 2000s.

3. Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

From rags to riches, Cyberpunk 2077 rose from the ashes of bugs and glitches to a feature-rich and superb-looking title. Even then, the newest generation of Nvidia cards struggles to run this game at high framerates on Max settings. Enabling path tracing means death for even the beefiest of PCs.

That said, CD Projekt Red has supremely optimized the game for various types of builds, avoiding some of the traps of other demanding PC games. The crisp visuals at Ultra warrant the high-performance cost.

4. Metro Exodus (2019)

Exodus looked true to life at launch and utilized high-resolution textures for most assets. However, the developers later added a ray tracing option that revamped the visuals, landing it among the most demanding PC games.

The Extreme settings fully implement ray tracing across reflections, illumination, and more. By all means, Exodus pushed the industry forward by utilizing ray tracing in such a way. Even today, only high-tier builds can run this game at high frame rates while enabling ray tracing.

5. Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

Few people expected Microsoft Flight Simulator to look as great as it does. The Flight Simulator everyone grew up with featured pixelated graphics and limited flyable areas. This iteration bumps up the requirements significantly.

Players need a graphics card with at least 8GB of VRAM (video random-access memory) to play this game at high frame rates. Since the explorable area has also increased to large expansive cities worldwide, an SSD wouldn’t hurt either. 

6. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Setting volumetric effects and Water Quality to High in this game tank the performance on any PC.

Rockstar games continually propel the industry forward with each of their games from a visual and gameplay standpoint. Red Dead Redemption 2 is no different and pushes systems to the max. 

7. Starfield (2023)

While Starfield might look better than other recent titles, it still challenges modern PCs as one of the most demanding PC games. Unfortunately, inconsistent performance and an army of loading screens make the game sluggish and outdated.

Starfield can definitely be further improved and optimized to increase performance. However, in its current state, only the most powerful systems can play this game at the highest settings.

8. Alan Wake 2 (2023)

True-to-life visuals and a densely packed environment make running this game a nightmare for budget builds. The game cannot run well on older graphics cards and will warn players who attempt to launch it.

Without enabling ray tracing, Alan Wake 2 still implements a software-based alternative. Most gamers must utilize upscaling methods to play this game smoothly across all settings.

9. The Witcher 3 (2015)

At launch, The Witcher 3 required several patches to run at playable framerates. However, upon upgrading the visuals for current consoles, CD Projekt Red also added ray tracing and Ultra Plus options. These settings completely change the game’s look and equally obliterate the performance. Players should only enable ray tracing if they have an RTX 3080 or above due to the costly performance hit.

10. Ark: Survival Ascended (Early Access)

Ark: Survival Ascended remains one of the only games that require 32GB RAM to run efficiently. The game looks great, as do most other Unreal Engine 5 games; however, it runs poorly.

Currently, the game only plays at smooth framerates on high-performance cards. However, players have high hopes for the developers to optimize the game with each update.

11. BeamNG.drive (2015)

This game does not threaten most modern graphics cards, more so processors.

The game renders complete destruction alongside accurate vehicle physics. The recent addition of AI Traffic further stresses the CPU (central processing unit). In standard gameplay scenarios, the game runs fine, but in more extreme situations, performance significantly drops.  

12. Dwarf Fortress (2008)

Few people expect Dwarf Fortress to run poorly on even the weakest systems. However, during normal gameplay, the processors take on a heavy load as the population increases.

That said, most graphics cards relatively smoothly sail across whatever the game throws at it. Players recommend limiting the maximum population settings to run the game at high framerates throughout.

13. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (2023)

Frontiers of Pandora has a hidden graphics mode that pushes systems to the next extreme, landing it among the most demanding PC games. Players can only activate the Unobtanium mode by adding a command line before starting the game. This mode significantly bumps the visuals and cranks most systems to the max.

Unobanium functions mainly as a technical showcase that even the RTX 4090 struggles to run at 4K. 

14. Cities: Skyline II (2023)

Skyline II gives modern graphics cards and processors a hard time running at high frames. This game features citywide simulation systems that have processors working overtime.

Nvidia’s newly released 4000 Series graphics cards struggle to run this game at higher resolution. To play this game smoothly, players must turn down the settings. 

15. Star Citizen (Early Access)

Die-hard fans of Star Citizen often wonder whether the developers have too far-fetched ambition.

The game has a ton of content built in, yet it requires optimization. The relatively outdated engine does not work well with the high texture resolutions. Both combine to create a severely unoptimized game that gets more demanding the farther players progress.

16. Fortnite (2017)

Initially, Fortnite ran relatively easily on most systems due to its cartoonish graphics. However, Epic Games updated and implemented Unreal Engine 5 features built into the game.

Hardware ray tracing, high-quality reflections, and an overall uplift to the visuals earn the title a spot among the most demanding PC games. Fortnite’s latest update incorporates an advanced movement system that pushes PCs further. 

17. Teardown (2023)

At first, many assume Teardown is a relatively less demanding title for most systems. The pixelated graphics resemble those of Minecraft, which many know to run on even lower-tier systems.

However, Teardown’s gameplay involves wrecking buildings and structures. Other features, such as dense smoke and clear reflections, don’t help either. Most processors will struggle significantly with user-created maps that push the game’s destruction to the max.

18. The Last of Us Part I (2022)

At launch, The Last of Us Part I lacked optimization, affecting every system. However, despite several patches, the game only runs at high framerates on high-powered GPUs (graphics processing units). This game eats up VRAM for breakfast and always wants more of it. Players should only increase the texture resolution if they have a graphics card exceeding 10GB VRAM. 

19. Hogwarts Legacy (2023)

Hogwarts Legacy looks exceptional but comes at the cost of performance. This game’s cutscenes focus primarily on action and push the engine, especially the introduction sequence. Other avenues where performance dips include visiting dense areas such as Hogsmeade or the Forbidden Forest.

That said, the game runs consistently in closed-off areas such as classrooms.

20. Control (2019)

Before Alan Wake 2, Remedy implemented next-generation graphical features in Control long before they became mainstream. Advanced particle effects and distorted camera angles look great, yet tank performance. Setting the visuals to the max stresses out powerful systems even today.

21. Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014)

Unity was one of the first Assassin’s Creed titles to grace the older PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. Upon release, the game could not maintain a stable 30FPS on either system because it pushed them both. The PC version equally shared the laggy performance.

While the game did not incorporate ray tracing, it still demanded lots of graphical power. Future Assassin’s Creed titles received visual downgrades to run better.

22. Forza Horizon 5 (2021)

High-octane racing and photorealistic vehicle textures significantly push graphics cards. Additionally, the processor comes under equal stress when too many things happen on screen simultaneously.

In typical scenarios, the game runs fine; however, when many cars collide, the frames dip—the introductory sequence functions as a solid benchmark for how the performance fairs in regular races.

23. Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance might not have the best visuals compared to modern titles, but it still suffers from performance issues.

This game destroys systems when entering densely populated towns and villages. Most players recommend reducing Effects quality and population to maintain solid frames. However, players should expect inconsistent performance as the game remains unoptimized.

24. Dying Light 2 (2022)

Dying Light 2’s performance on most systems stays consistent unless players enable ray tracing features. Most players recommend only turning on Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion as it has the most noticeable difference. Other ray tracing settings also improve the visual fidelity but come with too much performance cost.

25. Portal With RTX (2022)

Portal RTX essential functions as a technical demo by Valve to showcase the power of ray tracing. This game has extreme demands to run on all systems, especially at the highest settings. Even getting the game to maintain at least 30FPS requires a beefy system.

Most players highly recommend utilizing upscalers such as DLSS to make the game playable. To put the performance into perspective, an RTX 4090 struggles to maintain 30 frames at 4K without DLSS.