And the time has come. Believe it or not, there were a lot of optimized PC games in 2024. And yes, some of them used Unreal Engine 5. Crazy, right? How can a UE5 game be on this list? Blasphemy I tell you.

Joking aside, this has been a great year. Yes, there were some disappointments (be sure to read our Worst Optimized PC Games of 2024 list) but as you will see, there were also games that ran great on the PC.

But what do we consider an optimized PC game? Well, it’s quite simple. A well-optimized PC game is one that can scale well on multiple CPU cores, that is not plagued by ‘console-ish’ side effects (like really low FOV, controller-only on-screen indicators, awful K&M controls and mouse acceleration/smoothing issues). Moreover, it should justify its high GPU requirements, and be able to scale down on older GPUs. We also take into account the stuttering issues that affected numerous PC games in 2024.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at our Top 10 list.

10) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is powered by the Dragon Engine and runs ridiculously well on PC. The only reason it’s not higher on the list is because its visuals are not up to what the other titles can offer. Nevertheless, this is a game that will run smoothly on a wide range of PC systems.

9) Empire of the Ants

Empire of the Ants is a third-person real-time strategy game using Unreal Engine 5. This is a perfect example of a game from a small studio that can punch above its weight. Thanks to UE5, Tower Five has managed to create a game that looks incredible. Not only that, but it does not suffer from any stutters. It can also scale well on older GPUs. This right here proves that UE5 is not the culprit for all the issues that some other UE5 games have.

8) Still Wakes the Deep

Here’s another UE5 game that performs and looks incredibly well on PC. Still Wakes the Deep is a horror game that passed under a lot of gamers’ radar. This is a story-driven horror game, inspired by The Thing (and some other horror movies). As with Empire of the Ants, it punches above its weight. Visually, it can compete with games by other bigger triple-A studios. It can also scale well on older GPUs using its graphics presets. So, if you are a fan of horror games, you should definitely check it out.

7) Tekken 8

Tekken 8 was easily the most advanced and graphically impressive fighting game of 2024. And although it uses Unreal Engine 5, it does not take advantage of Lumen or Nanite. Despite that, it looks stunning. Yes yes, it was slightly downgraded from its initial reveal trailer. However, its character models are still among the best I’ve seen. Its stages are great, the particle effects are stunning, and everything on screen looks great. Not only that but there are some cool, physics-based scripted sequences. And if the game retained that next-gen “wow” factor of its initial trailer, it would have been even higher on the list.

6) Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 was a game that pleasantly surprised me when it came out. Powered by the Swarm Engine, it pushed a lot of enemies on screen. And that was its biggest feature. At launch, its textures did not look that great but Saber has released an HD Texture Pack to address this. It looks and runs great, so kudos to the devs for creating a game that runs this well with all those enemies on screen.

5) Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Hellblade 2 is visually a true next-gen experience. Thanks to Lumen, its lighting is consistent at any given time and thanks to Nanite, there aren’t any noticeable pop-ins. These next-gen visuals justify their GPU requirements. Moreover, the game can scale on older GPUs thanks to its graphics presets. This is a true showcase of what next-gen games can look like on Unreal Engine 5. And, if it didn’t have some traversal stutters, it would have been higher on the list.

4) Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Another year, another COD. Contrary to last year’s offering, though, this time we got a proper single-player campaign. And, as I’ve said, the SP of Black Ops 6 is a mixed bag. While its character models and lighting have been improved, its environments can sometimes feel really old-gen-ish and empty. The Call of Duty games have been graphical powerhouses and, to some extent, this feels like a step down. It’s not looking bad. However, it’s a shame it’s not THE graphical showcase like it used to be. But hey. At least it still runs silky smooth.

3) God of War: Ragnarok

God of War: Ragnarok is by far the most optimized PS4/PS5 game we’ve seen on PC. Although it’s not as visually impressive as Horizon: Forbidden West, it runs way better than it, and it does not suffer from any of its optimization issues. All of the 3D character models look amazing, and the environments look great. Object pop-ins are also kept to a minimum. The game would benefit from some RT Reflections or Shadows. However, it at least runs great.

2) Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

With Path Tracing, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the best-looking PC game of 2024. However, with PT, the game can only run well on high-end GPUs. It cannot scale well on older GPUs. So, for this list, we’re judging its non-PT version. The good news here is that even without Path Tracing, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can look great on PC. It also runs incredibly well on numerous PC systems. However, there are a few annoying visual issues without PT. Without PT, you’ll get major shadow pop-ins. Plus, the draw distance is also a bit low and you’ll get major pop-ins in Shanghai. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most optimized PC games of 2024.

1) Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was one of the most optimized PC games of 2024. This new DA game looked and ran incredibly well on PC. It did not suffer from any stutters, it could scale on older GPUs, and it looked amazing. BioWare has also used the hair strands system that EA first introduced in the FIFA series, making a lot of characters look glorious. This is a showcase for the Frostbite Engine, so kudos to the devs for offering such a polished product.