Best Action Games On PC 2025

While action games are universally beloved by all, only a handful deserve the bragging rights that come with the title of “best,” especially on the PC platform.

These are the kind of games that get your heart pounding with dynamic combat, traversal, and visuals powerful enough to maybe melt your machine.

If that all sounds good, keep reading to discover the finest action games on PC, including action RPGs, action-adventure games, and action-packed shooters.

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First up is Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a third-person action-adventure game that features stunning facial animations on par with blockbuster animated films.

In it, you follow a youthful spirit guide named Kena as she hones her mystical powers to help the deceased move on to the afterlife.

Kena’s primary weapon is her magical staff but she can also cast spells, wield a bow and arrow, and call small spirit companions known into battle.

While the game may be operating on a smaller scale compared to AAA titles, the level of detail in its character, environment, and combat designs are all remarkable.

Marauders is an innovative tactical shooter that shares similarities with multiplayer games like Hell Let Loose and Escape from Tarkov.

In it, you play as a galactic pirate working alone or in a squad to navigate perilous war zones, raid enemy vessels, and explore abandoned stations for resources.

Every session is different and filled with unpredictable encounters where things can go horribly wrong or see you coming out on top.

You’re encouraged to work with teammates and divvy up tasks such as piloting the ship, manning gun turrets, and keeping an eye out for enemy pirates.

Now out of Early Access, Grounded offers a challenging survival sandbox experience set within the confines of a suburban backyard.

The only catch is, your character is shrunk down to the size of an ant, and virtually everything in the yard wants to kill you, including enormous spiders.

For taking risks, the game rewards you with a host of resources and crafting materials for making better tools, gear, and furniture for your base.

The yard is also filled with tons of fascinating things to discover such as secret areas and new traversal options for those daring enough to explore.

Next up, Vampire Survivors is a roguelike shoot ’em up with survival elements and a retro 2D pixel art look.

Gameplay focuses on battling against continuous waves of monsters for as long as possible using one of many supernatural characters, weapons, and relics.

The longer players manage to stay alive, the more resources they’ll gather for unlocking new characters and gear for their next run.

Despite its rather straightforward premise, Vampire Survivors does a great job at keeping you engaged with meaningful unlocks and action-packed gameplay.

Inspired by classic “boomer shooters,” Prodeus sees players carving out a path of gore and carnage as they make their way towards the end of each level.

This is achieved using a wide selection of weapons ranging from pistols and shotguns to more powerful options like a rocket launcher and lightning gun.

Each one does a fine job at turning bad guys into mincemeat, something Prodeus shows off well by coating walls and ceilings with enemies’ blood and guts.

Aside from the minute-to-minute action, the game features plenty of exploratory moments with hidden secrets to discover.

Set in the Yakuza universe, Judgment is a detective game that shares numerous similarities with the series and was also developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

The story follows lawyer-turned-investigator Takayuki Yagami after he’s assigned to a gruesome case involving a killer whose calling card is removing their victims’ eyeballs.

Gameplay has you combing the streets of Kamurocho in search of clues while locating stolen goods and beating up thugs using hand-to-hand combat.

Since it’s a spin-off, you can play Judgment without having gone through any of the other Yakuza games, though having some acquaintance before starting can be beneficial.

Forgive Me Father is a gloomy retro horror FPS with a comic book aesthetic that’s equal parts old-school DOOM and H.P. Lovecraft.

In it, players take on the role of either a priest or journalist as they navigate a world consumed by madness and eldritch horrors.

Combat blends classic 90s FPS gunplay with active skills and powerups that can help out in a pinch while battling hordes of unpredictable enemies.

There’s also a rationality system and separate dedicated skill trees for both characters you can play as.

The original Ziggurat is a cherished PC staple that blends FPS action with magic, roguelite progression, and rapid-paced movement in a satisfying package.

With Ziggurat 2, the action shooter is redesigned from the ground up with the goal of improving the formula across all areas.

This includes improved arbitrarily created dungeons with added height and variety, along with fresh weapons, foes, and magic.

Between missions, players can visit the Citadel to recruit fresh and old allies, upgrade equipment and abilities, and plan for their next adventure.

The Legend of Tianding is a side-scrolling action game about a legendary Taiwanese folk hero and his plight to rob the rich, feed the poor, and fight for justice.

The story takes place in early 20th century Colonial Japanese Taiwan and sees players exploring the Dadaocheng area of Taipei city while controlling the famed outlaw.

Liao is equipped with a tanto, waist sash, and agile Kung Fu moves that make for tight, intricate combat with complex aerial combos and grappling hook maneuvers.

Players can also equip various magic talismans to modify Liao’s playstyle and unlock unique bonuses like increased health recovery and quicker stamina-regen.

If you’re anything like us, then you enjoy diving into fast-paced FPS games inspired by classics like DOOM and Quake.

One such game that takes cues from its predecessors is Ultrakill, a sleek and ultraviolent retro FPS from Arsi Patala and New Blood Interactive.

Despite its vintage style, there’s a lot of contemporary game design philosophies working behind the scenes in Ultrakill that make it difficult to put down.

This includes skill-based style scoring and a health-regen system that encourages you to rip through enemies and bathe in their gore.

Severed Steel is a sleek FPS that has you controlling a one-armed marksman tasked with infiltrating a superstructure overflowing with bad guys.

Gameplay revolves around elegant first-person gunplay and a smooth stunt system complete with bullet time and destructible environments.

Since your character has only one arm, there’s no reloading whatsoever, requiring you to seek out extra enemies and pry weapons from their frigid dead hands.

The game also features a reactive squad-based AI that allows for unscripted enemy encounters and ensures no two gunfights play out identically.

Standing in stark contrast to many of the games on this list, Mighty Goose belongs to a subsection of side-scrolling 2D platformers known as run n’ guns.

In it, you don the mantle of the titular hero Mighty Goose, a mech-wearing fowl and one of the foremost bounty hunters across the galaxy.

Gameplay sees you blasting your way through vast 2D levels overflowing with enemies, weapon power-ups, and colossal mechs.

Mighty Goose’s retro pixel art is complemented by a punchy synth-rock and lively jazz-fusion soundtrack that brings the classic action game to life.

Huntdown is a remarkable side-scrolling arcade shooter with over-the-top action and comedic undertones complemented by gratifying game mechanics.

In it, you play as a bounty hunter tasked with liberating their sophisticated city from a criminal underworld of thugs who have overpowered the police.

The game sees you traversing 20 dreary, neon-soaked levels inspired by 80s cityscapes as you track down gang leaders to collect the bounty on their heads.

Levels and characters are depicted in 16-bit pixel art graphics complete with hand-drawn animations, fluid 60 FPS performance, and a synth-tastic soundtrack.

Next up, Madness: Project Nexus is a third-person run n’ gun-style shooter with chaotic, arcade-inspired combat.

In it, you play as a deadly little bean man infiltrating heavily fortified facilities, cult camps, moving trains, and more.

This is all while wielding pistols, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and handheld weapons with distinctive perks.

Project Nexus offers an 8-hour narrative campaign that supports local co-op along with an arena mode with character customization and skill tree progression.

Ghostrunner is a sleek first-person action game that casts you as a sword-wielding assassin on a mission to take down a nefarious figure known as The Keymaster.

To do so, they’ll have to ascend a massive structure using a blend of wall-running and grappling hook maneuvers while fighting armed guards.

Combat in Ghostrunner is extremely demanding, requiring you to dodge incoming fire by slowing down time before moving in for the kill with your cyber katana.

If you’re a fan of the cyberpunk aesthetic, then you’ll definitely be captivated by the game’s neon-rich visuals and synth-laden soundtrack as well.

Carrying on, Control is a third-person shooter that tasks you with investigating a classified government facility called the Oldest House.

This area just so happens to be overflowing with paranormal activity, forcing you to navigate its eerie corridors and sniff out danger.

Your character is equipped with paranormal abilities and a shape-shifting gun that alternates between different firing modes to deal catastrophic damage.

This all combines to create a satisfying blend of shooter-meets-metroidvania action with sci-fi storytelling and stunning visuals.

DOOM Eternal sees you exploring new hellish landscapes teeming with demonic monsters as you fulfill your role as a formidable space marine.

The sequel doubles down on the fierce combat design of its predecessor while encouraging players to discover new tactics throughout its open-ended levels.

The surroundings are depicted as vast play areas where it’s straightforward to dodge incoming attacks while defeating the main dangers.

The addition of a new grappling hook provides an extra layer to the game’s traversal system, with movement overall feeling more smooth and nimble than ever.

Our next recommendation is the latest installment in the legendary Capcom hack and slash action game franchise, Devil May Cry.

Boasting rapid-paced combat oozing with style and substance, Devil May Cry 5 maintains the flair of its predecessors while offering more combative depth.

This includes three playable characters with distinctly unique playstyles that bring novel strategies to the battlefield.

Of course, if you come to the hack and slash genre for boss fights, you’ll have find solace in slaying colossal demonic beasts throughout DMC5’s story.

NieR: Automata takes a distinctive approach to the RPG formula by requiring multiple playthroughs to fully comprehend what’s going on with its story.

In it, you follow two androids entangled in a dispute created by humans pitting their kind against archaic machines who invaded Earth in the past.

Throughout 2B and 9S’s odyssey, you’ll learn more about their origins and the war itself while grappling with profound philosophical questions regarding life and humanity.

Gameplay revolves around swift-paced, hack and slash action RPG combat with over-the-top battles against gigantic bosses.

Last but not least, Hades is a roguelike dungeon crawler that’s won several awards and offers an engaging story and satisfying action-driven combat.

Players are cast as Hades’ son Zagreus as he sets out to escape a maze-like underworld and his father’s fury once and for all.

Each run has Zagreus equipping himself with diverse melee and ranged weapons before descending down shifting routes housing distinct perks and varied encounters.

While the roguelike format doesn’t typically lend itself to good storytelling, Hades bucks this trend by having the world and dialogue react to the player’s actions.