TOP 12 most demanding PC games in 2023

 

2022 was a poor year for technological breakthroughs and graphic revolutions. Each released game had a familiar picture, which the developers tried to improve with tracing technologies. At the same time, projects often refused to work adequately and often lost frame rates out of the blue.

In the same top, we have collected games with unrealistically high system requirements. The current 2023 may be the most disruptive year for technological revolutions that will change the visual performance in video games. There will be a lot of interesting projects, and, perhaps, some of the games from our top will be able to surprise the most sophisticated players with graphics and system requirements.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is a highly anticipated open-world role-playing game based on the Harry Potter universe. The project gives fans of the world of witches and wizards the opportunity to travel around Hogwarts, look for fantastic creatures, brew potions, learn spells, develop talents to become a wizard. The game turned out to be a real information bomb, and after the release, the entire information space was filled with HP topics.

Hogwarts Legacy is developed on the fourth version of the Unreal Engine. Thanks to the technological core, the game has an excellent visual implementation and flexible integration for all current consoles. But Unreal Engine has a serious problem with shader loading and fast loading of textures into RAM. The developers of Hogwarts Legacy were unable to fix these problems, and in the PC version, the jambs of the engine seriously affected the comfortable passage. The game is very demanding on video memory and a large amount of RAM. For a comfortable game at high settings, you need a good PC with modern components.

Comparison of locations in Hogwarts Legacy and the Harry Potter films

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 (3.3 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 (3.2 GHz)
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 85 GB free space
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (4 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 470 (4 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700 (3.2 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (3.6 GHz)
• RAM: 32 GB
• Disk space: 85 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or INTEL Arc A770

Diablo 4

Modern Blizzard is not what it used to be, but this does not stop millions of players from waiting for the release of Diablo 4. The authors of the third Diablo are making a sequel, promising to return that same gloomy atmosphere from the dilogy and bring to perfection the gameplay loved by millions of players.

The new part of Diablo is being developed on a high-tech engine that will handle a huge open world. Players will be able to travel without additional downloads and enjoy the beauties of Blizzard's signature design. At the moment, this is the most technologically advanced game of the company. All textures, special effects, models, and decorations are made in high quality. Processing such assets in large quantities will require a powerful PC, and it's time for Diablo fans to think about upgrading.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i3-9100 (3.6 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 3 2300X (3.5 GHz)
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 80 GB free space
• Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 380X or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (4 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-9500 (3.0 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 2500X (3.6 GHz)
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 80 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

This spring, the story of Cal Kestis will continue in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The second part will be darker and more serious than its predecessor. To survive in the fight against the Empire, the young Jedi will have to explore the untouched galaxy, find allies and master new skills. The combat system will be replenished with new styles and weapons. Enemies will become angrier, in order to defeat them, you will not only have to dodge attacks in time, but also apply tactics in battles.

The game is being developed on Unreal Engine 4, which means that there is every chance of getting a RAM-dependent game. The prequel noticeably slowed down on subloading locations, and this problem may persist in the new part. From trailers and gameplay footage, the game looks very solid, and the system requirements will be much higher than its predecessor.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 1400
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 130 GB free space
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5 11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 80 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: NVIDIA RTX 2070 or AMD RX 6700 XT (8 GB)

redfall

Redfall is Arkane Studios' most unusual project. An open-world shooter with a cooperative mode in which players will fight against vampires and monsters. Like other works by Arkane Austin, Redfall combines action with story-driven immersive simulation - a genre that has become the hallmark of the studio. Redfall will have an open world, and the gameplay is similar to a mixture of Far Cry 2 and STALKER

There are no realistic graphics in Redfall, and the whole visual is Arkane's typical stylization. But even this feature does not negate the fact that the game will be very demanding on hardware. All previous games from the studio had serious performance problems even on top-end PCs, so it is likely that history will repeat itself with Redfall.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 (2.80 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 100 GB free space
• Video Card: AMD RX 580 or NVIDIA GTX 1070 (6 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 9 5900
• RAM: 32 GB
• Disk space: 100 GB free space (SSD)
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a third-person open-world co-op action game where Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark take on the Justice League and Brainiac. Based on the gameplay footage, we can assume that we are waiting for a game in the spirit of Deathloop. Each squad member has their own unique set of moves with enhanced movement abilities, allowing you to explore the open world of Metropolis.

Each Rocksteady game featured cutting-edge graphics and meticulously detailed game worlds. From the gameplay footage, you can understand that we are waiting for visualization improved since Batman: Arkham Knight , and the open world will be filled with a lot of living creatures. On consoles, there should be no problems with optimization, but what will happen to the game on the PC is a rather serious question. If the studio once again outsources porting, we can get another non-playable build, as happened with Arkham Knight. We hope this doesn't happen again.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or higher
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 70 GB free space
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 480

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K (3.4 GHz) or AMD FX-8370
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 70 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060

Alan Wake 2

The long-awaited sequel to the adventures of writer Alan Wake should see the light of day this year. Alan Wake 2 is being developed on the Control engine, the game will be radically different from the original in terms of gameplay. The first part was an action game with elements of horror, and the second part will become a full-fledged survival horror. The developers reported that the game is already ready, and it can be played from start to finish. At the moment it is polished and finalized to perfect condition.

One can only guess about the technological innovations of Alan Wake 2. The game has not yet been shown to the public, and we do not know about its visual aspects. We can safely assume that we are waiting for a high-quality picture since the project is being developed on the Northlight engine, which is capable of producing realistic lighting with high environmental detail and excellent ray tracing adaptation.

Minimum (based on Control):

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Ryzen 5 2600x or Core i5 8600
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: unknown
• Video Card: AMD RX 5700 or NVIDIA GTX 1070

Recommended (based on Control):

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Ryzen 5 5600X or Core i5 11600K
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: unknown
• Video Card: Radeon RX 6700 XT or Geforce RTX 2070

Starfield

Starfield is the highly anticipated RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, creators of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Fallout 4. The action takes place in space, and you can create any character to explore the universe, enjoying absolute freedom. We are waiting for: flights across a huge galaxy, building ships, exploring planets, collecting all sorts of junk and resources, clearing outposts, wars with pirates, solving the ups and downs of galactic alliances, and dozens of gameplay mechanics that can be listed for a long time. Bethesda games are not played. They live in them. After several delays, Starfield is due out in 2023.

However, Starfield does not look like a technological masterpiece, but given the scale of the open world and the huge number of small scenery, one can understand that the game will be demanding on hardware. Fallout 4 in the year of release forced fans to update the PC configuration. It's the same with Starfield.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 75 GB free space
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 75 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070

Forspoken

Forspoken is a free-roam action role-playing game in an open world. Before the release, the game underwent a serious downgrade, it could not work properly on top PCs and PS5. At the same time, the game has a nondescript visual style, and the open world to a greater extent does not have pronounced detail. Simply put, the game slows down for no good reason.

Forspoken will be a real test of your PC. The game drops frame rates most of the time even on RTX 4090 with ray tracing turned off. An example of outright negligence of programmers in the matter of optimization.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) (November 2019 Update) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (3.7 GHz) or Intel® Core i7-3770 (3.7 GHz)
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) (November 2019 Update) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (3.7 GHz) or Intel Core i7-8700K (3.7 GHz)
• RAM: 24 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB)

Baldur's Gate 3

This year, Baldur's Gate 3 will leave early access and will fully claim the title of the best role-playing game of 2023. Back in 2020, it became clear that Larian Studios was developing a dream game. We are waiting for a real isometric RPG with incredible scope in character generation, with meticulous study of the environment, a variable role-playing system, and co-op.

The developers did not stint and added high-quality assets, realistic facial animation, and a physical model of the behavior of objects to Baldur's Gate 3. It takes a good PC to handle these features. Having tested the game in early access, I can say with confidence that Baldur's Gate 3 will not work on all systems. The project requires modern hardware, otherwise, it will slow down and lag.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 7 (64-bit) or Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel i5-4690 or AMD FX 4350
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 780 or AMD Radeon R9 280X

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel i7 4770k or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6 GB) or AMD RX580

Atomic Heart

Atomic Heart will tell about the events in an alternate reality, where the USSR has achieved impressive technological power. The game will be the spiritual successor to You Are Empty with gameplay hodgepodge from BioShock, Dying Light, and Dark Souls. We waited for the release last year, but it was postponed to 2023. At the end of February, we will finally be able to see if Russian developers can compete with the Western gaming industry on the AAA field.

The game is being developed on Unreal Engine 4, and if the authors failed to curb it, then serious performance problems may await us. Journalists who got acquainted with the pre-final version unanimously declare that the game slows down and loses frame rate when loading game assets. Perhaps these problems will be corrected by the release, but you should not expect that Atomic Heart will go on a relatively average hardware.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-2500
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 90 GB free space
• Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 380 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (4 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-7700K
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 90 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: AMD RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (8 GB)

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

After a series of postponements, the developers of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally decided on the release date of their ambitious project. The release of the game should take place before June 2023. After the last gameplay trailer, many players were convinced that the early presentations did not reflect the final vision of the project. Now STALKER 2 looks like a regular Unreal Engine 4 game with elaborate lighting effects and event generation in the open world.

From the moment it was announced, it was clear that running STALKER 2 at high settings would require a powerful PC. Given that the developers have not previously created games on the Unreal Engine, you can not count on good optimization. Even newfangled technologies like DLSS may not save. We are stocking up on supplies!

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X or Intel Core i5-7600K
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel Core i7-9700K
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: 150 GB free space (SSD)
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (11 GB)

Resident Evil 4 Remake

A remake of one of the best games in the history of the gaming industry. There is no doubt about the quality of the project. Capcom has proven time and time again that it can modernize classics. The trailers show that the game will have excellent graphics, a horror component brought to mind, modern action gameplay, and the plot will get rid of the clichéd clichés of American action movies.

The RE Engine is perfectly optimized for different PC configurations and is able to produce a beautiful picture on relatively weak hardware. But if you run any previous Capcom game on maximum settings, then the jaw will definitely fall. Developers actively use photogrammetry and special lighting algorithms, which makes their games almost photorealistic. The visual quality of the Resident Evil 4 remake is undeniable, and its optimization should be at the highest level.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-7500
• RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: unknown
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 560 (4 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB)

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7 8700
• RAM: 16 GB
• Disk space: unknown
• Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070