Best AAA Games - Everything You Should Know About Triple A

The Last of Us Part I

Coming from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us games boast the same polish and artistry that the Uncharted games do.

With excellent performances from renown voice actor Ashely Johnson and Tory Baker, nuanced animations, and emotionally heavy writing, both parts of TLoU, separated by an in-fiction time-skip, are grueling, challenging journeys through a post-apocalyptic world.

The plot of TLoU takes place long after the world was consumed by an outbreak of a brain-overriding fungus, turning some people into mindless mutants, and others into desperate survivors clinging to scraps of a fallen civilization. We’re playing as Joel, a broken man and a smuggler, who get a job escorting a young girl across the USA. Unfortunately, things get complicated fast.

The Last of Us Part I (PC)

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Hogwarts Legacy

After many years of drought in terms of proper games, the Harry Potter fans have finally received the video game epic they’d craved since the old days of movie tie-ins.

Hogwarts Legacy, instead of retreading the familiar story beats in HD opts for an original storyline taking place in the deep 1800s, unlatched from the gang of meddling kids which made the HP universe famous in the first place.

As a new student admitted to Hogwarts under special circumstances, you’ll get to explore some of the iconic locales, including the school itself and Hogsmeade. As the game is an RPG, you’ll also get to stray from the path through many sidequests, some of which might even give you access to spells you can’t get otherwise. It’s a real theme park ride for any fan of the setting.

Hogwarts Legacy

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God of War Ragnarök

2018s God of War was a spending soft reboot of the cult-classic series, taking Kratos from Greece to mythic Scandinavia, and the camera closer to his ashen shoulders.

It was a fantastic story, and it got an ever better sequel in 2022, God of War Ragnarök. It takes place a few years after the previous game, and its scope is much grander, up to and including the titular apocalyptic event.

Gameplay doesn’t significantly change, you still get thrilling third-person perspective action powered mostly by Kratos’ mighty axe, but you also get a few other weapons, including one brand new to Ragnarok. As a neat change, this time you also get to play as Atreus/Loki, who’s growing independence leads to him going on his own misadventures and discovering his own power.

God of War Ragnarök

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Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves

The Uncharted series at a time was one of the system sellers for pre-PS5 generations of PlayStation, and it remains one of the finest action-adventure series in video games.

It helps that the protagonist, Nathan Drake, has the kind of roguish charm making a slaughter of hundreds of goons feel like a nice afternoon jaunt. Uncharted 4 is the conclusion of Nathan’s journey, and a spectacular one at that.

Developer Naughty Dog, famous also for The Last of Us 1 & 2, made A Thief’s End an exciting, cinematic experience filled to the brim with creative set pieces, interesting puzzles, and likeable, memorable characters. The quality of graphics and animations was top-tier as well, and it still looks great four years later (at the time of writing). Definitely one of the best games in the genre.

Thanks to the Legacy of Thieves Collection, Uncharted 4 finally came to PC in 2022, the first of the series to make the jump.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)

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Total War: Warhammer III

The final part of the Warhammer Fantasy-based subseries of Total War is also the final stage of the evolution of this fascinating venture.

Not only does it introduce new mechanics, but also fleshes out some factions which were a marginal presence in the original wargame, such as Grand Cathay, Kislev, or Ogre Kingdoms. On top of that, you even get a customizable Demon Prince if you go Chaos.

Chaos itself has a mighty presence, with detailed armies of the Four Gods being as vibrant and disturbing as ever. Once the relevant update drops you’ll also be able to merge the map of TWWH3 with the maps of the two previous entries for a huge Mortal Empires campaign. If you played and loved the first two games, complete the collection with Total War Warhammer 3 and conquer the world.

Total War: Warhammer III

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Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games’ cowboy epic presents one of the most incredibly detailed, immersive, stunning open worlds of its generation.

There are detailed, complex animations for most, if not all actions you can take; there’s a dynamic, immersive dialogue system; the massive map hides many secrets to discover, and prized animals to hunt for glory and trade. It’s easy to just wander off and got lost in this world.

The story takes place a few years before the original RDR, and we get to play through the events which led to the fall of Van Der Linde’s gang, playing the role of Arthur Morgan, rather than Marston. We have a pleasant, but not distracting, degree of control over Arthur, including his behaviour and appearance, and the person we make him is going to influence what kind of ending he gets.

Red Dead Redemption 2

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Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village is a sequel to RE7 both in its first-person gameplay and in its story, once again putting you in the shoes of Ethan Winters, a man who can’t catch a break.

This time, after some time of peace, horror crawls back to his life: Ethan’s daughter get kidnapped, wife gets killed, and Ethan himself wounds up in a creepy European village ruled by monstrous lords and ladies.

RE8 not only features many memorable locations based on different horror styles, but its plot also provides a new context to the overarching story of the series, including the backstory of the usual source of problems in the Resident Evil setting. If you can’t get enough of RE weirdness seen through the eyes of a person who really isn’t equipped to deal with any of it, Village is worth checking out.

Resident Evil 8 Village

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Halo Infinite | Campaign

A long-awaited sequel to the beloved series of first-person shooter, Halo Infinite puts you back in the armored boots of Master Chief.

His journeys brought him to another Halo installation, this one occupied by the Banished, liberated former troops of the fallen Covenant. What follows is an open-world FPS adventure and a great multiplayer mode utilizing all the new tricks you got used to in the campaign

There are several solid multiplayer modes for teams of various sizes, including classics like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Thanks to new features introduced in HI you get extra mobility via a grappling hook, but there’s also a good selection of vehicles, because what kind of Halo game would lack vehicular combat, both on the ground and in the air?

Halo Infinite | Campaign (Windows / Xbox)

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Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima remains confined to the PlayStation ecosystem. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s one of the best open world games of its generation with both style and substance to spare.

It takes place during a real historical event: the Mongol invasion of Japan. The story follows Jin Sakai, a samurai who finds himself torn between rigid honor and fighting against invaders by any means necessary.

Ghost of Tsushima places you on a vast and beautiful map of the island of Tsushima and gives you both an open world worth exploring, and a dramatic storyline to follow. There’s a solid combat system, based around several unlockable stances, but you are also encouraged to use stealth and sabotage to terrify the invaders and thin out their ranks before entering open combat.

Ghost of Tsushima

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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

With Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt exhausted as a topic, the Assassin’s Creed series skipped Ancient Rome as a topic and plunged straight into early Middle Age, specifically: the Viking era.

As a warrior called Eivor (Eivor can be male or female, or you can leave the decision to the game) you’ll raid and pillage English villages and found your own. Or you could go exploring.

The world of AC: Valhalla is beautiful, and more filled with activities than even Origins or Odyseey. And many of them are very thematic, such as flyting – Norse verbal battles, or working on cairns, a neat physics-based minigame. Valhalla is broad, deep, and thanks to a smaller commitment to historical accuracy than previous entries it can dig into Norse and old English myths in cool ways.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

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Jedi: Fallen Order

Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order is a solid proof that there is still space and demand for story-based Star Wars games.

It is also a great game with great level design, cool combat system reminiscent of Souls-likes, and several vastly different planets presenting unique challenges. As Cal Kestis, a Padawan who managed to survive Order 66, you’ll regain your Force abilities, face your past, and fight the Empire.

The storyline is very well told, with memorable characters with messed up pasts, so Cal fits right in among them. There’s some customisation, mostly through different ponchos and lightsaber colours Cal can equip and unlocking new Force powers over the course of the story can open new pathways on already explored maps. Many of them hide useful secrets, or at least open a shortcut.

Jedi: Fallen Order

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Control

Remedy’s Control came suddenly and turned out to be an outstanding TPS/ Action-adventure game with some really cool ideas about its world and story.

You’re playing as Jesse Farden, a woman who, through circumstances you’ll discover yourself, ends up being a director of an agency collecting and cataloguing paranormal phenomena, in a manner similar to the SCP Foundation.

The game’s blend of superpowers, brutalist architecture, bizarre events, and more than a few horror elements makes Control a high-quality, highly engaging story on top of being a very good game. There are even ties to Remedy Entertainment’s previous work, Alan Wake. And on top of that, Control looks amazing, fully utilising the modern tech to create eerie atmosphere and odd locations.

Control

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Warhammer 40.000: Darktide

You’re a convict, sent to serve out your sentence fighting mutated and violent cultists in the bowels of a megacity, on the orders of an inquisitor who could spell your death in an instant.

Welcome to Warhammer 40.000: Darktide, an intense team-based shooter set in one of the most famous futuristic settings in popculture.

If you are familiar with Vermintide, you already know the basics. If you don’t: Darktide is a first-person shooter (with strong melee presence), which sends you and a team of up to three allies on a series of strategic missions. Killing all enemies is not the option, they are endless. If you hope to complete the mission, you must play the objective and, ideally, keep yourselves alive.

Warhammer 40.000: Darktide

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Sons Of The Forest

The Forest was an immersive, frequently quite weird, story-driven survival game, and it had a somewhat open ending.

Well, Sons of the Forest is what slots into that open ending. It’s a sequel, taking place years after the previous game, and featuring a new weird island, Jurassic Park 2-style. And Jurassic Park 3-style you’re a merc sent to rescue someone from the place.

You start out with a sorely lacking survival kit and a fellow merc, Kelvin, who’s an NPC you might find useful. Your initial goal is to get to the other side of the island, which is a challenging journey from a purely geographical standpoint, and there are also cannibals you have to deal with! SotF is just as story-driven as its predecessor, too, so be ready for science fiction weirdness.

Sons Of The Forest

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Doom (2016)

Before Doom (2016) came along nobody seemed to put faith in the old way of doing first-person shooters.

Intense, fast, focused almost entirely on running, shooting, and turning demons into blood splatter. This Doom is a kinetic joy, presented with great graphics, amazing heavy metal soundtrack, and one of the best shotguns in gaming. And, curiously, there’s even a pretty cool storyline. In DOOM!

The Doomslayer, a silent, but angry protagonist of the game begins the game chained to a stone slab while demons are ravaging the facility which recovered his sarcophagus. After that you occasionally listen to arrogant scientists, collect new weapons, and try to prevent hell’s armies from spilling into out reality. There are even fun collectibles and hidden levels from original Doom. It’s a full package.

Doom (2016)

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Destiny 2

The first Destiny was solid, but the sequel is just great.

There is a stronger emphasis on telling its story in-game rather than in external resources, there are even better graphics, and more of the great gunplay Bungie is known for. Destiny 2 grew a lot since release, and at this point is a large, diverse game with tones of loot, locations to scout, and quite a few exciting classes with different playstyles.

If you don’t know about either Destiny, what you’re looking at is a great looter shooter set in a semi-SF universe centred on the Solar system. Although your primary weapons will be a variety of firearms, from space revolvers to space bazookas. However, each class (Titan, Warlock, Hunter) and subclass (several per class) also has amazing abilities, like casting flaming blades at your enemies.

Destiny 2 is a free to play video game.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Deluxe

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Call of Duty: Cold War

The Call of Duty series is heavily populated some of the best first-person shooters in the genre, and most of its campaigns are tense, dramatic festivals of tightly directed action sequences.

CoD: Cold War sees you go on international black ops mission on orders from Ronald Reagan, and you’ll even get make some ending-influencing decisions during the campaign.

There are also multiplayer modes, both traditional PvP and the cooperative Zombies mode, both made to the standards of the series. There’s also an updated Create-a-Class option from Modern Warfare for an extra degree of customisation In multiplayer. With great graphics, action set pieces, and multiplayer as a good as ever, Cold War is a solid entry into the long-running series.

Call of Duty: Cold War

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Apex Legends

Apex Legends launched out of nowhere, exploded momentarily, and even through the initial boom simmered down over time, it remains a thriving game steadily updated with new champions and balance tweaks.

There’s over a dozen different playable characters with unique movesets and playstyles, many influenced by the mechanics of Titanfall 2, with which it shares the developer and setting.

A typical match of AL involved twenty teams, three players each, trying to get good gear and survive long enough to be the last team standing. Unlike games like PUBG or Fortnite, Apex Legends is also a hero shooter, so figuring out how to utilise to you team’s benefit. Best of all, Apex legends is free to play at its core, so you can check it out at your leisure any time.

Apex Legends | Champion Edition

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Doom: Eternal

Somehow Doom: Eternal manages to be even more metal than it’s immediate predecessor, 2016’s Doom, described elsewhere in this list.

Set some time after the Mars adventure concluded, Earth has fallen to the demons, which mean the Doomslayer has a lot of work to perform in a target-rich environment. What more could you want from a first-person shooter in this series?

There are new weapons, such as the Crucible Blade or armour-mounter flame thrower. There is some expanded movement, useful when you’re looking for secrets hidden on the maps. There are new mini-boss and boss-level demons for you to kill, and oddly enough, we even get more information about Doomslayer’s background, mostly just hinted at in the previous game. This game is a lot.

Doom: Eternal

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Baldur's Gate 3

Larian Studios are no strangers to epic-scale RPGs and tactical combat, just look at their Divinity: Original Sin games, especially the second one.

Their skill made them the obvious chosen ones to make a new adventure revolving one of the most cities in D&D. Baldur’s Gate 3 has spent a few years in Early Access, but now it’s heading for the August 2023 release, and you shouldn’t ignore it.

BG3 is based on the 5th edition of D&D, which works exceptionally well with the game’s turn-based combat, accommodating much of the original TTRPG’s complexity. The plot involves brain-eating mindflayers, a ticking clock in the form of a transformative parasite in your head, and a mysterious cult which threatens the stability of the region.

Baldur's Gate 3

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Monster Hunter: World

Monster Hunter World turned out to be massive hit, and for good reasons. Capcom’s action RPG features cool monsters, fourteen categories of oversized weapons, and several detailed, beautiful biomes.

When you’re not on a hunt, it’s fun to just get a ghillie mantle and just watch what small and big monsters do when they aren’t trying to eat you. It’s like walking among dinosaurs, in many ways.

Of course, the game is not a walk in the Jurassic Park, and getting used to its combat may take some time, because it’s more deliberate and sometimes less responsive than combat in, say, Devil May Cry. But it does feel great when a good hit with a hammer slams a monster’s head into the ground and stuns it for a while. Thanks to detailed believable animations, hunting feels amazing.

Monster Hunter World

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Monster Hunter Rise

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

For many people The Witcher 3 is THE triple-A story-oriented action RPG.

CD Projekt Red’s game features vivid art direction supported by great graphics, vast, immersive maps, and a story which resonated with millions of players. It’s the last chapter in Geralt of Rivia’s journey to reclaiming his memory and his old life after a few years he’d spent being mostly kind of dead.

Even several years later the sunsets in Velen, or the raw beauty of the Kaer Morhen valley make a lasting impression. On a journey to find and help his adopted daughter, Ciri, Geralt gets tangled in the business of kings and mages once again, and he’ll deal with the fallout of his decisions. When you start your adventure with TW3 be ready to be glued to your PC/console for more than a hundred hours.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

After the new formula to the Assassin’s Creed series introduced in origins, Odyssey pushed the series even further towards the action RPG direction.

It takes place between 431 and 422 BC, and the vision of Greece it offers is rich in detail, vivid colours, and interesting people. It also has some monsters, which are supposed to be the remnants of the meddlesome and mighty Precursors.

The game allows you to pick which sibling you’re going to play, Kassandra or Alexios, and much of the game deals with family problems which you witness in the first stages of the game. Once you’re let loose on the world you’re free to explore, complete quests and side quests, and just take in the views, because the vision of ancient Greece in Odyssey is stunning and full of climbable monuments.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

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The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is Obsidian’s cheeky science-fiction action RPG set in the “humans are colonising other planets” kind of future.

You even get your own spaceship which serves as both a hub from which you embark on quests, and a fast travel solution, transporting you from location to location as needed and desired. Unlike Pillars of Eternity, TOW is a first-person game, with strong emphasis on action.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the game is lacking in the role-playing department. There are stats, companions, and decisions to be made, and your playthrough’s story can be unique thanks to the flaw/perk system, popping up when some element of the game turns out to be a hard to overcome. Of course the decisions you make throughout the game will influence the shape of the ending you get.

The Outer Worlds

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Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII is arguably the most beloved entry in the series, and the fans have called for a remake for years.

It’s fortuitous, then, that the Remake turns out to be quite excellent even if it only contains the city of Midgar so far. Every location has been lovingly remodelled to be suitable for a third-person perspective gameplay, and the city is brimming with life and personality.

The combat system is also quite different, more dynamic and responsive than the original ATB, although there are still elements reminiscent of that solution, such as many available spells and selectable special attacks. The story includes some interesting new elements, and while it doesn’t stray too far from the original, there is room to be surprised, especially with side stories.

After some time spent as a PS exclusive, FF7 Remake also arrived on PC in late 2021, with improved graphics.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

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Cyberpunk 2077

2020’s most anticipated release, and still upcoming at the time of writing, Cyberpunk 2077 was a long time coming, announced tenuously back in 2013 with a spiffy trailer.

CDPR’s newest action RPG takes place in Night City, the default setting for Mike Pondsmith’s classic tabletop RPG Cyberpunk -/2020/Red. You’re going to play as V, a young hotshot mercenary hoping to make a name for themselves in the futuristic city.

V ends up with a chip containing a digital spirit of a long-dead celebrity, and it’s going to be a source of many problems. CDPR spared no expense in creating Night City as a place full of life, activity, and many conflicting groups fighting for influence. Look for jobs from corporation, make deals in gang hideouts, have some fun in a club, have a ride out of town, the Night City is yours to explore.

Cyberpunk 2077

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Dragon Ball FighterZ

It is a remarkable achievement that a game with 3D models and 3D environments looks so much like the all-time classic anime Dragon Ball Z.

Arc System Works’ team painstakingly recreated the art style and animation and the result is simply outstanding. The game itself is also an excellent fight game, with some cool ideas and just as spectacular and over the top as the source material.

It relies a lot on the tag team system, having the player pick three characters for their team, and during the battle they can call them in for a quick assist in a combo, or make them the primary fighter. There’s even a story mode, revolving about the quest for revenge of a new character, Android 21, and features some of the most famous heroes and villains, such as Frieza or Cell.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

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Injustice 2

Injustice 2 takes place a few years after the story of Injustice: Gods Among Us ended, and without spoiling much, there’s a power vacuum and people very eager to fill it.

What follows is more of the superhero and supervillain fighting games built on the foundations set by NetherRealms’ main series, Mortal Kombat. If you like DC comics and excellent fighting games, giver it a shot.

Injustice 2 introduced equippable items which will change the appearance of heroes and villains, and affect their power and abilities, but the bonuses can be turned off. The game is a treat for fans of superheroes. The characters look great, the special attacks feel true to their powers and themes, the arenas have a few interactive elements, useful for adding some spice to your combo.

Injustice 2

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SoulCalibur VI

The SoulCalibur series has a long history, and occasionally convoluted story involving a demon sword, its purified counterpart, and people who get to wield them.

SoulCalibur VI reboots the series’ story but keeps the essence: duels of melee weapons users of extraordinary skill. There’s also Geralt of Rivia, who fits in very well with the likes of Zasalamel or Mitsurugi, even with his magic Signs.

SC6’s presentation is top notch, and the animation system manages to work really well with the abominations which can be made using the game’s extremely flexible fighter creation tools. If good old fisticuffs aren’t a flavour of fighting games you enjoy and you’d rather slice and dice people from all over the world with anything from swords to sharp hula hoops SoulCalibur VI is your best bet.

SoulCalibur VI

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Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat 11 introduced excessive time travel to the MK reboot’s storyline, and it resulted in a really fun, really cheesy game which allows you to have old Johnny Cage beat up your Johnny Cage.

Win-win scenario! Jokes aside, NetherRealm clearly knows how to make a great fighting game, and MK11 is a result of polishing the gameplay over almost three decades of experience with the franchise.

The Fatalities, Brutalities, and all other kinds of special attacks are meticulously animated, and benefit from MK11 detailed, if stylised, graphics. There’s even a healthy dose of customisation. There are some pre-made loadouts, but you can also prepare your own, choosing the appearance and moveset of any fighter you want to play as. MK11 is absolutely worth checking out.

Mortal Kombat 11

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Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West

Much has been said about the magnificence of Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn, a fascinating action game set on post-apocalyptic Earth. The game received a big expansion,

The Frozen Wilds, and a 2022 sequel Forbidden West, so there’s plenty to enjoy. The games follow Aloy, a young hunter living among tribes or people who have make a life alongside animalistic robots dominating the world

No matter which instalment you’re playing, you’re in for a stunning, vibrant world with a very interesting backstory. The first game covers the origin of Aloy, and her struggle to stop a corrupting influence which causes robots to become more aggressive. In the second game, she’s travelling to a distant land, seeking a cure for a weird plague troubling her people

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)

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Horizon Zero Dawn | Complete Edition

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