If you enjoy really getting lost in magical worlds, far-off lands or different timezones then action-adventure games can be a great way to escape the humdrum of everyday life.

There are plenty of different action games to choose from and we’ve played some really great ones over the last few years, so here are our recommendations.

Top action games to play

PC really lets a lot of these games shine, so even where you might spy older games on this list, that might have appeared on a console at some point, they’ve likely been overhauled with new visuals, improved by DLSS or enhanced with ray tracing.

• Rockstar Games

  Red Dead Redemption 2

  1. Best Buy

• Ninja Theory

  Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

  2. Runner Up

• 505 Games

  Control Ultimate Edition

  3. A Top Pick

• Crystal Dynamics

  Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

  4. Strong Contender

• Annapurna Interactive

• Rockstar

  Grand Theft Auto V

  6. Worth Considering

• Hitman 3

  7. A Good Choice

• Dishonored 2

  8. A Decent Option

PC gamers had to wait a while for Red Dead Redemption 2 to come to PC, but it was well worth the wait as it had a number of graphical improvements and technical overhauls to make it an even more impressive experience.

Other bonuses for PC gamers include more content including new bounty hunting missions, treasure maps, trinkets, weapons and more.

RDR 2 is glorious on PC, especially in 4K with HDR visuals. There’s also a lot to be said for aiming your six-shooter with a mouse and keyboard or more accurately hunting wildlife while taking careful aim with your bow.

This wild west action adventure provides hours and hours of gameplay and even more to enjoy when you’ve finished the main story and get stuck into the online universe. We loved Red Dead Redemption 2 when it first appeared on console and we love it even more on PC.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a critically acclaimed masterpiece which plays out a fantastic story with an atmospheric journey into mental illness and psychosis.

Set during the Viking age, it puts you in the shoes of the Senua, a broken Celtic warrior who’s on a journey into hell to save the soul of her beloved.

If you enjoy enthralling, atmospheric and staggeringly beautiful action adventures, then you’ll love this one.

We thought it was utterly sublime. If being this good wasn’t good enough, it’s also been updated with VR support to – which means you can play the game in virtual reality for a wholly different experience. In 2021 Hellblade was upgraded with enriched visuals and extra features including ray tracing and both DLSS and AMD FSR support, so it’s now better than ever.

We’ve always been big fans of the games from Remedy Entertainment and Control continues the trend of utter classics from that studio.

This is a brilliant sci-fi action game with a strong female lead, stunning gameplay, excellent narrative and plenty of really wild times. Weird sci-fi happenings, destructive environments and telekinetic powers make the game intriguing but for us, it’s the atmosphere that the visuals, storyline and audio create. Control is a work of art.

On PC Control was a demo of the power of real-time ray tracing when it first launched and it’s only improved with time.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the final part of Lara Croft’s origin trilogy. We also thought it was the best so far. As you’d expect, it’s bigger and better than her previous two outings. It has a more in-depth and immersive storyline and certainly no shortage of tombs to raid and explore.

On PC, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is stunning and we’ve made much use of the brilliant and hilarious photo mode as we’ve played too. Because even Lara Croft is a fan of selfies apparently.

The Definitive Edition boasts seven DLC challenge tombs and other content to keep you interested and now the game is a little older it’s even more affordable and a worthy buy if you’ve not played it already.

Stray is an absolutely charming adventure game where you take the role of a furry feline who’s out on a mission to unravel some mysteries in a futuristic cybercity.

While plodding the streets and solving puzzles you’ll find yourself chatting to robots and doing cat things like scratching at sofas and relaxing on laps.

There’s a lot of parkour and platforming here, which is perfect fit for a sure-footed cat protagonist and we love how well this works. We also thoroughly enjoy knocking things off shelves and tabletops, as any real cat should. The game itself is thoroughly enjoying and just as relaxing too. If you want something different to play, then Stray is it. If you’re not a fan of cats then not to worry as there is a mod that lets you become a dog instead.

With Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar continued the trend of creating fantastic open-world action with stunning visuals, a brilliant storyline, engaging characters and much more besides.

Of course, we PC gamers had to wait for the game to release as Rockstar also continued the trend of serving console first, but it was worth the wait. With a whole new first-person mode and a massive, ever-expanding online mode too, GTA V is a real treat.

A great swathe of regular updates and content to GTA Online, ensure that GTA V is the gift that keeps giving and no doubt will continue to do so. That is until GTA VI appears on the scene.

Hitman 3 is the final part of the current trilogy and a brilliant end to that series. Like Hitman 2, the third game, offers loads of replayability, with a satisfying number of ways to complete your missions and have fun doing so.

Hitman 3 is also further improved if you’ve played the previous games or purchased the Deluxe package as you can not only replay the previous games but you can also carry over unlocks from one game to another. Using Hitman 3 gadgets and gizmos in Hitman 2 or vice versa. We just love getting that classic Silent Assassin rating though.

This game has had a number of content drops since it first launched, so the world of assassination has just got better and better with time. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Hitman game then you’ll love this one and if you just generally enjoy stealth then this is the one for you too.

Dishonored 2 is the second game in the award-winning series by Arkane Studios. A fantastic first-person stealth game which allows you to choose to play as either Empress Emily Kaldwin or the royal protector, Corvo Attano.

Supernatural assassination fun abounds, with a brilliantly brutal combat system and a selection of fantastic powers to choose from.

We thoroughly enjoyed Dishonored 2 when we played it back in 2016 and it’s still fantastic now. Once you get stuck in, you’ll soon fall in love. Once you’ve completed it you have the option of replaying or investing in the standalone follow-up Death of the Outsider.

Which game is right for you?

There’s clearly a lot of different choices when it comes to action adventure games. Which game is right for you will depend on a lot of things including how much time you want to play for and your preferred play style.

If you want value for money then games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V offer more playability thanks to online modes and utterly insane amounts of content. On the flipside games like Stray and Hellblade might be shorter but often have a more polished and enjoyable storyline that you’ll bask in and tell your friends about.

We’d highly recommend watching out for the Steam sales and other games discounts as some of the games on this list are older and are therefore often more affordable too.