Once upon a time, the PC was the thinking person’s video game platform. There, you’d find deep strategy games, such as Civilization or StarCraft, or groundbreaking first-person shooters, such as Doom or Half-Life. For flashy action games, you played at the arcade or on console. Fortunately, you can now play pretty much anything you could want on a personal computer. Today’s top PC games include action-packed hits.
The action genre is surprisingly tricky to define. Action games contain a lot of combat, but they aren’t quite fighting games or beat ‘em ups. An “action-adventure” game may have narrative, exploration, or puzzle-solving elements, but too many tips the title into the role-playing game or adventure game territories. The lines are blurry, and more than a little subjective.
Video game genres are more fluid than ever, but for this list we focused on the PC games that best prioritize action-packed thrills above all else.
Playing Action Games on Steam Deck
Action games work especially well on Valve's high-powered Steam Deck handheld. After all, they control best with buttons and sticks, not a keyboard and mouse. As single-player affairs, you don't have to worry about anti-cheat engines that render some competitive games unplayable on the Steam Deck. Short chaotic bursts of high-intensity gameplay feel great on the go, too. And the Steam Deck's raw power means games can run with the high performance needed for skillful play on harder difficulty levels. Many games on this list are Steam Deck verified, but be sure to check Valve's compatibility tool before you make a purchase.
Here are the best PC action games that you should download right now.
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