50 Best Action-Adventure Games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch

The action-adventure genre is one of the most varied in the industry: it covers a huge range of subgenres, from GTA-style games and open-world titles to metroidvanias and cinematic blockbusters. What unites all action-adventure games is a focus on dynamic combat, world exploration, overcoming obstacles, puzzle-solving, stealth, and strong narrative. This list includes games for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch / Switch 2.

Each game in the article is grouped into themed categories so you can quickly find exactly what you are looking for: classic action-adventures, cinematic blockbusters, open-world action games, hard-hitting combat action and challenging battles, adventure horror games, unusual experimental projects, and metroidvanias.

Action-adventure games with cinematic storytelling form a separate and perhaps the most spectacular subgenre. Uncharted, The Last of Us Part 1, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 — these games put direction and story on the same level as gameplay. In terms of emotional intensity and staging, they easily surpass most Hollywood blockbusters, and here you are not just watching what happens on screen — you are taking part in it.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is the essence of action-adventure gaming. Even despite their age, the older Uncharted games are still gripping from start to finish thanks to exemplary direction, perfect pacing, and an engaging story. The series’ characters are full of charisma and humanity — an important quality for any good story.

Uncharted 4 was directed by Neil Druckmann. He gave the script a narrative depth that the earlier games in the series lacked. The story became more dramatic, allowing the entire main cast to be revealed from a new angle. At the same time, the dynamic action scenes did not go anywhere — on the contrary, they became even more spectacular thanks to new graphics technology.

The best way to play Uncharted 4 is Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, which also includes the spin-off The Lost Legacy.

Among the modern Lara Croft games, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the one most often named as the best. Why? Fans believe this entry captures the spirit of “tomb raiding” most successfully. The game balances all of its core elements well: action, exploration, puzzle-solving, and cinematic cutscenes that are not far behind the likes of Uncharted in quality.

As we wrote in our review of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it is one of the most pleasant surprises of 2024. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from MachineGames, the creators of the Wolfenstein reboot, is the best adventure starring the iconic hero since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Every element of the game is handled with respect and affection for the source material, whether it is the acting, shootouts, disguise-based stealth, or explosive action set pieces. Troy Baker returned for the voice performance, and his Indy sounds almost indistinguishable from a young Harrison Ford.

In September 2025, the game received the story expansion The Order of Giants, in which Indy travels to Rome to investigate an ancient cult society. The DLC is available separately or as part of the Premium Edition.

If recent Marvel films have disappointed you but the superhero theme still appeals, then Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is an excellent alternative. In terms of scale, Insomniac Games’ title easily outdoes the most expensive Hollywood blockbusters, while its narrative offers a depth that is hard to find in two-hour superhero movies. The game came to PC in 2025 with support for NVIDIA DLSS and ray tracing.

One of the most beautiful action games available today, and a great test for a powerful PC or PlayStation 5 Pro. Still, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart stands out from the competition not only thanks to cutting-edge graphics, but also because of its frantic shootouts with powerful weapons, enjoyable platforming, and charming characters in the best tradition of Pixar films.

A remake or remaster, depending on how you look at it, of one of the most important games in PlayStation’s library. The Last of Us Part 1 is an emotionally intense adventure comparable in passion and tension to the best dramatic films. There is a reason the writers of the TV series based on The Last of Us adapted the plot with almost no major changes: the original story was that strong.

Astro Bot is the winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024 and a PlayStation 5 exclusive from Team Asobi. Although formally it is a 3D platformer, in spirit it is a classic adventure blockbuster: the journey of a cute robot across galaxies in search of fellow bots scattered across different worlds and parts of the mothership.

Each of the 80 levels offers a unique gameplay mechanic or feature that makes perfect use of all the DualSense controller’s capabilities — adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, gyroscopes, and the built-in microphone. More than 150 cameo bots are hidden throughout the levels, referencing legendary PlayStation franchises and games: from Crash Bandicoot and Spyro to the heroes of Bloodborne and God of War. The game received a score of 94 on Metacritic. After release, Team Asobi added five speedrun levels and the Christmas stage Winter Wonder for free.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second part of Square Enix’s remake trilogy based on the cult 1997 JRPG. The story continues the events of Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII escape the metropolis of Midgar and set out on a grand journey across the planet’s vast open world, fighting the Shinra corporation along the way and being pursued by Sephiroth.

Although Rebirth is an action RPG by genre, in terms of gameplay structure and narrative presentation it is a typical cinematic adventure blockbuster: a gigantic world, dozens of hours of story, striking scenes, and a huge amount of content packed with mini-games, from the card game Queen's Blood to piano performances, chocobo races, and dolphin surfing. The combat system works in real time with a tactical pause, synergy attacks between all characters, and a large number of magical abilities. At The Game Awards 2024, the game was nominated for Game of the Year and won the award for Best Score and Music.

The best open-world action games offer something linear games cannot: freedom of choice and dozens of hours of exploration across huge spaces. GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 became genre benchmarks, Ghost of Tsushima reimagined the Assassin's Creed formula, and Hogwarts Legacy finally let players wander the halls of Hogwarts. This section features the most ambitious adventure games on PC and consoles. By the way, do not miss our separate selection of the best open-world games.

The best-selling game of all time. GTA 5 is a true masterpiece from Rockstar Games that set genre standards for years to come. At its core is the gigantic open world of Los Santos and the surrounding state of San Andreas: a fictional version of Los Angeles with suburbs, desert, mountains, an ocean with an underwater world, farmland, and snow-covered peaks. This world is filled with tens of thousands of small details — from satirical radio stations and parody advertising to random street events, eccentric pedestrians, and bike rides up Mount Chiliad.

The main feature of the story campaign is its three playable protagonists with completely different backgrounds: a retired bank robber living in a mansion in the hills, a young and ambitious gangster from a rough neighborhood, and an unstable psychopath from a trailer park in the desert. Over the course of the story, they join forces for a series of large-scale heists, and the player can switch between them freely, even in the middle of missions. Beyond the main campaign, GTA 5 offers almost every activity imaginable: car chases, shootouts, parkour, stealth, customization for dozens of vehicles, golf, tennis, yoga, scuba diving, hunting, fishing, and races.

Alongside it, GTA Online continues to live and evolve — a huge multiplayer sandbox with regular updates, co-op heists, racing events, and major story expansions. On modern consoles, the game is available with 4K resolution, 60 frames per second, and ray tracing support.

Hitman: World of Assassination is the best stealth action game available today and a model sandbox project from Danish studio IO Interactive. The game brings the reboot trilogy together in a single package: World of Assassination is not just another installment, but a constantly updated game platform in which Agent 47 carries out contract killings in all kinds of locations around the world. A Paris fashion show, a Moroccan bazaar, an Italian coastal village, Mumbai in India, an English family estate, Argentine vineyards, a skyscraper in Dubai — every location is a complex level with dozens of ways to eliminate the target.

The gameplay is built around disguises, observing NPC routines, and finding hidden opportunities: you can stab the target in a bathroom, push them off a balcony, poison a dish at a banquet, stage an “accident” with a chandelier, or simply play through everything like an action movie. Hitman is action-adventure with stealth elements in its purest form, and every location is designed for dozens of playthroughs. The base set is regularly expanded with contracts, escalations, and guest missions, including crossovers with Star Wars, James Bond, and other franchises. If you want one game you can keep returning to for years, this is it.

Perfect games do not exist, but Red Dead Redemption 2 comes closer to that definition than most projects. It tells a heartbreaking story about the last legends of the Wild West, one that is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent. RDR2 also impresses with an open world so meticulously crafted that even eight years after release, no one has managed to surpass Rockstar Games’ achievement.

A jewel in Nintendo’s game catalog. Breath of the Wild is often called the boldest open-world game because it refuses to follow many gameplay clichés. BotW does not hold the player’s hand, lets you complete story quests in any order, and constantly generates interesting random situations thanks to its complex virtual physics. If you are interested in the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released in 2023, expanding on BotW’s ideas and adding the ability to build your own vehicles.

Not every element of Hogwarts Legacy is executed brilliantly: the open world, for example, turned out rather empty. Still, the game has plenty of strengths. For instance, it masterfully captures the atmosphere of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, recreates the magic school in detail, finally allowing fans to walk through its corridors and classrooms, and also offers entertaining wand duels.

Batman: Arkham Collection includes Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham trilogy — Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight. All three games are among the best superhero titles ever made: atmospheric, with strong stories, memorable villains, and a simple but extremely engaging melee combat system that dozens of action games later borrowed, from Marvel's Spider-Man to Mad Max. Arkham Knight stands apart thanks to the Batmobile and exemplary visuals that still look fresh today.

An essential game for fans of samurai and ninja. Ghost of Tsushima borrows the Assassin's Creed formula but executes it better than Ubisoft’s own games. The combat is better, the open world is more interesting, and it is extremely difficult to find serious fault with the script. If the game clicks with you, its sequel Ghost of Yotei was released in October 2025, moving the action to the island of Hokkaido in the 17th century.

Star Wars Outlaws from Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft is the first open-world action-adventure game in the history of the franchise. The story takes place between the events of Episodes 5 and 6. The main character is Kay Vess, a roguish adventurer who has trouble with criminal syndicates across the galaxy. Together with her pet Nix, the player will steal ships, rob Imperial bases, play sabacc, and navigate relations with five criminal factions.

At launch, the game had technical issues and became a financial disappointment for Ubisoft, but critics still received it fairly warmly, with an OpenCritic score of 75. After a year of patches and major updates, Star Wars Outlaws feels quite different: its reputation within the community has noticeably improved, and Star Wars fans are rediscovering it en masse. If you like the atmosphere of the original trilogy and the smuggler romance associated with Han Solo, this is simply the best Star Wars RPG adventure game overall.

For those who need more than just pretty visuals, these are action games with demanding combat systems and well-designed encounters. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Lies of P offer combat where every parry matters. Stellar Blade and Hellblade 2 combine spectacle with a real test of skill. These games do not forgive carelessness — but every victory feels genuinely earned. You can find more titles like these in our list of the hardest games.

Sekiro has all the strengths of a souls game, whether it is interesting boss fights or complex level design, but avoids the typical flaws of projects of this kind. For example, the story in Sekiro is presented in a relatively clear form, while the combat system has a depth that other souls games usually lack. It is a high-quality, focused game with no obvious weaknesses.

An explosive mix of different genres and ideas. Returnal is an unusual roguelike with bullet hell elements, where you have to explore randomly generated locations on an alien planet and fight numerous aggressive creatures. And on top of that, you also need to unravel a complex story while trying to figure out how to escape this dangerous world.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a psychological action-adventure from the British studio Ninja Theory. Senua, a Celtic warrior suffering from psychosis, travels to Helheim — the Norse realm of the dead — to save the soul of her beloved Dillion from the afterlife. The game was conceived as an “independent AAA project”: a small team of 20 people made it on an indie budget, but with blockbuster-level production.

The series’ main feature is its powerful 3D audio design, developed in collaboration with Wellcome Trust and medical consultants. The voices in Senua’s head sound around the heroine in real time, discussing her decisions, panicking during combat, and guiding the player during exploration. Headphones are strongly recommended. The gameplay is divided into combat sections with parries and dodges, rune puzzles, and story flashbacks that reveal Senua’s trauma. A playthrough takes 6–8 hours. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice won five BAFTA awards and received wide recognition for its ethical and accurate depiction of mental illness. Before playing the sequel, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, familiarity with the original is essential.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, released on May 21, 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S, and on August 12, 2025 for PS5 alongside the Enhanced update for all platforms. This time, Senua, a Celtic warrior suffering from psychosis, travels to 9th-century Iceland to free her people from Viking slavers. After Microsoft acquired the studio, Ninja Theory received a full AAA-level budget, and it is immediately visible: Hellblade 2 runs on Unreal Engine 5, looks photorealistic, and is considered one of the most beautiful games of its release period.

The new combat system is built entirely around motion capture performed by real stunt actors, making battles more intense and spectacular than in the first game. The gameplay still combines slow cinematic sections, rune puzzles, and one-on-one fights against enemies. The series’ main feature remains its signature 3D audio design with voices in Senua’s head, making headphones essential. A playthrough takes 6–10 hours, as with the first game. Hellblade 2 was available in Game Pass at launch.

Stellar Blade from the South Korean studio Shift Up is a stylish hack-and-slash game in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting. In the story, Earth has been captured by alien creatures known as Naytibas, and the main heroine EVE descends from an orbital colony as part of a combat unit to reclaim the planet for humanity.

The combat system is clearly inspired by NieR: Automata and Sekiro — elegant combos, parries, dodges, and spectacular executions are all here. At the same time, the game does not become strictly linear: Earth features several large semi-open zones with side quests, exploration, and appearance customization. On Metacritic, Stellar Blade reached one of the highest user scores among PlayStation 5 games, at 9.1/10. Shift Up actively supports the game with crossovers: the studio released a crossover DLC with NieR: Automata in November 2024, and in summer 2025 it held a collaboration with Goddess of Victory: NIKKE.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from Respawn Entertainment, released on April 28, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and in September 2024 for PS4 and Xbox One. Five years after the events of the first game, former Padawan Cal Kestis, now a full-fledged Jedi, continues to hide from the Empire’s Inquisitors. This time, he has to explore five diverse planets, including Coruscant, familiar from Star Wars, and establish his own hideout on the lost planet Tanalorr.

The sequel reworked the combat system: Cal now has five lightsaber stances — the standard single blade, the double-bladed saber, dual wielding, a hybrid “blaster + blade” stance, and a slow but powerful crossguard stance. The game still combines metroidvania-style level design, where new abilities open access to previously closed areas, with a souls-like combat system — parries, stamina, and bonfire-style save points. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was nominated for Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards 2023 and is considered one of the best Star Wars projects of recent years, alongside Star Wars Outlaws.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers takes place during the Ming dynasty. The protagonist is a warrior woman suffering from a mystical disease known as the “feathering curse,” which is slowly turning her into a monster. To stop the transformation, she travels through the grim lands of Sichuan province, fighting possessed creatures and trying to uncover the truth behind what is happening.

The gameplay follows the FromSoftware canon: exploration of an interconnected world, bonfire-style save points, stamina, parries, and difficult boss battles. The key feature is the Madness system: the more energy the heroine absorbs from enemies’ infected blood, the stronger she becomes, but the risk of turning into a monster also grows. The combat system supports different styles: light dual blades, a heavy two-handed sword, spears with long-range attacks, and feathering curse magic.

A Korean souls-like from studio Round8 and publisher NEOWIZ, released on September 19, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a day-one Game Pass launch. Lies of P is based on Carlo Collodi’s fairy tale about Pinocchio, but reimagines it as dark fantasy set in the fictional European city of Krat. The wooden puppet P sets out to find his creator Geppetto amid streets ravaged by an epidemic, where automatons that once served humans have turned against them.

The gameplay is the signature souls-like package: bonfires, stamina, parries, and exploration of an interconnected world. The main innovation is the Lie system: at key moments in the story, the hero chooses between truth and deception, and these decisions affect the ending, one of four possible outcomes, as well as how “human” P becomes. There is also a weapon modification system: you can combine the handle of one blade with the blade of another, creating your own gear. Lies of P received a score of 80 on Metacritic. In June 2025, the story expansion Overture was released, adding a new prequel chapter and an endgame mode.

The best horror action games are not just scary stories: they are tense adventures where the atmosphere of danger makes every decision matter. Resident Evil 4 Remake and Silent Hill 2 Remake proved that remakes can surpass cult originals. Alan Wake 2 and Resident Evil Village offer fundamentally different experiences — from psychological thriller to horror theme-park ride. This section brings together the best adventure horror games on PC and consoles.

A game that is perceived in many ways not as a traditional horror title, but rather as a horror ride. Dead Space 2 is an adrenaline-fueled horror action game that constantly throws new gameplay scenarios at you and never lets you catch your breath. On our site, we have a large feature on Dead Space 2 marking the project’s recent anniversary.

A remake of the 2005 classic that surpassed the outstanding original in almost every way. The new Resident Evil 4 is not just an exemplary action horror game, but also one of the best modern Resident Evil titles. The remake’s combat system was transformed by the addition of parrying, the tone became more serious thanks to a strong script and excellent acting, and the redesigned puzzles are more engaging. Gold Edition includes the Separate Ways expansion, a full 7-hour campaign starring Ada Wong.

Alan Wake 2 is a psychological horror action game from the Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment. Thirteen years have passed since the events of the first game, and writer Alan Wake is still trapped in the Dark Place — a supernatural dimension that feeds on fear. In parallel, FBI agent Saga Anderson investigates a series of ritual murders in the small town of Bright Falls. These two storylines intertwine, and the player can switch between the protagonists almost at any moment.

The sequel is significantly darker than the original and much closer in spirit to classic survival horror in the vein of Resident Evil and Silent Hill: limited resources, a small inventory, and dangerous monsters from the darkness. Remedy wove its trademark metanarrative and regular fourth-wall breaks into the story. It is no surprise that at The Game Awards 2023 the game won awards for Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction. It also received two story expansions — Night Springs and The Lake House.

A reimagining of the cult 2001 psychological horror game from the Polish studio Bloober Team under Konami’s supervision. It was the first mainline Silent Hill entry in 12 years, since Downpour in 2012, and fans spent a long time worrying whether Bloober Team could handle such a responsible task.

The story of the Silent Hill 2 remake faithfully recreates the original: James Sunderland receives a letter from his late wife Mary, in which she asks him to come to the town of Silent Hill — the place of their “special memories.” Arriving in the fog-covered town, James encounters nightmarish monsters and meets a group of strange characters whose fates are intertwined with his own past and guilt. The combat system was reworked in the spirit of the Resident Evil remakes, and the camera switched to a third-person perspective. Composer Akira Yamaoka once again handled the soundtrack, while Masahiro Ito returned to monster design. Silent Hill 2 sold one million copies in three days and is considered one of the best remakes in the history of the genre.

A remake of Capcom’s classic 1998 horror game, released on January 25, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and later for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S with a next-gen update. One of the most talked-about remakes in the history of the industry: critics and fans agreed that Capcom had made the original masterpiece even better. Resident Evil 2 takes place in Raccoon City at the height of the T-virus outbreak. You can play either as rookie police officer Leon Kennedy or college student Claire Redfield — each has their own campaign and story.

Unlike the original with fixed camera angles, the remake uses a modern over-the-shoulder third-person view. The Raccoon City Police Department became one of the most atmospheric horror locations of the decade — narrow corridors, creaking doors, and the unexpectedly effective pursuer Tyrant. There is almost no music in the game, which strengthens the sense of claustrophobia. The project won Best Remake at the Golden Joystick Awards and is considered the main force behind the renewed interest in classic survival horror. If you enjoyed Silent Hill 2, this is the next essential stop.

The eighth main entry in the Resident Evil series, released on May 7, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia, and in October 2022 it received a VR version for PSVR2. It is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: the events of Resident Evil Village take place three years later. The protagonist, Ethan Winters, is trying to live a peaceful life with his wife Mia and their infant daughter Rosemary, until a BSAA squad led by Chris Redfield breaks into his home. Later, Ethan finds himself in a mysterious village in Eastern Europe ruled by four powerful lords.

Among the villains is the towering Lady Dimitrescu, a bloodthirsty vampire in a hat who became a meme long before release. Alongside her, the village is ruled by the dollmaker Beneviento, the fish-man Moreau, and the fanatical mechanic Heisenberg. Each lord’s section represents a separate horror subgenre: for example, gothic horror in Castle Dimitrescu or psychological horror in House Beneviento. Resident Evil Village sold more than 11 million copies and received several Game of the Year nominations. In 2023, the DLC Shadows of Rose was released, starring an adult Rosemary as the playable character.

These games are difficult to fit into a single genre category — and that is exactly where their main value lies. NieR: Automata changes genres on the fly. Death Stranding 2 turns parcel delivery into a meditative adventure with a deep narrative. Hades reimagined the roguelike genre so successfully that death became part of the story rather than a punishment. If you are tired of predictable blockbusters, start with any game from this list.

Like many other Remedy projects, Control is an extremely atmospheric and strange game. It is full of references to works of pop culture and has plenty of metanarrative. On top of that, Control is also an engaging action game: during shootouts, so much chaos unfolds on screen that you cannot help but feel delighted, almost like a five-year-old child.

An innovative roguelike that pushes the entire genre forward. Hades offers an unusual approach to narrative: story details are revealed every time the protagonist dies. As a result, death does not feel like punishment and therefore causes far less frustration. If you have finished the first game and want more, the sequel Hades 2 was released in April 2026 with a new heroine — Melinoë, a witch and Zagreus’ sister.

The creators of NieR: Automata mixed a wide range of concepts and mechanics, yet somehow managed to create a surprisingly cohesive work. NieR: Automata is an adventure full of surprises, with thrilling battles, engaging exploration of open levels, and RPG elements such as side quests. The game is packed with experimental ideas: for example, it changes genres on the fly, periodically turning into a 2D platformer or a shoot 'em up.

A remake of the PlayStation 2 classic. Shadow of the Colossus is a melancholic story about a young man trying to resurrect a dead girl. To do this, he must defeat sixteen ancient colossi scattered across different corners of the open world. Each battle with a titan is a kind of puzzle in which you need to figure out how to climb the gigantic creature and deliver the finishing blow.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s unusual “courier simulator,” released on June 26, 2025 for PS5 and on March 19, 2026 for PC. Sam Porter Bridges returns, this time in new open worlds across Mexico and Australia. Eleven months after the events of the first game, the world is once again on the brink of catastrophe, and the hero must once more restore connections between survivors, collect parcels, and walk through harsh post-apocalyptic landscapes.

The sequel preserved the original’s signature “unlike anything else” gameplay, but was noticeably improved in terms of accessibility. The pacing of the narrative also became better, while the stealth and combat systems gained more depth. Death Stranding 2 is one of the highest-rated games of 2025: 90 points on OpenCritic with a 97% critics’ recommendation score, earning it a “Mighty” rating.

BioShock Infinite from Irrational Games is the third and final part of the classic BioShock trilogy, released in March 2013. This time, the action moves from the underwater city of Rapture to the skyborne city-state of Columbia in 1912, floating above the clouds. Former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt is hired to extract a mysterious girl named Elizabeth from Columbia, who is able to open portals between parallel worlds.

Unlike its predecessors, Infinite moved away from enclosed spaces toward open aerial arenas with an emphasis on momentum. The combat system combines firearms, plasmids — supernatural powers called Vigors — and the signature Sky-Line, a rail system that Booker moves along using a hook. The game’s ending is considered one of the most discussed plot twists in the history of the industry: its story about multiple universes and looping timelines still inspires fan theories. In 2016, the collection BioShock: The Collection was released, including all games in the series.

It Takes Two is a co-op action-adventure from the Swedish studio Hazelight, led by famous game director Josef Fares. It won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021. The story follows spouses May and Cody, who were on the verge of divorce until they were magically turned into small rag dolls and sent on a wild journey to remember why they once fell in love with each other.

The main feature is that the game can only be played in co-op, either through local split-screen or online via Friend's Pass, where the second player can play for free. Each hero receives unique abilities that constantly change: at one point Cody becomes a magnet and May gets a nail; later they both receive different weapons; then they shrink down and explore the giant crown of a tree. In terms of gameplay variety, It Takes Two is considered one of the most creative games of the decade, packed with a huge number of different mini-mechanics. In March 2025, Hazelight released its next masterpiece — Split Fiction, which expanded the formula even further.

Metroidvanias are a subgenre of action-adventure games where the main reward is not the end credits, but the process of exploration itself. Hollow Knight and Metroid Dread offer meticulously crafted level design, where every new ability opens paths that were previously inaccessible. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown proved that the classic formula is alive and still capable of surprising players. We have collected more titles like these in our selection of the best metroidvanias.

Perhaps the best representative of the metroidvania genre. Hollow Knight still comes up in gaming discussions whenever people talk about the masterpieces of the decade. It is praised for its unique visual style, well-designed boss battles, and first-class world design, which is considered the gold standard for similar projects. The long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong from Team Cherry, finally came out in September 2025 and instantly became one of the genre’s biggest hits.

The continuation of the 2D Metroid series that fans had been dreaming about since the mid-2000s. The long wait was worth it: Metroid Dread turned out to be a beautiful, fast-paced metroidvania with excellent level design, memorable bosses, and a superb atmosphere. In December 2025, the sequel Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was released as a Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 exclusive.

A revival of the legendary series as a 2.5D metroidvania from the creators of Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was released on January 18, 2024 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. This time, the protagonist is not the Prince himself, but a young warrior named Sargon from the elite Immortals unit, sent to rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan from the cursed Mount Qaf.

The gameplay combines the series’ signature parkour with a deep combat system and time-based abilities, as in The Sands of Time: you can dash, slow time, and create temporal clones. The metroidvania structure is implemented exceptionally well: returning to old locations with new abilities feels rewarding, especially thanks to a mechanic that lets you “photograph” places you need to revisit. The game received a score of 86 on Metacritic.

The sequel to the heartbreaking platformer-metroidvania Ori and the Blind Forest. The story of Ori and the Will of the Wisps continues the events of the previous game: the spirit Ori travels to a new mysterious land to save an owlet lost in a storm. Along the way, Ori meets different creatures, helps them, and gradually uncovers the ancient history of this land.

Compared with the first game, Will of the Wisps significantly expanded the combat system — Ori now has switchable weapons, including a sword, bow, and hammer, along with a classic metroidvania-style open world structure and many abilities for exploration. Visually, the game is a true masterpiece: watercolor landscapes, delicate animation, and breathtaking work with light. The soundtrack by composer Gareth Coker received several professional awards. A playthrough takes 15–20 hours, plus a lot of additional content. If you are looking for an emotional metroidvania with an emphasis on platforming and atmosphere, there are few better options today than Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Like the first game, Blasphemous 2 is inspired by the aesthetics of Spanish Catholic Baroque. The protagonist is the Penitent One, a silent warrior wearing a spiked helmet, who continues his struggle against the Miracle — a mysterious religious force that distorts reality around it.

The sequel reworked the combat system: there are now three different complex weapon types — dual blades, a heavy hammer, and a rapier — which can be switched on the fly. The series’ main visual signature, its pixel art, reached a new level of detail: every frame looks like a grim miniature icon. Boss fights are a separate delight: giant demons with unique attacks and two or three phases. If you love Hollow Knight but want something more gothic and bloody, Blasphemous 2 is for you.

Here you will find the best older action-adventure games. Jedi Academy, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Assassin's Creed 2 — games released 15–20 years ago still have not become outdated: they have excellent combat, memorable characters, and mechanics that the industry continues to copy to this day. If you want to return to the roots of the genre, these are the action games you should play first.

Fans of Star Wars: Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy are convinced that there is still no Star Wars game with better lightsaber combat. While modern projects rely on cinematic animations, Jedi Academy focuses on gameplay responsiveness. Combined with Force abilities, the hero’s acrobatics, and a high skill ceiling, the battles are hugely satisfying.

The remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was canceled, but you do not need it to discover this early-2000s masterpiece. Even today, the original still feels quite fresh. The graphics may have aged technically, but the visual style retains a unique charm. Most importantly, the gameplay remains engaging thanks to its elegant combination of acrobatics, puzzles, and a unique time-control mechanic.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered is a good way to indulge in nostalgia or discover Lara Croft’s classic adventures for the first time. In their time, the original games from 1996–1998 were a true breakthrough. Unlike many other games of those years with their primitive locations, the Tomb Raider trilogy allowed players to explore visually varied, expansive, and highly vertical levels that felt like real places.

Special attention in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 should be given to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It is a gripping stealth action game full of all kinds of oddities that became Hideo Kojima’s trademark. The game successfully combines arcade immediacy with hardcore depth: on the one hand, the character responds quickly to commands, and transition animations between actions are dynamic enough not to slow down the gameplay. On the other hand, MGS3 includes elements of a genuine survival simulator.

Many fans consider Assassin's Creed 2 the best game in the entire series — and not without reason. Ubisoft Montreal moved the action from the era of the Third Crusade to Renaissance Italy, transforming the atmosphere and delivering one of the most charismatic revenge stories in the industry. Ezio Auditore da Firenze instantly became an icon of the series, and his journey from young nobleman to Master Assassin stretched across three games — Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations.

The gameplay took a step forward in literally every area compared with the first game: Leonardo da Vinci’s controllable flying machine appeared, along with swimming, a deeper combat system with a variety of melee weapons, management of the family estate’s economy, and story missions featuring real historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci. If for some reason you missed this parkour-action classic and want to try it today, keep in mind: the remaster of the Ezio games — Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection — is available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch and includes all three entries.

Action-adventure is a hybrid genre that combines dynamic action, such as shooting or melee combat, with elements of adventure games: world exploration, puzzles, story-driven narrative, and the gradual unlocking of new abilities. Action-adventure games include the Uncharted, Tomb Raider, The Legend of Zelda, GTA, Assassin's Creed, and God of War series, as well as metroidvanias like Hollow Knight and Metroid Dread.

The major action-adventure games of 2024 were Astro Bot, winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Stellar Blade, and Star Wars Outlaws. Each of these projects covers its own subgenre: Astro Bot is a nostalgic platformer, Indiana Jones is a cinematic first-person adventure, Hellblade 2 is a psychological horror action game, Stellar Blade is a Korean hack-and-slash, and Star Wars Outlaws is an open-world Star Wars game.

Several major action-adventure games were released in 2025. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach from Hideo Kojima, released in June 2025, was one of the highest-rated games of the year. Also worth noting are the PC versions of Stellar Blade and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the release of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 on PS5, the launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong, and the story expansion The Order of Giants for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Stealth is one of the key elements of the genre, and many action-adventure games are built specifically around staying hidden. The benchmark pure stealth action game is Hitman: World of Assassination from IO Interactive: a sandbox made up of dozens of large locations where Agent 47 can eliminate targets in dozens of different ways.

An atmospheric action-adventure with stealth elements is A Plague Tale: Requiem, a cinematic drama set in medieval France with an emphasis on stealth and puzzles.

Also worth checking out is Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, a collection of classic stealth action games by Hideo Kojima.

Strong stealth mechanics can also be found in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, with disguise-based stealth; Assassin's Creed 2, with parkour and hidden assassinations; and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with silent approaches before open combat begins.

The best entry points into the genre are Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, thanks to its accessible difficulty and cinematic story; The Last of Us Part 1, which is not especially difficult and is highly emotional; and Hollow Knight, if you want a metroidvania. Astro Bot is also worth considering — a light, fun, and ideal game for PS5.

The best action-adventure games on PC include GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Resident Evil 4, Hogwarts Legacy, as well as recent ports of PlayStation exclusives: The Last of Us Part 1 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Stellar Blade, and Death Stranding 2 have also been released on PC.

Full co-op is relatively rare in the genre. Among the best examples are the multiplayer mode in Star Wars: Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy, the co-op modes in Red Dead Redemption 2 via Red Dead Online, Returnal, and the online Legends mode in Ghost of Tsushima. If you are specifically looking for co-op adventures, pay attention to It Takes Two or Split Fiction from Hazelight.

Older classic action-adventure games run very well on modern low-end PCs and laptops: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time from 2003, Star Wars: Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy from 2003, Assassin's Creed 2 from 2009, the original Dead Space 2 from 2011, and BioShock Infinite from 2013. Among modern less demanding games, Hollow Knight and Hades are good choices.

Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 have two major genre exclusives — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Metroid Dread — as well as their follow-ups, Tears of the Kingdom and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Among multiplatform projects, Hollow Knight, Hades, NieR: Automata, Hogwarts Legacy, Batman: Arkham Collection, It Takes Two, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Blasphemous 2 run well on Switch. On the more powerful Nintendo Switch 2, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Star Wars Outlaws are already available, along with the classic collections Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered and Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection.

What is your favorite action-adventure game? Tell us in the comments.

Our selection of the 50 best action-adventure games includes projects that have set, and continue to set, the standards for the genre — from 2003’s Prince of Persia to Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2. But a few recent adventure games still remained outside the main list, and they are worth keeping an eye on, especially if you have already finished everything from the core selection.

First of all, there is Hollow Knight: Silksong, released in September 2025, the long-awaited sequel to Hollow Knight from Team Cherry. The Australian studio released the sequel after eight years of waiting, and the project instantly earned the status of one of the best metroidvanias of the decade — with a new heroine, Hornet, a reworked combat system, and a huge new world.

Fans of open worlds in the spirit of Ghost of Tsushima should definitely take a look at Ghost of Yotei, released in October 2025 — a sequel from Sucker Punch that moves samurai adventures to the island of Hokkaido in the 17th century.

If you prefer co-op adventures, we recommend Split Fiction, released in March 2025 by Hazelight Studios — the studio’s next project after It Takes Two and a must-play for anyone who appreciates high-quality split-screen co-op.

Fans of unconventional action-adventure games should pay attention to Hades 2, released in April 2026 by Supergiant Games — the sequel to one of the best roguelikes of recent years, now starring the new witch heroine Melinoë.

Also worth noting is Mafia: The Old Country, released in August 2025 by Hangar 13, a linear atmospheric Mafia game set in 1900s Sicily. The game received mixed reviews because of its outdated gameplay, but if you enjoy cinematic mob stories in the spirit of Mafia 2, it is worth your attention.

Also do not miss Saros — a new sci-fi PS5 exclusive that we covered in detail in our Saros review.

Our selection of the best action-adventure games is regularly updated as major releases come out on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch 2.