Batman: Arkham Knight
A launch that appeared to be masterminded by the Joker himself, I had to wait almost a year after Batman: Arkham Knight’s launch before I could even play it on my GTX 970. No AAA launch has been more embarrassing than Batman: Arkham Knight’s. It was so bad, Warner Bros temporarily removed it from sale. How it ever got the green light to be launched we don’t know. After several patches Batman: Arkham Knight did become a much-improved game but it’s still a huge memory and VRAM hog, while all but the most powerful of gaming rigs will experience intermittent hitching. One to be endured rather than enjoyed. A great shame as it’s otherwise an exceptional game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
As with Rise of the Tomb Raider, it’s the hair effects that prove most demanding in The Witcher 3. Turning this on is a stern test of even the most powerful graphics card. The rest of The Witcher 3 doesn’t look too shabby either, comfortably earning its place as one of the best looking open-world games of all time. Dynamic weather conditions layer on additional complexity and the swamps, in particular, can be a nightmare for stable performance.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Yes, there has been a newer Assassin’s Creed game (Syndicate), but Ubisoft seemed to learn its lesson after Unity and toned everything down a bit. Assassin’s Creed Unity was the ultimate next-gen graphical showcase for the franchise and it really shows. No open world game has looked better but it proved to be absolutely crunching in terms of performance. The crowds of people hundreds-strong don't help, yet getting AC Unity running smoothly and it really is a sight to behold. Shame about the rest of it really.
Ghost Recon Wildlands
One of the few games in this list that truly challenges both the CPU and the GPU, Ghost Recon Wildlands can often be a gorgeous spectacle, complete with vistas that stretch out for miles before you. From cocaine powder top mountains to the muddy swamps, Ghost Recon Wildlands is a visual tour de force. Up close and personal it lacks a little in detail but it makes up for it when viewing the big picture.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
As with Rise of the Tomb Raider, it’s the hair effects that prove most demanding in The Witcher 3. Turning this on is a stern test of even the most powerful graphics card. The rest of The Witcher 3 doesn’t look too shabby either, comfortably earning its place as one of the best looking open-world games of all time. Dynamic weather conditions layer on additional complexity and the swamps, in particular, can be a nightmare for stable performance.
Project Cars
Forza Horizon 3 was going to edge into this list prior to getting a butt load of updates, yet now Project Cars is the more demanding racing sim. FH3 is remarkable for the sheer scale of it all but Project Cars exhibits an insane level of attention to detail, alongside some of the most realistic weather effects we've eve seen.
