2018 is coming to an end and as you may have guessed, it’s time for our annual “Top 10 Most Optimized PC Games” list. For this list, we tested all the games that were released in 2018 (and for which we had a PC Performance Analysis article). Since some developers have released several patches for some of the games we’ve covered, we are judging their final 2018 versions. So, without further ado, here are the most optimized PC games of 2018 (at least in our opinion).
As we’ve already stated in the past, we judge games based on their PC performance optimization. But what do we consider a PC optimized game? Well… that’s easy to answer. Games that can scale on multiple CPU cores, that are not plagued by ‘console-ish’ side effects (like really low FOV, controller only on-screen indicators and mouse acceleration/smoothing issues), that pack a respectable amount of graphics options to adjust, and that – above all – look and run great on a variety of PC systems are what we consider “properly optimized PC games“. This may differ from what others think when they hear the “most optimized PC games” words but hey… this is our list.
“The Crew 2 is well optimized for the PC platform. The game does not require a high-end CPU, though it does require a really powerful GPU for higher resolutions than 1080p (unless you are willing to lower your settings). Still, The Crew 2 looks great so I guess – to a degree – it does justify its GPU requirements. There are proper keyboard on-screen indicators and we did not experience any stutters while playing (even when installed on an HDD instead of an SDD). We did notice though some awkward little annoyances (for example, the main menu is assigned to F10 instead of ESC and you can’t use your mouse to ‘catch‘ and move the map). It’s not perfect but it’s one of the ‘smoothest‘ Ubisoft games we’ve played.”
“City of Brass is a game that performs great and looks cool on the PC. The game appears to be scaling on more than four CPU cores, however the performance difference between a quad-core and a six-core is only 10fps. Still, the game runs incredibly well even on dual-cores. We also did not experience any crashes or mouse acceleration/smoothing issues. Overall, this is a polished product that will run on a variety of PC configurations!”
![F1® 2018 | LAUNCH TV SPOT | MAKE HEADLINES [US]](https://www.dsogaming.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F8vKAOdpF2F0%2F0.jpg)
“F1 2018 performs incredibly well on the PC platform. The game does not require a high-end CPU and can be easily considered a GPU-bound title. An NVIDIA GTX980Ti is able to offer a smooth experience at 1080p and an AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 has no trouble at all running the game at both 1080p and 1440p. The game supports wheels, displays proper on-screen keyboard indicators, and we did not encounter any crashes; it’s a pretty solid PC version.”
“The outtake here is that the game runs like a charm on the PC platform. Yes, the game does not look as impressive as other triple-A games, however, this does not mean that it looks awful or average. Still, the fact that it can run so smoothly – even when there are lots of enemies on-screen and on low-end PC systems – is really cool. As such, we’d love to see some real-time ray tracing effects in this particular game as there appears to be a lot of performance headroom (and we’re pretty sure that real-time ray tracing global illumination would significantly improve the game’s visual fidelity, especially at nights).”
“Warhammer Vermintide 2 looks and performs incredibly well on the PC. This is one of the few titles that takes advantage of more than four CPU threads, looks great, and runs like a charm. We did not experience any stuttering or mouse acceleration/smoothing issues, and there are one hell of graphics settings to tweak.”
![Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Launch Trailer [ESRB]](https://www.dsogaming.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fr_WbvIDAcA4%2F0.jpg)
“Shadow of the Tomb Raider performs great on the PC, though there is still room for improvement. Yes you will need a high-end system, however the game justifies those requirements. Also, it runs way, way better – at launch – than its predecessor. The game comes with lots of settings to tweak and there is an option to completely disable mouse smoothing (it’s enabled by default so make sure to disable it). It’s a well polished product, though it’s not perfect yet. It’s also one of the few games that shows tremendous performance improvements when using DX12.”
“FIFA 19 is one of the most optimized sports games we’ve seen to date. The game runs incredibly well on a wide range of PC configurations and looks absolutely amazing. Our only gripe is with its graphics settings (too limited and they are not included in the game, meaning that you’ll have to quit it, open its configuration settings tool and then re-launch it in case you want to make any adjustments). Other than that though, FIFA 19 is a top quality product on the PC.”
“Forza Horizon 4 is not a perfect PC game (and I doubt we’ll see many “perfect” PC games), it’s undoubtedly one of the most optimized PC games of 2018. Right from the start, the game runs with more than 60fps on a wide range of PC configurations, and comes with a lot of graphics settings so you can adjust your experience. As you’d expect, the game supports both wheels and keyboard, and displays proper keyboard on-screen prompts. It’s also the best looking racing game on the PC right now, so that’s another big plus!”
“Call of Duty Black Ops 4 works like a charm on the PC. Beenox has done an incredible work and Black Ops 4 runs smoothly on a wide range of PC configurations. The game also comes with a wide range of options, feels great with mouse+keyboard, and we did not experience any crashes. It’s just sad that its visuals are not as groundbreaking as they were in previous Call of Duty games (there was a time when each and every new Call of Duty game offered gorgeous visuals). Still, Black Ops 4 is well optimized on the PC platform and perhaps that’s what counts at the end of the day.”
“Battlefield 5 is one of the most optimized PC games of 2018. The game comes with lots of graphics settings to tweak, offers proper on-screen K&M indicators, does not suffer from mouse acceleration/smoothing issues, supports higher refresh rates and resolutions, looks beautiful and runs smoothly on a variety of PC configurations. Although DICE and NVIDIA made some improvements, DX12 is not yet as fast as DX11. Moreover, the RTX effects can bring even NVIDIA’s flagship graphics card to the ground. These effects are really demanding and I’m pretty sure that most RTX owners will disable them so they can run the game in higher resolutions with higher framerates.”
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email
very weak year for PC gaming. 2019 will be great
True, but strong in anime games tho
2019 would be stronger in anime games and i dont even play anime games.
Well your miss pal 😀
How will 2019 be better?. As far as I can see it’ll be yet another crap year for me.
Naah, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Unavowed, Mutant Year Zero, Hero U, LSL: Wet Dreams Don’t Die, Return of The Obra Dinn, Dead Cells, Pillars 2 Deadfire, Pathfinder Kingmaker, Dusk, Project Warlock, Thronebreaker, Assasin’s Creed Odyssey, Darksiders 3, Grip Combat Racing etc. tell otherwise.
SOTTR WTF .
I disagree,ROTR runs way better than SOTR. And I experienced frequent random crash/freezing that I never experienced in ROTR even in day 1 release. Thought I agree that’s the visual is better in SOTR…
This list is hilarious !
give us your list then
“Optimized”
(((optimized)))
be a good goy and buy em all! we catered to the pc gamers, hehehehe
*hands rub stiffly together in a menacing and very jewish manner*
…?
This is one of the most disgusting games I seen this year
Yep, should have been 10 mediocre games of 2018.
Since there are no more good games anymore, you have to resort to some other metrics.
Nahh there are plenty of good games but definitely not these
Exactly.I have 8core cpu RYZEN 1700 16 GB DDR4 3200MHZCL15 GS KILL RIP
JAWS GTX 970 G1 GAMING DELLP2416D 24” 2560X1440 60 HZ IPS and run
evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps. But strange brigate never drops
under 60 fps which is impressive for 1440p max settings gtx 970 but
shadow of tomb raider also max settings 1440p with txa that i played it
runs 27 fps average!!! I liked the two previous tomb raider more because they were full of action while this has only little action.
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True
Except Tomb Raider and Forza Horizon. They are really awesome.
Tomb raider yes, forza horizon no (racing games are very boring)
This is YOUR opinion, for what is worth.
Exactly.I have 8core cpu RYZEN 1700 16 GB DDR4 3200MHZCL15 GS KILL RIP
JAWS GTX 970 G1 GAMING DELLP2416D 24” 2560X1440 60 HZ IPS and run
evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps. But strange brigate never drops
under 60 fps which is impressive for 1440p max settings gtx 970 but
shadow of tomb raider also max settings 1440p with txa that i played it
runs 27 fps average!!
And the worst: ATLAS, PUBG…
I see BO4 and BfV I upvote!
Not true mate. Compare it to games over the past years and you’ll see it’s actually a good game.
Plus ur talking about ports, this has it’s own PC franchise it’s not a console game I don’t know what you’re talking about.
The game only displays controller prompts if you have a controller plugged in, or settings set to use controller. I have been playing since day one, and all prompts are for pc… Not sure where your data is coming from, but it sucks.
The Crew 2 shouldn’t be on the list in my honest opinion. While the game itself runs really well, it has severe server problems. Especially on PC around Europe. While in a Crew, the game becomes stuck on live or loading screens a lot when entering events. Causing you to either drive out or restart the game. And doing that barely minimizes the problem.
Server problems <> PC optimization.
Battlefield is just legendary in terms of optimization , i have 50-60 FPS medium settings on 1080p , with a gtx750ti !!! meanwhile 20-25 fps 700p Lowest settings on COD black ops4 !
oprimize prime
I was able to run it around 130fps on medium settings 1440p with a 1080ti
It is what it is
GTX 970 still a monster! have 8core cpu RYZEN 1700 16 GB DDR4 3200MHZCL15 GS KILL RIP
JAWS GTX 970 G1 GAMING DELLP2416D 24” 2560X1440 60 HZ IPS and run
evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps. But strange brigate never drops
under 60 fps which is impressive for 1440p max settings gtx 970 but
shadow of tomb raider also max settings 1440p with txa that i played it
runs 27 fps average!
Ya I gotta say BO4 doesn’t seem very well optimized to me. I’ve had many crashes, especially early on in its release and the CPU usage is always at max for me (i7 4790k).
Just Cause 4 should enter in this list!!! Oh wait…….
“And in my opinion, the most terribly optimized PC Game of 2018 would be”.
JUST CAUSE 4.
BO4? Game looks afwul, runs bad and compared to BF5 it’s night and day, even WW2 in my book looks better and runs better 😉
Er Assassin’s Creed Odyssey?
Before I decided to take an extended break I’d played in excess of 120 hours at a rock solid 30fps @1080p and my machine is even below spec as an AMD FX 6300 is min and I’m running a 4300. No matter what I’m doing on the game it never ceases to amaze me how well the game is running at all times and I could not ask for more concerning a performance/looks sweet spot especially for a game so large and with so much content. Ubisoft support for the game on top has been nothing short of amazing and best of all I can even change the games of FOV to whatever I desire by a simple ini tweak.
It should be number 1.
the problem with that is Assassins Creed is ghey
Wait a f*ing second… Battlefield V #1??? Blame my PC but that thing never fully utilized my GPU in SP OR MP, no matter where I stand. Meanwhile BF1 and BF2 run butterly smooth 100+ frames max settings on a GTX 1070 and a i7 5820k 4ghz. BFV is anything but super well optimized if you ask me.
I haven’t heard anyone else with the issue. My Vega 56 gets over 100 fps at all times, single or multiplayer with a Ryzen 1700x. It runs great generally. Maybe try re-installing or a driver sweep?
You’re not running DX12 mode are you…because that runs like garbage.
Hell nah, not even using Win10 to begin with. Sure as hell won’t re-install windows just cuz ONE game out of many runs weirdly.
You’ll have to upgrade eventually. More and more games will run like hot garbage on older systems, especially as more cores are used in processing (older OS do not handle cores well).
Thanks dude!
it’s Christmas Time. Give your family and loved ones a hug and tell them that you love them. It means a lot more to them than you might think.
By the way, on an off topic related note, I just wanted to WISH the entire DSOG @staff, and the whole community/readers MERRY XMas, and a very Happy New Year 2019.
May this Holiday season sparkle and shine ! Happy Gaming. Keep up the good work here on dsog, @JOHN.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/31085216ed62abdf81b16d5f831df0b92527cb878bf7b3c64dd04246d9451d34.jpg
“And in my opinion, the most terribly optimized PC Game of 2018 would be”.
JUST CAUSE 4.
The crying session has started….
The Crew 2 was indeed good even in beta. Because Ubisoft Kyiv didn’t port PC version as usual.
Fortnite
Not to mention 970 is the recommended gpu. It’s not outdated yet.
Bull… I have a Vega 64 now but that doesn’t mean a game that looks far far inferior to Crysis 3 run at a lower frame rate when set to, wait for it, Low. I get better fps with Crysis 3 on Ultra. And I’m not saying X game on Ultra vs Y game on low just to whine about it. The graphics fidelity between those two game is night and day. Look at Doom. Looks far better than any cod and runs twice as fast as black c*x 4
The thing about Doom is there’s barely any CPU usage. Whenever I have problems hitting high fps in games lately, its always been because CPU usage is near 100%. Black Ops 4 is no exception.
(i7 4790k)
GTX 970 still a monster! Still run evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps some games even 60 fps! No reaon to change it. It is doing very well for its age! have 8core cpu RYZEN 1700 16 GB DDR4 3200MHZCL15 GS KILL RIP
JAWS GTX 970 G1 GAMING DELLP2416D 24” 2560X1440 60 HZ IPS and run
evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps. But strange brigate never drops
under 60 fps which is impressive for 1440p max settings gtx 970 but
shadow of tomb raider also max settings 1440p with txa that i played it
runs 27 fps average!
Exactly.! GTX 970 still a monster! Stll runs evrything max settings 1440p 30+ fps some games even 60 fps. No reaosn to change it!I have 8core cpu RYZEN 1700 16 GB DDR4 3200MHZCL15 GS KILL RIP
JAWS GTX 970 G1 GAMING DELLP2416D 24” 2560X1440 60 HZ IPS and run
evrything at max settings 1440p 30+ fps. But strange brigate never drops
under 60 fps which is impressive for 1440p max settings gtx 970 but
shadow of tomb raider also max settings 1440p with txa that i played it
runs 27 fps average!
Only degenerate sodomites and filthy Jewish rats
Only degenerate sodomites and filthy J?wish rats approve of this rubbish, do yourselves a favor by modding the originals (which are no longer listed digitally, f*k you Take J?w Interactive)
approve of this rubbish, do yourselves a favor by modding the originals
What a load of low-grade cancerous shlt. Imagine paying money for these soygoy friendly remasturds when one can actually further enhance all three original titles while maintaining all of their original content.
Only degenerate sodomites and filthy Jewish rats approve of this rubbish, do yourselves a favor by modding the originals (which are no longer listed digitally, fvck you Take Jew Interactive)
What a load of low-grade cancerous shlt. Imagine paying money for these soygoy friendly remasturds when one can actually further enhance all three original titles while maintaining all of their original content.