GPU Test System 2025 Games Selection

[W1zzard]

I thought I'd make it a bit more interactive this time..

Left is the games i'm currently using, middle is what i will definitely use, right is titles that are worth considering

This is expected to be used for Dec 2024 till May 2025, then I'll revisit everything (this is NOT whole year 2025)

Thoughts? Opinions on the options? anything I missed?

I want to have a good mix of engines and popular titles. None that are always online.

 

[Hyderz]

That is quite the extensive list, I think it’s a good list if you need more +1 horizon fob west from me

 

[W1zzard]

if you need more

I need 3 more. the goal is to have 25 games

 

[Hyderz]

I need 3 more. the goal is to have 25 games

Then horizon fob west, ratchet and cities skylines 2

 

[gffermari]

RDR 2, although it's old, it's good to have something to represent the RAGE engine.
RDR 2 until GTA 6 is released.

+Horizon Forbidden West - Decima engine - until Death Stranding 2 is released.
+Spiderman Remastered - until Spiderman 2 is released.

 

[Space Lynx]

I really think one of them should be a Sony engine game, that is not represented and should be 100% now that basically all PS5 exclusives come to PC eventually.

Then horizon fob west, ratchet and cities skylines 2

cities skylines 2 is technically an early access game considering how un-optimized it was at launch, I honestly don't think that deserves a spot for another year or more.

 

[W1zzard]

Sony engine game

insomniac engine .. used in tsushima i think. but good point

 

[Dr. Dro]

Start with ~20 and then add some upcoming games with demanding graphics that will release throughout Q1 2025, IMO. Will keep things fresh.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Steam

Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in a first-person, single-player adventure. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them - Indiana Jones™.

store.steampowered.com

Avowed on Steam

Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG set in the world of Eora, where your choices carve a path through war, intrigue, and ancient mysteries. Navigate a land in turmoil, forge powerful alliances or deadly rivalries, and wield magic and steel to shape the fate of the Living Lands—and your own destiny.

store.steampowered.com

Monster Hunter Wilds on Steam

The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.

store.steampowered.com

I'd remove Dragon Age Veilguard (it banked entirely on controversy to have any launch relevance and is not a staple title IMHO), and while you're understandably averse to online games for benchmarking, for example, Final Fantasy XIV is a VERY popular game and it offers a controlled, configurable benchmark tool that doesn't need to be run online and I reckon a LOT of people would be interested in:

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail Official Benchmark

The official site for the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail benchmark.

na.finalfantasyxiv.com

3 new games and a classic that is always being updated and in vogue. These are my suggestions

 

[W1zzard]

add some upcoming games

Don't have a time machine. I need to retest 35 cards in those 25 games at 4 resolutions = 3500 benchmark runs, at 3 minutes each, that's 175 hours, so basically all of December, or I'll be caught with my pants down when 20+ GeForce 50 cards come in in January and I need to post full reviews the minute the embargo is up

benchmark tool

I only test actual games, in-game

 

[Dr. Dro]

Don't have a time machine. I need to retest 35 cards in those 25 games at 4 resolutions = 3500 benchmark runs, at 3 minutes each, that's 175 hours, so basically all of December, or I'll be caught with my pants down when 20+ GeForce 50 cards come in in January and I need to post full reviews the minute the embargo is up


I only test actual games, in-game

Ah, I see. Need to be currently released. Mmm, that's a bit tough, most of the first "PS5 Pro" mid-generation heavy games will be having early 2025 releases... otherwise your selection seems already pretty solid, covering pretty much all currently utilized game engines. We're in a bit of a lull regarding big name releases right now.

I see you only have one Unity game in the list, though the games that I know are built with Unity are either online or relatively niche games. Subnautica 2 is still a very long time away... Still think you should add FFXIV Dawntrail, though.

 

[Space Lynx]

Still think you should add FFXIV Dawntrail, though.

I think he wants a purely offline testing system, so that cuts out any online games automatically.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I think he wants a purely offline testing system, so that cuts out any online games automatically.

Yeah, I just read. I'm racking my brain here thinking of something (since I understand games have to be at least popular or staple games to attract the most attention), but none I can think of are also technology showcases. The new Metro Awakening game is VR only, which kind of excludes itself...

 

[Kapone33]

City Skylines2 doers not show itself until your population goes above 500000. This is for GPU tests though so you don't even have to include that. That should be in the CPU tests with a late Game save.

 

[W1zzard]

hmm .. maybe flight simulator 2024 if they were able to fix the extreme cpu-bottleneck and it works offline

having one UE4 title seems like a good idea? Hogwarts? seems to be the one with most reviews

 

[Space Lynx]

hmm .. maybe flight simulator 2024 if they were able to fix the extreme cpu-bottleneck and it works offline

I feel like this would never be an accurate benchmark though, since 99% of people will be playing this one online and those streaming assets total so many gigabytes per hour, they have to be demanding on overall fps. I feel like a lot of people would be looking at your offline benchmark, and comparing it to theirs with their 80 gb an hr texture streaming, and be like why is my fps off...

 

[W1zzard]

and comparing it to theirs with their 80 gb an hr texture streaming, and be like why is my fps off...

we'll see.. how do you expect that 20 MB/s makes any difference in a GPU benchmark?

 

[Onasi]

I think the biggest issue is that there are upcoming titles that are the most likely to be relevant for testing, but, as W1zz said, there is no time machine, so it’s impossible to predict.
I say, out of the possibilities, these 3 might be kept around for a while:

Cities Skylines 2 - just as a worst-case example Unity representation. Since it runs very poorly it also might be a good illustration of just how much more brute force upcoming GPUs will have over predecessors.

Like a Dragon 8 - Sega made Yakuza a mainstay franchise and are pumping them out yearly with good success, so a Dragon Engine representation seems logical.

Final Fantasy XVI - the engine is an unholy abomination. There are parts in it from Luminous, parts from Crystal Tools, it has the weirdest performance bottlenecks and the particles which the game spams everywhere are completely fucked in terms of optimization. I say keep it as a potential outlier.

Oh, uh, just saw this:

having one UE4 title seems like a good idea? Hogwarts? seems to be the one with most reviews

Yeah, I mean, Hogwarts might be the play, I would suggest keeping it and then removing it in favor of Stellar Blade when that port drops since it will likely be the last high profile graphics intensive game using UE4.

 

[Ferrum Master]

To be fair... why you need more...

Reduce the list to 20 or 15, don't overdo it. Next year it will kinda turn into UE5 benchmark majority...

I would avoid console ports really... like Silent Hill 2, also RE4, Last of Us, Witcher3 and Starfield who cares for that game?... they need to go... It is a tough choice, considering the game pricing and state of bugs I don't give a crap about new games also, I get the idea from fewer choices as you have to also know each game specifics, is it a crap port, nvidia presence, CPU hog just shit code or read Unity or something connected with Todd Howard....

Maybe some odd choice like Farming simulator... you'll be surprised how much people actually do like it... the problem lies in the fact there are 2025 games that comes out who knows when. From my list those are MGS Delta, Subnautica 2, Mafia, Judas!!, Control 2, Exodus, Walking Simulator 2... (almost feels like counting Wacken fest lineup, shame we don't have Gutalax game).

But if all get short, you can always get some praise putting this.

I Am Jesus Christ on Steam

Walk in the footsteps of Jesus in this incredible first-person retelling of the story of Christ from birth to resurrection. Perform amazing miracles, interact with a cast of biblical figures and travel around the Holy Land from Jerusalem to the Galilee. Become the Messiah in ‘I Am Jesus Christ.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Hyderz]

Do you think you can add % gpu/cpu utilization for the tested resolution?

 

[Ferrum Master]

Do you think you can add % gpu/cpu utilization for the tested resolution?

And how it will cope with the new shit P/E cores and what frequency/power target or temp whatever? Useless data... means nothing.

 

[londiste]

Horizon Forbidden West, Remnant II and Spiderman Remastered.

Horizon is popular, Decima engine and should be fairly heavy on GPU.
Remnant II is probably the most ambitious (and working at that) UE5 implementation to date.
Spiderman is popular enough, a different engine and from the looks of it suitably GPU heavy.

 

[W1zzard]

there are 2025 games that comes out who knows when

I'll change everything in a few months anyway .. typically around May

Edit: clarified in the OP

 

[Ferrum Master]

I'll change everything in a few months anyway .. typically around May

Do you have any info about having first 5000 series samples? If in reality it is after it, then YOLO. Who cares about new intel flop card.

 

[Space Lynx]

we'll see.. how do you expect that 20 MB/s makes any difference in a GPU benchmark?

I really don't understand tech at same level you do, this was just a hunch by me, so I may be completely off on this one. It was worth throwing the idea out there though I felt.

 

[Dr. Dro]

hmm .. maybe flight simulator 2024 if they were able to fix the extreme cpu-bottleneck and it works offline

having one UE4 title seems like a good idea? Hogwarts? seems to be the one with most reviews

I agree with including Hogwarts, it's a popular game as well. Speaking of previous generation engines: how about you add an Unreal Engine 3/DirectX 9 game to the mix? The API has gotten old enough that DX9 performance has become a point of contention for some vendors, as they transition to translation shims and user mode drivers to manage it. Something like Borderlands 2?