Hitman 2

Released: 2018 — API: DirectX 11 — Engine: IO Engine

Hitman 2 is a sequel to the 2016 reboot of the franchise, which turned out to be a big hit. It follows its events as multinational assassin Agent 47 and his ICA handler get entangled further into corporate warfare between a secret society called Providence and a shadow client of ICA, which somehow links to the origins of Agent 47.

Hitman 2 is published by WB Games, who have done away with technological investments in favor of content and gameplay. At launch, the game didn't support DirectX 12, but this capability has been added with a recent patch, and we use it. Artistically, the game is on-par with its predecessor, but features bigger crowds.

Metro Exodus

Released: 2019 — API: DirectX 12 — Engine: 4A Engine

4A Games' latest entry to the smash-hit survival FPS, Metro Exodus sees our hero Artyom embark on a journey across the limitless Russian landmass to seek out a working railway locomotive and then lead an exodus of survivors from the Moscow Metro along the Trans-Siberian Railway east, in search of a surviving population elsewhere. The game is crafted to be an AAA masterpiece that also serves as a tech-demonstrator for NVIDIA's ambitious RTX real-time ray-tracing technology and DLSS (deep-learning supersampling). It takes advantage of the DirectX 12 API and supports DXR. In this test, we disabled the DXR/RTX features to ensure a level playing field.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Released: 2017 — API: DirectX 11 — Engine: LithTech

Set between the events of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, you play as Talion, a Ranger who's bound with the spirit of Elf Lord Celebrimbor on their mission to defeat Sauron. The game continues the narrative from Shadow of Mordor, mostly using mechanics known from the predecessor, like the Nemesis system, which has been expanded upon. The game got lots of press for its loot boxes, which Monolith ended up removing a few months after release.

Based on Monolith's LithTech engine, Shadow of War makes full use of DirectX 11 and provides plenty of settings to improve eye candy for powerful PCs. We tested with highest details and the high-res texture pack active.

Monster Hunter World

Released: 2018 — API: DirectX 11 — Engine: MT Framework

Monster Hunter: World is a deceptively simple RPG quest. The objective involves slaying monsters to obtain components with which to build more powerful weapons to slay even bigger monsters. It's the variation in classes, weapons, monsters, and the open world that cuts down repetition, making it extremely addictive in combination with the overarching story line.

Based on the MT Framework engine by Capcom, the game is a little behind the times in eye candy, but that's because the PC version is a console port. It takes advantage of DirectX 11 and is mildly taxing on your hardware.