9 Games That Play And Look Great On A Laptop

Gone are the days when laptops needed to make sacrifices in visual quality to run the best, most graphics-intensive games. With a laptop powered by a GeForce GTX 10 series graphics engine, in conjunction with other quality components, you can enjoy just about any title out there while on the road. Plus, with the latest technologies from NVIDIA GeForce, you’ll have added benefits, such as Max-Q design for superior portability and maximum efficiency, the NVIDIA Pascal architecture for top-notch GPU speed and power, NVIDIA VR Works technologies for all your virtual reality needs, NVIDIA G-SYNC for removing screen tearing and minimizing display stuttering and input lag, BatteryBoost for longer gaming sessions without a power cord, and WhisperMode: a new tech that results in quieter laptop operation and superior power optimization while your device is plugged in.

Of course, once you’ve acquired a GeForce GTX 10 Series laptop, you’ll want to fire up some games on it to see what it can do. But with so many great titles out there, where should you start?

It’s a good question, and that’s why we’ve compiled this list. Each of the following nine games in this round-up look fantastic and play buttery-smooth, thanks in part to next-generation NVIDIA hardware and software backing them up. This article is sponsored by NVIDIA.

Destiny 2

A direct sequel to 2014’s blockbuster Destiny, Bungie’s sci-fi FPS action game will take you across the entire solar system in a desperate attempt to save humanity from total destruction. It was met with rave reviews upon release, with our own Shawn Sanders stating, "It’s an exciting and vividly painted adventure and one we are very eager to see Bungie fully exploit for PC gamers." 

In the graphics department, Destiny 2 offers support for 4K resolutions and Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), uncapped framerates, FOV modification, and a huge list of graphics options, such as anti-aliasing, character detail distance, depth of field, foliage shadows distance, texture quality, and more. All of these result in Destiny 2 looking gorgeous when paired with a GTX 10 Series laptop. For a full run-down on how to tweak every visual setting, complete with performance impact and descriptions of precisely what each option does, check out our official graphics and performance guide.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

With almost 20 million copies sold since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) went into Early Access in March of 2017, this last-person-standing arena shooter has quickly grown into the world’s most popular multiplayer game. Surviving until you’re the only one left is no small feat, and the frantic, fast-paced gameplay is infinitely addicting while you toil for the top spot. You’ll scavenge weapons, forge paper-thin alliances, run for safety, hunt down the weak, and do everything you can to get a victory. The formula works so well, some publications have even considered PUBG as 2017’s shoe-in for game of the year.

With varied environments ranging from wide-open natural vistas to urbanized sprawl, PUBG is a visually striking game right from the start. There are plenty of graphics options to tinker with as well, including anti-aliasing, shadow quality, foliage, view distance, post-processing, texture quality, screen scale, and motion blur. Additionally, PUBG supports NVIDIA ShadowPlay Highlights, which automatically captures key in-game moments, such as your best kills, most hilarious and heart-wrenching deaths, and of course, any magnificent first-place chicken dinners.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Building off the success of 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith’s action-RPG sequel—Middle-earth: Shadow of War—continues the storyline of Talion and his spiritual companion Celebrimbor as they attempt to build up a powerful army to take down the Dark Lord Sauron. Critics lauded the game when it came out, with favorable scores from outlets such as IGN, GameSpot, Polygon, and even HotHardware weighing in on its greatness. If you enjoy visceral combat, plenty of loot, and the rich and varied lore cultivated by J.R.R. Tolkien, you’ll be right at home here.

Building off the great gameplay and various levels of character customization are some truly breathtaking visuals. You can also boost the game’s graphics settings to really make it shine, through areas including lighting quality, anti-aliasing, texture filtering, texture quality, ambient occlusion, vegetation range, and quite a few others. There’s also a handy at-a-glance reference in the game’s menu that shows how much system memory and video memory are being used as you adjust each setting. You can also immortalize your favorite scenes and share them with all your friends or followers by using NVIDIA Ansel, which lets you pause the game whenever you see fit, and take screenshots from any angle.

Call of Duty: World War II

The most recent Call of Duty entry brings the series back to where it all started: World War II. There’s a dramatic single-player campaign, where you’ll fight across the European theater from France to Germany, as well as a competitive multiplayer mode, and a co-op alternate-timeline adventure that revolves around Nazi zombies.

With advanced graphics and a focus on 1940’s authenticity in equipment and gear, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to a bygone era of warfare while you’re sitting in front of your laptop. The visuals are further enhanced by native 4K support, FOV resizing, G-SYNC support, and lots of tweakable settings, such as post-process anti-aliasing, texture resolution, specular map resolution, anisotropic filtering, shadow map resolution, and more. For full details on the game’s system requirements, have a look at NVIDIA's driver release article.

Star Wars: Battlefront II

Star Wars Battlefront II is a vast, universe-encompassing action game. With a single-player story that takes place right after the second Death Star blows up in Return of the Jedi, you’ll take control of Galactic Empire idealist Iden Versio, and progress the narrative until just before The Force Awakens kicks off. But that’s only half of it. You can also jump into massive multiplayer skirmishes in space and on land, as any number of classic Star Wars characters and roles, reenacting all your favorite scenes from the movies.

Better yet, Star Wars: Battlefront II is a feast for the eyes, particularly on a GTX 10 Series laptop. Never before has a Star Wars game been so meticulously and accurately rendered—every ship, weapon, and iconic detail has been accounted for with tender loving care. With NVIDIA’s long list of technologies, combined with the game’s expansive graphics options (including texture quality, texture filtering, effects quality, shadows quality, terrain ground cover, and ambient occlusion, among many others), you’ll have the definitive visual experience. For more on the game’s system requirements and recommended GPU’s, head on over to NVIDIA's article here.

Doom VFR

Blasting demons apart with super shotguns in virtual reality (VR) is just as fun as it sounds, and with Doom VFR, available for the HTC Vive (and Oculus Touch through Steam VR Beta), you’ll find yourself going head-to-head with Revenants, Imps and other hellish denizens. As IGN observes in their review: “Doom VFR is a brave shooter that proves that VR games don’t have to be conservative with movement to work. Fast-paced action with a great stable of recognizable weapons and enemies makes it a challenging rush.”

With GeForce Game Ready drivers supporting the action and graphics, Doom VFR is a sight to see. It feels like climbing into your monitor while playing Doom 2016 to experience the Mars UAC facility directly. Watching a realistically rendered Pinky Demon charge at you with hatred and malice in its eyes up close and personal is exhilarating. And since you’re running the game on a GTX 10 Series laptop, you’ll telefrag and gib those demons with smooth framerates coupled up with advanced graphics.

Fallout 4 VR

In an amazing achievement by Bethesda, the entirety of Fallout 4 is now available in full VR, playable on the HTC Vive, and on the Oculus Touch through Steam VR Beta. The V.A.T.S. targeting system, power armor HUD, PIP Boy 3000 Mark IV, and settlement crafting have all been tweaked to better suit the VR platform, but the combat and post-nuclear atmosphere in this amazing action-RPG have never felt better. You could easily lose yourself for hundreds of hours exploring the wasteland of the Commonwealth.

The detailed setting of Fallout 4 VR is remarkable—there really hasn’t been anything quite like it up until now. While a few other games have attempted open-world VR environments with some success, none look as gorgeous and realized as this one. Kneeling down next to Dogmeat, your faithful German Shepherd, makes it feel like he’s really there beside you, ready to defend you at all costs. Exploring the post-apocalyptic shelters and bombed-out buildings that pepper the irradiated landscape feels haunting and convincing, and the game’s graphics are bolstered by NVIDIA technologies and the company's official Fallout 4 VR Game Ready Driver.

Nioh: Complete Edition

Yearning for some Dark Souls-inspired Samurai gameplay? Look no further. Nioh: Complete Edition includes not only the core game which originally released on the PS4, but also three expansions: Dragon of the North, Defiant Honor, and Bloodshed’s End. It even unlocks a PC-exclusive Dharmachakra Kabuto helmet as well. Taking place in the 1600’s, you’ll control William—a talented swordsman and lone traveler in a distant land seeped in conflict. “It’s a game about raising your own level and mastering one of the finest combat systems ever put on a screen,” said RPS in their review. “It might be standing on the shoulders of Souls, but it’s got its eyes on a very different destination.”

For graphics settings, you can adjust rendering resolution, screen resolution, shadow quality, frame rate cap, display mode, ambient occlusion, motion blur, and dynamic reflections. The game also comes with a pair of quick-start presets: 60 FPS action mode, and cinematic movie mode, which incorporates 4K support. Regardless of which options you go with, Nioh: Complete Edition stands out thanks to its unique art design and exceptional presentation.

EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone

Cross-platform competitive games can be tough to pull off, due to balancing issues with control schemes and divergent hardware and software. And yet, first-person spaceship shooter EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone manages to make it happen with style, with full functionality for the PC, VR (via Oculus Rift), and the PS4. There are multiple ships and numerous classes to try out, so whether you’re more inclined as a healer, tank, or precision sniper, you’ll find a chassis with your name on it. “If you enjoy the potential unlocks that come with ranking up and the prestige that comes with climbing the leaderboard,” said Pocket Lint in their review, “Then there's plenty of incentive to keep you coming back for more space-blasting action.”

Complementing EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone’s intense and engaging dogfighting are some stunning graphics. Cockpits contain exceptional and immersive details (doubly so when viewed in VR), stars glow and pulse in the blackness of deep space, and nearby planets seem real enough to explore. The visuals are further buffed with NVIDIA technologies, such as volumetric lighting (which produces god rays from nearby light sources), MSGAA anti-aliasing, and NVIDIA multi-res shading, which boosts in-game performance by decreasing the resolution on the outer edges of your screen by 30%, but leaving the graphics in the center wholly intact. Regardless of whether you go the VR or standard PC route on your GTX 10 Series laptop, EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone is a visual showcase.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 Series Laptops: portable, powerful and energy-efficient. If you’re in the market for a mobile PC gaming platform that makes zero sacrifices in performance and visual quality, a GTX 10 Series laptop is a solid choice. With next-generation design and NVIDIA’s key technologies, including NVIDIA G-SYNC, GeForce Max-Q technology, NVIDIA VR Works technologies, BatteryBoost, and WhisperMode, you’ll have a leg up on the competition, and a great overall experience. Any of the games in this roundup would make a fantastic addition to your laptop, further enhanced by Game Ready Drivers, ShadowPlay, One-Click Graphics Optimization, and other features via GeForce Experience in supported titles.