Single-player games: what they are and the 15 best in 2026

A single-player game is a game or mode for one person: the computer controls opponents and allies, so no other players are needed. Here are the 15 best single-player games to play in 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. Critics rate Red Dead Redemption 2 highest (97 on Metacritic), ahead of Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Elden Ring (96).

The list mixes classics still on sale with 2025–2026 hits, from a one-evening story to an RPG whose regular playthrough takes 75–100 hours, according to its developers. Each entry lists the genre, platforms, critic score, minimum PC specs and who it suits. Note that The Witcher 3 gets a free Remastered upgrade and a Switch 2 release on September 29, 2026.

What is a single-player game

A single-player game (also called a solo game) is a mode in which one person interacts with the game. The story unfolds as a dialogue between the player and the game, while the computer controls enemies and companions. Multiplayer games work the other way around: people play together or compete against each other.

Many games offer both. Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3 can be finished entirely solo, but you can invite other players if you want. The reverse also exists: Split Fiction (2025) is co-op only, so you can’t play it alone.

Players use a few other terms: “solo,” “SP” and “single-player campaign.” The last one usually means the story mode in games that also have online play.

How we picked

• A full solo campaign. You can finish the game alone; online modes, if any, are optional.
• Critic score. A Metascore of 85 or higher as of September 22, 2026. We use the main score on the game’s Metacritic page, which belongs to the version with the most reviews; the platform is shown on each card.
• Availability. The game is on sale in 2026 and runs on at least one current platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S or Switch 2.
• Variety. Different genres and lengths, from a short story to a huge role-playing game.

Games are ranked by Metacritic score; when scores tie, the newer game goes first. Our editors did not test these games for this list: scores are Metacritic aggregates, platforms and release dates come from official pages and Wikipedia, and PC requirements and languages come from Steam.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2, a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, follows gang member Arthur Morgan in the last years of the Wild West. The story is fully single-player; Red Dead Online is a separate mode. It launched on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and PS5 and Xbox Series X|S run it as a last-generation game. With over 87 million copies sold, it’s the third best-selling video game ever.

2. Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios became the first game to win Game of the Year at all five major video game awards. According to studio head Swen Vincke, a regular playthrough takes 75–100 hours, and doing everything takes about 200. You can play alone or with friends online and in split screen, except on Xbox Series S.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom follows Breath of the Wild (2017): it keeps the same Hyrule but adds floating islands in the sky and the vast Depths below. The big new feature is building: you can combine parts into devices that help in combat and exploration. An enhanced Switch 2 edition came out in June 2025, and sales reached 22.71 million copies by June 2026.

4. Elden Ring

FromSoftware set out to make an open-world game based on Dark Souls, and Elden Ring has sold more than 30 million copies. Before launch, Miyazaki estimated the main path at around 30 hours “without a lot of detours,” while admitting he wasn’t sure of the number. You can summon online helpers for a boss or fight other players, but it’s optional. The Switch 2 Tarnished Edition added two new classes.

5. Hades II

Hades II is Supergiant Games’ sequel to Hades (2020). The full version launched on PC, Mac, Switch and Switch 2 on September 25, 2025, and on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on April 14, 2026. As in any roguelike, a defeat sends you back to the start of the run. On Metacritic, the Switch 2 version scores 95 and the PC version 94.

6. Astro Bot

Astro Bot by Team Asobi was released for PlayStation’s 30th anniversary and became the highest-rated game of 2024 on Metacritic. Besides The Game Awards, it won Game of the Year at the BAFTA Games Awards and the D.I.C.E. Awards. There is no online play: Sony calls Astro Bot a single-player experience.

7. God of War Ragnarök

Ragnarök concludes the series’ Norse era and directly continues 2018’s God of War, so it’s best to start there. The PC version launched on September 19, 2024. The free Valhalla expansion is a roguelite epilogue. On Metacritic, the PS5 version scores 94 and the PC version 90.

8. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The debut game from French studio Sandfall Interactive draws on Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and Persona, and its world is inspired by the Belle Époque. The age at which the Paintress erases people drops every year. Clair Obscur became the first debut game to win Game of the Year at all five major awards, and it had sold more than 8 million copies by April 2026.

9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, The Witcher 3 has sold more than 65 million copies and collected more than 200 Game of the Year awards. On August 25, 2026, CD PROJEKT RED made the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions free for all owners.

Remastered arrives on September 29 with upgraded visuals, combat, traversal and skill tree. On PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S it’s a free upgrade for existing owners; Switch 2 gets a separate version that is already available for pre-order. A new paid expansion, Songs of the Past, follows in 2027.

10. Donkey Kong Bananza

Bananza comes from the Nintendo EPD team behind Super Mario Odyssey, and it’s the first 3D Donkey Kong platformer since Donkey Kong 64 (1999). Levels work like sandboxes: breaking through surfaces opens paths and reveals secrets. It has sold 4.52 million copies, making it the second best-selling Switch 2 game.

11. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Silksong is the sequel to Hollow Knight (2017) from Australian studio Team Cherry. It has no difficulty settings on purpose: the developers wanted players to find ways around challenges in the world itself, not in a menu. The difficulty divided critics and players alike, yet the game had sold more than 7 million copies by mid-December 2025.

12. Resident Evil Requiem

Requiem is the ninth main Resident Evil game and the first built for current-generation consoles. It launched on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 at once on February 27, 2026, selling 5 million copies in five days and more than 8 million within six months. On Metacritic, the Xbox and PC versions score higher than PS5: 93 and 92 versus 89.

13. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

The sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) comes from Czech developer Warhorse Studios. Instead of one connected world, it has two large regions: the Bohemian Paradise and the area around Kutná Hora, then the second-largest city in Bohemia after Prague. It had sold more than 6 million copies by June 2026.

14. What Remains of Edith Finch

Giant Sparrow built the game as an anthology: each Finch family story is told in its own way, and not every narrator can be trusted. IGN’s reviewer finished it in just under two hours. Besides the BAFTA, Edith Finch won best narrative awards at The Game Awards 2017 and the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards.

15. Cyberpunk 2077

At launch the game was criticized for bugs, especially on PS4 and Xbox One: Sony even pulled it from the PlayStation Store from December 2020 to June 2021. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions followed in 2022 and the Phantom Liberty expansion in 2023, and in 2025 the Switch 2 and Mac versions arrived with the expansion included.

Comparison

Game	Genre	Platforms	Metacritic score	Best for
Red Dead Redemption 2	Action-adventure	PC, PS4, Xbox One	97	Fans of slow-burning stories
Baldur’s Gate 3	RPG	PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X|S	96	RPG and D&D fans
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	Action-adventure	Switch, Switch 2	96	Nintendo console owners
Elden Ring	Action RPG	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2	96	Players who love to explore
Hades II	Roguelike	PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2	95	Low-end PC owners
Astro Bot	Platformer	PS5	94	PS5 owners, kids 10+
God of War Ragnarök	Action-adventure	PC, PS5, PS4	94	Fans of cinematic stories
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33	RPG	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S	92	Japanese RPG fans
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	Action RPG	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch	92	Players who want a big story
Donkey Kong Bananza	Platformer	Switch 2	91	Switch 2 owners
Hollow Knight: Silksong	Metroidvania	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2	90	Experienced players
Resident Evil Requiem	Survival horror	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2	89	Horror fans
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II	Action RPG	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S	89	History and realism fans
What Remains of Edith Finch	Narrative adventure	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch	88	Anyone short on time
Cyberpunk 2077	Action RPG	PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2	86	Cyberpunk fans

How to choose a single-player game

• Platform. Astro Bot is PS5-only, Donkey Kong Bananza is Switch 2-only, and Zelda is on Switch and Switch 2. God of War Ragnarök has also been on PC since 2024. Red Dead Redemption 2 was released for PS4 and Xbox One, but it runs on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility.
• Time. Big RPGs take dozens of hours: according to Larian, a regular Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough lasts 75–100 hours, and Miyazaki put Elden Ring’s main path at about 30 hours. If you’re short on time, start with What Remains of Edith Finch.
• Difficulty. Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn’t let you choose a difficulty level, and critics found it harder than the first game. According to Steam, Baldur’s Gate 3, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Cyberpunk 2077, God of War Ragnarök and The Witcher 3 have adjustable difficulty.
• Hardware and storage. What Remains of Edith Finch, Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II have the lightest requirements. God of War Ragnarök needs the most space at 190 GB, followed by Baldur’s Gate 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 at 150 GB each. If your system drive is small, you can move a Steam game to another drive without reinstalling.
• Language. On Steam, all 12 games on this list include Russian subtitles, and Baldur’s Gate 3, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Cyberpunk 2077, Hades II and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also have Ukrainian. On consoles, check the language list on the game’s store page.

Sources and methodology

Analysis of public sourcesChecked 22 September 2026

Conditions

Scores: the main score on each game’s Metacritic page (the version with the most reviews) as of September 22, 2026. The editors did not test the games.

1. Metacritic — critic scores metacritic.com
2. Wikipedia — Single-player video game en.wikipedia.org
3. CD PROJEKT RED — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered announcement cdprojekt.com
4. Steam — PC requirements and languages on game pages store.steampowered.com

FAQ

Is a single-player game the same as an offline game?

Not quite: “single-player” is about the number of players, while “offline” is about playing without an internet connection. More often than not, single-player games run offline once installed and updated, but some need a connection on first launch, for updates or for copy protection. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2’s minimum requirements on Steam list a broadband internet connection.

What is the difference between single-player and multiplayer games?

In a single-player game, one person plays and the computer controls opponents and allies. In multiplayer, people play together or against each other, online or on one screen. Some games, such as Baldur’s Gate 3, do both.

Which single-player games run on a low-end PC?

From this list: What Remains of Edith Finch (GTX 750, 2 GB RAM, 5 GB of storage), Hollow Knight: Silksong (GTX 560 Ti, 4 GB RAM, 8 GB) and Hades II (GTX 950 or integrated Intel HD 630, 8 GB RAM, 11 GB). These are the minimum requirements from the games’ Steam pages.

Which single-player games are on Nintendo Switch 2?

From this list: Donkey Kong Bananza, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Elden Ring (Tarnished Edition), Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Resident Evil Requiem and Cyberpunk 2077, plus The Witcher 3 from September 29. Among the latest releases is the tactical RPG Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, out since September 17.

What single-player games can I play on PS5?

Astro Bot is PS5-only, and among consoles God of War Ragnarök is on PlayStation alone. Beyond those, this list’s PS5 games include Baldur’s Gate 3, Elden Ring, Hades II, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The Witcher 3, Resident Evil Requiem, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, What Remains of Edith Finch and Cyberpunk 2077.