Whether you've got a flagship graphics card or a more modest budget model, one thing is true. You want the best performance out of that GPU, with the highest frame rate and most graphical fidelity you can get at the resolution your monitor supports. But modern graphics cards aren't just about raw performance metrics—they also have ray tracing to deal with, AI-powered upscaling for better performance, and other features that enhance your experience.

Nvidia's RTX GPU range includes AI-assisted ray tracing, DLSS (deep learning super sampling), which renders the scene at a lower resolution and upscales it using AI, and frame generation for extra smooth frames without straining the main GPU cores. DLSS 4 is about to launch with the RTX 50 series, and it promises up to 4x frame generation while offering a new AI model for upscaling that can be of higher quality. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite DLSS-enabled games to play, with a few that will have DLSS 4 support on Day 0 when the GeForce RTX 5090 launches.

15 Final Fantasy XVI

It might be long, it might be grindy, but oh boy is it ever pretty

The Final Fantasy series is known for its wide-reaching stories, cast of seemingly thousands, and party-and turn-based combat. Except, Final Fantasy XVI changes that formula and puts you in more of an action-orientated RPG with you taking on the mantle of Clive Rosfeld, a disgraced and outcast noble who is a bit of a grump, honestly.

But it wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without some friction between characters, just as it wouldn't be one without huge, sprawling maps, that are only dwarfed by the size of the bosses you have to fight. Be warned, it does have some performance issues, but that's what DLSS was made for, so you can crank up the visual splendor and still get a smooth frame rate at 4K.

14 Black Myth: Wukong

The continuing adventures of the Monkey King need a helping hand to run at high FPS

Ever wondered what Sun Wukong, aka the Destined One, aka The Monkey King, got up to after the jaunt into the West to retrieve some Buddhist scriptures for his boss? Well, Black Myth: Wukong is here to give you one possibility, with a stunning Soulslike that's deeply rooted in Chinese mythology.

As to why you'll want to enable DLSS (and frame generation if you have a compatible GPU), well that's simple. It uses Unreal Engine 5 and supports full ray tracing, aka path tracing, which is incredibly hard on your system. Especially in the shaded woodlands where so much of the game takes place. The game enables upscaling by default, no matter what GPU you have, and you'll want to keep it that way; otherwise, it'll drop way below 60 FPS depending on your resolution.

13 Metro Exodus

One of the first games built for Nvidia technology is still one of the best

Metro Exodus uses DLSS 2.0, so you get AI upscaling without frame generation, but it's been optimized so well that you won't mind. Expect anywhere up to a 50% increase in frame rates while using DLSS, because 4A Games knows what it's doing, and you likely won't notice any difference in visual quality. That means you can spend your time enjoying the world-building instead of being distracted by visual artifacts and shimmering textures.

12 Returnal

Is it a roguelike, is it a shooter, is it a bullet hell in third-person? Who cares when it looks this good

Bullet hell shooters are a visual feast, and Returnal upends the genre by combining a Soulslike and roguelike into something special. With fast-paced action, a mind-bending story, and a neat game mechanic where sometimes you have to go back to the beginning to progress. With DLSS 3 support, it doubles your frame rate at 4K resolution while still keeping everything crispy so you can track any incoming projectiles. The shape-shifting planet awaits your exploration.

11 Red Dead Redemption 2

Yee-haw partner, enjoy the eye candy while you roam the plains

Rockstar decided that the second game in the series was going to be a prequel of sorts, so you step into the spurs of Arthur Morgan, who was a member of the same gang as John Marston, the Red Dead Redemption protagonist. While it'd be nearly as criminal as the gang to spoil any of the storyline, just know that this game is a visual feast, even so many years after its original release. As such, you'll want DLSS to give you a bit more performance back, but use the quality setting because it gives you far more visual acuity without blurriness when moving around.

10 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

Purge the Xenos, protect Humanity, and slash, stomp, and shoot your way through the Emperor's enemies

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was a huge hit, even larger than the Emperor's army of genetically enhanced super-soldiers. But at launch, it was beset with bugs and performance issues, and really could have done with an extra few months in development. The issues got patched out, the bugs got squashed like the swarms of Tyranids in the game, and then DLSS 3.5 and frame generation were added. That makes it playable on even modest RTX laptop GPUs, and you can happily curbstomp your way through the game without blurriness, even with the huge numbers of enemy characters that are on screen at one time.

9 Star Wars Outlaws

This high-stakes heist game had a rocky start but turned into one of my favs of 2024

I don't know about you, but if I see Massive Entertainment is the developer of a game, it goes straight on my wishlist. They've crafted some of my favorite in-game worlds to explore, from post-viral outbreak New York City in The Division to Pandora in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. So when I saw they were going to be making a stealth-based Star Wars game with a lovable ruffian, I was signed the heck up. And you know, slightly glitchy stealth moments aside, I had a ton of fun playing this game with DLSS and ray tracing enabled, using a speeder bike to get around, and transitioning from planetside combat to space warfare in my (new to me) spaceship.

Anyway, the super detailed game worlds you can explore all benefit immensely from DLSS, and you'll want DLAA turned on as well. Oh, and don't bother with DLSS Ray Reconstruction unless you're playing on Ultra Ray Tracing preset, because you'll get a huge performance hit, when it can boost your performance on Ultra RT. Confusing, isn't it, but that's just how it is. It'll also get day 0 support for DLSS 4 when the RTX 50 series arrives.

8 God of War Ragnarök

Boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy have I got an experience for you

While God of War Ragnarok might not have the epic scale of the early games in the series, it does have DLSS and Frame Generation, and that means you get better performance than the PlayStation 5 version of the game. It's a good port as well, with high frame rates even at 4K, and the DLSS version gives you a clearer image than the other versions of upscaling that it also supports. Enjoy freezing your way through Fimbulwinter before the prophesied end of the world. It'll also get day 0 support for DLSS 4 when the RTX 50 series arrives.

7 Marvel Rivals

We like free-to-play games just as much as we like free frames from upscaling tech

Everyone thought Marvel Rivals was a terrible idea, but it's actually one of the best hero shooters around. It features a gigantic cast of Marvel characters, both mainstream and cult classics. But unlike other esports titles, it's pretty heavy on your system. Even at 1080p resolution, you want to enable DLSS 3 for upscaling because the 1% lows can dip way below the smooth 60FPS minimum you want for a competitive shooter. And if you have a more powerful system, higher resolutions will want even more from your graphics card, ensuring DLSS is a must for smooth play, and will get DLSS 4 support once the RTX 50 series launches.

6 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

The beloved series finally makes it to PC with upscaling galore

PlayStation fans have long loved the antics of this pair, and now we can experience their hijinks in glorious ray-traced, DLSS-upscaled glory on the PC. Just know that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is pretty CPU-intensive, so lower resolutions can bottleneck the CPU in certain areas. Not every area but enough that you'll want to turn on DLSS and also frame generation to keep the action flowing smoothly.