Best Stadia games 2021

Even though it's still in Early Access, Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 is already shaping up to be another RPG masterpiece from one of the genre's greats. The developers behind the critically-acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin series have taken the reins of the iconic Dungeons & Dragons universe in this amazing feast of turn-based tactics and wonderful storytelling. It also plays well on Stadia via PC and has surprisingly good controller support. Unfortunately, it's not on consoles yet, so this is the only way to play the game right now without a gaming PC.

Resident Evil Village continues the story of Ethan Winters and his family dealing with the fallout from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. However, unlike Biohazard, Resident Evil Village focuses much more on the action-horror aspect of the classic franchise. It gives players incredible moments to play through as they explore a castle filled with terrifying (and tall) vampires, a village overrun by Lycans, and much more.

There have been many great Assassin's Creed games, and a lot of them are on Stadia, but the recent Valhalla is excellent in its own right. It's an epic Viking story that puts you in the shoes of Eivor, a Viking warrior hellbent on revenge and conquering the lands of England. It continues the franchise's diversion into the open-world RPG genre and streamlines many elements to make it one of the best in the entire series. If you sign up for Ubisoft on Stadia, you can play a ton of Assassin's Creed games for one low subscription fee.

The Hitman games are must-plays for sure as the first games on Stadia to employ the innovative new State Share feature. They collectively offer incredible moments of espionage that make you feel like a master assassin, and they're some of the best-looking games on the platform. Hitman 3 is the latest and best, with Hitman 1-2 available at no extra cost with a Stadia Pro membership.

Here's your family-friendly entry on the list. Think of Crayta as a combination of the world-building and game creation toolset of something like Roblox. Still, it's distilled down into an accessible and appealing format with Fortnite-style visuals. You can crack open the editor on PC to really get into the nuts and bolts or hop on for some quick and easy fun with friends. Crayta is whatever you want it to be, and now it's free for anyone and everyone on Stadia, not just Pro subscribers.

Have you ever wanted to play hide and seek with a serial killer? Then have we got the game for you! Four survivors must stealthily repair generators to escape as they're trapped in a creepy arena with a deranged killer, who another player also controls. This unique, asymmetrical multiplayer format makes for one of the tensest and terrifying games out there. Crossplay means you'll always find matches with players across Stadia, PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox systems.

The ability to play Bungie's popular first-person shooter on your phone is one of the most exciting things about Stadia. The base game and its two expansions are currently free with your Stadia account, so you can test out the systems and explore the game's strange worlds on your own or with friends. Once you've honed your skills, you can start getting competitive with PvP or buy some of the expansions to keep the adventure going.

Fight off demons with a shoulder-mounted flamethrower, retractable wrist-mounted blade, and other ridiculous weaponry in the latest version of the first-person shooter. You can also test your PvP skills by taking on two friends playing demons.

As the only true MMO on Stadia, Elder Scrolls Online doesn't have a lot of competition. Luckily, it's also one of the best MMOs on the market, period. With the Stadia version, you get ultimate flexibility and play on your TV, PC, or phone. Turning in dailies and completing quick quests on mobile is super simple and makes it a great game to play in short spurts and long all-night sessions. Of course, no mandatory subscription fee is nice too.

Every best games list needs a solid racing title, and GRID fits the bill perfectly. It has an excellent blend between arcade-style racing and simulation mechanics, offering something that's not too easy but not too complex. Visually it's stunning, and it even has a Stadia-exclusive mode that can cram up to 40-players into a single race. It gets very intense very quickly.

This latest endeavor from Tarsier Studios is a significant improvement over its predecessor and delivers on its promises of a world full of "charming horror" perfectly. Little Nightmares 2 is unsettling, tense, and downright terrifying at times without ever losing the innocent exterior that draws you in. Definitely one of the first must-play games of 2021; it's got the benefit of being included at no extra charge in Stadia Pro for all subscribers. Of course, you do not need to have played the previous game before playing this one, but it will enhance the story's impact.

Play as characters from throughout the fighting game's long history or test your moves with some famous new challengers like the Joker and Spawn. This version also provides a new custom character variation system where the more you play, the more looks and moves you unlock.

Play as an outlaw trying to survive in the waning days of the Wild West in this sprawling open-world game. Make your choices carefully as you try to keep your gang together while evading lawmen. Red Dead Redemption 2 is also like two games in one, thanks to Red Dead Online's massive success and popularity.

Stadia may not have any of the Dark Souls games just yet, but you can enjoy From Software's latest outing with Sekiro, which has refined the formula to a sharpened edge. This game really pushes Stadia to its limits as a platform due to how demanding the split-second timing requirements are for parrying and attacking. It's a great game, but not if your internet connection is anything but rock-solid.

At first glance, it's pretty easy to write off Terraria as just another Minecraft clone, but this time with 2D pixel art visuals. While true on the surface, there is much more to Terraria than initially meets the eye. The Stadia version is a perfect port of the excellent sandbox survival game with zero compromises than its dedicated console counterparts. But it still may not be suitable for you if you're not into extremely open-ended crafting games.