Feb 01, 2020  Most of the best games are available on Mac. Indeed, Mac gaming has come a long way Nowadays, 5 out of the 10 most-played games on Steam support MacOS and all the top indies support it too. This Best Mac games list is nothing but a sample of all the possibilities Mac gaming has to offer.

What are the best laptop games? PC gaming isn’t always done at a desk, reclining languorously on an ergonomic leather throne, gazing upon a gaming monitor the size of your front window as hundreds of snazzy LEDs light up your peripheral vision. As anyone who has attended a LAN can attest, hauling your heavy box of tricks around is not for the faint of heart (or arm, or back) and so you might be feeling resigned to taking a break from gaming in the event life takes you on a trip away from home.

Don’t do that. Never stop gaming. Take your laptop with you and play games on the train. Play games on the beach. Play games in the laundry cupboard as you hide from your relatives. We’ll guide you through which games your laptop will be able to run, and that won’t cause you endless frustration trying to control them with a trackpad.

Some of these laptop games do require an internet connection, which is fine if you’re gaming at your relatives’ house, sitting in your childhood bedroom under your Maths Challenge certificates, but if you’re stuck in a hotel room and can’t understand the wifi instructions because they’re in Portuguese, many of these games are also playable offline.

Here’s our selection of the best laptop games:

Stardew Valley

Created by solo developer ConcernedApe, Stardew Valley is a love letter to farming games like Harvest Moon. You escape the grey drudgery of life as a faceless corporation grunt and head for the countryside to transform your grandfather’s farm, and the nearby town, into a bountiful haven, with the help of fantastical forest sprites called Junimos. Thanks to its charming, homemade pixel art, the tranquil pace, and the fact you only really need directional keys and a right and left click, Stardew Valley is the perfect laptop game.

Even better, Stardew Valley is a great co-op game – team up with up to three friends and build a farm together in multiplayer mode. As of the Stardew Valley 1.4 update, you can even play on a Four Corners map with your friends, which splits the farm into distinct regions, each with their own advantages. The update adds a cornucopia of new features and cosmetic items, but if you’re looking to add Japanese buildings or Pokemon reskins to your game to recreate a Pokemon game on PC, you’ll need our guide to the best Stardew Valley mods.

Runescape

Runescape is an MMORPG that’s been improving and expanding for 18 years. By gaming standards that should mean it’s weary and decrepit, but even now it’s brimming with personality, fresh ideas and, astonishingly, players. For the most part it’s standard MMORPG fare: start with nothing and grind away for the best and most colourful gear in the game. As it’s been going for so long however, it also has hundreds of quests and content waiting for new players to dive into. And if you need any help getting to grips with things then just ask – Runescape boasts an exceptionally helpful and positive community.

Read more: The best MMOs and MMORPGs on PC

The veteran age of the game means it still runs perfectly on any just about any rig imaginable, the only caveat being that you’ll need a reasonable internet connection to play it. It’s also very easy-going with regards to its control scheme – so long as you can click and use your number keys you’ll be on a level playing field with everyone else.

Hearthstone

A collectable card game (or CCG for all you youngsters out there) set in Blizzard’s enormous Warcraft universe. You fight against other players using decks of cards made up of magic spells, weapons, and minions that will fight for you. Using these and your chosen character’s special abilities, you must hammer away at your opponent’s 30 health points until they’re defeated. It’s got a huge player base and an ever-evolving metagame, not to mention plenty of inventive expansions to keep it feeling fresh and interesting.

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It’s a magnificently simple game, mostly static thanks to the fact that it’s a card game, and even when the magical effects fly it still won’t so much as threaten to bog down your laptop. The drag-and-drop card gameplay makes it absolutely perfect if you’re playing on a touchscreen laptop or a tablet, but it also works flawlessly with a trackpad. This recommendation does come with one proviso though: you’ll need an internet connection to play, even against the AI characters.

Dota Underlords

The Dota 2 custom game, Dota Auto Chess, skyrocketed in popularity as fans discovered the joys of autobattler games – you choose from a small random selection of heroes each round, and arrange them on your board to do battle with one of your opponents, gaining gold each turn and competing for the best team composition in a contest to be the last one standing. Underlords is Valve’s own take on the genre, introducing innovations like the presence of a powerful Underlord on each team which you’ll need to optimise carefully to best suit your squad.

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Thanks to its easy-to-use interface and streamlined graphics, Dota Underlords will run easily on any laptop, and while rounds do have a time limit, even using a trackpad to drag and drop your units shouldn’t slow you down too much.

Minecraft

Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, and it’s easy to see why – its simplicity leaves room for you to embark upon any kind of adventure you choose, whether you’re exploring, building, farming, fighting, or delving deep into one of the many Minecraft mods available. Its simplicity also means it runs flawlessly on most machines, making it one of the best laptop games without a doubt. Even if you’re on the road without an internet connection, the joys of starting fresh in new Minecraft seeds will keep you occupied for hours as you traverse the endless blocky landscape, dodging dangerous Minecraft mobs, discovering Minecraft villages and taming Minecraft foxes.

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is a role-playing game written by a novelist, where you take the reins and guide its red-eyed, beleaguered enigma of a protagonist through the investigation of a murder case in the tattered city of Revachol. From the off, the narrative grips you with both hands and shakes you until you laugh. You won’t be punching and kicking your way through the streets, however, unless you imagine your detective as some kind of flamboyant martial artist, fighting the air as a form of locomotion, which would probably suit him.

Instead, your battles are fought in conversation – by putting points into attributes and skills such as Empathy, Suggestion and Rhetoric, you’ll be able to roll to see whether you’ll successfully use these characteristics to reach deeper and uncover the truth. A dream come true for those of us who love to see our specific skill balance unlock unique interactions in a dialogue tree – and for those of us without a powerful gaming PC, as Disco Elysium’s contemplative pace and the isometric, painterly graphics make it a perfect laptop game.

Rogue Legacy

A platformer with roguelike elements, Rogue Legacy sees you march a little knight into the bowels of a randomly generated dungeon on a mission to defeat five bosses. Run, jump, hit things: it’s largely what you’d expect from a 2D side-scroller. Get killed and your character is gone for good. Of course there’s a twist. Your hero is replaced not by a bog-standard clone, but by their heir: a new character who retains some genetic traits from their parent. Traits include dwarfism, ADHD, and I.B.S. Some traits make your next playthrough agonisingly difficult, like nearsightedness making anything in the distance blurry, others are there for laughs, like I.B.S. making your character fart with every jump.

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The 2D pixel art ensures that Rogue Legacy runs smoothly on even the weakest, tiniest netbook. Rogue Legacy can also be played entirely with the keyboard, meaning no smashing the trackpad into oblivion because it’s nowhere near as effective as a mouse.

Papers, Please

A game about playing a border control officer in a corrupt communist country. Check passports and visa papers of immigrants to make sure they meet the requirements for entry. Make mistakes and your pay will be docked. Fail to pay rent, bills, and medical expenses and your family will get ill and die. Sounds simple, but some immigrants may be worth making mistakes for…

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At barely 50mb in size Papers, Please is tiny. Its pixel-art visuals are simple enough for any processor to fathom. A trackpad will do the trick to start with, but in later levels where time is pressing and there’s lots of paperwork you might want to make the leap to a proper mouse.

Into the Breach

One of the best turn-based strategy games, Into The Breach puts you in control of a team of mechs, attempting to defend civilians and buildings from giant insectoid monsters called the Vek. The enemy’s movements are telegraphed the turn before, and each level is relatively short, but the stakes are high – you’re the hero trying to protect civilians who are cheering you on, and if you lose a building to the Vek, you lose one of the nodes that power your squad – lose too many, and it’s game over.

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You’ll need to take time to puzzle out how to push back the oncoming threat optimally to avoid casualties – you don’t have to kill all the enemies, just delay them. The pace, pixel art, and easy combat controls make this a game perfect to hop into on your laptop.

The Walking Dead

A beautifully harrowing tale everyone should experience, The Walking Dead is an adventure game that plays out like an interactive TV show. You play Lee, a convicted criminal who’s about to go through the toughest period of his life as he’s thrown into a zombie apocalypse rather than a prison cell. It’s violent, shocking, and touching on a moment-to-moment basis.

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Thanks to its emphasis on story, a lot of The Walking Dead is watching and listening to characters talk and reason with each other. The more action-orientated sections only require a few stabs at the Q or E key to complete, making controlling Lee on a laptop surprisingly easy. Its comic-book visuals also keep hardware requirements very low, so most modern laptops should be up to the job of running it without issue.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

If you’re looking for a game to occupy your time while you’re travelling, The Binding of Isaac will keep you busy for hundreds of hours completing runs that are different every time. You play as Isaac, escaping from a biblical sacrifice through the basement of his home, traversing randomly generated dungeons and picking up items and power-ups along the way. The pixel art isn’t demanding on your machine, but might be a little hard on your stomach if you’re squeamish – The Binding of Isaac doesn’t shy away from the gory and macabre. Good news for laptop gamers, though – you don’t even need a mouse to play. Movement and combat is controlled solely by the keyboard, making it an ideal game to play on your laptop.

These are some of the very best games for laptops, but if you want to push the limits of your portable pal have a look through the best free PC games – if they make your laptop overheat and burn your legs at least you won’t have paid for the privilege. Alternatively, if you’ve got a high end machine, have a look at the best management games for more entertainment you can spend hours with on the road.

Finding good games for Mac® used to be slow and painful. There were very few games to choose from, and the options available were quite old. But things have definitely changed a lot.

Thanks to committed developers such as Aspyr, Feral Interactive, and even Blizzard and Valve, there are now lots of great, recent games you can play on your Mac. And with the continuous improvements of tools such as Parallels Desktop for Mac, playing Windows games on your Mac is becoming easier and easier.

Today Ric from MacgamerHQ.com will share ten of the best games you can play on macOS®, including some of the most exciting Mac games from 2018 and a few Windows-only games that run great thanks to Parallels Desktop.

1. Rise of the Tomb Raider

This action survival game is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider reboot from 2013. The game picks up right where its predecessor ended and takes Lara around the world in her quest to discover the secret of immortality.

This game has a solid story waiting for you, but what makes it great are the excellent survival elements, shooting mechanics, and insane action sequences. If you enjoy action adventure games, this is the best you will find on macOS.

Developed for Mac by Feral Interactive, Rise of the Tomb Raider is also one of the finest usages of Metal 2, the new graphics API from Apple. For the longest time, Mac games have suffered in terms of performance compared to Windows. With the improvements made to Metal 2 and the great job some studios have done to implement it, Mac games’ performance continues to improve. Also, having one of the best Mac computers for gaming certainly helps, too…

2. Fortnite: Battle Royale

Fortnite is such a sensation, it probably needs no introduction. But in the remote possibility that you’re not aware of this game, Fortnite is not only the most famous Battle Royale game right now, it’s the most famous game of the moment, period.

Pitting you in a huge map with 100 other players, you’ll need to scavenge weapons and armor to survive until you become the last man standing. Fortnite somehow creates tension and excitement for everyone involved, from the experienced to the beginners. That’s what makes it such a fun game to play.

Behind the playful graphics hides an intense game that is free to play. You read that right—the gaming sensation of the moment is one of the best free games for Mac. What are you waiting for?

3. Rocket League

Rocket League is one of those games that is hard to explain. Combining high-flying rocket-powered cars with soccer, the game pits you against another team, and you’ll need to use your battle-car to score.

That is, of course, easier said than done, because the game features an impressive physics-based gameplay that will require you to have perfect timing, placement, and anticipation in order to score. You can play solo against another opponent or as part of a team.

Needless to say, this is a multiplayer game that is ten times more fun when playing with friends. If you haven’t tried it yet and are looking for a team-focused online game, Rocket League is for you.

4. Civilization 6

Perhaps the best strategy game out there, we sure are glad that Aspyr brought Civilization 6 to MacOS. The follow-up to the stellar Civilization 5, Civ 6 lets you once again take the helm of an infant civilization and turn it into a mighty empire.

Your objective is simple: create the greatest and most powerful civilization in the World. It will then be up to you to decide how to best do it. Do you want to conquer the world using your mighty army? Or perhaps you want to create a trade empire that puts the other Civs to shame? It will be up to you. Even if you’ve played hundreds of hours of Civ games before, Civ 6 has plenty of new features and improvements in store for you.

Civ 6 also introduced new mechanics and improved graphics that take the franchise even further. A quick warning, though, Civ 6 is a very demanding game. In fact, you should have a modern Mac from 2016 onwards to properly enjoy it.

5. Subnautica

As you can see, some of the most famous AAA games support macOS. That’s great, but we can’t forget about all the world-class indie games that helped Mac gaming thrive.

Subnautica is one of the latest examples. In this survival adventure game, you’ll have to explore an alien underworld planet and gather whatever resources you can find to survive.

Subnautica somehow manages to find the right balance between survival and exploration. As you progress, you get to upgrade your equipment and go further into the depths to find better loot—but also face bigger dangers.

6. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

The sequel to one of the highest-rated RPGs of all time, Pillars of Eternity II broke crowdfunding records, raising over four million dollars. Those are insane figures, but I’m happy to report developer Obsidian made good use of every dollar it raised.

This isometric RPG managed to surpass the original in virtually every way. The game features a rich story, deep characters, a fascinating world, and improved tactical combat. Granted, this RPG is reminiscent to old-school RPGs, and if you’re looking for an action-heavy game, Pillars of Eternity might not be for you. But if you’re looking for a good story and fascinating world to immerse yourself in, give it a try.

7. DiRT Rally

DiRT Rally isn’t simply another racing game from Codemasters; this is probably their best game to date.

DiRT Rally features excellent gameplay that is both precise and exciting. The sense of speed is there, and you can always fine-tune the difficulty settings to suit your preferences. Whether you want a challenging simulation or an intense casual game, DiRT Rally can be both. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a rally fan or not—this game has so much to offer.

Plus, DiRT Rally is the perfect example of how to do a Mac port right. Feral Interactive somehow managed to create a bug-free game that looks great and can run flawlessly on older Mac computers.

8. Terraria

Described by many as Minecraft in 2D, Terraria is so much more than that.

In Terraria, every game takes place in a randomly generated world full of monsters to fight, rare resources to find, and dangerous caverns to explore. But then it’s up to you to decide the kind of game you want to play. You can focus on exploring the world in search of treasure and rare resources. You can seek one of the bosses that hide within the world and fight it to the death. Or you can build a city of your own and house mysterious allies.

Terraria may be a few years old, but because of its cool retro graphics and deep gameplay, it’s still an excellent game to play today.

9. Overwatch

In spite of all of these macOS-ready titles, there are a few games that are sorely missing.

Overwatch is one of those games. Released in 2016 and winner of most Game of the Year awards, this team-based multiplayer shooter keeps getting better and better. It currently has over 30 million registered players and has received countless free updates, including new characters and maps.

Overwatch is also the only game from Blizzard that doesn’t support macOS. That makes us miss it even more. Luckily, it can run beautifully on a Mac using Parallels Desktop. The Parallels team recently tested it again to make sure it runs properly under Windows 10 and Parallels Desktop. As you can see from the video below, the game runs beautifully.

Best Games To Play On A Mac

So if you were disappointed that Overwatch is not available for Mac, you can still play it with the help of Parallels.

10. Crysis

Conclusion

By now you should be convinced that macOS offers enough quality games to keep most gamers entertained.

And if you ever felt frustrated that the one game you were dying to play is not available on Mac, remember that you can always check if it works with Parallels Desktop. That includes demanding games such as Overwatch or brand-new games such as Jurassic World Evolution.
So, what will you be playing next?

Thanks to Ric from MacgamerHQ.com for this very interesting Guest Blog post.

Best Games For A Mac

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If you want to try out any Windows Game that doesn’t work on the Mac, check out these instructions how to make it work with Parallels Desktop for Mac and watch our Playlist with different Windows games that work perfectly on the Mac.