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

We round up the 125 best Mac games available in March 2020, from real-time strategy and RPGs to racing, shooting games and puzzles, together with links to buy at the best price. Many of the games are also compatible with Windows as well, and a few with LINUX. But anything that runs on OSX, will be listed here. If you are asking in terms of supported hardware and performance, that will depend on what Mac system you are running and how demanding the games are.

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. Open world hunting game mac download.

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.

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.

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.

With a little work you can turn your Mac mini into a powerful Windows gaming system. So why not?

I just heard something: A tectonic eruption of eye-rolling from PC gamers. Look, if you've got a custom rig with Nvidia Titan hardware and 4K displays to run Crysis 3 in ridiculous mode, move along. There's nothing for you here. If, on the other hand, you already have a Mac mini, or if you've been thinking about getting one but think it's underpowered for gaming, what I have to say may surprise you.

One of my kids wanted to play Windows games that weren't available on the Mac. He can certainly play plenty of games that are out for the Mac, but most stuff still isn't out for the Mac. That's not going to change. Apple accepts that, otherwise they wouldn't provide you with the Boot Camp Assistant utility to begin with.

Our victim is a 2010-era Mac mini. That's the last Mac mini model to sport a built-in SuperDrive. It has Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics. Not as fast as the average gamer GPU card in a custom-built PC, granted. But enough to run a lot of games at acceptable frame rates.

It may surprise you, but the Mac mini is an adept little Windows gaming system. Its graphics speed can't compare to a dedicated gaming rig, but it doesn't have to. Because while it spends some of its time running Windows, it's also a great general purpose Mac running the latest version of Mavericks.

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Better at Windows games than Mac games

Whatever Mac mini you use will probably run Windows games faster than it is does Mac games. Windows graphics tend to run faster than OS X graphics do on the same hardware, thanks to more extensive Windows driver optimization and underlying differences in the way the OSes are structured.

It took a few afternoons to get everything squared away. This Mac's been well used since it was new, and its drive partition didn't pass muster with Boot Camp Assistant. Once Drive Utility patched things up I was able to get started.

I used Windows 7, which has broad game support and is available in Home Premium trim for $99 or less from online retailers.

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The alternatives

Running Mac games natively and exclusively is always an option. There are a lot of good games on the Mac, games that will run well or decently on the Mac mini. They're available from the Mac App Store, Steam, MacGameStore.com and elsewhere.

If you're looking for a Windows game experience but are reluctant to have to reboot your Mac each time to do it, you can install software that bridges the Windows gap.

VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop get the lion's share of attention, partly because they broad appeal for Mac users who also want to run business software and specialty apps that won't run on OS X natively. Both continue to optimize their releases for the broadest and fastest driver support they can.

CodeWeavers' CrossOver is worth a special look from gamers. It's optimized for games, and unlike the other two or Boot Camp, doesn't require you to have a Windows license.

Putting the pedal to the medal

How well does it actually run, you ask?

A lot of it depends on the individual performance requirements of the game. Obviously some games employ enormously sophisticated 3D engines that want more horsepower than the Mac mini can muster. Many don't, and the relatively modest integrated graphics in the mini are perfectly sufficient to play them.

If you keep your expectations realistic, you can usually tweak settings and resolutions enough to get a really playable experience. For many games, that's frame rates of 20 to 30 frames per second; for others, it's even higher, with higher levels of detail possible.

I've played a combination of FPS, strategy and RPG games on our little Mac mini, and it's held up well. My 14 year old has been pretty happy; he's been dividing his time between various Steam games he couldn't play on the Mac and other fare; a particular favorite is Smite, a multiplayer online battle arena strategy game from Hi-Rez Studios. He also says that old favorites he could play on the Mac, like Valve's own Team Fortress 2, subjectively run better on Windows than on OS X.

The bottom line

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I'm never going to ditch my Mac in favor of a Windows PC — I prefer the Mac user experience to the Windows user experience, that's all there is to it. But I can't dispute that there are a lot of fun Windows games to be played, and I'm grateful that Apple's made it easy to equip my Mac as a Windows PC.

As much as I love Sony and Microsoft's game consoles, they're just that — game consoles. The greatest thing about using a Mac for Windows gaming is that you're still using a Mac at the end of the day.

Tune back in tomorrow as I walk you through installing Boot Camp yourself. In the interim, I'm curious to see what you think: Have you set up Windows using Boot Camp Assistant? Are you tempted to?

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Apple is now redirecting (PRODUCT)RED purchases to COVID‑19 relief fund

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Now through September 30, Apple is redirecting 100% of a portion of (PRODUCT)RED purchases to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 Response.