If you’re looking for some cozy laptop games, you’ve come to the right place. Not everyone has access to a supercomputer to play PC games, but there are plenty of games for laptops if you have a machine that’s on par with your toaster in terms of raw graphical power.
Indie developers are creating some of the best experiences in gaming right now, and indie games aren’t walled off behind expensive graphics cards and beefy gaming rigs. And if you are playing games for laptops, you can even game on the go. Lovely.
Because we’re nice, we’ve hand-selected some of the best laptop games you can play right now. Not only will almost any PC run these titles, but they’re mostly pretty cheap to pick up on Steam as well, which is always a bonus in a year when food, power, fuel, and even Netflix prices are on the rise. Anyone who plays games should at least experience everything on this list at least once. In no particular order, let’s dive in.
1. Gunpoint
Gunpoint minimum requirements:
Memory: 1 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 510
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.00GHz
File Size: 700 MB
What if you were a private detective who creeps around and slaps people unconscious with doors? It’s a question we ask ourselves every night, and Gunpoint provides the answer: it would be extremely fun. This is a 2D stealth game where you can rewire levels, turning every door and light switch into a potentially deadly weapon. Outside of that, you can pounce on unaware enemies and punch them to sleep, each click of the mouse raining down meat-based violence on their soft, pixelled faces. There’s a slapstick comedy to the immediacy of Gunpoint’s violence that you just can’t get anywhere else, and that’s what gaming is all about: lovely, lovely violence.
2. Burnout Paradise Remastered
- OS: Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit.
- GPU: NVidia GT 450 or ATI Radeon HD 5750.
- CPU: Intel i3 2120 @ 3.3GHz or Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.40GHz.
- Memory: 4GB.
- DirectX: 11.
- HDD Space: 8Gb.
Burnout Paradise is a 2008 open world racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was also released on the PlayStation Store and via Xbox Live Marketplace's Games on Demand. It was later added to the libraries of Greatest Hits and Platinum Hits titles and was made backward compatible with the Xbox One in November 2016. It is the first game in the Burnout series to be released on Microsoft Windows.
Paradise's gameplay is set in the fictional "Paradise City", an open world in which players can compete in several types of races. Players can also compete online, which includes additional game modes, such as "Cops and Robbers". Several free game updates introduce new features such as a time-of-day cycle and motorcycles. The game also features paid downloadable content in the form of new cars and the fictional "Big Surf Island".
The game was very well received upon release, with aggregate score sites GameRankings reporting an average score of 88% and Metacritic reporting an average score of 88 out of 100. The game won several awards in 2008, with Spike TV, GameTrailers and GameSpot all awarding it Best Driving Game. Reviewers felt the game had an excellent sense of speed, and praised the open world gameplay, a first for the Burnout series. Burnout Paradise is considered by some to be one of the greatest video games ever made.
A remastered version, titled Burnout Paradise Remastered, which includes all downloadable content (except the Time Savers Pack) and support for higher-resolution displays, was released on 16 March 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on 21 August for Windows via EA's Origin platform. The online service for the original version of the game was permanently discontinued in August 2019.[4] The remastered version for Nintendo Switch with refreshed online servers was released on 19 June 2020.[5][6]
Burnout Paradise is set in an open-world environment.[7] Players have the opportunity to progress at their own pace and level; the game, unlike others, is not actually set to a rigid gameplay framework.[8] According to Alex Ward, creative director of the game at developer Criterion Games, this game is a "complete reinvention" of the Burnout series. He also said that "to create truly next-generation gameplay, they needed to create a truly next-generation game from the ground up".[9] Initially day and night cycles were not included in the game but a software update entitled "Davis" added this element to the game. For the first time in the series, records are now kept on a player's drivers license, including statistics such as fastest time and biggest crash for every street in the game. Completing events raises the driver rank, which unlocks access to new cars.[10]
In previous Burnout games, "Crash Mode", was a dedicated mode in which players were given multiple scenarios in which to cause the biggest crash. In Burnout Paradise, "Crash Mode", now called "Showtime", can be initiated at any time and place in the game. Showtime does differ from the previous incarnation of Crash Mode being that instead of crashing into a busy intersection and watching a crash play out, Showtime has bouncing the vehicle around for as long as possible to gain points. During a race players may now take any route to get to the destination.[11] Races and other events are started by simply stopping at any of the traffic lights and applying the accelerator and brake at the same time. The game features the ability to customize race settings, such as traffic, race routes, and including/excluding cars based on their boost types.[11][12]
Paradise's damage system has also been reworked. There are now two different types of crashes based on the car's condition after the crash.[13] If the player's car manages to retain all four wheels and does not break its chassis, the player can drive out of the crash and continue playing; this is called a "driveaway". If a player's car loses any wheels, the engine is damaged too much from an impact, the car lands on its side or roof or lands outside of the game's map, the car is in a "wrecked" state and the player will have to wait until their car is reset. Cars dynamically compress and deform around objects they crash into.
Cars now have manufacturer and model names, which are loosely based on real-world cars. Cars may not be "tuned up" or customized apart from color changes, which may be done in real-time by driving through the forecourt of a paint shop, or by selecting the color during vehicle selection.[14] Other real-time changes include driving through the forecourt of a gas station to automatically refill the vehicle's boost meter, and driving through the forecourt of a repair shop to automatically repair the vehicle.[15]
3. FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light minimum requirements:
Memory: 1 GB
GPU: Intel HD 3000
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
File Size: 175 MB
Manage a starship as it tries to escape a fleet of enemies, navigating through star systems and dealing with threats – from asteroid fields to aggressive slug aliens – and opportunities – from valuable salvage to friendly slug aliens – along the way. FTL might have a minimalist, top-down visual style, but there’s a lot going on when you look beyond its basic graphics. Ship on ship combat is more tactical here than it is in most games where you take direct control – aiming at weapon systems to take them offline, cutting off an enemy’s oxygen supply, and sending over a boarding party are just some of your options. It’s a space game about putting out fires – sometimes literally, by opening the airlock doors and starving the flames of oxygen – while juggling metaphorical hand grenades.
4. Don’t Starve
Don’t Starve minimum requirements:
Memory: 4 GB
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 5450
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.70GHz
File Size: 500 MB
In a Tim Burton-esque paper world, you’re forced to survive, learn the rules and, oh, don’t starve. In a market completely saturated with survival games, Don’t Starve managed to carve out a unique niche. This isn’t some dull post-apocalyptic Earth where buff men in combat fatigues try to crack open cans of out-of-date beans – this is an alien, incomprehensible world that’s filled with threats you must study and learn over multiple playthroughs. And just when you think you’re getting comfortable – boom, you just found a new way to die. Death here means starting again from scratch, and your only progression is the knowledge you gained before your untimely demise.
5. Minecraft
Minecraft minimum requirements:
Memory: 2 GB
GPU: Intel HD 4000
CPU: Intel Core i3-3210
File Size: 1 GB
What can anyone even say about this game that hasn’t already been said? Who hasn’t already played it? Minecraft is a cultural phenomenon. It’s a game that is all games. One part survival sim, another part boundless creation engine, it’s a place where you can be almost anything you want, as long as it’s made out of blocks. It’s even one of the best co-op games you can play. It also runs on the lowest spec PCs imaginable.