Games for laptops: the 15 best Laptop games

NOT everyone has access to a fully kitted-out, RGB-infused gaming PC, but laptop games have you covered. 

There are loads of games for laptops that’ll run on any modern system no matter how unequipped it is for gaming.

We’ve got a great selection of low-fidelity, but high-quality games you can enjoy on the weakest of hardware. 

Even better, because of their low-spec nature, many are on the cheap side, so you won’t have to break the bank to play them.

Mini Motorways

Mini Motorways minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4 GB
• GPU: ATI FireGL T2-128
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.00GHz
• File Size: 350 MB

When it comes to relaxing strategy games, Dinosaur Polo Club is a masterful studio. 

Its first game, Mini Metro, is beautiful, but Mini Motorways just beats it out for its minimalist style and moreish gameplay. 

It’s your job to control the flow of traffic in an increasingly busy city by building the best motorways possible. It’s great on PC, but might be even better on mobile.

Civilization 5

Sid Meier’s Civilization V minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7600
• File Size: 8 GB

Low-spec games don’t have to be simple. Civilization 5 is an extremely dense 4X strategy that will keep you hooked for hours at a time. 

Its graphics are minimal, and you can even play it in a 2D mode if you’re still struggling to get a stable frame rate. 

Build up your empire in what many consider the best game in this historic series. And you can even get together and play with loads of friends.

Moonlighter

Moonlighter minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4 GB
• GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5770
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9705
• File Size: 4 GB

Do you ever wonder where shops in RPGs get their merchandise? That Daedra Heart or Legendary Sword must’ve come from somewhere, right? 

Well, Moonlighter answers that question. You play as a humble shopkeeper by day, but a daring adventurer by night in a series of different roguelike dungeons. 

You gather your loot and then bring it up to your shop where you must work out the right price and manage the demands of your customers.

Papers, Please

Papers, Please minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB
• GPU: ATI FireGL T2-128
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.50GHz
• File Size: 100 MB

If you want something to make you think, both from a puzzling perspective and an emotional one, then look no further than Papers, Please. 

You play as a border guard in the fictional country of Arstotzka, a world very similar to an Eastern bloc country during the Cold War. 

It’s your job to check an increasingly complicated set of personal documents to accept or decline people’s entry into the country. I

f that wasn’t enough for you, it throws in many dynamic moral dilemmas for you to worry about.

Slay The Spire

Slay the Spire minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 8300 GS
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.00GHz
• File Size: 1 GB

Slay the Spire is the perfect distillation of that “one more go” mentality games like Civilization and The Binding of Isaac perfected. 

The gameplay is easy to learn, but difficult to master as you have to balance your deck with offensive and defensive cards, all while worrying about how much energy each one costs, and what your enemy is planning to do. 

You’ll fall into the rhythm of it without even realising, and you won’t want to pull yourself away.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB
• GPU: Intel HD 3000
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
• File Size: 500 MB

We all want to live the idyllic country life, and for most of us, Stardew Valley is as close as we’re going to get. 

Made entirely by one person over ten years, this game lets you farm, fish, mine, and forage in peace. 

Then you can head into town and make friends, have silly adventures, and maybe even fall in love. It’s simple and pure, something we always need more of.

Minecraft

Minecraft minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB
• GPU: Intel HD 4000
• CPU: Intel Core i3-3210
• File Size: 1 GB

What do you want us to say? It’s Minecraft. It’s the best-selling video game in history. 

It’s perhaps the most open-ended game ever made, and it can run on really low-spec hardware. 

The fact that’s even possible is a miracle, so you should definitely play it if you somehow haven’t already.

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

It’s great when games are up-front about their main objective. If you want a stylised beaten-down world, then Don’t Starve is going to absorb you for weeks at a time. 

Tim Burton wishes he could be this consistently dreary. 

This isn’t your typical survival game either. This is a world of madness where what little rules there are seem to change on a daily basis. 

Everything wants to kill you, even the trees, but you’ll never want to stop playing it. A psychiatrist might call it stockholm syndrome, but we call it good game design.

Gunpoint

Gunpoint minimum requirements: 

• Memory: 1 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 510
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.00GHz
• File Size: 700 MB

Noir detective films are great, but we’ve all had the same relatable thought while watching one: “What if the detective had super-powered mechanical trousers that let him soar through the air?” 

Well, think no more as Gunpoint has what you’re looking for. 

On top of the simple and enjoyable platforming, there’s a genius puzzle game about hacking electrical circuits and causing ridiculous chain reactions. 

Do you want to wire it so opening a door fires a guard’s gun two floors away? You can, and you should.

Inscryption

Inscryption minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 550 Ti
• CPU: Intel Core i5-760
• File Size: 3 GB

Do you like Slay the Spire but want it to be way weirder and fourth-wall breaking? Then Incsryption is the weird game for you.

Lots of games attempt the metanarrative, but few do it as well as Inscryption, as you unravel a mystery you don’t even realise exists.

However, even if you don’t care about any of that, the base deck-building card-battling game loop is really fun.

It’s one of the best virtual card games out there, and once you pile the story on top you’ve got an all-time great game.

Spelunky 2

Speluky 2 minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GTX 750
• CPU: Quad Core 2.6 GHz
• File Size: 600 MB

Roguelikes are great for laptop games because you can get an almost infinite amount of replayability out of a very small package.

Spelunky is the kind of game that will have you coming back for “one more run” over and over again.

Adventuring through the bowels of the moon and uncovering all the weird and wonderful worlds therein is as difficult as it is joyous to experience.

Celeste

Celeste minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB
• GPU: Intel HD 4000
• CPU: Intel i3 M380
• File Size: 1200 MB

Celeste is simultaneously the most punishing and most encouraging platformer you’ll ever play.

It’s a difficult game, but it’s expertly designed to ensure you’re always learning and getting better, so you’ll never want to give up in frustration.

What’s more, there’s a heartwarming story about living with anxiety and learning to cope with it and accept yourself.

It’s a beautiful game in so many ways, and you can play it on the most low-spec of devices.

Stray

Stray minimum requirements:

• Memory: 8 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 650 Ti
• CPU: Intel i5-2300
• File Size: 10 GB

Stray may just push the limits of what your average laptop can do, but it’s worth the push.

This game has you control an adorable cat through a rundown world. You’ll explore an entire city as you attempt to find your way to your family.

It’s got heart, it’s got a mystery, and it’s got a cat. What more could you ask for?

Terraria

Terraria minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2.5 GB
• GPU: 128 MB Video Memory
• CPU: 2.0 GHz
• File Size: 200 MB

This started life as a cute survival/crafting game, but over time has slowly evolved into a grand RPG adventure.

It may not have the quests and story of something like Skyrim or The Witcher, but it has an addicting progression loop.

Random events, loveable NPC, and loads of challenging bosses will keep you on your toes as you slowly unlock more and more of the world to explore.

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

It’s a non-traditional real-time strategy, but it may be the best. 

You have to explore the galaxy with your second-rate ship, encountering aliens, bartering deals, and gathering scrap to upgrade your ship so you can take down the all-powerful flagship on the other side of the galaxy. 

If you’ve ever wanted to have a boundless space adventure, then FTL does it with just 2D graphics and engaging writing. 

Things can spiral out of control ridiculously quickly, but it’s always fun, even when your efforts are hopeless. Besides, starting again is very easy, you’d be a fool not to go for just one more adventure…right?

Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.