Summary
Apple’s macOS isn’t the first platform associated with gaming, but it does have a solid selection of great games to suit any player’s taste. That’s due in no small part to recent efforts by Apple to bring popular, award-winning titles to their platforms, likeResident Evil Villageon iOS.
But owners of MacBooks and desktop iMacs need not despair - when it comes to gaming, they have a lot of options, too. Spanning the genres from first-person shooters, to grand strategy, to epic RPGs, these are ten of the best games available to play on macOS today.
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BioShock
BioShock, first released in 2007, was a game-changing FPS. Players take on the role of protagonist, Jack, who’s mysteriously drawn to the ruins of the insular underwater city of Rapture. There, he must fight his way through hordes of genetically-modified socialites as he attempts to rescue the mysterious Atlas and his family. Tensely atmospheric and full of twists and turns,BioShockis a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of Objectivism, andhappens to be a pretty good shooter besides.
The entireBioShocktrilogy, not just the first game, is available for macOS.
BioShockfeatures a variety of elemental powersbesides its more typical arsenal of weapons. Players can use the environment to their advantage, electrifying pools of water and hacking automated security turrets to defend themselves against the horde. It also includes one of the most iconic video game bosses of all time in the Big Daddy. The end result is an iconic, memorable, and ultimately revealing journey through a terrifying world. The entire trilogy is available for macOS via the online video game marketplace Steam.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
For those who prefer their gaming experiences shared,Final Fantasy XIVoffers everything they could want in an MMO, and more. With hundreds of hours of gameplay between the base game and its five expansions,including the most recent,Dawntrail,FFXIVhas enough content to keep a player invested for years. It features variable, satisfying MMO combat, mostly focused on positioning and combos, through a variety of encounters designed for all skill levels. For a moment’s peace, players can engage in a variety of mini-games, like chocobo racing or Triple Triad, or level up crafting classes for fun and profit.
FFXIVcan also be a very social game, with a huge community of supportive, creative players, and a robust system of learning and mentorship. And the best part is thatFFXIVhas an extended free trial, allowing players to hit level 70 between the base game and two expansions, with no restrictions on playtime.
Lies of Pis the (unofficial) spiritual successor toBloodbornethat never was. Drawing on classic tropes of Gothic horror, alongside the beloved fairy tale of Pinocchio,Lies of Pcombines several familiar elements into something greater than the sum of its parts. It follows the titular P as he travels the ruined city of Krat, attempting to survive a concurrent epidemic and puppet uprising. It even features a branching story based on the player’s decisions totell the truth or lie inLies of P, with the story’s ultimate conclusion depending on their cumulative truthfulness.
Lies of Pis a Soulslike, which means it draws on the fast-paced, challenging combat of games likeDark SoulsandElden Ring. But it’s not just any Soulslike - while many of the genre’s imitators fail to live up to the FromSoft originals,Lies of Pintroduces many of its own, original ideas to set it apartfrom its peers. It’s available on macOS via the Mac App Store.
Conceived and directed by Hideo Kojima, the creator of theMetal Gearseries,Death Strandingis every bit as strange as one might expect. It’s a genre-bending adventure through a dystopian future, in which the dead never really die and most of America lives in near-total isolation. Players control Sam, a porter for the Bridges company, who travels the fractured United States, attempting to bring the survivors back into contact by connecting them to the Chiral Network. Featuring an unbelievable cast, including the likes of Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Margaret Qualley, Guillermo del Toro, and more,it’s a star-studded, emotional story that players aren’t likely to forget.
Death Strandingis most easily classed as an action platformer, with elements from the stealth and third-person shooter genres. Players must balance heavy loads of packages as they traverse difficult terrain, fend off poachers, and sneak past ghosts.It also features a unique type of asynchronous multiplayerin which the helpful structures one player puts down will remain available for others who travel through that area.Death Strandingis available via the Mac App Store, and there’s also aDeath Stranding 2on the way, which may also eventually get a macOS release.
For those who prefer a strategic element to their games,theXCOMseries offers the perfect distraction on Mac. Featuring challenging, tactical gameplay,XCOMpositions players as members of the titular anti-alien agency, as they attempt to defend planet Earth from a group of mind-controlling aliens called Outsiders. In the firstgame of the recent series revival,XCOM: Enemy Unknown(a 2012 reimagining of the 1994 original), there’s an element of luck to each level, as maps and enemy placements are determined randomly, and each soldier’s chance to hit is subject to a roll of the dice.
Two modernXCOMgames,Enemy WithinandXCOM 2: War of the Chosen, are available on Mac via Steam.
Players can improve their chances by reverse engineering alien technologybetween outings, increasing their tactical options.XCOM 2furthers all these concepts with procedurally generated maps, an additional character class, and improved options for base management.
Resident Evil 4is one of the great classics of survival horror, and its faithful 2023 remake is available on Mac. In this sequel, former Raccoon City police officer Leon Kennedy visits a remote village in Spain, tasked with tracking down and safely returning the President’s daughter. But between the two of them stand hordes of mind-controlled villagers, priests, and mutated monsters who would stop at nothing to serve their evil lord.
Resident Evil Villageand the remake ofResident Evil 4are both available via the Mac App Store.
Resident Evil 4is generally credited with reinventing the series, introducing a third-person free camera that puts more emphasis on fast-paced action than tense survival. It takes place in an unforgettable setting, full of bone-chilling views, iconic characters, and dark, ancient secrets. Besides accurately adapting the original game for modern platforms,theResident Evil 4remake includes new content, including unique enemies anda sequence that allows players to control side character Luis.
For something a little bit simpler,Hadescan’t be beat. It’s aroguelike action game with a strong basis in Greek myth. Players control Zagreus, in this setting the son of Hades, as he searches the underworld for clues about his origins and, ultimately, a way out. Each run is different, as players face a wide variety of enemies, find new power-ups, and make new friends. Each time Zagreus dies, he returns to the start slightly more powerful, and must begin his long climb to freedom anew.
Hadesis simple, but effective - its battles are thrilling, andthe sensation of victory just outside one’s grasp makes it hard to put down. With gorgeous character art, it’s a sight to behold.Hadesis available on Mac via Steam. Its sequel,Hades 2, is still PC-exclusive while it’s in early access, but there’s a chance of a Mac release later. Either way, it’s worth playing the original first.
Asfor grand strategy, there’s no better option on Mac thanCivilization 6. The latest installment in the hit turn-based strategy series,Civ 6allows players to select from one of 67 (with all expansions) legendary world leaders, start as a burgeoning nation, and (hopefully) grow into a centuries-old empire. They’ll have to compete with countless other civilizations, which may be controlled either by AI or by fellow players, for domination.
Civilization 4,5, and6are available via Steam.
There are multiple paths to victory inCiv 6, and each leader has a unique ability when controlled by the player to help with those. When AI-controlled, each leader instead has a unique personality that makes for a lot of replay value. Though complicated, it’s pretty accessible even for genre newcomers, and makes the perfect starter strategy game for those looking to delve deeper.Civilization 6is available via Steam, andCiv 7is also expected to be playable on Mac when it’s released in 2025.
Disco Elysiumis an outlier. It’s a detective RPG like no other, in whichplayers control an amnesiac cop in an unfamiliar world who has drunk himself into total amnesia. Yes, he’s forgotten everything from the day of the week to his own name. As he traverses the once-great city of Martinaise, he’ll have to piece together not only who committed the murder, but also his own identity and the nature of the surrounding world.
This is aided bythe innovative Thought Cabinet system, in which players can choose which beliefs they incorporate and which they discard. Each affects the detective’s options and abilities. Every character in Martinaise is an oddball, with a unique worldview that inevitably leaves an impression on the player. And every word they choose matters. Their decisions shape their very identities, leading to a memorable and thought-provoking variety of conclusions.Disco Elysiumis available through Steam.
1Baldur’s Gate 3 Is The Best Game For Mac
Metacritic Score: 96
What else is there to say aboutBaldur’s Gate 3? Winner of five major Game of the Year awards, it’s been so widely lauded that it’s hard to do it justice. But for the uninitiated:Baldur’s Gate 3is an RPG set against the Forgotten Realms campaign backdropforDungeons & Dragons. Players can create their own characters or play as one of eight Origins, traveling across a beautiful and terrible fantasy world as they attempt to find a cure for the parasitic worms inside their heads, only to discover a much larger conspiracy.
All threeBaldur’s Gategames are available for Mac via Steam.
What truly setsBG3apart, though, is its commitment to player freedom. There are seemingly infinite ways to resolve almost every situation, and almost every single one is met with an equal and opposite consequence from the game and its NPCs. Beyond that, it hosts a memorable cast of characters, and an incredibly variable story that responds to the player’s every move. All that makesBaldur’s Gate 3the best game onApple’s macOSto date.
