But as Steam Spy founder, Sergey Galyonkin, pointed out, too many new Steam games get released each year: This is as exciting as it is worrying. On the one hand, this explains the explosion of new Mac and Linux games, and as I said before, this gives gamers more choice. Find Shooter games for macOS like AnoMalice (Episode 1 shareware), Anger Foot, sweetsdigger (sega mega drive/genesis), Siren's Wharf, Project: E.N.D on itch.io, the indie game hosting marketplace.
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Power down
Steam gaming often places a premium on power. The latest hardware, the biggest hard drives, the fastest processors. It's exciting, but in many ways, it's the antithesis of what Pocket Gamer is usually about.
So we thought we'd put together a list of pocket-friendly titles for you to check out. Many of these are touchscreen-friendly for tablets, and most are undemanding enough to run on a netbook.
We haven't neglected action titles, either, for those with miniature mice to carry about. There are some classic first-person shooters dating from before the days when the genre became all about cut-scenes.
Want more?Check out our growing collection ofBest on Steam features!
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition
By 3D Realms - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99)
Duke Nukem won fame for its humorous script and level of gore. But it managed to keep with with a diverse selection of interesting and amusing weaponry that encouraged tactical play.
You can drop pipe bombs on enemies from above, freeze them, even shrink them and stamp them underfoot.
Braid
By Number None - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99)
Another recent game that won't demand much from your hardware, Braid was rightly celebrated for its narrative curveballs and rock-hard puzzle platforming.
You won't find many other games that manage to so demanding on your brain, your emotions and your twitch fingers all at the same time. It's frustrating but, as the designer said, if you manage to beat its challenges, you will feel very good about yourself.
Terraria
By Re-Logic - buy on PC (£6.99)
A bizarre blend of exploration, action and Minecraft, Terreria offers incredible depth and variety for a game that runs on modest hardware.
If it's not enough to explore a procedurally generated world, fight boss monsters and attracting followers, you can even use your imagination to build elaborate machines.
Rome: Total War - Alexander
By The Creative Assembly - buy on PC (£2.99)
Total War hasn't managed to be a fixture on the gaming calendar since 2000 for no reason. Happily for the owners of older systems this entry from 2004 remains one of the very best.
It's a proper real-time strategy game with actual strategy in place of base-building races. Plus some good history too. So a winner all round.
Broken Sword - Director's Cut
By Revolution Software Ltd - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£4.99)
No retro-focused list would be complete without a classic point and click adventure. But on Steam, many of these have been enhanced or revamped to a level where they won't run on modest hardware.
Luckily, one of the best of the lot will. With a compelling plot and a diverse selection of logic and hidden item puzzles, it should keep you occupied for hours.
Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition
By Epic Games, Inc. - buy on PC (£5.99)
This may be the purest distillation of frenzied shooting action ever made. It eschews niceties like narrative in favour of a vast range of maps and game types to play against real people online or skilled AI bots off it.
Plus, it's graced with a wonderful selection of enormous guns and ludicrous power ups.
Free Steam Games For Mac
System Shock 2
By Irrational Games - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99)
A game this old shouldn't be this scary. You might want to give up during the opening sequence with its ponderous tutorial and dated graphics. But keep at it and you'll be rewarded with one of the most horrifying action games ever made.
It's another older game that regularly shows up in high positions on best of all time lists. And it's not hard to see why. All the limitations of the ancient video engine won't matter a jot when you're lifted out of your seat by a jump scare.
Free Steam Games For Mac
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
By Ion Storm - buy on PC (£4.99)
When people compile lists of the best PC games of all time, this regularly comes near the top in spite of having been released in 2000.
It's the combination of the free-form way in which you can complete objectives and the knock-on effects of your choices that make it such a winner. The mix is almost as intoxicating now as it was back then.
FTL: Faster Than Light
By Subset Games - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99)
Most of our picks on this list are older classics. But here's a modern game that's undemanding on hardware, but very demanding on the player.
It's got an addictive and unusual blend of rogue-like, strategy and choose your own adventure. The story is different every time you play, although it commonly ends with the horrible death of your entire crew.
Half-Life
By Valve - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99)
If you're going to try and run a first-person shooter on a limited machine, you might as well start with the best.
Half-Life remains a pivotal moment in the history of video gaming. And it's old enough now both to run on weak hardware and to be unfamiliar to younger gamers. So there's no excuse not to have experienced this genre-changer for yourself.
Sid Meier's Civilization® III Complete
By Firaxis Games - buy on PC (£2.99)
Civilization fans will tell you to play IV or V in the series for challenge and accessibility respectively. However, if you can't run either of those, Civilization 3 still lets you easily connect to network games.
That means you can enjoy playing this incredible strategy franchise against your friends, however aged your device is compared to theirs.
Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
By Black Isle Studios - buy on PC (£7.99)
Everyone's talking about Fallout 4 at the moment. While you wait, why not remind yourself that the popularity of this series started long before Fallout 3 by playing this classic iosmetric RPG.
The interface might feel dated, but the post-apocalyptic setting is just as vivid, exciting and unusual.
X-COM: UFO Defense
By MicroProse Software - buy on PC (£2.99)
A contender for possibly the most-played older game on Steam. This was the inspiration behind the much more recent XCOM: Enemy Unknown and will be instantly familiar to fans.
It's nowhere near as accessible or pretty as its successor game. But it is much more challenging, offering enormous amounts of play hours for a tiny investment.
Torchlight
By Runic Games - buy on PC and Mac (£10.99)
Torchlight isn't all that old, but the devloper made a special effort to make it as portable as possible. It's got a special netbook mode which helps it run like a dream on older machines.
And while it might be tempting to go for the more recent sequel, this original has all the fun and charm which underpins the success of the series.
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1. Spiritfarer
We start this list with a steam game that takes a unique outlook towards something often regarded as a failure: death. Spiritfarer follows the journey of Stella, a girl who guides souls to the afterlife. In this fantastical world, we travel to find some spirits willing to board our ship to the afterlife. Our job then is to care for these spirits by performing tasks such as building work stations and homes. We also help these spirits in their main and side quests. The scenery is vivid, serene, and beautiful at the same time, but even that isn’t what makes it one of the best mac games on Steam. What truly sets this game apart is how it shows the journey towards death as an essential part of character progression. Death is inevitable, and our job is to care for these spirits as they make this final journey. While we go about tasks such as gardening, trading, and exploring, spirits ruminate upon their lives and what they achieved.
2. Bioshock Infinite
One of the most popular Mac games on Steam, Bioshock Infinite, is another game that packs a punch in graphics, storyline, and gameplay. Players are in the beautiful, broken, floating city of Columbia – a place where the American Dream turns into a nightmare. You explore heavy themes such as religion, politics, and corruption as you navigate the steampunk-themed city. Bioshock is primarily a shooter game, so your character has a massive arsenal at his disposal. From machine guns, snipers, pistols, and the like, your character also uses Vigors (magical powers) to attack enemies. Hordes of enemies will come at you in both indoor and outdoor locations, allowing you to immerse yourself in the stunning landscape fully.
Bioshock is a confusing yet exhilarating steam download that’s not just fun to play but also explores heavy themes. Truly a game that’ll turn the knobs in your head, Bioshock Infinite is one of the best Mac games on Steam you’ll ever play.
3. Disco Elysium
A groundbreaking role-playing game, Disco Elysium is set in the world of Elysium, where you start as an alcoholic detective suffering from amnesia. Things get even messier when you find the hanging man in the empty lot. Now, it’s up to you to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Here’s the deal: Disco Elysium is a take on the classic RPGs of the ’90s. The game is dialogue-heavy and complete with skill checks and dialogue trees. As we level up, we can improve our four primary skills, Intellect, Motorics, Physique, and Psyche. The game gives you an unprecedented level of independence in shaping your character arc. The choices you make and how you interact with NPC’s shape the narrative of the game entirely. What makes this the best Mac game on Steam is that every person playing it has a different experience from others.
4. Stardew Valley
There is an absolute comfort that comes with playing farming simulation games and RPG’s. Stardew Valley combines both to give you an experience unmatched. In the 16-bit countryside landscape of Stardew Valley, you can do a wide range of things. From mining, farming, collecting, exploring, or crafting, you can do it to upgrade your farm. The graphics evoke nostalgia, and the farm setting is exceptionally soothing. However, Stardew Valley isn’t just about idyllic farming. Instead, you can fight enemies that get progressively stronger in the mines or create relationships with the inhabitants of the valley. You can rake up hours of gameplay in this top Mac game on Steam.
The bottom line: Stardew Valley is a relaxing, nostalgic game that you can always keep coming back to.
5. DOTA 2
Truly a player classic, there’s no doubt about the fact that DOTA 2 is one of the best mac games on Steam. DOTA 2 is an online multiplayer battle arena game (MOBA). You can choose your hero from a vast pool of characters, each with their traits. Every character is part of a team of five, with every member fulfilling vital roles. To come out on top, you need a well-balanced team. The playing field is vast, with several lanes that players must be stationed on. Each session is only over when one team’s ‘Ancient’ is destroyed. Furthermore, as you win matches, you can upgrade your team and your hero with weapons and clothing.
Here’s the deal. If you’re looking for a steam mac game that you can keep playing through the years, there’s no better option than DOTA 2.
6. Factorio
Factorio is one of the best mac strategy games you’ll play. The 2D world of Factorio is limitless, and you have to construct your factory. The factory you build will create increasingly complex products, and your factory can become colossal with time. However, as your factory starts to grow, you’ll become prone to attacks by the land's inhabitants. Initially, you’ll start off chopping wood and crafting small weapons. As your progress, you can gain the ability to construct linguistic robots, refine oil. The journey to becoming an industrial powerhouse can be enriching, and that’s what makes Factorio one of the best mac games on Steam.
It gets better: you can craft your scenarios in this uber customizable game. If you don’t find terrain or challenges you like, you can make your own!
7. The Elder Scrolls Online
If you want a game with the main storyline to keep you engaged for days on end, Elder Scrolls Online is the game for you. There are more than 100 hours of just the main story, and expansion packs can give you 30-50 hours more gameplay. You can take down enemy hordes or even dragons with your friends, or become an assassin for hire. Honestly, one of the best open-world games for mac, you can play with others or explore unchartered territories on your own. The world of Elder Scrolls is colossal, and new updates can even let you visit Skyrim.
If you’re looking for an adventure game to keep you hooked, Elder Scrolls is one of the best mac games on steam for that.
8. Dying Light
Best Steam Games On Mac
No list of the best mac games on Steam would be complete without a survival horror game. This game can be challenging to play initially, but once you get the hang of it, there’s nothing better. As your skill set expands, you can turn the rotting zombies into your playthings. The combat is one of the standout features of this game, as it involves parkour too. Your character sets off to save survivors amid a zombie apocalypse, completing side-quests in the middle。