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What are the best laptop games? PC gaming isn’t always done at a desk, reclining languorously on an ergonomic leather throne, gazing upon a gaming monitor the size of your front window as hundreds of snazzy LEDs light up your peripheral vision. As anyone who has attended a LAN can attest, hauling your heavy box of tricks around is not for the faint of heart (or arm, or back) and so you might be feeling resigned to taking a break from gaming in the event life takes you on a trip away from home.
Don’t do that. Never stop gaming. Take your laptop with you and play games on the train. Play games on the beach. Play games in the laundry cupboard as you hide from your relatives. We’ll guide you through which games for laptops you will be able to run, and that won’t cause you endless frustration trying to control them with a trackpad. You don’t need the best gaming laptop to enjoy this selection of the best PC games that are ideal for gaming on the go.
Here are the best laptop games:
Raid: Shadow Legends
Raid: Shadow Legends is a game you’ll find talked about all over the internet. It’s a game that has millions of active players and the reason that it’s so widely played is that there’s a simple, accessible formula at its core, which disguises a suprising amount of depth and nuance. It’s one of those games you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again.
This is a game that’s all about collecting a selection of Champions and then taking them into battle against a plethora of fantastical foes. There are over 300 Champions to unlock, and these range from comical reanimated skeletons, through to the real-life professional wrestler, Ronda Rousey. As you unlock more and more of them through the game’s gacha mechanics, you’ll slowly cultivate a really powerful team. Once you’re ready, you can take them to dominate in the PvP arenas.
Play Raid: Shadow Legends for free.
Magic the Gathering: Arena
Magic the Gathering: Arena is one of the best card games for PC. Although it can take a while to get the jist of the rules, it’s rich lore and beautiful artwork are just some of the reasons to learn how to play Magic the Gathering: Arena. And best of all, MTG: Arena doesn’t demand a high-end PC to play, you can still enjoy the same tantalising animations and pristine art from the comfort of your couch.
MTG: Arena receives many updates and expansions, with a range of different modes from draft games to brawl. You can play against the computer until you get the hang of things, but if you ever need a helping hand learning what each card does, check out the guides to MTG: Arena keyword abilities and keyword actions. Our sister site, Wargamer, also has a useful guide on MTGA codes that’s also worth a read. Read our Magic: The Gathering Arena review to find out more.
Play Magic: The Gathering Arena for free.
Minecraft
Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, and it’s easy to see why – its simplicity leaves room for you to embark upon any kind of adventure you choose, whether you’re exploring, building, farming, fighting, or delving deep into one of the many Minecraft mods available. Its simplicity also means it runs flawlessly on most machines, making it one of the best laptop games without a doubt. Even if you’re on the road without an internet connection, the joys of starting fresh in new Minecraft seeds will keep you occupied for hours as you traverse the endless blocky landscape, dodging dangerous Minecraft mobs, discovering Minecraft villages and taming Minecraft foxes.
Stardew Valley
Created by solo developer ConcernedApe, Stardew Valley is a love letter to farming games like Harvest Moon. You escape the grey drudgery of life as a faceless corporation grunt and head for the countryside to transform your grandfather’s farm, and the nearby town, into a bountiful haven, with the help of fantastical forest sprites called Junimos. Thanks to its charming, homemade pixel art, the tranquil pace, and the fact you only really need directional keys and a right and left click, Stardew Valley is the perfect laptop game.
Even better, Stardew Valley is a great co-op game – team up with up to three friends and build a farm together in multiplayer mode. As of the Stardew Valley 1.4 update, you can even play on a Four Corners map with your friends, which splits the farm into distinct regions, each with their own advantages. The update adds a cornucopia of new features and cosmetic items, but if you’re looking to add Japanese buildings or Pokemon reskins to your game to recreate a Pokemon game on PC, you’ll need our guide to the best Stardew Valley mods.
Runescape
Runescape is an MMORPG that’s been improving and expanding for 18 years. By gaming standards that should mean it’s weary and decrepit, but even now it’s brimming with personality, fresh ideas and, astonishingly, players. For the most part it’s standard MMORPG fare: start with nothing and grind away for the best and most colourful gear in the game. As it’s been going for so long however, it also has hundreds of quests and content waiting for new players to dive into. And if you need any help getting to grips with things then just ask – Runescape boasts an exceptionally helpful and positive community.
The veteran age of the game means it still runs perfectly on any just about any rig imaginable, the only caveat being that you’ll need a reasonable internet connection to play it. It’s also very easy-going with regards to its control scheme – so long as you can click and use your number keys you’ll be on a level playing field with everyone else. In 20 years of Runescape, the game has built up a huge, dedicated following, and if that’s not a huge endorsement, we don’t know what is.
If you’re planning on playing for the first time, read our beginners guide to Runescape, it might make stepping into this new world a little less daunting.
Hearthstone
A collectable card game (or CCG for all you youngsters out there) set in Blizzard’s enormous Warcraft universe. You fight against other players using decks of cards made up of magic spells, weapons, and minions that will fight for you. Using these and your chosen character’s special abilities, you must hammer away at your opponent’s 30 health points until they’re defeated. It’s got a huge player base and an ever-evolving metagame, not to mention plenty of inventive expansions to keep it feeling fresh and interesting.
It’s a magnificently simple game, mostly static thanks to the fact that it’s a card game, and even when the magical effects fly it still won’t so much as threaten to bog down your laptop. The drag-and-drop card gameplay makes it absolutely perfect if you’re playing on a touchscreen laptop or a tablet, but it also works flawlessly with a trackpad. This recommendation does come with one proviso though: you’ll need an internet connection to play, even against the AI characters.
Dota Underlords
The Dota 2 custom game, Dota Auto Chess, skyrocketed in popularity as fans discovered the joys of autobattler games – you choose from a small random selection of heroes each round, and arrange them on your board to do battle with one of your opponents, gaining gold each turn and competing for the best team composition in a contest to be the last one standing. Underlords is Valve’s own take on the genre, introducing innovations like the presence of a powerful Underlord on each team which you’ll need to optimise carefully to best suit your squad. Once you’ve mastered it, there’s nothing quite like working up through the Dota Underlords ranking system.
Thanks to its easy-to-use interface and streamlined graphics, Dota Underlords will run easily on any laptop, and while rounds do have a time limit, even using a trackpad to drag and drop your units shouldn’t slow you down too much.
Check out our Dota Underlords guide to make your first time in the game a little easier.
Disco Elysium
Instead, your battles are fought in conversation – by putting points into attributes and skills such as Empathy, Suggestion and Rhetoric, you’ll be able to roll to see whether you’ll successfully use these characteristics to reach deeper and uncover the truth. A dream come true for those of us who love to see our specific skill balance unlock unique interactions in a dialogue tree – and for those of us without a powerful gaming PC, as Disco Elysium’s contemplative pace and the isometric, painterly graphics make it a perfect laptop game.
It’s a game that offers a fair bit of challenge, but if you like your games really hard, you’ll be pleased to hear that there is a Disco Elysium hardcore mode. Some players even consider that the definitive way to experience the game – regardless of your feelings, a choice of difficulty options is always a plus. Read our Disco Elysium review to find out more about the game.
Rogue Legacy
A platformer with roguelike elements, Rogue Legacy sees you march a little knight into the bowels of a randomly generated dungeon on a mission to defeat five bosses. Run, jump, hit things: it’s largely what you’d expect from a 2D side-scroller. Get killed and your character is gone for good. Of course there’s a twist. Your hero is replaced not by a bog-standard clone, but by their heir: a new character who retains some genetic traits from their parent. Traits include dwarfism, ADHD, and I.B.S. Some traits make your next playthrough agonisingly difficult, like nearsightedness making anything in the distance blurry, others are there for laughs, like I.B.S. making your character fart with every jump.
The 2D pixel art ensures that Rogue Legacy runs smoothly on even the weakest, tiniest netbook. Rogue Legacy can also be played entirely with the keyboard, meaning no smashing the trackpad into oblivion because it’s nowhere near as effective as a mouse. Read our Rogue Legacy review to find out more about the game.
Papers, Please
A game about playing a border control officer in a corrupt communist country. Check passports and visa papers of immigrants to make sure they meet the requirements for entry. Make mistakes and your pay will be docked. Fail to pay rent, bills, and medical expenses and your family will get ill and die. Sounds simple, but some immigrants may be worth making mistakes for…
Into the Breach
One of the best turn-based strategy games, Into The Breach puts you in control of a team of mechs, attempting to defend civilians and buildings from giant insectoid monsters called the Vek. The enemy’s movements are telegraphed the turn before, and each level is relatively short, but the stakes are high – you’re the hero trying to protect civilians who are cheering you on, and if you lose a building to the Vek, you lose one of the nodes that power your squad – lose too many, and it’s game over.
You’ll need to take time to puzzle out how to push back the oncoming threat optimally to avoid casualties – you don’t have to kill all the enemies, just delay them. The pace, pixel art, and easy combat controls make this a game perfect to hop into on your laptop.
The Walking Dead
A beautifully harrowing tale everyone should experience, The Walking Dead is an adventure game that plays out like an interactive TV show. You play Lee, a convicted criminal who’s about to go through the toughest period of his life as he’s thrown into a zombie apocalypse rather than a prison cell. It’s violent, shocking, and touching on a moment-to-moment basis.
Thanks to its emphasis on story, a lot of The Walking Dead is watching and listening to characters talk and reason with each other. The more action-orientated sections only require a few stabs at the Q or E key to complete, making controlling Lee on a laptop surprisingly easy. Its comic-book visuals also keep hardware requirements very low, so most modern laptops should be up to the job of running it without issue.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
If you’re looking for a game to occupy your time while you’re travelling, The Binding of Isaac will keep you busy for hundreds of hours completing runs that are different every time. You play as Isaac, escaping from a biblical sacrifice through the basement of his home, traversing randomly generated dungeons and picking up items and power-ups along the way. The pixel art isn’t demanding on your machine, but might be a little hard on your stomach if you’re squeamish – The Binding of Isaac doesn’t shy away from the gory and macabre. Good news for laptop gamers, though – you don’t even need a mouse to play. Movement and combat is controlled solely by the keyboard, making it an ideal game to play on your laptop.
Albion Online
Albion Online is not your average laid back laptop-couch experience. This sandbox MMO places an unrivalled emphasis on combat, whether that’s against monsters in PvE, in massive guild vs. guild brawls, or just two players duking it out for bragging rights.
Albion Online is one of the best MMOs on PC, although you should expect a hefty loot grind to keep pace with the game’s dedicated community. With no traditional class system you are the gear that you wear, which becomes especially important when venturing into the game’s PvP zones where you drop everything on death. Be prepared to lose hundreds of hours in Albion’s massive map, building up resilience to Albion’s unforgiving loot-drop system, where one minute you could be strolling around in an immaculate suit of armour, and the next you’re scrabbling together rusty weapons and ragged tunics.
Untitled Goose Game
Set in a quaint English village, the low-poly, simplistic, yet highly effective artstyle means it’s the ideal laptop game to spend the afternoon bothering the locals – it’s pretty good for relieving stress, too. It’s easy to see how Untitled Goose Game sales have passed one million.
These are some of the very best games for laptops, but if you want to push the limits of your portable pal have a look through the best free PC games – if they make your laptop overheat and burn your legs at least you won’t have paid for the privilege. Alternatively, if you’ve got a high end machine, have a look at the best management games for more entertainment you can spend hours with on the road.
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