25 Great Games to Play on a Weak Computer
Exciting projects that will run seamlessly on your old PC or laptop.
If you do not have money for a gaming computer, this does not mean that you can not entertain yourself with an interesting game. Developers have released and continue to release projects, for the smooth operation of which an old PC is more than enough. So drop the boring “Klondike Solitaire” and start exploring the real gems of the video game industry.
1. Into The Breach
The creators of the space simulator FTL: Faster Than Light have released a turn-based game that can be described as chess with kaiju. In Into The Breach, you need to protect cities from underground monsters.
The project is very exciting, but far from simple: often you have to sacrifice something to live another day. And thanks to randomly generated improvements, interesting challenges and the ability to unlock combat robots, you will not get bored of the game very soon.
2. Owlboy
Colorful puzzle platformer, which was developed for nine years. Puzzles in the game can not be called super difficult, but their solution still brings a lot of satisfaction. However, the main advantage of Owlboy is memorable and lovingly created characters.
3. Starbound
A two-dimensional game about the exploration of planets, in which you yourself come up with entertainment. You can build intricate fortifications, explore alien races, search for treasures, fight ferocious enemies, or assemble the perfect team for your spaceship.
Starbound has the ability to play for many different races, alone or with a friend. In addition, a lot of modifications have been released for the game, which make it even more diverse.
4. 80 Days
An adventure with a carefully worked out scenario in which you need to go around the planet in 80 days. More than 150 cities with their own characters, secrets and plots are available for exploration. You have to constantly monitor the expenditure of money and items and decide where to go next, which is not so easy when the whole world is at your feet.
5. Devil Daggers
In Devil Daggers there are only you and endless hordes of demons that must be killed to the bitter end. The project is a tribute to the classic first-person shooters, in which the most important thing is to shoot accurately and run fast.
6. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth turns an already great game into something really big, especially if you buy additional content. Like the first part, Rebirth is a kind of shooter with randomly generated locations, in which you make your way into the depths of a godforsaken basement. In it live your most secret fears, which must be fought with the help of hundreds of strange objects.
You can play a project for dozens of hours, but still periodically find something new in it. Together with unlockable characters, challenges and the ability to play in co-op, this makes The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth a game with one of the highest replayability rates.
7. Undertale
At first glance, completely nondescript, Undertale is a very thoughtful game in which any battle can be avoided using the gift of eloquence. This is important because many characters simply do not want to kill – they are too unique.
The project is partly a shooter, periodically breaks the invisible fourth wall between the player and what is happening on the screen and causes a lot of strong feelings.
8. Borderlands
An open-world shooter in which you get weapons to get even cooler weapons. You can do this both alone and with three friends.
The humor in Borderlands may be a bit outdated, but attacking a boss to knock valuable items out of him can still trigger an adrenaline rush.
9. Shadowrun: Dragonfall
The perfect game for those who want to immerse themselves in the atmospheric, evocative world of classic RPGs. Shadowrun: Dragonfall is like Fallout or Divinity: Original Sin, but in the cyberpunk genre.
The project is attractive for the tactical opportunities that are opened during turn-based battles. But the most interesting thing about it is the thoughtful narrative.
10. Celeste
Technically, Celeste is a hardcore platformer. It is designed, like classic 8-bit games, to cause frustration among players with its complexity. But Celeste, unlike other representatives of the genre, cares about the user. The difficulties in it are justified by the plot: the hero wants to recover from mental illness, a dangerous ascent to the mountain is needed precisely for recovery.
When a player fails, the game helps them get back on their feet and continue on their way. But if you still want to test your nervous system for strength, then Celeste has a set of optional levels and items, on the passage and collection of which you can spend more than one evening.
11. Flinthook
Platformer about a space pirate who tries to steal treasure. Locations that are randomly generated, you mostly overcome with the help of a grasping hook.
Flinthook may seem like a cute and innocent game. But dodging enemies and environmental dangers while wading through confusing levels is nowhere near as easy as it might seem.
12. Hearthstone
Hearthstone has a ton of pros and cons, but for a free card game that’s available on most modern and not-so-modern platforms, it’s surprisingly difficult to achieve mastery.
The game has excellent animation, a lot of tactical features and, as a bonus for Warcraft fans, a lot of interesting characters. Even a few years after its release, Blizzard continues to add new maps and modes to Hearthstone.
13. Darkest Dungeon
If you like gothic horror movies and turn-based role-playing games, then Darkest Dungeon is for you. You control a group of adventurers who explore caves full of monsters.
So that the heroes do not go crazy and do not die, you must control their disposition of spirit. In addition, each character can acquire new, both positive and negative character traits, which also affects his effectiveness.
14. Stardew Valley
The project is inspired by the legendary series of Japanese farm simulators Harvest Moon. In Stardew Valley, designed by a single person, you’ll farm, fish, mine ore, and maybe even get married. This is a huge project that you can play endlessly – so wide opportunities in it.
15. Spelunky
The game is about a little man who makes his way through caves, changing with each new launch. Dungeons are full not only of treasures, but also of snakes, traps and other dangers. There is even a deity trying to kill the hero.
The protagonist can defend himself from enemies with a whip and jump over obstacles, but he is not destined to get to the end. You are free only to try to delay the moment of death as much as possible. It is thanks to these attempts with each new passage that you will move further and further.
16. Hyper Light Drifter
A charming complex role-playing action, the structure of the world reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda. The game has several zones of different colors full of strange creatures and mysteries. The protagonist is a tramp who suffers from a mysterious ailment.
The mechanics of Hyper Light Drifter are simple and elegant: one button is responsible for the jerk, the other for the attack with the sword. By killing monsters, you load firearms. Battles are moderately difficult, so every victory brings pleasure.
17. Sid Meier’s Civilization V
The fifth part of “Civilization” is so good that many fans of the series still prefer it to the sixth. You can run the strategy on a fairly old computer. But be prepared for the fact that the more your card grows, the more the game will slow down.
18. SUPERHOT
The concept of SUPERHOT is simple: time only moves forward when your character moves. This idea allowed the developers to create an outwardly minimalistic shooter, similar to the “Matrix”, and to Max Payne, and to the films of John Woo.
The game has not only a plot that is perhaps too serious, but also additional challenges. Thanks to them, you can get pleasure from the project for a very long time.
19. West of Loathing
A comedic cowboy game, in which the first thing attracted is not its role component, but the ubiquitous humor. Many locations can be passed in several ways, each of them carries its own unique joke. In West of Loathing you can not do without English, but this knowledge will be rewarded at its true value.
20. Invisible, Inc.
If in most turn-based tactical games you need to kill someone, then the developers of Invisible, Inc. went a little different way. In the game, the emphasis is on theft, stealth and the need to carefully inspect the location before you start to make your way through it. Everything is like in the classics like Commandos, only instead of soldiers – cool cyber thieves.
21. NEO Scavenger
NEO Scavenger is a survival game in which you travel through post-apocalyptic Michigan and try not to fall into the clutches of mutants. The project has simple graphics, but complex systems of inventory and creation of items: a significant part of the belongings you will carry in your hands. Battles in the game are served through the text, but still cause tension.
22. Gunpoint
The main goal in Gunpoint is to steal data, trying not to reveal yourself. The hero is able to reconfigure the electronics of buildings and thus remotely control doors, lighting and alarms, using them against the enemy.
Sometimes you’ll feel like the coolest strategist, and sometimes you’ll wonder how such an idiotic plan could have arisen in your head.
23. Crawl
An eerie but charming project to play in one room, in which monster players need to take turns beating a single human player. If you strike the last blow, you become a victim yourself.
In Crawl you can select and level up monsters. You, for example, are free to play as a skeleton or muddy. If you don’t happen to be human, you get anger points that you can spend on strengthening your character.
24. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
If you are looking for a large-scale Japanese role-playing game that will drag on thoroughly and for a long time, then The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the best options. Each character here is unique and interesting, and the world around him rewards the most cautious. Thanks to this, the project brings great pleasure.
Trails in the Sky is the first game in an extensive series, almost every part of which is available on PC.
25. Terraria
Minecraft slows down, but the desire to build, destroy and explore is irresistible? Try Terraria , a two-dimensional clone of the popular game from Mojang, not devoid of individuality.
You can explore deep caves, fight enemies and build entire cities. This is only a small fraction of the possibilities of the game, the action of which takes place in a randomly generated colorful world.
