Laptop games: 10 best low-spec PC games

Almost any PC will play these games, and most of them are cheap enough to pick up on Steam, GOG, or another digital storefront. You might even survive Netflix’s price hike now.

Whether you’re new to gaming or a seasoned pro, here are some of the best PC games right now. Appearances can be deceiving, you know.

don’t starve

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4GB

• GPUs: AMD Radeon HD 5450

• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.70GHz

• File size: 500 MB

Survive in a Tim Burton paper world where everything tries to kill you and nothing makes sense. The world of Don’t Starve is a real ecosystem and you are waaaay at the bottom of the food chain. Build a base, craft survival tools and see how long you can last. Every time you think you feel comfortable, you’re sure to find a new way to die. Once death inevitably arrives, you must start from scratch, only this time you will be armed with more knowledge, ready to face this alien and incomprehensible landscape once more.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

Minecraft

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB

• GPUs: Intel HD 4000

• CPU: Intel Core i3-3210

• File size: 1 GB

The game that is all games. Build a pub with your friends and spit out a few pints. Create a complex mining operation to extract ore from the earth. Craft powerful weapons and travel through portals to battle interdimensional threats. Build a massive castle protected by traps. Participate in fun mini-games. The only limit to your fun in Minecraft is your own imagination, as long as what you imagine is made entirely of blocks.

Play it now:

• minecraft.net

Stardew Valley

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB

• GPUs: Intel HD 3000

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

• File size: 500 MB

Become a master fisherman, chat with the locals, and grow crops in this charming little farm life simulation. Start with a dilapidated farmhouse and turn it into a capitalist nightmare. Or not. There are many ways to enjoy Stardew Valley aside from weeding and planting vegetables. Maybe you will become a monster hunter and spend most of your time in the mines. Or maybe you’ll just be a massive flirt and try to marry the townspeople.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

kill the arrow

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4GB

• GPUs: NVIDIA GeForce 8300GS

• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.00GHz

• File size: 1 GB

Don’t like card games? Don’t worry, Slay the Spire will cost you dozens of hours anyway. Simple on the surface, it’s a game that reveals its complexity in layers, dishing out new maps and playstyles at a pace that keeps you hitting the start for one more round. Before you know it, you’re divorced.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

In the breach

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 1 GB

• GPUs: Intel HD 3000

• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.70GHz

• File size: 400 MB

If you couldn’t forget that Slay the Spire is a card game, how about a strategy game with massive mechs and killer kaiju instead? Taking turns on a grid, think of Into the Breach a bit like chess, if chess lets you punch giant ants through mountains. If you don’t like it, consider checking your pulse to make sure you’re still alive.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

Disco Elysee

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB

• GPUs: AMD Radeon HD 5450

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Q6867

• File size: 20 GB

Where most RPGs want you to fight and defeat a god, Disco Elysium puts you in the shoes (once you find them) of a deadpan cop who rushes into the abyss. Originally banned in Australia for its depiction of drug use, this isn’t a game that does stuff just for shock value. He has something to say about addiction, the human condition, aging, and every political trend under the sun. The writing there is beautiful.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

papers please

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 2 GB

• GPUs: ATI FireGL T2-128

• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.50GHz

• File size: 100 MB

Another game with something to say. Papers, Please puts you in the role of a border agent for a fictional Eastern Bloc country, stamping papers or refusing entry. You get paid like crap, your family is starving, and everyone who comes to the border has a personal reason for wanting to cross. How do you reconcile your own needs with your conscience?

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

Hotline Miami

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 512 MB

• GPUs: ATI FireGL T2-128

• CPU: Intel Atom Z515

• File size: 250 MB

The sequel to this was banned in Australia, but the original is a superior game anyway. Hyper violent, super stylish and darker than a pint of Guinness, Hotline Miami sees you pull off a series of brutal gang slays. Every bullet kills, every blow is fatal. Once the dust settles, you’re forced to walk back through the carnage you’ve created so you can reflect on what you’ve done.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

prison architect

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4GB

• GPUs: NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4600

• File size: 300 MB

The American prison system is big business and you are a cog in the machine. Build your prisons to maximize profits, support your inmates, and suppress any uprisings. Do you want to solve institutional problems that exist in real life, or do you want to do this paper? It’s your call.

Play it now:

• Steam

• GOG

Moonlight

Minimum requirements:

• Memory: 4GB

• GPUs: ATI Radeon HD 5770

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9705

• File size: 4GB

On the surface, Moonlighter is a simple dungeon crawler – head to ancient ruins, fight monsters, and escape with loot. But what happens outside the dungeon is arguably more important here. You see, you are a trader specializing in rare items. When you don’t dig deep, you sell your loot. Watch your customers’ reactions to determine the price of each monster component and watch your profits soar.

Play it now:

• Steam

— Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF.