Who says being frugal can't be fun?
Macs aren’t exactly known as the best computer gaming machines around, but everyone likes to kill time or relax with a video game now and then. Mac gaming is better than ever today with storefronts like Steam, GoG, EGS, and Origin joining the Mac App Store on the platform.
You can also simply install games directly, the same as any application. The only thing you need to do is pay. But there are also so many excellent free Mac games. Here are ten of the best free Mac games you can download right now.
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Fortnite
Fortnite is a phenomenon, a free-to-play battle royale shooter that just seems to go from strength to strength. It’s available on just about every platform (except iOS) and that includes macOS!
The basic premise of Fortnite is that a bunch of players are dropped into a single stage and then the last person standing wins. You can team up in squads as well, in which case your team has to be the last remaining. The battle royale formula was popularized by Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, which is a paid title, but Fortnite has come to dominate and turn into a pop culture phenomenon.
Hearthstone
Hearthstone is best played on an iPad in our opinion, but if you need a fix of Blizzard’s brilliant and addictive card battler the macOS version is no less enjoyable.
Just as with classic card games such as Magic The Gathering, Hearthstone players put together decks of cards representing creatures, objects, and other bits of the Warcraft universe. Then they battle each other with said cards which can attack, defend or otherwise influence the course of play.
It’s a game that’s easy to learn but hard to master, making for a fantastic competitive scene. If you want to play at the upper echelons and rank, you’ll need to spend money on booster packs. If you just want to play casually, the game is as free as the air.
League Of Legends
While Dota (Defense of the Ancients) was the Warcraft III mod that launched the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre, it has since been surpassed in popularity by League of Legends.
LoL is probably the most famous eSports title in history and you don’t need a beast of a machine or any money in your pocket to play it. What you do need is a lot of skill and patience for its learning curve
Cave Story
Not to be confused with the remade and upgraded Cave Story+, which is a paid title. Cave Story is a classic indie game that’s been ported to just about every platform.
That includes Mac and you can download this awesome side-scrolling Metroidvania adventure right now just by going here.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike in its original form was an absolute phenomenon. While CS: GO doesn’t have much in common technologically with the original Half-Life mod, it has honed the formula to a razor’s edge.
CS: GO runs great on practically any hardware, it takes pure skill to get anywhere and the shooting is frenetic and fun. It may not be the nicest-looking shooter these days, but you won’t even notice as you desperately try not to get shot.
Dota 2
The original Dota mod for Warcraft 3 started the MOBA revolution, but these days League of Legends is the big dog of the genre. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give Dota 2 a look if you’re a fan of these games.
This official, professionally-developed sequel is a bit more refined and has its own character and feel. It’s not riffing off LoL at all. If you don’t have MOBA fatigue, it’s a great alternative to the market leader.
World Of Warcraft (Up To Level 20)
You may have heard of a little game called World of Warcraft. It was quite popular at one time. OK, WoW is still pretty popular. There are usually about a quarter of a million players online at any given time. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, you can play for free until your character hits level 20 in this classic MMORPG.
By then you’ll either have no problem paying the monthly subscription or you’ll know it’s not for you. Don’t blame us if you get way too into it!
Asphalt 9: Legends
The Asphalt series of arcade racers are well-respected on mobile phones, but now you can take that pulse-pounding experience and shift it straight into your Mac! Thanks to Apple’s Catalyst conversion system that makes it relatively easy to convert iOS games to macOS, Asphalt looks and runs great.
The gameplay is also pretty solid and unless you have no patience, you don’t need to pay any money. At least not right away.
A Classic Pair: Beneath a Steel Sky & Marathon Trilogy
Despite Macs not having a great gaming reputation today, Apple’s computers have an excellent gaming pedigree. Some of the best classic games launched or appeared on their machines.
Beneath a Steel Sky is a classic point-and-click adventure that’s on just about every platform, but thanks to Good Old Games you can download and play it right now on your Mac. What’s also cool is that its modern sequel is on Apple Arcade!
Then we have the Marathon Trilogy from Bungie. This is their early work long before Halo, but these games are still a blast to play. In case you didn’t know, Halo was originally going to be a Mac exclusive, now you can see what Bungie cooked up not too long before that epic game.
Frugal Fun
Let it never be said that the Mac has no games. From expensive triple-A titles to these wonderful free Mac games, there’s no reason ever to be bored as long as you have your Mac with you. Feel free to add your suggestions to the list in the comments below!
