Everyone’s favourite pastime these days is playing video games in their spare time. Some people prefer adventure sports, while others prefer puzzles, racing or other types of games on their smartphones and tablets. However, playing games on bigger screens like PC, Xbox and PlayStation is a whole next-level experience.
If you’re a Mac user, you’re probably well aware that Apple’s machines aren’t renowned for their gaming capabilities. Windows 10 PCs with similar prices have significantly higher gaming performance, giving Windows customers access to more game titles. However, this does not mean that our Mac users will have to buy a Windows PC to play the game. Many popular Windows games have now been ported to macOS. And Mac users have tons of free games to get them started. So, if you are a Mac user who wants to explore the vast world of gaming, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will see the best free Mac games that you can play in 2022.
Table of Contents
Best Games to Play on Mac
- Genshin Impact
- Hearthstone
- Doki Doki Literature Club!
- Fortnite Battle Royale
- Dota 2
- Hades
- StarCraft 2 Free to Play
- Team Fortress 2 Free to Play
- League of Legends
- Township
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Paladins
- Heroes of the Storm
- World of Warcraft
- Spelunky
- Kingdom Chronicles
- The Elder Scrolls: Legends
- Word Connect Fun
- Sniper Ops 3D
- Supernova
- Path of Exile
- Lord of the Rings Online
- Pixel Starships
- Epic Cards Battle
- OpenTTD
1. Genshin Impact
If you’re looking for a game that mixes combat, storytelling, and exploration together into an open-world adventure, look no further than Genshin Impact. This anime-inspired role-playing game takes place in the world of Teyvat, where you set out to discover the whereabouts of your missing sibling while uncovering the mysteries behind The Seven—the seven elemental gods who rule over Teyvat. You’ll use a mix of melee attacks and magic to take down enemies as you explore this colorful land that draws inspiration from real-world locations such as Japan and France.
The game uses gacha mechanics that allow you to buy loot boxes with in-game currency or real money to get new characters and weapons at random. But if you don’t want to spend money, it’s still easy enough to enjoy this RPG for free by playing through the story mode and completing quests as they become available. The game is not available to download on Mac and it can be played online.
2. Hearthstone
Hearthstone is developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment and was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in 2014. The game features cross-platform play, allowing players on any supported device to compete with each other. The game is free to play, but players can choose to pay real money to buy additional cards, card packs or card bundles.
Players start the game with a limited collection of basic cards but can gain rarer ones via purchasing packs or winning games against other players which earn in-game gold.
Collectible card games are played using a deck of cards that represent magical spells, items or character abilities that players use against each other in a turn-based strategy format. Hearthstone is based on the Warcraft series of games, characters, locations and other elements from these other games are present within Hearthstone.
3. Doki Doki Literature Club!
Doki Doki Literature Club! is a visual novel horror game with dark themes. It was released in 2017 and developed by Team Salvato, who also worked on the popular indie game Undertale. The game is free to play (although you are encouraged to donate) and is available from its official website for Mac OS.
Its narrative starts off innocently enough: you join your high school’s literature club where you read poetry with four cute girls. As you play the game, though, things take an unsettling turn—which isn’t surprising if you know that doki doki means “heartbeat” in Japanese.
4. Fortnite Battle Royale
Fortnite is a hugely popular online game that’s also available for Mac. Fortnite has aesthetic similarities with Minecraft — colorful cartoonish graphics, blocky characters — but it plays like PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds). In this Battle Royale-style shooter game, 100 players drop into an online battlefield and have to scavenge for weapons and supplies while fighting off your opponents to the death. You can play alone or as part of a 4-player team. The last player alive wins the match!
The game is very well optimized to run smoothly on most Mac hardware. As long as you have at least Intel HD 4000 graphics hardware, you’re likely to have a good time playing this fun free game on your Mac.
5. Dota 2
Dota 2 is the sequel to a mod for Warcraft III that is still being played by millions of people. Valve’s MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game has been praised by critics and has a large scene of competitive play, also known as esports. The game offers 123 playable heroes, each with four abilities and one ultimate ability that are unlocked over the course of a match in which you fight the other team.
You’ll spend most of your time in Dota 2 fighting alongside players from around the world, destroying enemy buildings and towers to win matches. All this can be had for free, though players can purchase cosmetic items for their characters using real money. If you like Dota 2, then you may want to pick up Artifact.
6. Hades
Hades comes from Supergiant Games, the studio behind other hits like Bastion and Transistor. You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades. Zagreus can meet and interact with a cast of colorful characters while he’s trying to escape the Underworld.
Every time you die in Hades, you learn more about your family and friends through conversations. You’ll go through combat encounters with lots of different weapons in this free Mac game.
7. StarCraft 2 Free to Play
StarCraft 2 is a real-time strategy game that has you advancing your own base while simultaneously attacking the other players. It’s a great way to pass the time and hone your strategic skills.
You can play single-player missions, or go online to battle other people and try to climb the leaderboards. StarCraft 2 was first released in 2010, but it has been updated several times since then, with features and improvements added by Blizzard. The game is available for Macs as well as for PCs running Windows or Linux, so you can play against more people regardless of their platform of choice.
8. Team Fortress 2 Free to Play
Team Fortress 2 is a war-themed hat simulator filled with over-the-top violence, parodies of 1960s national stereotypes, James Bond movies, and enough cosmetic items to make the Gravelmaw fashion scene proud. The whole game is consistently absurd and amusing, from the enemy Heavy’s ability to knock everybody flat on their backs to the team leader’s chirpy confirmation messages (“Mini-crits! Mini-crits!”). There are hundreds of weapons, hats and more to collect, craft, buy and trade. It’s one of the best free games you could hope to play on your Mac Pc.
The game itself is completely free. You can download it and start playing with no financial outlay required. There are optional in-game purchases available that let you unlock certain cosmetic items faster or buy “keys” that let you open special crates containing random cosmetic items (some of these crates have better odds of giving rarer items than others). But if you’re playing alone or with a small group who don’t mind waiting for their unlocks, none of these things will affect how much fun you’ll have.
9. League of Legends
League of Legends, also known as LoL, is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. The game was released in 2009 to generally positive reviews and has since exploded in popularity. It’s one of the most played games worldwide and is especially popular among the competitive gaming crowd.
If you’ve never heard of a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), it’s a genre that pits two teams of players against each other in an arena-type setting. Each team controls a base on opposite corners of the map, with three paths connecting them to their enemy’s base. The game has many similarities to Dota 2 and Heroes of Newerth in terms of gameplay mechanics.
10. Township
If you like the idea of building a city and farming, then Township is the game for you. You can build farms and factories, give jobs to citizens, collect rent, and play with your friends.
You can also visit your friend’s towns to complete orders or sell goods. In addition to visiting townships around the world, you can also go on adventures. These include going to a zoo where you repair exhibits and cure sick animals to help them become healthy again. The game is free-to-play on Mac but has in-app purchases if you want additional bonuses.
11. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a best-selling, multi-player first-person shooter video game developed by Valve. It is an esport, with many tournaments and competitions being held around the world. The gameplay is divided into rounds, in which two teams attempt to kill each other with the ultimate goal of winning more rounds than the opposing team.
It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the most popular games on Steam, never mind just Mac. If you’re looking for a fun, competitive game that has lots of tournaments and competitions to watch and play in—or just want to have fun playing against your friends—then Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may be the game for you. You can also play it on PC if you don’t like playing games on a Mac or prefer gaming on PC instead.
12. Paladins
The first thing you need to know is what Paladins is. Released in May 2016, it’s a free-to-play first-person shooter video game developed and published by Evil Mojo Games. The game features a number of different hero characters that players can choose from before the start of each match. Each hero has their own unique abilities, personality, and playstyle.
The main objective of Paladins is to capture the enemy team’s base with your team. You can also win by eliminating all enemies or by capturing the neutral objective on the map when it’s up for grabs. As you play, you’ll earn currency which you can use to unlock new heroes or upgrade existing ones. The best part? All heroes are available from day one and can be rented instead of purchased outright using in-game currency if preferred.
13. Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm is a free MOBA game that allows you to play with other players online, or against AI. You can choose between five different hero classes (Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist, and Multiclass), each with their own unique abilities. The heroes come from Blizzard universes like Warcraft and beyond.
You can choose from over 100 heroes to play with and play against other players in quick games on different maps like Battlefield of Eternity (two Immortals face off), Cursed Hollow (gather cursed tributes for an advantage), Dragon Shire (capture shrines for a dragon knight ally), Garden of Terror (kill garden terrors to plant seeds at night), Hanamura Temple (escort payloads through lanes), Mines of Dalaran (hold mines until they explode) as well as Sky Temple, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Towers of Doom, Volskaya Foundry and Warhead Junction. Whatever map you end up playing on will affect the gameplay mechanics due to special map objectives that the two teams need to compete over.
14. World of Warcraft
If you’re new to the MMORPG genre and want to try out a game that has stood the test of time, World of Warcraft is definitely worth a look. The game is now free-to-play, so you can download it and dive right in without paying a penny. You’ll be limited to level 20, though there are restrictions on your character depending on which race you choose. However, if you get addicted (which isn’t unusual for an MMO), there are plenty of expansions available at extra cost.
It’s also easy for beginners thanks in part to its focus on questing—you won’t have to figure out what equipment and stats are best for each class or spend hours grinding away with no purpose or goals in mind.
You can play alone from start to finish as well as in coop mode with other players online if they happen to be nearby when you take down an enemy boss or complete a challenging quest.
15. Spelunky
Spelunky is a 2D platformer that has you exploring caves and collecting treasure. You play as an unnamed explorer who searches for rare treasures in the depths of a cave system. There are different ways to complete each level, such as avoiding enemies or fighting them, so you must plan your strategy before going in. The game features randomly-generated levels, which means every time you play it feels like a new experience.
Spelunky includes challenging gameplay mechanics that make it fun for both casual players and hardcore gamers alike. Its graphics are simple but effective at creating an atmosphere of mystery and danger which makes this game stand out from other similar titles on this list. The controls are easy to use with just two buttons (left/right) controlling movement while jumping occurs automatically when near ledges or walls.”
16. Kingdom Chronicles
This 2D strategy game brings a new twist to the genre. Take over the role of John Brave as he sets out to save his beloved kingdom from evil forces and restore its former glory. You will have to build, reconstruct and develop your kingdom while fighting an array of evil goblins, trolls and other monsters.
Kingdom Chronicles is great for casual gamers who are looking for a simple yet entertaining game with a cute storyline. The game is free-to-play on Steam with additional in-game purchases available.
17. The Elder Scrolls: Legends
The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a great free game that you can play on your Mac. It’s one of the most popular digital collectible card game (CCG) that has excellent appeal for a couple of different reasons. First, it’s easily accessible to new gamers who want to try out the genre but might not have experience with CCGs. Second, it has depth like any other top-tier CCG so seasoned gamers can also enjoy it immensely.
Best of all, you can get started collecting cards and battling opponents right away because The Elder Scrolls: Legends comes with 500 standard cards; that’s more than enough to create a variety of decks right off the bat!
The downside? Well, sometimes it feels like the game wants you to spend real money in order to advance your collection more quickly—but this isn’t uncommon among free-to-play games these days. Let’s face it: nothing comes for free these days except The Elder Scrolls: Legends!
18. Word Connect Fun
Word Connect Fun is a word game that will allow you to connect the letters to form words. This is a fun game that will improve your vocabulary and your brainpower. The more puzzles you solve, the more difficult they become. You can enjoy playing this game without spending any money because it is free.
Word Connect Fun has over 1000 levels and is an attractive puzzle game that tests your brainpower. It’s simple to play but hard to master! If you like playing word games then give this one a try today!
19. Sniper Ops 3D
The gameplay in Sniper Ops 3D is pretty standard among games in this genre. You’ll need to eliminate enemy units, either alone or with a partner in co-op mode. Every level features a different scenario that will require you to take out your assigned targets from multiple locations.
Although the scenarios aren’t particularly innovative, it’s the kind of game where it doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve seen something like it before—you’ll probably enjoy yourself nonetheless because of the fast-paced action and simple controls.
20. Supernova
Supernova is a new MOBA game, and while it’s not the best at what it does, it’s definitely good enough to be worth your time. It’s also completely free to play, although you can give bonuses by paying money. This being said, the game isn’t actually available on the Mac App Store—you’ll need to download it from Steam.
Supernova offers both single-player and multiplayer modes. As such, there is a story that plays out as you advance through matches (usually versus AI) as well as online multiplayer battles that pit players against each other instead of teaming up with them.
21. Path of Exile
Path of Exile is a free-to-play online action role-playing game made by Grinding Gear Games. It’s dark and gritty, and it’s one of the best free games to play on Mac. The game has a massive skill tree, hundreds of items and different classes with strengths and weaknesses.
In Path of Exile, you can create your own character according to the way you want to play. You can also choose between seven classes, each with their own unique abilities that you unlock as you level up. You can even customize your skills with magical gems that give you active effects like shooting lightning from your sword or summoning skeletons to fight for you.
22. Lord of the Rings Online
A free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game that lets you dive into the world of Middle-earth, the setting of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, explore it and fight epic battles.
Set in the time before The Lord of the Rings trilogy, you can create your own character from a number of different classes (champion, hunter, lore-master or burglar), each with unique skills and traits that allow for different styles of gameplay based on your choices.
You start off in small towns like Bree or Duillond where you complete quests to progress through a series of levels to gain new skills and equipment as well as being able to travel to other areas within Middle-earth like Mirkwood or Mordor — although many areas are inaccessible until certain levels have been attained.
This is an expansive game that allows you hours upon hours of entertainment when played on Mac and will continually be updated with new content by the developers so there is always something new to do.
23. Pixel Starships
Pixel Starships is a massive multiplayer online game for Mac that lets you explore the galaxy with your own fleet of spaceships. In the game, you can build your own starbase, upgrade your ships and crew, collect resources, complete missions, and even build a research lab to develop new technology. You can also command a whole fleet of starships and fight other players in huge real-time battles.
The best part about this game is that you don’t have to spend any money on it. There are no ads or in-game purchases: all the content is free! And if you want to play online with friends, Pixel Starships supports cross-platform multiplayer too!
24. Epic Cards Battle
Let’s start with one of the most popular free games currently available on Mac. Epic Cards Battle is a fun, addictive online multiplayer card game that plays like a combination of Hearthstone and Magic: The Gathering. It’s easy to pick up and play, but it offers enough strategy to keep you coming back for more.
This game will appeal to fans of all ages; it’s easy enough for kids to learn and master, but there’s still plenty of depth for the hardcore crowd. In addition to being great fun, Epic Cards Battle can also be used as an educational tool – similar games have been shown to teach players about history and strategy.
25. OpenTTD
The next game on our list of best free Games for Mac is OpenTTD. It is an open-source remake of the classic Transport Tycoon Deluxe that you can play on macOS. It is cross-platform compatible and supports up to 255 players (if your computer can handle it).
OpenTTD also has an attractive interface and a lot of mods to ensure many hours of entertainment. It is regularly updated as well. If you like playing games on macOS, I recommend you look at this one!
Enjoy the best Free Games on Mac!
It’s that time of year again—the days are getting longer, the weather is warming up, and everyone’s starting to spend more time outside. But with those long summer evenings comes a burden: you’ve finished the show you were binging on the weekend and don’t know what to watch next. Never fear! We’ve curated the above list of best free Mac games just for you. Some games will help you learn new things, while others are just relaxing hours of fun.
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