The Best Games for Non-Gaming Laptops

The wonderful thing about modern video gaming is that you don’t necessarily need the latest and greatest hardware to play some of the best games ever made. If you’ve got a standard work PC with integrated graphics or an older laptop, , there are some of our favorite indies and AAA titles that you can still play. One caveat, these recommendations are based on our testing with a variety of laptops, but as always, your mileage may vary.

Laptop (and desktop) hardware has come incredibly far in the past seven-to-ten years. Even traditional work laptops are capable of running a huge swath of games currently available on the market, thanks to advancements in on-board graphics that put them on par with the low-to-midrange gaming machines of yesteryear. If you’ve got a Surface, ThinkPad, an entry-level HP or any other laptop from 2020 onward, you can probably run at least a few of these games.

Xbox Game Pass

Okay, so I am absolutely cheating by including this, but I have a point that’s worth calling out at the top of these recommendations: Xbox Game Pass isn’t just a great way to try out a bunch of games, it’s a great way to find out just how powerful your laptop is. You can start with some smaller indie games to test the waters and see how they run before slowly ramping up the graphical intensity. Or, you can launch straight into Starfield and fiddle with the settings to try to get a stable 30FPS and then work your way back from there. Plus, many games are available to cloud stream, which means they're largely independent of your local hardware. And, once you’re subscribed, there’s never any harm in hopping into the latest AAA title, just to see how your system performs. 

You never know, your PC might be able to run more than you think.

AAA and esports Titles

Fortnite

Photo: Fortnite/Epic Games 

If you’re reading this list, you probably already know what Fortnite is. But I would be remiss if I didn’t call it out as a great game for non-gaming PCs. With low spec requirements and about a ton of different, custom game modes, Fortnite may just be the only game you will ever need. 

Want to play a Battle Royale? Great, Fortnite is the game that really rocketed the genre into the mainstream. Want to play Among Us? They’ve got that too. Lego? It’s in there. Want to play as Arianna Grande, Goku, and Darth Vader? Yup, they’re there. 

Fortnite is free-to-play on the Epic Games Store.

Skyrim

Photo: Microsoft/Bethesda 

Hey, you. You’re finally awake. Skyrim has just been released again. (And, while writing this, so has Oblivion!)

The constant cycles of Skyrim have become something of a meme online, but that doesn’t mean this AAA title isn’t worth all those remakes and remasters. It’s an absolutely massive game with memorable quests and characters that will eat hundreds of hours of your time. While you can pick up the new versions of the game, the original 2011 version can still be found on Steam and, while it might not look quite as pretty, is playable on just about everything.

Psychonauts

Photo: Microsoft/Double Fine/GOG 

Psychonauts is a bit of a throwback in 2025, but it’s still worth celebrating as a weird, wonderful, mind-bending platformer that can run on just about anything today. As Raz, you’ll be heading to a summer camp for psychic children, diving into the minds of friend and foe alike to uncover the truth behind a plot that threatens to take over the world. Pick it up over on Steam. There's a sequel, too, but you'll need a more modern machine for that. 

Psychonauts is available on Steam and Xbox Game Pass.

Overwatch 2

Photo: Microsoft/Blizzard 

Overwatch may be a bit past its cultural heyday, but it lives on thanks to thousands of passionate fans playing a game that, I would argue, has never been better. While the game looks great on higher resolutions, if you drop the settings, you get a great esports title that will run on just about anything. Plus, it’s free-to-play on both Steam and Battle.Net, making it an easy recommendation for the FPS fans who like a bit more to their shooters beyond guns.

League of Legends

Photo: Riot Games 

While I have played a grand total of two games of LoL in my entire life, I’ve watched friends lose their entire weekends to this free-to-play MOBA, huddled over laptops that could barely run games in 2016. In 2025, that hasn’t changed. I’m still adamantly not playing one of the greatest MOBAs titles of all time...while folks spend hours and hours playing League on laptops that could barely run games in 2016.

To start busting the enemy team’s Nexus, you’ll need to download the game directly from League’s website. Once downloaded, though, you’ll be able to choose your fighter from a massive roster of Legends; some free, some not. 

Counter Strike 2

Photo: Valve 

Counter Strike 2, or CS2, as it’s often referred to, is an ultra-twitchy reaction shooter where you and your allies buy weapons and either plant or disarm a bomb, depending on your team. Of course, you could always just get an ace and wipe the other team, but you’ll probably need a bit of practice before you get there (I know I do). CS2 is free-to-play on Steam.

Apex Legends

Photo: Respawn Entertainment/EA 

Unlike the past two entries, I have a lot of time spent playing Apex Legends. Made by Respawn -- known for the Titanfall series as well as Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and Outcast -- this is a battle royale with an emphasis on movement and wild abilities. Characters like Bloodhound can scan enemies, Catalyst can make walls of ferrofluid, and Valkyrie has a jetpack. This potent combination results in an explosive BR that I have spent far too much time in.

Apex Legends is available on Steam.

Portal/Portal 2

Photo: Valve 

The Portal duology is often referred to as a couple of the greatest puzzle games ever made. Funny, smart, and incredibly clever, these games put you in the role of Chell, a mute woman who manages to get her hands on the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, better known as a portal gun. 

Pop open portals to skip past walls, lasers, and safely transport your beloved companion cube as you make your way through challenging testing chambers that hopefully won’t kill you. You know, for science.

Portal 2 even features a two-player co-op mode, so you and a buddy can spend a weekend accidentally -- or not -- dropping each other in pits.

Portal and Portal 2 are available on Steam, usually at a very low price during sales -- or pick up both for $15

Deadlock

Photo: Valve 

Deadlock is the most recent not-quite-a-release from Valve. While it’s still in beta and you’ll need an invite to get in (Check out the subreddit for help -- all you need is someone to send you one of their unlimited invites) this twist on the third-person MOBA took the community by storm when the beta shadow-dropped last year. 

Today, it still sees plenty of updates and players as Valve adds more playable characters and tweaks the systems to make a great game even better. Deadlock is only available on Steam.

DOOM

Photo: Microsoft/Bethesda/ID 

As a die-hard DOOM fan, I am obligated to start by pointing out that DOOM 1993 is still a very good game and worth playing. But I’ll admit that DOOM 2016 is a bit more exciting in 2025. It’s also about nine years old right now, putting it squarely in the “there’s a decent chance your laptop from 2021 can run this” category. And, given that it’s regularly on sale for about $4, this incredible modern boomer shooter is a must-have for any FPS fans.

But also, DOOM 1993 can run on its own box, so it can definitely run on your PC. And should.

Both DOOM 2016 and DOOM 1993 can be found on Steam and Game Pass.

Indie Games

Blue Prince

Photo: Raw Fury/Dogubomb 

The current indie hotness, Blue Prince is a puzzle game about exploring a mansion that your uncle left you. Each day, you’ll “draft” rooms as you walk through doors, building the mansion as you go. There are layers upon layers of puzzles, with many folks online arguing that the object of the game is, in fact, just the tutorial.  Beyond that, I will echo just about every other review I’ve seen: go in as blind as possible.

Blue Prince is fully 3D, but thanks to its largely minimal aesthetic, it’s a fairly easy game to run on non-gaming devices. My one recommendation? Grab a notebook and pen. You’ll need it.

Blue Prince is available on Steam and Game Pass.

Balatro

Photo: Playstack/LocalThunk 

Last year’s indie darling, Balatro takes the language of poker (flushes, pairs, straights, etc) and turns it into a rogue-like deck builder that I have yet to be able to set down. Draft Jokers that can completely change how the game is played; build straights with only four cards, score millions of points with a single card, and maybe even pull off some hands not possible in poker without cheating. Whether on my desktop, Steam Deck, or even my phone, I am still playing Balatro. And, with a fairly major update teased for sometime this year, there’s a good chance I’ll still be playing it this time next year.

Balatro is available on Steam and Game Pass.

The Binding of Isaac

Photo: Nicalis/Edmund McMillen 

The Binding of Isaac is one of the seminal roguelikes of our time, and you can easily get tens to hundreds of hours out of the base Rebirth game (I have over [STACK OVERFLOW ERROR] hours myself), trawling your way through the Basement as you fight everything from spiders to demons to Mother herself. At its core, Isaac is a twin-stick dungeon crawler. But by the time you finally claim your first victory, you’ll see just how deep that crawl space actually goes.

I’ve been playing it since the original game came out back in 2010 and have played it on everything from high-end desktops to Steam Decks to budget-friendly family laptops and have never had a single issue with it running. It’s also regularly on sale over on Steam, so if you’re looking for an inexpensive, easily accessible time sink, this is your game. Unless you’d prefer something a bit more cozy, in which case….

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is the cozy farming sim for millions of people. It’s low stakes, low pressure, and wildly addicting. I put it off for years knowing full well that I would be lost in the game when I started and sure enough, I’m killing my sleep cycle for just one more day.

Whether you’re looking for a farm management sim, a dungeon crawler, a romance sim, or an RPG, Stardew Valley has it in spades shovels. Plus, the retro, pixel-art stylings of this charming sim makes it easy to run on just about any machine.

Stardew Valley is available on Steam and Game Pass.

Slay the Spire

Photo: Humble Games/Mega Crit Games 

Described by some as the perfect deck-builder, Slay the Spire is another indie darling (and one with a sequel coming out soon! …ish) that will run on just about anything. Select your character and build your deck as you fight your way through the eponymous tower -- or fail and try again. And again. And again.

I spent two weeks in Japan digging into Slay the Spire on my Steam Deck during my jet-lagged mornings and never once saw any hitching or issues. The game runs buttery smooth on low-powered hardware and even has a port for phones. If you’ve got a laptop, you can absolutely run Slay the Spire.

Pick up Slay the Spire over on Steam and on Game Pass.

The Jackbox Games

Photo: Jackbox Games 

I’m kind of cheating to include Jackbox Games on this list. Not only are there a plethora of Party Packs, each containing several games, but they barely use a computer at all. Instead, the computer is just there to host - essentially - a PowerPoint. The real game is played on your phone as Jackbox sends prompts, art directions, and just about everything else directly to you (and your friends) phones. 

From goofy, joke-around games like Quiplash to trivia games like Trivia Murder Party to art games like Drawful, every Party Pack is sure to have at least a few games everyone will enjoy.

Personally, I recommend The Jackbox Party Pack 3 as a starting point, as it features several fan favorites like Quiplash 2, the first Trivia Murder Party, and Tee K.O., and is frequently on deep discount.

You can find all the Jackbox games on Steam.

Lethal Company/R.E.P.O./Content Warning

Photo: semiwork - Game: R.E.P.O 

I’m lumping three games from this nascent genre together mostly because I have yet to come across a spooky-collect-a-thon (we should be calling these extraction spookers!) that struggles to run on any hardware. The low-fi aesthetic is part of the charm with these games, as you and your friends scramble around monster infested homes, buildings, and planets in order to meet a quota. 

Expect plenty of screams cut short as your friends meet sudden, unfortunate ends while you fight against the monsters of business and reality just to make ends meet. 

Letal Company, R.E.P.O., and Content Warning are all available on Steam. 

Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors is an incredible game that I assumed was going to be a flash-in-the-pan vampire-themed auto-shooter. Instead, it has gone on to be ported to every current console and phone, all the while making a plethora of expansions, collaborating with giants like Contra, Among Us, and even its own inspiration, Castlevania.

To call it a game about walking around is to do it a disservice, but it is what you do. You walk around collecting gems while whips, holy water, lighting, lasers, and more evaporate hundreds of enemies a second. This chaotic simplicity makes for an addicting gameplay loop that changes just a little bit each time you die. 

Vampire Survivors is on Steam and Game Pass.

Visual Novels (Danganronpa/STEINS;GATE/Hatoful Boyfriend)

A bit of a curveball, but it is worth pointing out that visual novels require almost zero power to run, making them an easy recommendation for anyone looking to get invested in a story. There are some genuinely great visual novels out there for all interests, with standouts like Danganronpa, a Battle-Royale-eque whodunnit, and Hatoful Boyfriend, a surprisingly well written dating sim spoof with a pigeon for a love interest. 

Visual novels can be found across Steam and Itch.io.

Of course, there are a ton more games out there. But a lot of them will need better, more powerful hardware than the twenty or so we have listed here. Most of these games will run better or look nicer on newer hardware as well. 

If you’re looking to take your gaming to the next level, stop by your local Micro Center. We have a wide range of gaming desktops and laptops (as well as an extensive Build-Your-Own section) that'll handle everything from the smallest indie games to Cyberpunk 2077 with Overdrive turned on. If you’re not sure which computer is right for you, as one of our knowledgeable associates; they’ll be happy to set you up with the perfect gaming rig for your needs.