We often talk about the latest and ?? ??? ??greatest graphics cards and playing games at the highest settings, but there are times when that's simply not an option. Whatever the reason may be, in times like these, it's nice to have a library of fun games that won't melt our processors.
Fortunately, there are a multitude of older games and even newer indie titles that are friendly for low-end PCs and laptops with integrated GPUs. Browsing through Steam or your preferred PC game platform trying to find something fun to play that won't tax your system can be exhausting. That's why we've compiled this list of 25 great games we can wholeheartedly recommend.
Even if your hardware is a few years old, most of these titles will work just fine.
Some are ideal right out of the box, while others can use lower settings depending on what kind of hardware you have on hand. Generally speaking, you'll want to be running at least a dual-core CPU, an integrated GPU from the last few years or better, and about 4GB RAM.
For testing I tried them all on my wife's three year old laptop that only has Intel integrated graphics. This may still be more modern than your average old laptop, but it's not a gaming machine by any means. If you're still unsure, you can download demos of many of the games, and Can You Run It is also a good place to check to see if your gear is up to snuff. Let's get to it.