If you have a Mac with Apple Silicon, that is, with one of the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max or the mighty M2 chips, you’ll want to get the most out of its performance and efficiency. And although gaming is not a sufficiently exploited territory -although the future M3 aims to change this perspective-, one of the best ways to do it is by enjoying video games optimized to work natively with this architecture. What better way to squeeze that solvent Mac Mini M1 or Macbook M1, without need to emulation nor external tools.
For this reason, we have selected The 15 best native macOS video games with Apple Silicon that you can currently find on the market, and that offer you a fluid, fast and visually spectacular gaming experience. From graphic adventures to shooterGoing through strategy, role-playing or simulation, there are options for all tastes and genres. So get your Mac, mouse, and keyboard ready—or the touchpad of your Macbook Pro M2—because it’s time to get the most out of your computer’s GPU.
Resident Evil Village
While we wait for the Resident Evil 4 remake to land on our Macs as it deserves, a good way to make your bed is by enjoying the eighth installment of the most popular survival horror saga. The drama of Ethan Winters surviving Lady Dimitrescu is much more than a meme, it is a colossal work that takes full advantage of the graphic potential of the RE Engine and new technologies such as ray tracing or FidelityFX. And it works great on any Mac with Apple Silicon. As a gift, it includes an online multiplayer mode called RE:Verse, where you can face other players with the most iconic characters from the saga. What better option?
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No Man’s Sky
Announced at WWDC22, here we have another native of Apple Silicon compatible with Nvidia’s DLSS that has been conquering galaxies for a few years. ‘No Man’s Sky’ is a captivating space exploration game that lets you travel through a procedurally generated, near-infinite universe where every planet, star, animal and plant is unique. You never know what you’re going to find on the next planet or in the next solar system, which makes each game unique. Hello Games has been updating it relentlessly since day oneso it has nothing to do with that first —and misguided— first version.
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The Long Dark
And from a survival game to a survival game, less demanding in the graphic section but more cruel in the playable. Being a castaway in the frigid lands of northern Canada is not easy. And here you have to pay attention not only to the weather, but to hunger, thirst, tiredness and wild animals. Without managing your inventory, your equipment, your health and your morale you will not survive long. Every element counts.
The Long Dark is an overwhelming survival game, one of the few examples where you can feel the loneliness and isolation of being lost in a hostile world. But it also emanates something unique, a fortress of the best sandbox where you know that if you make an effort, you will survive and recover from any injury.
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Firewatch
What to say about this great work in Campo Santo: Firewatch puts us in the shoes of Henry, a fire watchman who has to face his memories and can only communicate via walkie-talkie with his supervisor, Delilah. Recreating the wooded landscape of Wyoming—and you can even play it in 4K—there’s no combat or puzzles here, just an engrossing narrative and a soundtrack that etchs itself in the soul. A story that also has a fantastic Spanish dubbing that explores maturity, guilt and responsibility as few games have tried.
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Alien: Isolation – The Collection
It is not going to be the first time that it appears here in a great team from Feral, one of the studios responsible for developing 1:1 ports of award-winning games. To date you could play this game using Rosetta, although it uses OpenGL libraries instead of Metal and is generally demanding at high resolutions.
But the key, as it should be in these cases, lies in a setting. Never before has a video game transferred the sensations of the original film like this Isolation. An unpredictable and lethal alien that chases you throughout the Sevastopol station and 18 missions that will make this game of hide-and-seek and the most deadly tag-along everlasting. With a manual save system like in the old days and scandalous graphics – thanks to the Cathode engine – surviving here is more complicated than depending on a cat.
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Baldur’s Gate 3
Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms return like never before. The new epic from Larian Studios, the Belgian studio that took on the great responsibility of translating one of the most popular RPG sagas in history. A saga that once again highlights the rules, classes, races, monsters and magic of the fifth edition through a plot that recounts the invasion of illithids. While it is still in “early access” mode, this will be one of the few simultaneous releases 100% compatible with Apple Silicon. Available to play in single player or multiplayer, this is another immersive option to test your Mac and see in Metal 3 Performance HUD how it fares in terms of frame rate and resolution.
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Disco Elysium
And from roll to roll. Because Disco Elysium is a timeless gem that has marked a before and after in the industry, winner of the BAFTA for best narrative game, The Game Awards for best role-playing game and the DICE for best achievement in history. Being an amnesiac detective who must solve a murder case in a decadent and corrupt city is only the first layer of the puzzle. You have 24 abilities so that each game is unique and all equally deep, original and consistent with your decisions made. Disco Elysium was one of the first native ports for Mac with Apple Silicon, so you can play without emulating anything.
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GRAY+
We traveled to Barcelona to now propose a very special Spanish game, drawn by Conrad Roset and developed by Nomada Studios. Roset is popular for his work with brands like Zara, Adidas or Coca-Cola and the game was awarded at the Apple Design Award 2019, nominated for three BAFTAs or winner at The Game Awards 2019 for its impact. In addition, the Gray+ edition adds more content, more customization options and important technical improvements. A joy at 4K.
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tunic
Imagine going back to the days of the original Zelda. That is what Tunic proposes, a precious RPG in a land of legend and a great treasure hidden somewhere, perhaps beyond the golden gate or in a palace above the clouds. always cool to be a fox that makes parry with its shield, but more if it is compatible with Apple Silicon —requires an M1 or higher processor. Of course, it does not have support for ultrawide displays: its intricate dioramas work better in a more traditional format.
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Flashout 3
And we put leisurely adventures aside to launch ourselves into the frenzy of ultra-fast races, loops and sudden and sharp turns. If you have macOS 10.14 onwards you can play from September 22, 2022 —and natively on Apple Silicon— to this great racing game published by the Polish company Jujubee SA Bombs in the purest Mario Kary style and the traditional split screen for feel like in the early days of your gamer childhood.
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NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition
And since speed is always related to sports, it is now the turn of this review of the great Visual Concepts franchise published by 2K Sport. The big news is called “The Greatest”, a modality where you can face 20 of the best players of all time in the NBA, like Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Shaquille O’Neal. Very fluid on any Mac with Apple Silicon, the game once again has comments from great NBA analysts, Brian Anderson or Greg Anthony and retains the most mythical modalities, such as MyCAREER, Quick Match or competitive online. Available through Apple Arcade for both Mac and iPad, this is one of those must-haves not to be ignored.
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enrollment
For many it was last year’s game. This madness by Daniel Mullins published by Devolver Digital—a guarantee of quality—proposes a different card game, mixing roguelike deck-building, escape room-style puzzles, and psychological horror. You don’t need to know anything else, perhaps that the creatures of the forest are treacherous. A disturbing story that will leave you glued to the screen and the latest and most acclaimed project from the studio responsible for Pony Island.
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xcom 2
The translation of XCOM 2 came to Mac by the hand of Feral -based on the development of Firaxis Games- and the result could not be more perfect. A game that is still seen and enjoyed like few others today, a guerrilla war against the fucking aliens who won and ruled the planet. Not for nothing is it considered one of the best aerial isometric view strategy games ever created. An adaptive difficulty, five soldier classes, and a varied combat style for many types of players. But, above all, a performance in macOS with Apple Silicon chips that makes sense, being able to reach 100 fps without scratching anything.
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The Medium
Hold on to something because you’re going to have a bad time. The Medium one of those crazy things you can’t imagine until you play it. With patented double reality mechanics and an original soundtrack co-composed by Arkadiusz Reikowski and Akira Yamaoka —the composer of Silent Hill himself—, here you will have to explore with your gift between two realities that mix and surround you in a story full of pain and guilt. Developed by Bloober Team, this is another of the heavy hitters recently supported by Apple Silicon, no need to resort to Boot Camp or Parallels Desktop.
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LUNA The Shadow Dust
And we say goodbye with a little adventure of those that warm your heart, drawn entirely by hand —more than 250 drawn animations attest to it— and based on a narrative without words like those of yesteryear. Lantern Studio puts us in the shoes of a boy who has to explore an ancient tower full of secrets. You don’t need to know more to spend the next two hours unraveling them.
Download LUNA The Shadow Dust