This is the eighth year running that I’ve written a roundup of the best new games for low-power PCs. And before now, I felt like it might be losing its relevance. After all, the Steam Deck doesn’t have a discrete graphics card, and plenty of new laptops are coming out with tons of integrated graphical oomph.
But with the RAM crisis apparently sending PC value backwards by years, it might actually be more helpful than ever to point out that you don’t need a four-figure machine to get some PC gaming joy. So, without further ado, here are the games I found in the first half of 2026 that are worth checking out… and will practically run on a potato. Looking for more? Check out the same roundup from the last few years, too.
Oh, it doesn’t hurt that most of the games below will also be discounted in the Steam Summer Sale, and many also have demos available.
Mina the Hollower
Easily the breakout indie hit of the year thus far, Mina the Hollower comes from the legendary studio behind Shovel Knight. Inspired by classic top-down Zelda adventures and the surprisingly vibrant palette of the Game Boy Color, this game puts you into the role of a mouse who’s equal parts Mrs. Brisby and Simon Belmont.
Mina the Hollower has Yacht Club Games’ signature mix of retro sensibilities and absolutely super-tight controls, with a bit of RPG-esque updates that let you customize your run and the powers unlocked by various trinkets. Metroidvania fans will love it, even with the top-down perspective, though its dedication to old-school sensibilities won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
Mina the Hollower is $20 on Steam. It’s also available on Humble, GoG, and all three consoles.
Mewgenics
Strategy games take many forms, whether it’s conventional, army-versus-army warfare, grand classical battles, repelling alien invasions… or creating a horde of cats so horrifically inbred that their very existence is a crime against nature. In this game you breed your cats, subject them to horrific genetic manipulation, send them into battle, rinse the blood off, and repeat. At least you can pet them, I guess?
Mewgenics has a lot in common with tactical turn-based strategy games like XCOM or Fire Emblem, but it’s from developer Edmund McMillen… so expect a lot of gross-out humor and the kind of social commentary that makes South Park look Shakespearean. It’s, um, not for kids. Or a lot of adults, frankly. But it is a damn good strategy game.
Mewgenics is $30 on Steam.
Typing Break
As a certified keyboard freak, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for typing games. Thankfully the last few years have supplied me with plenty. This time you get one that’s a bit of a mix of Space Invaders and Breakout. It makes sense if you don’t think about it too much — just imagine a world where a 300-WPM stenographer is a weapon of mass destruction.
In Typing Break, the faster you type, the faster you shoot. But there’s a little more strategy going on than is visible at first glance. As you unlock different types of guns and ammo, you can enhance them with different modifiers… assuming you can actually type them all correctly. It’s a great way to work out your fingers and your brain at the same time.
Typing Break is $9 on Steam.
Dosa Divas
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an RPG with a giant mech… but it is the first time I’ve seen one that’s also a food truck. Two sisters reunite to fight off the oppression of the fast food oligarchy, by serving up spicy homemade Indian meals. Dosa Divas mixes old-school turn-based combat with an incredible amount of artistry, in every sense of the word.
Upgrading the mech will modify your turn-based attacks, and timing them just right will give them a bit of pep. This is on the higher end of “no graphics card required” — the game is Steam Deck verified, but older machines might struggle with some of the visual effects unless you turn down the visual flair.
Dosa Divas is $20 on Steam. It’s also available on all three consoles.
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator
And you probably thought that Mewgenics would be the least tasteful game on this list, huh? The title kind of says it all. This game puts you in the shoes of an alien day trader who… well. You get the picture. Technically all the “babies” in this game are simulated — in the fiction of its story, I mean — but the satirical takedown of the stock market has you rooting for their lives to be horrible.
A mix of Douglas Adams zaniness and ye olde pirate math, Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator includes at least a little actual economic theory. And a lot of inspired user interface design, which I appreciate. Also, I have to shout out its technical requirements on Steam: “SOUND CARD: Please.” I love it when a developer gets metatextual with their tech support.
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is $20 on Steam. It’s also available on Xbox.
Cardburners
In most card games, you get a generous amount of time to plan your strategy, set up combos, and perfectly execute your machinations. In Cardburners, you have to constantly play and discard cards, multiple cards every second… or they’ll disappear right in front of your eyes. It’s an interesting mix of intention and chaos.
The game has four distinct modes, all of which can be mixed and enhanced with booster packs. And in a rare treat for this roundup, you can also play solo or multiplayer online. Fans of Wario Ware‘s constant stimulation will probably get a kick out of this one.
Cardburners is $10 on Steam.
Cassette Boy
Games have a weird way of warping your perspective. Nowhere is this more perfectly illustrated than in Cassette Boy. What starts as a Game Boy-inspired, top-down adventure gets literally turned on its head when you rotate the world. You can use the environment to make obstacles literally disappear, or reach parts of the world that were previously off-limits.
The core story of chasing down the missing moon is inspired by quantum physics, which means that things are bound to get weird fast. Apparent simplicity gives way to mind-bending puzzle and battle elements, a la Fez. It’s a bit on the short side, perfect for a weekend play-through.
Cassette Boy is $13 on Steam. It’s also available on all consoles.
Beatdown City Survivors
“Bullet heaven” games like Vampire Survivors are all the rage in the indie circuit, emphasizing customized, auto-firing weapons and movement mechanics over traditional combat. Now throw those ideas in a blender with a bunch of much more direct attacks and environmental variables, and no small amount of retro zaniness, and you’ll get Beatdown City Survivors.
The game wears its insanity on its sleeve, offering unlikely combination weapons that would certainly tickle the fancy of Frank West. Mix that with the constantly-shifting stages and tons of player characters to make a bullet heaven game that’s got a lot going on…possibly to an overwhelming degree. Try the demo if you’re on the fence.
Beatdown City Survivors is $10 on Steam. It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass.
Forbidden Solitaire
Anyone who was a kid on the internet in the 2000s will remember endless creepypasta stories about haunted game cartridges. The spooky spirit of those tales has been infused with roguelike card game chops, a la Balatro, in this Solitaire game that wants to remind you of the full-motion video titles that briefly became all the rage at the rise of CD-ROMs.
As you play lonely rounds of Forbidden Solitaire, you uncover the creepy origins of the game’s metatextual fiction. I get the feeling it’s laser-targetted at people in my age range, but the younger folks who devour mascot horror will probably get a kick out of it too.
Forbidden Solitaire is $16 on Steam. It’s also available on GoG.
Replaced
Normally I don’t like a game that leans too hard on the pixel art trend… but I’m not made of stone. Replaced, a noir/cyberpunk story clearly inspired by the likes of Blade Runner, has an absolutely captivating mix of 3D environments and lighting and traditional pixel sprites. Imagine if Octopath Traveler had a techno-police state, and you’ll get pretty close.
The side-scrolling setup with crowd control combat and puzzles is pretty typical, with the visuals and atmosphere obviously being the focus of the experience. But my gosh, I could just watch this game all day. It’s another one that might struggle on truly old hardware, but it’s Steam Deck Verified, so should be okay on integrated graphics from the last three years or so.
Replaced is $20 on Steam. It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass, GoG, and Epic.
Honorable Mention: You Have Billions Invested in Generative AI
Woe Industries
With every PC gamer keenly aware of the rapidly rising costs of actually playing games, I simply have to mention this indie free-to-play game about pouring a never-ending torrent of money into a system that’s harming everything that touches it. You can play it right in your browser or phone over on Itch.io.
There are a few naughty words, a few unflattering depictions of real people in this little writing exercise of an indie game. And it’s not particularly ground-breaking, not saying anything that you couldn’t find with a Google search.
But since Google’s search is now infected with a guessing machine that frequently makes up its results out of thin air, maybe it’s worth a playthrough all the same.
You Have Billions Invested in Generative AI is free on Itch.io.
Author: Michael Crider
Source: PCWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
