The very best PC video games of 2026 (that do not want a graphics card)

That is the eighth yr operating that I’ve written a roundup of the perfect new video games for low-power PCs. And prior to now, I felt prefer it could be shedding its relevance. In any case, the Steam Deck doesn’t have a discrete graphics card, and loads of new laptops are popping out with tons of built-in graphical oomph.

However with the RAM disaster apparently sending PC worth backwards by years, it would really be extra useful than ever to level out that you just don’t want a four-figure machine to get some PC gaming pleasure. So, with out additional ado, listed below are the video games I discovered within the first half of 2026 which might be value trying out… and can virtually run on a potato. In search of extra? Take a look at the identical roundup from the previous few years, too.

Oh, it doesn’t damage that many of the video games under will additionally be discounted within the Steam Summer time Sale, and plenty of even have demos obtainable.

Mina the Hollower

Simply the breakout indie hit of the yr to this point, Mina the Hollower comes from the legendary studio behind Shovel Knight. Impressed by traditional top-down Zelda adventures and the surprisingly vibrant palette of the Sport Boy Coloration, this sport places you into the function of a mouse who’s equal components Mrs. Brisby and Simon Belmont.

Mina the Hollower has Yacht Membership Video games’ signature mixture of retro sensibilities and completely super-tight controls, with a little bit of RPG-esque updates that allow you to customise your run and the powers unlocked by numerous trinkets. Metroidvania followers will find it irresistible, even with the top-down perspective, although its dedication to old-school sensibilities received’t be everybody’s cup of tea.

Mina the Hollower is $20 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on Humble, GoG, and all three consoles.

Mewgenics

Technique video games take many kinds, whether or not it’s typical, army-versus-army warfare, grand classical battles, repelling alien invasions… or making a horde of cats so horrifically inbred that their very existence is against the law in opposition to nature. On this sport you breed your cats, topic them to horrific genetic manipulation, ship them into battle, rinse the blood off, and repeat. A minimum of you may pet them, I suppose?

Mewgenics has quite a bit in frequent with tactical turn-based technique video games like XCOM or Hearth Emblem, nevertheless it’s from developer Edmund McMillen… so anticipate numerous gross-out humor and the type of social commentary that makes South Park look Shakespearean. It’s, um, not for teenagers. Or numerous adults, frankly. But it surely is a rattling good technique sport.

Mewgenics is $30 on Steam.

Typing Break

As an authorized keyboard freak, I’ve at all times had a tender spot in my coronary heart for typing video games. Fortunately the previous few years have provided me with lots. This time you get one which’s a little bit of a mixture of House Invaders and Breakout. It is sensible for those who don’t give it some thought an excessive amount of — simply think about a world the place a 300-WPM stenographer is a weapon of mass destruction.

In Typing Break, the sooner you sort, the sooner you shoot. However there’s somewhat extra technique happening than is seen at first look. As you unlock various kinds of weapons and ammo, you may improve them with totally different modifiers… assuming you may really sort all of them accurately. It’s an effective way to work out your fingers and your mind on the similar time.

Typing Break is $9 on Steam.

Dosa Divas

This isn’t the primary time I’ve seen an RPG with an enormous mech… however it’s the first time I’ve seen one which’s additionally a meals truck. Two sisters reunite to battle off the oppression of the quick meals oligarchy, by serving up spicy selfmade Indian meals. Dosa Divas mixes old-school turn-based fight with an unbelievable quantity of artistry, in each sense of the phrase.

Upgrading the mech will modify your turn-based assaults, and timing them good will give them a little bit of pep. That is on the upper finish of “no graphics card required” — the sport is Steam Deck verified, however older machines would possibly wrestle with a number of the visible results until you flip down the visible aptitude.

Dosa Divas is $20 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on all three consoles.

House Warlord Child Buying and selling Simulator

And also you in all probability thought that Mewgenics could be the least tasteful sport on this listing, huh? The title type of says all of it. This sport places you within the footwear of an alien day dealer who… properly. You get the image. Technically all of the “infants” on this sport are simulated — within the fiction of its story, I imply — however the satirical takedown of the inventory market has you rooting for his or her lives to be horrible.

A mixture of Douglas Adams zaniness and ye olde pirate math, House Warlord Child Buying and selling Simulator contains a minimum of somewhat precise financial principle. And numerous impressed person interface design, which I respect. Additionally, I’ve to shout out its technical necessities on Steam: “SOUND CARD: Please.” I find it irresistible when a developer will get metatextual with their tech help.

House Warlord Child Buying and selling Simulator is $20 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on Xbox.

Cardburners

In most card video games, you get a beneficiant period of time to plan your technique, arrange combos, and completely execute your machinations. In Cardburners, you need to continually play and discard playing cards, a number of playing cards each second… or they’ll disappear proper in entrance of your eyes. It’s an attention-grabbing mixture of intention and chaos.

The sport has 4 distinct modes, all of which might be combined and enhanced with booster packs. And in a uncommon deal with for this roundup, you can even play solo or multiplayer on-line. Followers of Wario Ware‘s fixed stimulation will in all probability get a kick out of this one.

Cardburners is $10 on Steam.

Cassette Boy

Video games have a bizarre approach of warping your perspective. Nowhere is that this extra completely illustrated than in Cassette Boy. What begins as a Sport Boy-inspired, top-down journey will get actually turned on its head if you rotate the world. You should use the surroundings to make obstacles actually disappear, or attain components of the world that had been beforehand off-limits.

The core story of chasing down the lacking moon is impressed by quantum physics, which signifies that issues are sure to get bizarre quick. Obvious simplicity provides technique to mind-bending puzzle and battle components, a la Fez. It’s a bit on the quick aspect, excellent for a weekend play-through.

Cassette Boy is $13 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on all consoles.

Beatdown Metropolis Survivors

“Bullet heaven” video games like Vampire Survivors are all the fad within the indie circuit, emphasizing personalized, auto-firing weapons and motion mechanics over conventional fight. Now throw these concepts in a blender with a bunch of rather more direct assaults and environmental variables, and no small quantity of retro zaniness, and also you’ll get Beatdown Metropolis Survivors.

The sport wears its madness on its sleeve, providing unlikely mixture weapons that will surely tickle the flamboyant of Frank West. Combine that with the constantly-shifting phases and tons of participant characters to make a bullet heaven sport that’s obtained quite a bit happening…probably to an awesome diploma. Strive the demo for those who’re on the fence.

Beatdown Metropolis Survivors is $10 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on Xbox Sport Go.

Forbidden Solitaire

Anybody who was a child on the web within the 2000s will keep in mind limitless creepypasta tales about haunted sport cartridges. The spooky spirit of these tales has been infused with roguelike card sport chops, a la Balatro, on this Solitaire sport that wishes to remind you of the full-motion video titles that briefly grew to become all the fad on the rise of CD-ROMs.

As you play lonely rounds of Forbidden Solitaire, you uncover the creepy origins of the sport’s metatextual fiction. I get the sensation it’s laser-targetted at individuals in my age vary, however the youthful people who devour mascot horror will in all probability get a kick out of it too.

Forbidden Solitaire is $16 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on GoG.

Changed

Usually I don’t like a sport that leans too exhausting on the pixel artwork pattern… however I’m not fabricated from stone. Changed, a noir/cyberpunk story clearly impressed by the likes of Blade Runner, has a completely charming mixture of 3D environments and lighting and conventional pixel sprites. Think about if Octopath Traveler had a techno-police state, and also you’ll get fairly shut.

The side-scrolling setup with crowd management fight and puzzles is fairly typical, with the visuals and environment clearly being the main focus of the expertise. However my gosh, I might simply watch this sport all day. It’s one other one that may wrestle on actually previous {hardware}, nevertheless it’s Steam Deck Verified, so ought to be okay on built-in graphics from the final three years or so.

Changed is $20 on Steam. It’s additionally obtainable on Xbox Sport Go, GoG, and Epic.

Honorable Point out: You Have Billions Invested in Generative AI

With each PC gamer keenly conscious of the quickly rising prices of really enjoying video games, I merely have to say this indie free-to-play sport about pouring a endless torrent of cash right into a system that’s harming every part that touches it. You possibly can play it proper in your browser or cellphone over on Itch.io.

There are just a few naughty phrases, just a few unflattering depictions of actual individuals on this little writing train of an indie sport. And it’s not significantly ground-breaking, not saying something that you just couldn’t discover with a Google search.

However since Google’s search is now contaminated with a guessing machine that incessantly makes up its outcomes out of skinny air, perhaps it’s value a playthrough all the identical.

You Have Billions Invested in Generative AI is free on Itch.io.