this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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Looking for suggestions for 2D low-spec/laptop friendly games. Picked up Ale Abbey thus far, simulator/colony managers are my jam right now but want some variety too.
Fair warning: lots of roguelikes on this list. Just seems like the devs of these games really like 2d non-demanding visuals. And I don't know how low do you need to go, so check these individually.
Don't even need a sale for Moonring, which is a retro turn-based RPG, completely free. Runs on a potato.
Original Monster Train should work decently well, it's 90% off.
Shogun Showdown is really cool, 50% off. Necesse is a very fun Terraria-like, coming out of EA in like a week and on sale now.
Look into Reus 2, very fun, but it's got some more visual effects so may be a bit too much. Same with Astral Ascent, one of my fave action roguelikes but, well, it's action. Needs a decent framerate. Same with Dead Cells, Cult of the Lamb and Chronicon - great games, 2d, but may require a basic dedicated video card or a beefy integrated one.
Spellcaster University is not a forever game but it'll be fun for a while.
Cook Serve Delicious series is really good. You can start with 1, they are each a bit different.
Cross Code if you want an RPG. Citizen Sleeper or Road Warden if you want an RPG that's borderline a visual novel. Slay the Princess if you straight up want a visual novel.
Library of Ruina and Lobotomy Corporation if you're a masochist who likes a good story.
Then there's eternal classics like Stardew Valley, Balatro, Terraria,FTL, Into the Breach, Slay the Spire or Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
And on the incredibly niche side of things, I recommend Intergalactic Fishing and Rings of Saturn.
Hopefully something from this list catches your fancy!
Hell yeah! Thank you so much.
Did you check my installed games? Sure, I've replaced FTL with Void War (same game tbh) and play Slay the Spire on my phone (and laptop via screen mirroring) but that list is ~80% of what I'm looking to move on from!
I've found success with static backgrounds and turn-based games. I have made due with 1600x90 at 50% texture rendering for CK3 but that's different. I'm not sure if they're on sale but for the sake of listing more laptop friendly games: Across the Obelisk, For the King, Tales of Maj'eyal, Loop Hero and Project Zomboid do well.
Minecraft and Rimworld depends on modlist. I tried to downsize my 150-odd Rimworld mods and ended up with 200, c'est la vie.
Will investigate you list tonight and keep you posted!
Great list! I will add Wildfrost and LONESTAR on the roguelite, "there's gotta be a way to survive this turn, if only I could figure it out" side. Wildfrost is at the historical low, LONESTAR is not quite but close.