Trove is a fun MMO sandbox game based in a blocky, voxel world, offering players the opportunity to explore endless worlds and shape them to their liking. The game features an RPG progression. To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions. My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla.
SOMA is the most recent game from, the creators of the Amnesia series. This first-person game takes place in an underwater research facility.
It’s Rapture meets the Nostromo, and that’s the best part of the game. The tension comes from the environments here, not the monsters. But it gets worse: You can’t fight back. You’ll have to hide from the monstrosities that roam the corridors as you explore and discover what happened to all the missing employees. Just like in past Amnesia games, you can interact with everything around you. You can grab door handles, yank cables, move items and more.
This creates an incredibly immersive, yet demanding experience. One more thing Similar to Alien: Isolation, this is one good-looking game that will require some chops to run properly. But with the right hardware, this game can look amazing. SOMA Mac benchmark results (in FPS).
Testing Conditions: We tested the game using Medium settings and 1280×800 resolution: Can your Mac run it? Taking into account that even our 2013 13-inch MacBook Pro handled the game just fine, most Macs from 2013 onwards should be able to handle it. Any bugs you should be aware of? If your Mac can handle it, you should encounter a bug-free experience. Verdict: ⚠️️ Fairly demanding System Requirements: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i3; 4GB RAM; 25 GB HD space; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, AMD Radeon HD 5750, or better with 512 MB of Video Memory.
Many claim is the scariest game that can be played on Mac. Outlast puts you in the shoes of a freelance journalist who decides to investigate a psychiatric hospital lost in the mountains. That was obviously a bad idea, as hell breaks loose and you find yourself surrounded by homicidal patients. Plus, most of the corridors, rooms, and sewers you’ll navigate are pitch black.
The only way to see is by using the low-battery video camera you have on you. But it gets worse: You are completely incapable of combat. With no weapons at your disposal, you will have to be quick on your feet to stay alive. Needless to say, Outlast is a must if you enjoy horror games. One more thing This is a great-looking game too, but unlike others on this list, you won’t need a top of the line Mac to enjoy it. Outlast Mac benchmark results (in FPS).
Layers of Fear is a unique take on the horror genre. There may be no monsters here, but this is still one of the scariest games you can play on your Mac. In Layers of Fear, you are a painter who has gone mad in his attempt to finish his masterpiece. The entire game takes place in what seems to be an ordinary house. Except it isn’t. You enter a room and turn around, only to see that the door disappeared. Paintings seem to follow you with their eyes.
At some points, you begin to understand what it must feel to go mad. The more you play, the more disturbing this game becomes. You’ll find clues to the horrible things you’ve done and eventually hear and see terrifying specters of the things you used to love. One more thingThis is an unsettling game that also looks great.
Did a great job here. Even my MacBook Pro, with its puny Intel Graphics, could handle it. Layers of Fear Mac benchmark results (in FPS).
Testing Conditions: We tested the game using Medium settings and 1280×800 resolution: Can your Mac run it? As you can see from these results, our 2013 13-inch MacBook Pro did ok, squeezing a reasonable 37 FPS. Most Macs from 2016 onwards should be able to handle it, including those with integrated graphics.
Any bugs you should be aware of? No bugs were encountered during our tests. Verdict: Very Demanding System Requirements: MacOS 10.10; 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5; 4GB RAM; 5 GB HD space; ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB VRAM, Nvidia GeForce 750M or Intel HD 6100.
BioShock Infinite was the top BioShock experience on Mac, but that changed with release. Infinite is in many ways a superior game, but when it comes to scary experiences, BioShock Remastered is the way to go. BioShock is not about jump scares, it’s about immersing you in one of the most desperate places ever.
The game takes place in Rapture, a city full of psychopaths ready to do the most gruesome and terrible things. The gameplay mechanics are great too, making this an extremely fun game to play. And now that the Remastered version supports macOS, you can enjoy improved graphics, better textures, and resolutions up to 5K. One more thing What’s even better, this game is so well optimized, it runs even better than some newer games.
Both my iMac and MacBook Pro ran it great, with a lot of power to spare. BioShock Remastered Mac benchmark results (in FPS). Testing Conditions: We tested the game using Medium settings and 1280×800 resolution: Can your Mac run it? Our 2016 MacBook Pro did so well, it’s clear this is a game most Macs should be able to run. Any bugs you should be aware of? We did encounter a bug when running the game along with our FPS counter tool, but you should be ok when simply running the game by itself. Verdict: Not Demanding System Requirements: MacOS 10.12.5; 2GHzGhz Intel Core i5; 8 GB RAM; 27 GB HDD space; 2GB NVIDIA 680MX, 2GB AMD R9 M290, 1.5GB Intel Iris Pro 5200. Set fifteen years after Ridley Scott’s original film, sends you on a journey to an abandoned space station.
This probably sounds like a standard Alien-scenario, but Isolation is unlike any other Alien game you’ve ever played before. Isolation is the first game that finally captures the essence of the original film. This is a game about survival.
The monster is to be feared and respected. It can’t be killed. All you can do is run and hide. Luckily, the space station is full of places to hide, including vents, lockers, and cabinets. This means stealth will be your best weapon against the monster. But can your Mac handle it? This is one of the best horror games on the Mac App Store.
It looks amazing and plays smoothly thanks to‘s fine job with the macOS version. That’s great, but good looks usually mean demanding games One more thing This is one great looking game, especially on high settings. But on the other hand, this is a demanding game.
So much so that my MacBook Pro could barely handle it. Alien: Isolation Mac benchmark results (in FPS).
Testing Conditions: We tested the game using Medium settings and 1280×800 resolution: Can your Mac run it? This is a demanding game. If you’re willing to play at the lowest settings, you should be able to run it at comfortable FPS even on MacBook Pros, but you better make sure your Mac meets the system requirements before purchasing it.
Any bugs you should be aware of? This is yet another great Mac port from Feral. We never encountered any bugs during our tests.
Verdict: Very Demanding System Requirements: MacOS 10.10.4; 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; 4GB RAM; 35 GB HDD space; NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, ATI Radeon HD 5670, or Intel Iris Pro with 1GB of Video Memory. Horror games are going through a renaissance, largely thanks to Indies. Outlast and Soma are the more famous examples, but what if you don’t want another first-person game?
Since last year, you have this excellent point-and-click indie called STASIS. In STASIS you wake up in a seemingly abandoned spaceship. There are no signs of survivors, but the bloodstains on the floor make you understand that something went terribly wrong. Turns out human experiments were carried out on the ship, but could not be contained. Monsters lurk in the shadows, but they can’t stop you from trying to find your lost wife and daughter. STASIS is a great indie, but what impresses me the most is how macabre this game can be.
Fun Sandbox Games For Mac Os X
It doesn’t need jump scares, the atmosphere does all the work. Point-and-click adventure games weren’t supposed to be this scary. If you want a solid story, interesting puzzles, and a tense atmosphere, look no further than STASIS. One more thing STASIS is one of those games pretty much anyone can enjoy. The only reason it didn’t run faster is because it’s capped at 60 FPS.
Play The Sandbox Game
STASIS Mac benchmark results (in FPS). Slender: The Eight Pages is a unique take on the horror genre.
The game takes place in a dark and scary wood. It gives you a weak flashlight and asks you to find the eight pages that are scattered throughout the woods. The problem is, the Slender man is out to get you. Staring at the Slender will cause everything to fade to black, so your only hope is to run from it. I won’t lie to you, this didn’t sound that scary at first, but once I find myself in those dark woods, I got why this little game was so popular.
But here’s the kicker: One more thing This is one of the top free horror games for Mac you can find. I won’t cost you a dime and it will never ask you for money. Observer is the latest and greatest horror game to arrive to macOS. From the team behind Layers of Fear, Observer tells the story of detective Daniel Lazarski, played by Blade Runner’s replicant Rutger Hauer. And by the way, the entire game feels like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner in first-person.
But this isn’t the story of an ordinary detective. As part of a special police unit, your job is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. In this future, anything you think, feel, or remember can be used against you in a court of law.
If you were looking for something different to play, this is it. Taking place in a city ravaged by drugs and neural implants, Observer sets a new bar for cyberpunk storytelling and dystopian environments. Coupled with a disturbing sound design, Observer is a tense, suffocating, and dark experience. One more thing This is the most demanding game in this list. My MacBook Pro couldn’t even launch it! This is a perfect example of why you need to always check the game’s system requirements before making a purchase Observer Mac benchmark results (in FPS).
Testing Conditions: We tested the game using Medium settings and 1280×800 resolution: Can your Mac run it? Given the game’s graphics, it’s not surprising it requires some decent horsepower to run. Stay away from it unless you have at least a very recent MacBook Pro. Any bugs you should be aware of? Testing Observer was a treat. No issues where encountered. Verdict: Very Demanding System Requirements: MacOS 10GHz.6; 3.3 Ghz Intel Core i5; 8 GB RAM; 20 GB HD space; NVIDIA GeForce GT 680, AMD R9 M290. Does Doom 3 need an introduction?
Doom 3 is as old-school as it gets. Set in 2145 on Mars, the game takes place in a research facility where an experiment goes horribly wrong.
A gateway to Hell is opened, causing a demon invasion. As a space marine, you will have to fight your way through the base and find a way to close the gateway and stop the demons from invading Earth.
Doom 3 isn’t subtle, but the endless waves of demons will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire campaign. The bottom line: While the game is over 10 years old, it’s still one of the scariest experiences you can have on your Mac. One more thing And you can already guess the other benefit of playing an older game: It can be played on older hardware too! Doom 3 Mac benchmark results (in FPS). The Walking Dead is based on the award-winning comic book and television series by Robert Kirkman, and it too does a great job of recreating the hopelessness of a zombie-infested world.
The game has its fair share of jump-scares, but the actual horror comes from the desperate world it recreates. The Walking Dead will show you how the world has gone to hell, how zombies could tear you apart, and how survivors can be even more dangerous. Want to know the best part? As most games from developer, this game is a monument to storytelling in video games, featuring a story full of choices that matter. Those choices will shape your adventure and define who your friends and foes will be. And that’s what makes this game so tense and macabre: seeing those you get attached to get slowly wiped out.
One more thing As every Telltale game out there, The Walking Dead goes for a cartoonish style that both looks great and is very easy to run, even on older Macs. The Walking Dead Mac benchmark results (in FPS). Games Games Our take Demand Level Free games only?
✅ Not demanding Slender: The Arrival From Mark Hadley (AgentParsec), creator of Slender: The Eight Pages, comes Slender: The Arrival. This official re-imagining and expansion of the original game features a brand new storyline, improved visuals, great replay value, and most importantly, the tension and fear that made the first Slender game so famous. 65 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding Darkwood Darkwood is another top-down isometric game that aims to provide a new perspective on survival horror. By day you'll explore the randomly generated woods to scavange or materials and craft weapons to survive. But by night you'll have to find shelter, barricade, and hide or defend yourself from the horrors that lurk in the dark. 80 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding CAYNE Remember STASIS, the point-and-click horror game we mentioned before?
Well, Cayne is another isometric point-and-click game from the same team. You can expect extremely similar gameplay and art style but what makes this game unique it's the fact it's completely free. Developer The Brotherhood decided to return to the STASIS universe and make it available to everyone! 75 Metascore Not demanding Yes ✅ Not demanding White Noise 2 Described as a 'fresh horror experience' by developer Milkstone Studios, White Noise 2 is indeed an interesting take on the genre. You can either be a part of the investigator team, or take control of the creature and devour them.
This 4 vs 1 asymmetric horror experience is a tense and excellent game to enjoy with friends. NA Metascore Not demanding No ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Among the Sleep Developed by the Norwegian studio Krillbite Studio, Among The Sleep lets you immerse yourself in the limitless imagination of a child. The game lets you play as a two year old child who is awaken one night by a mysterious force. Among The Sleep takes place between dream and reality, and while it all occurs in an eerie house, the game will throw strange creatures and surreal environments at you. 66 Metascore Fairly Demanding No ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Narcosis Narcosis is a survival first-person horror game taking place in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. You're a diver stranded on the seafloor with low light and few tools, and you'll have to do your best to surface before yur oxygen — and sanity — give out. Expect to be tested not only by your primal fears but also the nightmarish flora and fauna that awaits.
66 Metascore Fairly Demanding No ✅ Not demanding CASE: Animatronics In CASE: Animatronics, you find yourself locked in your police department. The security systems have been hacked and something terrible is definitely going on in there. Hide to survive the night but also use your table to watch the security cameras. And you'll need them as something is out there and you don't want it to find you. 92 Metascore No ✅ Not demanding Amnesia: The Dark Descent Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the goriest games I have ever played and comes from developer Frictional Games, the same team behind SOMA, our top horror pick.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent takes place in a dark castle, filled with monsters and puzzles to solve. The game offers several stealth mechanics, allowing you to peek through doors, slowly sneak around and more. This will help you avoid the monsters that inhabit the castle. 85 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding System Shock 2 What is a game from 1999 doing here? We usually prefer to stick to modern games but System Shock 2 is different. This genre defining game inspired some of the greatest titles of our generation, Deus Ex and Bioshock.
The graphics may not be impress anymore but the gameplay and terrifying that made it one of the greatest games of all time is still there. 92 Metascore Not demanding No. I’ll be honest with you.
The last time I played a horror game was SOMA. I was alone one night in my living room, lights off, sound up. It. Too much stress. I’d rather play The Walking Dead.
Tense too, but different. What I’m saying is that while everyone can enjoy a good horror game, we all like different things. Nevertheless, you can rest assured all these games respect the following criteria: Native support: These are Mac games, no Wine, Parallels or Bootcamp needed.
They all install natively on your Mac. MacOS performance: What good would it be to share with you the best games if your Mac can’t handle them? To help you chose the right game for you (and your particular Mac), we used to test them all on two different machines. Detailed specifications:. MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB). iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB). Keep in mind that anything over 30 frames per second is perfectly ok to enjoy a game. With these results, you should be able to gauge how demanding a game is.
But remember, always refer to the official system requirements before buying a game! Without further ado, let’s dive into the best horror games for Mac. And for reference, this is how we interpret the results: Below 20 FPS Unplayable Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns. 20-30 FPS Borderline Can be Ok in slow paced games. Still, not optimal. 30-45 FPS Playable Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this). 45-60 FPS Smooth Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.
60+ FPS Very Smooth For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most. We usually aim for 30 FPS, because 30 FPS is enough to guarantee a smooth and fluid experience. With first-person shooters, adventure games and more, this list has something for everyone. I’m confident that no matter your particular preferences, at least one of these games will be a good fit for you. And most importantly, they all have what it takes to put a chill on your spine. What better way to celebrate Halloween than that?
Do you have a favorite Horror Mac game for Halloween that wasn’t listed here? If so, let us know in the comments section. Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission (this is how we pay the bills). This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
Howcome nobody mentiones Fallout 3? It's the best game I've played in years. It has so many side missions you have to play it at least twice if you want to see them all. But the best thing about it is the unique style and the atmosphere (athmosphere?). I can't really explain it, you have to see it for yourself. Telepman you got the 'atmosphere' spot on.and yes Fallout 3 is a gr8 game as well.quite correctly it has got a 100% replay value.you have to play it twice to take all the stuff in;).
To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions. My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla because it really embraces the concept; its a ton of fun to just run around and destroy things.
Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are honorable mentions. Withteeth26 That would be considered free roam. The OP asked for sandbox. Stalker, sandbox? Lol Farkeman Ya know, I first posted actual sandbox games (Garry's mod and Minecraft), but as fate would have it with typical GS users, people confuse sandbox with free roam and started rattling off games that were anything but sandbox. I figured if Fallout 3 got a mention it was only fair to mention STALKER, which, in my opinion, is the better of the two. That would be considered free roam.
The OP asked for sandbox. Ya know, I first posted actual sandbox games (Garry's mod and Minecraft), but as fate would have it with typical GS users, people confuse sandbox with free roam and started rattling off games that were anything but sandbox. I figured if Fallout 3 got a mention it was only fair to mention STALKER, which, in my opinion, is the better of the two. Tequilasunriser There is a ton of overlap between free roam and sandbox games. I was a bit vague in my definition, but by 'play around and have fun' i meant actually do things that are somewhat productive, not like in GTA IV where you just run around and shoot people (which gets old after 10 minutes), but actually interact with things in the environment outside of missions that point have a purpose (destroying buildings to obtain salvage and lower government control in Red Faction; destroying buildings/causing chaos to unlock mission in Just Cause 2).
There are more linear games like Crysis that are also considered sandbox games, but they aren't as effective as Just Cause 2 or Red Faction at delivering pure sandbox gameplay. Free-roam simply implies that you can roam around the environment outside of missions but doesn't imply interactivity (like with Mafia 2). It is highly possible and fairly common for games to be both free-roam and sandbox.
And BTW i agree, Stalker kicks Fallout 3's ass. QUOTE='withteeth26' To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions. My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla because it really embraces the concept; its a ton of fun to just run around and destroy things. Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are honorable mentions. Tequilasunriser That would be considered free roam.
The OP asked for sandbox. Stalker, sandbox?
Lol Farkeman Ya know, I first posted actual sandbox games (Garry's mod and Minecraft), but as fate would have it with typical GS users, people confuse sandbox with free roam and started rattling off games that were anything but sandbox. I figured if Fallout 3 got a mention it was only fair to mention STALKER, which, in my opinion, is the better of the two. Oh, quite agreed old chap. Heaven knows the 'typical GS user' is an uneducated barbarian. I swear, they'll let in anybody these days.
Hmmm, yes quite. Ah, be a dear and hold on a moment, would you? Run along and fetch me my shawl. Yes, the white fur.
Sandbox Games
And be quick about it this time? I swear, it's so hard to find good help these days, what with all these GS users running amuck.
Now, where were we? I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic free roam, so when I saw the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fallout debate, I had to have my say.
In terms of sheer fun and imagination, Fallout 3 and New Vegas allow you to tinker and control the world in a way that Stalker tries to 'simulate'. Let me explain the context in which I use simulate. It pretends to have a free roam environment, but the radioactive zones on either side of you literally make a beeline to each objective, giving the whole game a ridiculously streamlined approach. Besides, who didn't get bored after the fifth gunfight, or the stupidly simple fetch quests, or with the drawn out dialogue that usually consisted of 'Go here, kill this, talk to this guy.' Now for Fallout, which in my opinion uses actual innovation, and not just slick game mechanics and environmental eye candy, while the characters are just as boring and mechanical (come on, Bethesda, three games that use the same engine?), the way the world reacts to your actions is compelling and addictive.FALLOUT SPOILER. I couldn't stop smiling as I blew Megaten off the face of the Earth while the diabolical Mister Tenpenny smiled at the radioactive sunset.
That's visual poetry, folks. Stalker, as I said before, is a cheap imitation of free roam gameplay. I wish there was something else I could say about Stalker's depth, but beyond using radioactive stones to enhance certain abilities, and the level of realism in the weight system, the game is a one-trick pony. If you want to truly get lost in a world that took more than a few guns and some cardboard Russians to build, play Fallout 3 or better yet, New Vegas. Stalker is the action-lover's post-apocalypse, while the story depth is nothing short of idiotic. Fallout is a little slower, but you've got more freedom and the range of missions and quest endings are nothing short of breathtaking.
For a longer and more interesting journey and a stellar ending, go with Fallout 3 and New Vegas. For cheap thrills and random death by intense radiation (most unrealistic gameplay element ever created), play the mediocre Stalker. Oh, and be warned. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl is unrelentingly hard. Stalker, as I said before, is a cheap imitation of free roam gameplay.
WildBilliam Honestly it's anything but. STALKER genuinely simulates its game world, animals migrate, factions fight, STALKERs die and stay dead; your impact on the game world isn't entirely superficial, and it fits with how cut-throat the survival theme of the exclusion zone is in this adaptation of Roadside Picnic's fiction.
The problem in SoC was the integration of meaningful open world exploration into the games progression structure and player impact into the game world; mods sought to fix that greatly and CoP expanded greatly on integrating it into the actual level architecture and progression structure. On that note I found it far more engrossing than Fallout 3's game world - which really felt like an elaborate set and amazingly detailed quest hub to explore between quests - it was far too noticeable how the random encounter system worked; its restrictive central plot didn't help at all either. That being said Fallout NV was an improvement, alas neither never felt nearly as alive as the Zone to me in STALKER CoP. Also STALKERs story depth is actually fantastic it's damn good; a lot of that is due to richness of Roadside Picnic and (the film) Stalker's themes. Problem is it is woefully told, text boxes and bookend cut scenes aren't great, however the games world building is absolutely outstanding. I can't say the same about FO3, it's central plot was an absolute abomination - almost everything about it, and NV while being fantastic in its own right had one of the worst introductions to grace any RPG alas, even compared to STALKERs own - that being said the way the plot unfolds is excellent, a real throwback to older RPG sensibilities - massive kudos to Obsidian imho.
QUOTE='tibLeX123' The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowmind, it pisses all over Oblivion and all the other games mentioned here in replay value, mods, content, you name it. If only it had advanced AI.
NeilCardiff Warning, fanboy alert. Its his personal opinion. Why bring up the word fanboy? I liked Morrowind and Daggerfall alot more then Oblivion, that does not make me a fanboy. Does Enjoying Fallout1/2 and New Vegas more then Fallout3 make me a fanboy? The dudes opinion is that Morrowind is much better then Oblivion, I gotta agree with him on that one, but I relize all others dont.