Gaming on a Mac can be a difficult proposition. While compatibility is improving all the time, the fact is that the vast majority of PC-oriented gamers play on Windows, so many developers don’t consider Mac as a platform they need to prioritise. It’s a shame, because Mac actually has some great gaming experiences on offer. If you’re looking for the best RPG games on Mac (a tautology, since the G in RPG stands for “game”), then you’ve come to the right place. Whether you love Japanese role-playing or the Western style, you’ll find lots of options for you. Here are the best RPG games for Mac you can play right now.
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is a rich, detailed political parable wrapped in an excellent simulation of tabletop roleplaying. It offers an endlessly complex skill system that eschews the traditional values of strength, charisma, and intelligence in favour of concepts like “savoir-faire” or the brilliantly weird “Inland Empire”. The story is free-form, and you can choose to approach it however you like. Will you be the drunken, burnt-out mess you begin the story as, or will you try to forge a path to redemption? Of course, it’s all told with wit, panache, and humour, too.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
The first Divinity: Original Sin was a perfectly accomplished RPG, but it wasn’t much more than that. Original Sin 2 ups the ante considerably. This CRPG is absolutely massive and stuffed to the gills with quests to complete and well-written characters to meet, like the well-spoken, charming, and ardently pro-slavery Red Prince. The combat is where the game really shines, though; it’s a breathtakingly interactive system that revolves around exploiting elements to do maximum damage to your opponents and take advantage of positioning. Original Sin 2 is inarguably one of the best RPG games for Mac.
Undertale
If you go into Undertale expecting a traditional gaming experience, you’re likely to be disappointed. We really don’t want to say too much about this one, as spoiling even its minor surprises will ruin some of the enjoyment. Suffice it to say that Undertale begins as a quirky, offbeat Earthbound-inspired RPG with bullet hell-style combat, but that’s absolutely not where it ends up. This is a tragic, touching, and beautiful story all about belonging and not judging by appearances. Oh, and one more thing: you don’t have to kill anyone in this game.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
Technically, Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG, which might not appeal to you if you don’t like playing alongside other people. However, the developers have been making great strides in turning this into a viable single-player game over the years, too; they’re currently working on bringing the “Trust system”, which lets you tackle dungeons and trials alongside NPCs, to later expansions, after adding it to the base game earlier this year. Final Fantasy XIV Online is much, much more than an MMO spinoff of a popular series; it’s an excellent, multi-layered story in its own right, and a fantastically-designed MMO as well.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
Knights of the Old Republic is the more complete experience, but KotOR II is endlessly fascinating. As one of the best RPG games for Mac, it serves as the story The Last Jedi wanted to be; a loving, but intense deconstruction of the Star Wars universe and all of the moral notions it’s built on. This is a rich, creative character drama full of breathtaking moments, and while the combat and general gameplay are a little wonky, they’re more than entertaining and varied enough to sustain the excellent writing. If Kreia doesn’t become one of your favourite RPG characters of all time after playing this, you might want to check your pulse.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
While the first Pillars of Eternity is an excellent game, Deadfire ups the ante considerably. It’s a CRPG in which you sail a ship across the Deadfire Archipelago in search of a god, and while you do so, you’ll naturally encounter exactly the kind of varied stories and interesting characters you’ve come to expect from the genre. The combat and exploration have been improved over the original Pillars of Eternity; you can choose to play the sequel as an entirely turn-based affair if you don’t like the RTwP (real-time with pause) system.
Wasteland 3
Since the classic Fallout games aren’t technically playable on macOS, this is the closest you’re going to get. Happily, Wasteland 3 is also an excellent game in its own right. Created in part by original Fallout mastermind Brian Fargo, Wasteland 3’s world is altogether wackier and sillier than Fallout’s, but it still presents its fair share of moral quandaries to ponder. If you’re just in it for the combat and exploration, you’ll find lots of that here too; Wasteland 3 is a great turn-based XCOM-style RPG with plenty of varied locales to explore and dungeons to loot. While it’s definitely one of the best RPG games for Mac, we’d still recommend you seek out the original Fallout games if you’re able to.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the best RPG games for Mac, but it does contain all of our favourites. However, there’s another option; simply install Windows on your Mac machine, and you’ll be able to play all of your favourite Windows games just by choosing that OS when you boot up your computer. This will boost the variety of games you can play hugely. Happy gaming!
