Contrary to notorious belief, Chromebooks are gaming-capable machines that have progressed significantly over the last decade. You’ve got dedicated platforms to handle the best PC games on ChromeOS, including Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud, and a specialized version for Chromebooks.
With that being said, the major question of playing a delightful, worth-buying game still stands, and that is why we’re taking the opportunity to guide you toward the top 10 PC games to play on a Chromebook. By the end of the guide, we’ll also brief you on ways to delve into PC gaming on ChromeOS.
With no further ado, let’s get started right away.
10 of the best PC games to enjoy on ChromeOS
The following is our round-up of the most sought-after PC games that millions of aspiring gamers enjoy. If you’re confused about how exactly the forthcoming titles will run on ChromeOS, stick around and read until the end for the best results.
1. Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6
Ubisoft’s front-running Far Cry franchise is one of the best open-world first-person shooting games. Throughout their initial inception, Far Cry titles have established themselves as first-rate shooters. They are best known today for blending the eccentric ways of modern-day crime lords with the added expanse of nature and wild animals.
Far Cry 6, the latest entry in the long-running series, is set in a region called Yara, where a ruthless dictator called Anton Castillo reigns supreme. The game’s protagonist is a guerilla fighter, a rebel who wishes, along with his companions, to cut down Anton’s regime and restore piece for Yara and its citizens.
Alongside the enticing plotline of Far Cry 6, the vast open world setting—a staple trait of the franchise—grips players right from the get-go, not to mention the guns-blazing and gut-busting cutthroat action that keeps gamers hooked until the very end.
It’s a large-sized title by every stretch of the imagination and is filled with missions, side missions, and other fun-filled activities. You can drive vehicles in Yara, recruit people to fight for you, tame wild animals, and enjoy a hefty arsenal of weaponry to take down your foes with.
2. Remnant 2
Remnant 2 starting gameplay with GeForce Now on ChromeOS
Being one of the latest releases of 2023, Remnant 2 brings the heat like never before. It’s a sequel to the 2019-released Remnant: From the Ashes and is seemingly one of the best sequels of any video game we’ve ever played. It improves upon almost everything its predecessor fell short of, such as the overall storyline and lack of character development.
Unlike Far Cry 6, Remnant 2 is a third-person shooter played from an over-the-shoulder perspective. It’s an RPG, so there’s an ingrained class system where you can choose one out of various character types. For starters, there’s the Gunslinger, Hunter, and Handler to pick things up with as you start your adventure.
Remnant 2 is defined by its satisfying gunplay, enjoyable combat mechanics, and in-depth exploration. It rewards players substantially for going the extra mile and taking time to traverse the environment carefully. Furthermore, cooperative play is also encouraged; you can game online with up to 2 more players.
3. Hades
Hades on ChromeOS
Next up, we’ve got another RPG to sink our teeth into, and quite fortuitously, this one happens to have won the Game of the Year award in 2021 at the Games Developer Choice Awards. Hades on ChromeOS is a must-play, considering its rip-roaring hack-and-slash action, procedurally generated level system, and exciting storyline.
The game’s protagonist is Zagreus, Hades’ son, who constantly attempts to escape the Underworld—the land of the dead. His father, Hades, rules the Underworld but has no control over his offspring. Hades believes there’s more to life than just sticking around in a never-ending state with those who have passed on, and, thus, he tries to escape the dark clutches of his father any chance he gets.
The game starts with no special power-ups, but that soon changes when you progress through the various stages of Hades’ gameplay. One of the most enticing parts about the title is its difficulty. An increased challenge offers fabulous fun and a much-elevated sense of satisfaction when you kill off that particular boss repeatedly besting you.
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on ChromeOS
You should know that there are only a handful of games on the same level of quality as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Behold an award-winning RPG with a vibrant, monster-filled open world and an overly impressive plotline. The Witcher 3 puts you in the shoes of Geralt of Rivia—a specialized mercenary and a monster-killer, although with a somewhat benevolent heart.
The Witcher 3 is an expansive game with tons of content. It’s bursting at the seams with quests, side questions, and NPC requests to keep you cautiously engaged. What we love about the game is its involved combat system, where Geralt uses two swords instead of one, various magic spells, potions, and other skills.
Geralt carries two swords with him because one is made of steel, and the other is a silver armament. The latter is best utilized on beasts and other creatures, where the level of effectiveness is the maximum. On the other hand, the steel sword can be relied on for tackling human enemies.
5. Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage 4 on ChromeOS
Streets of Rage 4 on a Chromebook is a first-rate indie game that’s played from a side-scrolling perspective. The title, hailing from the legendary Streets of Rage franchise, has sold millions of copies to date following its release in 2020, not to mention a swath of nominations across different game awards events.
It’s a beat-em-up style title with you fighting hordes of enemies stage after stage with up to 4 players locally or two online. Alongside your regular set of moves and applicable combos, you can pick up expendable weapons from the ground and other items to aid you in battle.
The game also features a Story Mode, so players don’t have to expect mindless brawling all the time. At the start of the game, only a select number of characters are unlocked, but as you play through the side-scroller, you get to unlock more playable figures. It’s a must-play PC game you must enjoy on your Chromebook.
6. Half-Life 2
Half Life 2 on ChromeOS
What if we told you that Half-Life 2 is considered one of the best PC games ever? That won’t be coming from us, by the way, but Metacritic is the global rating authority on video games. What we have at our disposal here is a first-person shooting game at its core, made excellent with its gripping narrative and satisfying gameplay.
The plotline of Half-Life 2 starts with Gordon Freeman, Earth’s hero who saved the planet in the first Half-Life, joining a resistance army to push back an alien organization from invading Earth and taking control of the entire world. On his journey, Freeman goes through many obstacles, not to mention betrayals, overpowered foes, and the pressure to save the universe’s fate.
Even though Half-Life 2 is nowhere near today’s standard of interactive video game titles, it still manages to hold its own to boot. After all, this is one of the pioneers of gaming, having introduced physics simulation and a relatively realistic game environment to dive deep into.
7. Tekken 7
Tekken 7 on ChromeOS
Getting to the next entry on the list now, Tekken 7 is one of the world’s most noteworthy fighting games, tracing its initial release back to 2015 and belonging to an exceptionally esteemed fighting game franchise that spans many titles and another one coming next year.
Bandai Namco, the developer and publisher behind the iconic arcade fighting series, has continually supported Tekken 7 all these years, pumping it full of content year in and year out. There are 50+ playable characters to choose from, each offering an intricately designed move set and quirks.
Tekken 7 is one game that is easy to learn but hard to master. However, the “Practice Mode” is where you can hone your skills, learn the combos of each character, and even understand how to defend against specific characters, thanks to the “Punishment Training” feature of the title.
8. Minecraft
Minecraft on ChromeOS
The eighth spot on this list belongs to Minecraft, a world-renowned sandbox, an open-world-oriented interactive title where your imagination is the ultimate driving force of the gameplay. It’s a block-based game where you place or remove blocks to build things around you and play cooperatively with others.
Minecraft is the only game on this list that’s not just a PC game and is available on many other platforms. There’s a browser-based version of the title called Minecraft Classic that you can play on Chrome, and there’s a Play Store variant of the sandbox game to download and install on ChromeOS.
For a more in-depth tutorial, check out our article on how to play Minecraft on a Chromebook. We’ve even curated a write-up on how to get started with Minecraft as a beginner, so do check that out for more details. Oh, and if you’ve got a school Chromebook, don’t forget to try Minecraft Education Edition on it.
9. Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3
As far as RPGs go, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the epitome of them now. It’s a turn-based game that has only recently come out, and as soon as its full version was released for various platforms, the title didn’t take long to become a best-seller.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop system and is heavy on character customization. You can either start with a blank character whose details will be carved by you from top to bottom or choose one of the six pre-made “origin” characters about the game’s lore.
The combat system is a breath of fresh air and comprises a party of characters accompanying the player. It’s one of the latest releases of 2023 that certainly deserves a go on ChromeOS, especially for those with a fond likeness to RPGs. GeForce Now is your best bet to play the game on your Chromebook after buying it off Steam.
10. Control
Control
Last but not least, Control is unlike most third-person shooters, where you simply equip yourself with firearms and let bullets loose upon your enemies. Developed by Remedy Entertainment, best known for its work on the likes of Alan Wake, Control blends gunplay with mind-bending telekinetic abilities. It seamlessly offers a highly engaging plotline for players to follow through with.
Control starts quickly, introducing the player to protagonist Jessie Faden, who comes to The Oldest House to figure out the mystery of her missing brother. Not long after arriving at the facility, she realizes there’s more at play here. An entity called the Hiss is trying to cross the dimensional barrier to enter the land of the living.
Jesse, unknowingly at first, gets caught up in this “paranatural” spiral and is appointed the director of The Oldest House, a facility dedicated to containing extraterrestrial threats and beings. Control is one masterclass of a third-person shooter, allowing players to mix action-packed combat with Jesse’s increasing psychokinetic skills, such as hurling debris at her foes at full speed.
How to play PC games on ChromeOS
For those not in the know, ChromeOS has become a reasonably capable operating system for gaming. Not long ago, the prospect of playing a title as nurtured as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Remnant 2 was deemed impossible, but today, thanks to the onset of platforms such as Nvidia GeForce Now and Amazon Luna, great things are indeed possible.
Most games discussed above can be enjoyed on a Chromebook through Nvidia GeForce Now—one of the world’s best cloud gaming platforms across the board. It’s a subscription-based service you can get into for free, but you must become a member if you’d like increased play time, better resolution, and display quality.
Nvidia GeForce Now on ChromeOS
However, you should know that becoming a member isn’t enough—you will still need to purchase the game on the respective storefront it’s available on, either Steam or the Epic Games Store. Once that’s done, you can link the relevant account with GeForce Now and enable cloud play from there seamlessly.
If not, you should approach Steam alpha—a ChromeOS-optimized version of Steam, the world’s best gaming launcher, on a compatible Chromebook. The issue here is with the latter, though Steam alpha is currently supported by a few Chromebooks only, particularly high-end ones, and particular configurations are preferred even for these compatible devices.
Signing into Steam alpha on ChromeOS
The likes of Acer Chromebook 514, Acer Chromebook 515, Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W), ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500), and ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400) are supported. Head over to the official Chromium Projects blog post for the complete list. If you don’t have one of the anointed few, it’s best to stick to cloud gaming, which is relatively more forgiving in demanding hardware from your Chromebook.
For a more detailed guide and step-by-step instructions, we recommend checking out our in-depth guide on how to play PC games on a Chromebook.
Conclusion
The state of Chromebooks in the context of gaming is almost unrecognizable in the day and age we live in today, compared to how these sleek devices were some years ago. Thanks to the onset of Linux and Google Play, you can get some serious gaming done on a Chromebook, not to mention the availability of cloud platforms, such as GeForce Now.
In this guide, we’ve closely looked at some of the most enjoyable PC games one can play on ChromeOS. The shooting thrill of the likes of Remnant 2 and Far Cry 6 combined with the sandbox-style exploration of Minecraft will surely get you your gaming fix.
Let us know in the comments section if the listicle helped you tread in the right direction. Chrome Ready wishes you happy gaming!
