30 Awesome PC Games That Run Smoothly With Just 4GB Of RAM

While it’s recommended to buy a PC or laptop with as much RAM as possible, sometimes we don’t have that luxury. Sometimes we’re stuck with a 4GB system, and can’t easily upgrade its RAM. If this applies to you – and you still want to game on it – fear not. There are a number of games that work perfectly fine with a limited amount of RAM.

30 Games That Work Well With 4GB RAM Systems

As long as you aren’t planning on running loads of background applications, you can game just fine with 4GB of RAM. You might need to dial down some graphical settings, or ensure that RAM-hogging programs like Chrome are closed, but they should work well other than that.

I cover a wide range of games in this article, from indie games to big budget AAA games. Read on for the full details of each game I recommend to 4GB gamers, but here’s a quick summary:

Game (Click Title To Read More)	Genre	Release Date
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition	Open World	2011
Battlefield: Bad Company 2	Shooter	2008
ZERO Sievert	Shooter	2022
Terraria	Action-Adventure	2011
EverQuest	MMORPG	2000
Far Cry 3	Shooter	2012
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings	Action-Adventure	2011
Factorio	Construction	2016
Stronghold Crusader II	Strategy	2014
Oxygen Not Included	Survival	2017
Portal (1 & 2)	Puzzle	2007/2011
Half Life 2	Shooter	2004
Slay The Spire	Deck Building	2017
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number	Shooter	2015
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster	JRPG	2017
Payday 2	Shooter	2013
FTL: Faster Than Light	Strategy	2012
Europa Universalis 4	Strategy	2013
Saints Row 4	Shooter	2013
Mafia II	Action-Adventure	2010
Just Cause 2	Action-Adventure	2010
Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition	Fighter	2011
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag	Action-Adventure	2013
Crysis 3	Shooter	2013
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed	Racing	2015
Hades	Dungeon Crawler	2020
Battlefield 3	Shooter	2011
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	RPG	2006
C&C Remastered	Strategy	2020
Borderlands 2	Shooter	2012

Game #1: Minecraft Bedrock Edition (2011)

Genre: Open World | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 10, RAM: 4GB, CPU: Intel Celeron J4105/AMD FX-4100, GPU: Intel 4000/AMD Radeon R5

Minecraft – the famous open world builder – comes in two editions: Java and Bedrock. To cut a long story short, the Bedrock Edition is specifically optimized for lower-end hardware – such as computers with 4GB of RAM! When you purchase the game, you will get a license to play both editions (the Java and Bedrock ones) – but you will want to install the Bedrock version.

Minecraft’s system requirements are fairly straightforward, meaning that most systems should be able to play the game just fine.

What makes Minecraft great is that you can play it at your own pace: you can slowly build your own world by yourself, or join friends in a multiplayer-type mode.

Game #2: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows XP, RAM: 2GB, CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2Ghz, GPU: 256MB Card Like GeForce 7800 GT or ATI X1900

I love Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – I played it for many hours when it first came out. This FPS has both single-player and multiplayer modes, which was a big deal at the time because other (non Bad Company) Battlefield games only had multiplayer modes.

This game, and the previous Battlefield: Bad Company title, work really well on lower-end systems – 2GB is all that you actually need. You’ll also notice that the system specs recommend really old hardware (like ATI, who were purchased by AMD ages ago). That’s usually a good sign that a fairly recent 4GB machine will play BC2 without issue.

The game has a great mix of ‘lone-wolf’ shooting, squad tactics, vehicle warfare and more. Considering the game was released over a decade ago, it still looks pretty good – an impressive feat considering it can run with just 2GB of RAM.

Game #3: ZERO Sievert (2022)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 10, RAM: 4GB, CPU: Dual Core 1.7GHz, GPU: NVIDIA GTX 260/ATI Radeon 4870 HD

This indie game is really highly reviewed and it’s a really gripping 2D (or 2.5D) game. Released by CABO Studio at the end of 2022, this top-down shooter sees you going through a ravaged wasteland – looting gear and killing enemies as you go.

What I particularly like about this post-apocalyptic world is the feeling that you really are all alone… apart from lots of weird bandits and mutant enemies!

It has fairly simple system requirements, meaning that you should be able to run it on all but the weakest of systems. (Apologies if your PC is unable to play it!).

While the graphics aren’t to everyone’s tastes, if you are happy with Runescape-style graphics, this might be the game for you because it has some great gameplay moments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmQ9K8J47v8&ab_channel=ambiguousamphibianVODs

Game #4: Terraria (2011)

Genre: Action-Adventure | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 10, RAM: 4GB, CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, GPU: Integrated is fine

Terraria is another really popular indie game, although this one was released in 2011. You can build, fight or simply explore a fairly large world. If you ever like grinding and crafting in RPG games like WoW, you will love Terraria.

This is the sort of game that can be easily played one-handed while you chill out, or you can get really serious and grind/build/fight away until your heart’s content. It is one of those ‘easy to learn/hard to master’ type games: you can learn to play it fairly easily, but mastering every inch of the game’s mechanics takes some time.

One thing to note is that the game originally required just 2.5GB of free RAM when it was first released, but this has crept up to 4GB minimum as the game gets new features and updates. 4GB of RAM should be fine for the foreseeable future, but you might struggle to play this game if you have lots of background apps open.

Game #5: EverQuest (2000)

Genre: MMORPG | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7, RAM: 3GB, CPU: 2-core (like Core2Duo E4400 or AMD Athlon 4040e), GPU: NVIDIA 8800/AMD Radeon 2600 XT

While there are loads of online RPG games nowadays, EverQuest is considered one of the most popular ‘original’ MMORPGs.

This fantasy-based MMORPG was originally released in 1999/2000, and it has been updated with 30 expansions and hundreds of updates. It’s free to play, too, so you can dive right in today. While it was released a while ago, its graphics are still pretty good and it is still going strong and attracting regular updates.

This game isn’t for you if you prefer single-player modes, since it is pretty much exclusively a play-with-friends (or random players online) experience.

Thankfully the game is simple to run, with just 3GB of RAM being required – and a basic 2-core CPU. The game’s graphics do feel a bit dated nowadays, but it’s still pretty impressive – and the graphics have been improved since the game’s original 1999 release.

Game #6: Far Cry 3 (2012)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7, RAM: 4GB, CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6700 or AMD Athlon 6000+, GPU: 512MB of RAM

This was another game that I loved when it was first released: Far Cry 3 was actually my first experience of the Far Cry series. This open-world shooter game allows you to drive, fly, shoot… and just generally have a good time!

You start the game dumped on a random island where the only rules are to fight (and to try avoiding the gangs that informally run the island)!

While this game is mainly a single-player, there are co-op and multiplayer modes too which is pretty neat. I personally really liked the storyline of the main single-player mode: it kept me gripped, and wanting to keep playing the game.

You will probably spend 15-30 hours playing the main story, depending on whether you go through it quickly or try and complete many of the side-objectives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkD3c9q-wQ&ab_channel=gameranx

Game #7: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)

Genre: Action-Adventure | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 2.5 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

If you’ve ever watched the Netflix series, you may have been inspired to check-out the Witches game series. Unfortunately while The Witcher 3 is too demanding for a 4GB system (it requires upwards of 6GB of RAM), The Witcher 2 works really well with just 4GB.

This is a fantasy-based action adventure game where you take the role of Geralt of Rivia (the main character) and… well, kill lots of monsters! The game play is really gripping, with a range of weapons to choose from – and even allowing you to set bombs and traps. You can master stealth modes to sneak past enemies, or become a proper warrior who can slay most monsters: the choice is yours.

This game still looks pretty good, and the fact that it runs with just 2GB of RAM is neat too. You can often pick up the game for $10-15 in a sale, too, which is a great deal considering that it’s an awesome game.

Game #8: Factorio (2016)

Genre: Construction | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core 3 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

If you enjoyed playing Sid Meier games like Railroad Tycoon back in the day, then you’ll love Factorio. This construction and management game has amazing reviews, and it involves building factories and managing the mining and building infrasctuture that help make the factory a success.

After some time, your factories will come under attack too – so you better be prepared to defend them. This has both single-player and multiplayer modes, and it is a pretty addicting game – especially because it centres around the idea of equilibrium. You start off with a big lack of coal, which you then mine – but this causes some other supply issues.

You constantly have to monitor various resource levels, and make adjustments as you go (although this isn’t as exhausting as I just made it sound – it is a really fun game).

It runs fairly smoothly in most systems: while a dedicated GPU is recommended, you might be fine with integrated graphics too, but you will need to keep an eye on overall system RAM because the game does work better with 4GB, so you don’t want too many background applications running.

Game #9: Stronghold Crusader II (2014)

Genre: Strategy | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 2GB, CPU: 2-core 2GHz, GPU: 512MB card

I have been interested in castles for as long as I can remember (maybe it’s a boy thing?). Trebuchet, castle walls and battering rams all excite me (double entendre not intended… moving on).

The Stronghold Crusader series is known as the best castle/defence strategy game series, and while the third game in the series has quite bad reviews, the first and second Stronghold Crusader are brilliant (and highly rated) games.

Plus Stronghold Crusader II brings a good balance between fairly good graphics, and low hardware requirements (it will play fine with just 2GB of RAM, although 4GB is naturally preferred).

This real-time strategy castle sim allows you to build a town which is protected by castle walls, and you then build up an army and defences to beat back attackers – and eventually dominate the battlefield.

Game #10: Oxygen Not Included (2017)

Genre: Survival | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7+, RAM: 4GB, CPU: Dual-core 2GHz, GPU: Intel HD 4600 or equivalent

This game comes under a number of genres: some call it a “survival sim”, some call it a “space game”. Whatever you refer to it as, this fun, 2D indie game is addicting.

You control a space-based colony, where basic tools of survival like warmth and oxygen are in short supply. It’s your job to help protect your colony from a number of threats, while managing everything from mining to the power infrastructure.

Oxygen Not Included can be stressful at times, because it is a fairly fast-paced game which requires you to manage basic necessities of life – so that your colony doesn’t starve to death (or find itself unable to breath). So I wouldn’t play this game if you wanted to kick back and relax. But if you’re after an addicting and genuinely interesting game, look no further.

Game #11: Portal 1 (2007) & Portal 2 (2011)

Genre: Puzzle | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 3GHz, GPU: 128MB card

Valve’s two Portal games are very popular, partly because they are just so unique. I remember playing Portal 1 and being amazed at its simple but fun gameplay.

The basic premise is that you’re stuck in a building somewhere, and you need to find your way out of a series of rooms. But this isn’t an escape room with clues: you have to fire blue and red portals in different locations, which allow you to move/jump between parts of the room.

It’s a bit hard to describe at times, but if you’re looking for a puzzle game that feels a bit like a shooter, this game is definitely for you.

It’s also good that you can play this game on anything but a potato: 2GB of RAM and a tiny amount of VRAM is all that you need.

Game #12: Half-Life 2 (2004)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7+, RAM: 512MB, CPU: 1.7 GHz, GPU: Pretty much any

This. Is. Such. A. Good. Game.

Half Life 2 is another Valve classic, and it’s a shooter game that feels like a survival/horror game at times (but don’t worry, it’s not scary – I played it when I was still a kid, and I was never genuinely frightened).

Half Life 2 has a great mix of puzzles, story-telling and shooting – and many people consider it one of the best games ever. I would suggest that you play this game even if you dislike shooters: it’s that good!

Plus it helps that HL2 has very low hardware requirements: 4GB of RAM will be more than enough to play this game and keep RAM-heavy programs like Chrome open!

The graphics still feel fairly modern considering this is a 2004 game. Yes you’re not going to get 4K, A Plague Tale: Requiem level of graphics out of HL2 – but it will feel fairly modern and trendy to play, despite being almost two decades old.

Game #13: Slay The Spire (2017)

Genre: Deck Building | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 2GB, CPU: 2 GHz, GPU: 1GB card

This is a fairly unique indie game, and deck/card players will love this: Slay the Spire is a mix of deck-building, dungeon crawls and strategy.

You can pick from one of four characters, and you then attempt to climb multiple floors – each bringing a series of enemies and bosses. When you get attacked, the game switches to a card game based system, allowing you to build and use cards to fight.

The progression system is neat in this game, with new cards introducing new abilities – and you level up fairly well, with enemies also being more difficult – but not excessively so. This is a difficult game to describe, so check out the video below if this card-based game interests you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuCJ_BZZ1no&ab_channel=RTGame

Game #14: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (2015)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 1GB, CPU: dual-core 2.4 GHz, GPU: 256MB card

This 2D shooter is fairly violent, but as long as that doesn’t put you off, you’re likely to love this popular indie game. You can follow the path of various factions, none of which are particularly moral or peaceful! You will fight your way through a number of enemies, unlocking new weapons and “methods of execution” (yep!) as you go.

Hotline Miami 2 probably takes 10+ hours to get through, if you purely focus on the main game, although there are naturally side quests that extend the gameplay further.

There is a predecessor which is also worth checking out, but you can jump straight into the second game without needing to have played Hotline Miami 1 first.

Both games run on fairly simple hardware, requiring just 1 GB of RAM, a simple dual-core CPU and just 256MB of VRAM. This is probably to be expected considering the 2D nature of the graphics, but it’s still good to know that the game should run smoothly for you.

Game #15: Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (2017)

Genre: JRPG | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, CPU: 1GB RAM, CPU: dual-core 2 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

FFX is my favorite game of all time, and the remastered PC version actually gives you two games: FFX, and FFX-2 (the weird follow-up game which divided opinion). I mainly focus on playing FFX and pretend that FFX-2 doesn’t exist, but your mileage may vary!

FFX is a JRPG, meaning a Japanese RPG. This distinction is given because JRPGs tend to have some open game play, and then ‘closed’ battles which you can’t just run away from (compared to some RPGs, where battles can be run away from at any time).

FFX tells the story of Tidus, whose city is hit by a natural disaster, knocking him unconscious. When Tidus wakes up, he finds himself stuck in the past. Eventually some characters come to his aid, helping Tidus learn more about his past – and his fate.

FFX has a pretty awesome battle system, along with mini-games like Blitzball which can consume dozens of hours of your time. You could end up playing FFX for hundreds of hours if you wanted, due to all the hidden bosses that are available.

But don’t worry if you just want to play the main game: this will take 30-50 hours depending on how well you level up, and it’s still loads of fun.

Game #16: Payday 2 (2013)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core 2 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

This edgy shooter is designed as a four-player co-op shooter, and it’s really action-packed. It’s designed to throw you (and your friends) into a fast-moving, enemy-heavy world where you shoot first, and ask questions later (yes I channelled my inner John Wayne when writing that last bit!).

Payday 2 runs well on most low-end computers, although it does require a fair chunk of the 4GB RAM so you may need to shut background programs to play this smoothly.

This is a 3D game from a fairly big game studio (Overkill), and its graphics still look pretty good a decade after its original release. The game is highly reviewed and sees you robbing banks with your crew, and then trying to escape – often fighting your way out.

Game #17: FTL: Faster Than Light (2012)

Genre: Strategy | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 1GB, CPU: 2 GHz, GPU: 128MB card

FTL: Faster Than Light is a fun simulation/strategy game from indie developer Subset Games. It has been a big hit, with some amazing reviews.

FTL sees you run a spaceship while trying to save the galaxy, with lots of hurdles along the way. You have a good amount of freedom to play this game at your own pace, and make your own decisions: both good and bad! But bad decisions can quickly come back to haunt you, with lots of enemies and rival ships nearby, waiting to attack.

What is neat, though, is that even though the game sometimes feels hectic and fast-paced, you can pause in the middle of combat to review (or adjust) your approach to a battle. This gives some nice breathing space from an otherwise stressful fight!

The game will run on most computers, requiring just 1 GB of RAM and a fairly small amount of VRAM. This is partly down to the graphics (which are 2D and sometimes a bit basic), although the graphics are naturally a design choice by this indie studio. FTL doesn’t need fancy 3D graphics to provide an awesome gaming experience.

Game #18: Europa Universalis IV (2013)

Genre: Strategy | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 8-11, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core 3 GHz, GPU: Nvidia GTX 460/AMD Radeon 5850

If you like the Civilization or Total War series, you’ll love Europa Universalis IV. This 2013 strategy game spans four centuries of rule, from the Renaissance up to the Age of Revolutions.

This historically accurate game sees you control armies and navies across a fairly big world map, although unlike Total War, battles are completed on the world map itself – you don’t go into a battlefield and march your individual troop units around.

I actually prefer this, because I always found myself growing tired of loads of individual battles in Total War. The approach from Europa Universalis IV suits me more – plus it means that it’s not as hardware intensive.

After all, instead of needing loads of RAM to keep track of thousands of individual troops, Europa Universalis battles appear smaller (on the zoomed-out world map). This means that your 4GB computer should be able to play this gripping strategy game fairly smoothly, although admittedly it will be harder to run than a small 2D indie game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvwotlNYyWA&ab_channel=Nyxson

Game #19: Saints Row IV (2013)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core, GPU: NVIDIA GTX 260/AMD Radeon 5800 series

This is a bizarre “action-adventure” game which is actually more of a shoot-em-up. While there is some storyline to follow, with a game world that allows some exploration, there are so many enemies to shoot that the game quickly descends into a (fun) shooter.

This 3D triple AAA game from 2013 still has pretty good graphics a decade later, but it runs fairly well from most 4GB systems. It is better if your graphics card has at least 1GB of VRAM, although you might be able to get by with a slightly less powerful GPU.

I describe Saints Row 4 as bizarre because it’s designed to have some really weird and wacky gameplay modes – including one where big-headed cats attack you. The storyline is also intentionally a bit rubbish – allowing you to get back to shooting enemies quicker than some story-heavy JRPG!

Game #20: Mafia II (2010)

Genre: Action-Adventure | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 1.5GB, CPU: dual-core 3 GHz, GPU: NVIDIA 8600/ATI HD2600

Mafia II is a popular, big-budget game from 2K Czech, and it was released on all consoles/platforms back in 2010. This highly rated game has a fairly interesting storyline, and lots of good fighting/gun game mechanics.

The game centres around Vito Scaletta, a young mobster who becomes caught up in a power struggle between various Mafia crime families. This is a third-person shooter (which I’m not as much of a fan of), but it’s still very engaging and you feel in the middle of the action.

Mafia II allows you to drive various vehicles, along with moving around on foot too – bringing about a good mix of fast-moving action and slower exploring game play.

One interesting game mechanic is that the weather changes, and this results in vehicles working differently (i.e. they’ll slide/crash more in snow!). This is a pretty cool feature in my opinion, because many games ignore weather completely (or add some rain effects in, but the rain doesn’t affect gameplay).

Mafia II therefore feels like a genuine and close-to-action shooter, and it’s a lot of fun. The fact that it can run on systems with just 1.5 GB of RAM (and 256MB VRAM graphics cards) is nice too, because you don’t have to worry about whether your 4 GB computer will run this smoothly.

Game #21: Just Cause 2 (2010)

Genre: Action-Adventure | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 3 GHz, GPU: 256MB card

Just Cause 2 has a bit of a ‘Saints Row bizarre’ feeling to it, although it is a little more serious. Just Cause 2 has a fairly basic storyline, one which is designed to give you some structure without feeling too limiting. You can easily explore the open world at your own pace, and only dip into the main storyline when you want/need to.

While you can walk/run through this game, Just Cause 2 has an awesome grapple hook which allows you to effectively ‘fly’ through the game instead. There’s nothing more satisfying than air-dropping into the middle of an enemy base, then switching to a heavy machine gun and taking out loads of enemies – before diving for cover, and picking them off one-by-one.

You can also drive a range of vehicles, including armored vehicles and airplanes. There are a number of challenges throughout the game too, including really fun driving challenges (where you have to drive or fly through a series of objectives in a set time).

I do find that the gameplay becomes a little repetitive after 10-15 hours, but maybe that’s just me. Overall Just Cause 2 is a fun and action-packed game – with fairly good 3D graphics, especially since they can run on a PC with just 2GB of RAM.

Game #22: Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition (2011)

Genre: Fighter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 2.8 GHz, GPU: NVIDIA 8800 GTS/AMD Radeon 3850

This fun fighting game was released in 2011 and it includes a number of awesome fighters (which they call “kombatants”), including Freddy Krueger, Johnny Cage, Baraka, Cyber Sub-Zero and others. This game supports single-player matches, along with playing with friends in 1v1 matches – or watching other players in an online “King of the Hill” mode.

Dedicated players will want to purchase the Mortal Kombat fight stick/pad, although this is not required for casual game play.

Some of the fight moves and combos can get a little complex, but that’s actually a good thing: you can learn the basic commands fairly easily, and have fun playing the game. But as you develop and progress, you can then learn new fighting moves to take your game to the next level.

Mortal Kombat runs really well in a 4 GB system, and it doesn’t require an ultra powerful CPU or graphics card either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlnLgozm5BA&ab_channel=Piecemeal

Game #23: Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (2013)

Genre: Action-Adventure | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 2.6 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

Ubisoft’s stealth-adventure Assassin’s Creed series contains a number of awesome and highly rated games, but many of the recent ones require more than 4 GB of RAM to run. Thankfully, though, the 2013 Black Flag game (the fourth in the series) runs fairly well with just 4 GB of RAM.

The plot is similar to the other games in the series: there is an ongoing battle between The Assassins (who seek free will for people) and The Templars (who want to control everyone). This particular games centres around a Welsh pirate who uncovers hidden secrets that are wanted by both the Assassins and the Templars.

The nice thing about Assassin’s Creed games is that – while stealth is always preferred – you can switch to mindless violence (for a short time) if you need to… or simply want to! You have a number of fun weapons and take-downs at your disposal, for when stealth and avoidance aren’t possible.

This open world game has a fun and interesting storyline, and some great game mechanics. The fact that it only requires 2 GB of RAM is a nice bonus too.

Game #24: Crysis 3 (2013)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 3GB, CPU: dual-core 2.7 GHz, GPU: 1GB card

“But will it play Crysis?” was a common joke in 2008, after the release of the original Crysis. The game required quite powerful hardware at the time, so any new hardware releases prompted people to ask if Crysis could run on it.

Fast forward a few years, and hardware had finally caught up: Crysis 3 was no longer a hardware-melting game! And thankfully nowadays, Crysis 3 seems like an easy-to-run game: it only requires 3 GB of RAM (and a 1GB VRAM graphics card). If your system is able to run Crysis 3 (or the previous 2 games), you should definitely check them out because these are really awesome shooter games with some amazing graphics.

The game-play itself is fairly simple, with a basic-but-effective storyline that allows you to explore the fairly open world. This is a first-person shooter and you control Prophet as he kills various aliens that are throughout New York City (it’s a post-apocalypse world, where the Ceph race have taken over much of humanity).

You don’t need to play Crysis 1 or 2 before playing Crysis 3, although I would recommend checking out Crysis 1 too (if you the time) because it was such a ground-breaking game at the time. Reviews of Crysis 2 are a little mixed due to its linear game-play, but it’s still a pretty good game.

Game #25: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012)

Genre: Racing | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 2 GHz, GPU: 256MB card

This game is pretty much Mario Cart, but made by Sega (Sega own the rights to Sonic, while Nintendo own Mario/Mario Cart). However that’s not to say that this is a bad game: it’s actually a really fun (and highly rated) game.

It is a kart-racing game with a choice of over 20 characters, but what sets if apart from Mario Kart is that you can switch between boat and plan modes at certain points of a race. This adds a nice, extra dimension to the game. You have a number of weapons to use during a race, from explosive engines to swarms of wasps.

Sonic And All-Stars Racing Transformed has fairly good graphics for a 2012-era game, and it thankfully runs well with just 4 GB of RAM (only requiring 2 GB). It should run really smoothly on your PC, unless you have lots of background apps running.

Game #26: Hades (2020)

Genre: Dungeon Crawler | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core 2.4 GHz, GPU: 1GB card

This stylish indie game from Supergiant Games has simple but effective 3D graphics, and involves you hacking your way through The Underworld in typical dungeon crawler fashion.

You start out fairly weak (as is typical with this sort of game), but as you progress you will wield some really powerful mythical weapons and grow stronger and stronger. THis game is rooted in Greek mytholoy, and you have a number of Greek Gods – including Zeus and Poseidon – to help you break free of Hades’ clutches.

This is a fairly modern game, and as such it requires a decently powerful system: 4GB of RAM and a 1GB VRAM GPU are the minimum (and it will run fairly smoother with 4GB of RAM – but you might experience a bit of lag during really heavy fighting).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgs1yGG22e4&ab_channel=BossFighter

Game #27: Battlefield 3 (2011)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Windows 7-11, RAM: 2GB, CPU: dual-core 2.4 GHz, GPU: 512MB card

I love the Battlefield series and this is the second Battlefield game I recommend for low-RAM systems (Battlefield: Bad Company being the first). Battlefield 3 involves you playing in the US army in a variety of roles (from Marine to M1A2 Abrams tank operator), and this first-person shooter has single-player, co-op and multiplayer modes.

Battlefield 3 brought back fighter jets and 64-player multiplayer matches that were absent from the Bad Company series. It’s hard to explain, but online matches with 64 other players and fighter jets flying overhead feel a lot more real and immersive – probably because they are so fast paced, and there are enemies everywhere!

I would say that if you want a more ‘real’ army feel, you will prefer Battlefield 3 to Battlefield: Bad Company.

In terms of the system specs, you only ‘need’ 2GB of RAM – so anything more is a bonus really. Basically, BF3 should run fairly smoothly if you have 4GB of RAM – although naturally the CPU and GPU matters too, with a minimum of 512MB of VRAM being required.

Game #28: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)

Genre: RPG | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 512MB, CPU: dual-core 2 GHz, GPU: 128MB card

Oblivion (and its predecessor, Morrowind) are amazing role-play games by Bethesda, who also make the Fallout series – and are currently working on a big-budget game called Starfield.

Oblivion sees you unleashed into a massive, open world where you can slowly rank up (and gain loot) by battling monsters and completing quests. There is loads to do on Oblivion, and while you could complete the central game in 30-40 hours, you could easily play the game for hundreds of hours if you look into all the side quests.

Oblivion also has a really active modding community, allowing you to tweak the game in many different ways. Some mods simply improve the graphics, while others introduce Godzilla as a boss that you need to defeat!

This is such a wide ranging game that you really need to check it out if you like RPGs. Its minimum system requirements are great, too: requiring just 512MB of RAM and a 128MB VRAM card. Naturally though, the higher you push the graphics settings – and the more mods you install – the more RAM and VRAM you will need.

Game #29: C&C Remastered (2020)

Genre: Strategy | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 4GB, CPU: dual-core 2.4 GHz, GPU: NVIDIA GT 420/ATI Radeon 5570

I used to love the Command and Conquer series; I remember playing one of the first Windows releases (Command & Conquer: Red Alert), along with Tiberian Sun and a load more. I therefore loved seeing that the original MS-DOS C&C was remastered and available to play.

If you haven’t played them before, C&C games involve you building a base and an army – and you then have to repel enemy attacks, along with proactively hunting down the enemy (and their bases).

C&C Remastered takes all the best bits of the iconic original game, while updating the graphics to be fairly decent (it’s never going to win art awards, but the graphics feel smooth and snappy). The reviews are great for this game, and it feels like a modern game – despite the original version being decades old!

This game does require 4GB of RAM (and ideally a 1GB VRAM graphics card), but as long as you have this, you can play the game smoothly – it has been optimized to run smoothly on lower-end rigs.

Game #30: Borderlands 2 (2012)

Genre: Shooter | Minimum System Requirements: OS: Any, RAM: 2 GB, CPU: dual-core 2.4 GHz, GPU: NVIDIA 8500/ATI Radeon 2600

This stylish shooter splits opinion (some love the graphics, some dislike them) but overall I really like them. Borderlands 2 is a shooter, allowing you to pick from one of four characters who go through a world full of creators and psychos. There is a great single-player story, along with co-op features so that you can play with friends.

If you like guns, grenades, class upgrades, rocket launchers and more, you’re likely to love Borderlands 2. The graphics still feel fairly modern considering this is a 2012 game, and this is partly due to the cell-shading style of Borderland’s graphics.

The game isn’t too heavy on your hardware either, only requiring 2 GB of RAM and a fairly light CPU and GPU (a 256MB VRAM card should be sufficient, although naturally you’ll be stuck at a lower 720p or 1080p resolution).

Nonetheless, I am a big fan of the Borderlands series and Borderlands 2 is worth checking out if your system only has 4GB of RAM (heck, or 2GB of RAM!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SwTECtB_Uo&ab_channel=Joltzdude139