Pips and Pixels is a column from James Bentley, iMore's resident gaming expert, discussing all things gaming in the Apple ecosystem. Pips and Pixels explores the latest news, accessories, and titles you might have missed out on, and brings you commentary from the leading developers in the app market. As recent advancements in the Apple Silicon M processors and the brand new A17 Bionic chip show, Apple is becoming more serious about gaming. James looks to the rest of the games industry to see what could be next for Apple gamers.
E3 may be dead, but Summer Game Fest has had no problem filling its shoes as the annual focal point for new game reveals, with many of the world’s biggest publishers taking advantage of its halo effect to put on all their own game showcases.
However, one of the only downsides of having so many great gaming shows to watch is usually seeing Mac support so inconsistent across the board. Though you could opt to use the Mac developer tool Game Porting Toolkit to push some of these games into running on the best Macs, sometimes, it’s nice when things just work without any extra prep work. And, thankfully this year, there were plenty of native Mac-gaming announcements to look forward to.
In celebration of all these game showcases, here are 10 of the most promising Mac-compatible titles announced or shown off this week.
Read on for the rundown.
Games coming to Mac
All of these games have either been confirmed to be compatible with Mac via trailers, press releases, or the system requirement on their Steam page. Any that have no confirmed OS have not been added to the list. The sheer volume of showcases can be overwhelming, like Summer Game Fest, Xbox Games Showcase, Future Game Show, Wholesome Games Direct, Latin American Games Showcase, Women-Led Games Showcase, Ubisoft Forward, and… you get the point. Naturally, there will be some trailers and announcements lost in all that fervor but we’ve included the best we can find. Make sure to let us know what we have missed:
- Civilization 7 — We don’t know the specific Mac processor that will be able to run this yet, especially as it’s not due to launch for another year, but a macOS version is confirmed in the Steam system requirements. It's the latest in the long-running, massively popular 4X strategy franchise. This one will be huge.
- Deer and Boy — This is a great-looking narrative-driven platformer about, as you might be able to guess, a deer and a boy. It looks super cinematic, emotional, and its aesthetic is great too.
- Killer Bean — I’m not too sure what to say about this one. Killer Bean is about a killer bean based on the 2008 cult movie Killer Bean Forever. Okay, we’ve said Killer Bean a bit too much now. It’s a goofy roguelike where you have to shoot your way through crowds of beans to assassinate a key target. Each run, that story changes and you get a new target.
- Tiny Bookshop — This wasn’t quite recently announced (as I’ve been looking forward to it for some time) but it did get a new trailer and newly-announced Mac support. In it, you run a bookshop, taking care of stock, picking out the right books, and managing your tiny little store.
- Kamaeru: a Frog Refuge — This surprise launched during its trailer this week so you can play it on Mac right now. Kamaeru has you take control of a sanctuary, placing furniture, painting items, and looking after all those frogs.
- While Waiting — While Waiting is a great-looking puzzle game where you have to find things to do while waiting. Sorting baggage while you wait for your own, playing snake while standing in line, it’s a game that looks both incredibly charming and fun.
- Judero — Judero has one of the most interesting aesthetics on the entire list. Rendering handmade puppets, it’s an adventure game based on Scottish folklore that works on Mac, but, oddly enough, only on Intel machines. Hopefully, M chip support will come later down the line.
- Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall — I love the original Yes, Your Grace game, due to its great storytelling, vast array of choices, and unique art style. In it, you rule a kingdom, with tough choices every day and interpersonal drama. Yes, Your Grace Snowfall is a follow-up to the original game and even has a demo you can play on Mac right now.
- Dungeon Clawler — A roguelike claw machine deck builder, Dungeon Clawler has you fit out new gear to take on dungeons and complete runs. If you like Slay the Spire or Dicey Dungeons, you should keep an eye on this one.
- Arco — Arco is a tactical RPG with a distinct pixel-art style, with a story that changes dynamically to the decisions you make. It uses a unique “simultaneous turn-based” combat system that allows you to control and plan attacks for multiple characters at once. A demo is now available to play on Mac.
What could be getting Mac Support
All of the five below don’t specifically say they are coming to Mac but their respective Steam system requirements all state they simply need “a 64-bit processor and operating system”. macOS fits the bill so one can hope. Our choices are:
- Black Ops 6 — Call of Duty games have historically been pretty good for Mac compatibility, though Activision Blizzard was significantly more consistent before the swap to M chips in 2020.
- Hyper Light Breaker — Hyper Light Drifter, the predecessor to Hyper Light Breaker is an excellent hack-and-slash title with a gorgeous pixel art style.
- Dragon Age Veilguard — The previous Dragon Age games are RPG royalty at this point, combining the great worldbuilding and tone of ‘90s CRPGs with a much more approachable gameplay loop and style. Veilguard seems like a bit of a departure from this with more of a focus on action-oriented play but I’m still interested in trying it out.
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — As the Wolfenstein games prove, MachineGames and beating up Nazis go together as well as… well Indiana Jones and beating up Nazis. Bombastic and ridiculous, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle seems like it could be a great time.
- Gears of War E-Day — We haven’t seen a Gears of War title in almost five years now so it seems about time that Marcus Fenix, with his buddy Dom in tow.
Calendar: June's Big Game Releases
- I managed to recently play Quest Master, a Super Mario Maker-like game where you create and play community maps, except it takes after old-school Zelda. If you long for the days of whizzing through The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past but already know all the puzzles, this is well worth checking out. It will live or die based on how creative the community is but it has started its Early Access period in a very good state. It launched at the end of May but has a native Mac port.
- Tavern Talk, a cozy-looking visual novel about running a tavern, launches next week on Steam and Nintendo Switch and is natively supported on Mac. If you like Coffee Talk, this seems like a very similar deal, which means I will definitely be keeping my eye on it. It has a demo you can play right now too.
Level Up — Gaming accessories on our radar
A good controller is one of the most important accessories you can buy for gaming. It needs to not only feel good in the hands but also have enough battery life and connectivity choices to work on many Apple devices. We have picked out one such controller this week, and it’s available at a healthy discount.
Hitting the Arcade — What to play on Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade is filled with tons of exclusive experiences and fantastic games. However, with so many out there, it can be hard to decide what to play. Here are a few choices I've been testing out this week:
I’ve been testing out Return to Monkey Island+ this week, the long-awaited follow-up to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, the last game by series’ creator Ron Gilbert. This point-and-click adventure is charming, well written, and looks fantastic on iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Have you played any great games this week or seen some interesting Apple gaming news we've missed? Let us know in the comments!
