Online games for weak PCs

Today we'll talk about a pressing issue: not everyone has a tricked-out computer at home that can reveal the beauty of ray tracing and photorealistic textures. If you believe the statistics of the Steam store, updated every month, the most popular graphics card for a long time remains NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 - they started to release it in 2019, and in the fall of 2022 stopped production. In practice, this means that most gamers make do with weak systems. But for a fan of online games, this state of affairs is not a verdict. Let's remember the current multiuser entertainment, which will go without problems even on an old PC or office laptop.

And let's start with one of the most popular MMO-fighters of our time, where the battles of military equipment do not subside for a moment. Of course, the original game looks impressive: sun glare realistically plays on the sides of vehicles, tanks crush fences and walls, and they break from the penetration according to all the rules of physics. But for such effects you need the appropriate PC. But for the mobile version with the subtitle Blitz, a build with a 2 GHz processor and two gigabytes of RAM is enough. Fortunately, the game has long been transferred to computers and is available for free on Steam.

The graphics here are worse than in the older version. But everything else is perfectly familiar. You take part in team battles on 23 locations, choose crews, save experience with virtual currency and open new tank models - there are more than 300 of them in the game. Technique, as in the original, is divided into ranks from the first to the tenth, there is customization of machines with the replacement of nodes, decorations in the form of camouflage and inscriptions, as well as events, promotions and paid premium opportunities. In general, the stripped-down version is able to give the same emotions as the full version, without requiring powerful hardware.

What should gamers who want to shoot not only tanks and SAU do? The first thing that comes to mind is to install Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The system requirements of this shooter are really gentle, but to say that it will run on any PC is a lie. And the frame rate is extremely important here, and it can't be raised without a decent hardware. But Team Fortress 2 can be played even on an office laptop without a discrete graphics card. The game has simple graphics, reminiscent of cartoons, collected high marks from critics and is notable for its humor, which can not be said about the same CS: GO. The rich choice of modes and characters completes the picture.

There are more than a dozen types of battles here. There are both classics like "Capture the Flag", "Arena" and territory control, and exclusives like "Special Delivery", where you have to carry a suitcase with valuable cargo to the elevator, while fighting off enemies. There is also "Give Pass" with elements of sports competition and reflecting waves of enemies in co-op with other gamers. And all this happens on different maps, so you won't get bored. In addition, each participant of the match can choose his own character - take a bulky machine gunner, an arsonist with a flamethrower or a sneaky spy who can become invisible for a while.

If you still want to play something like Counter-Strike, take a look at Point Blank, a shooter released back in 2008. Due to its age, the game doesn't strain your computer much - you can understand it even by its graphics. But let's not judge the book by its cover, because the action movie has a lot of advantages. Instead of special forces and terrorists here fight rebels and peacekeepers, designated as "red" and "blue". They enter the battle on different maps in the modes "Team Fight to the Death", "Capture the Flag" and "Explosion", where one of the teams lays a bomb, and the other disarms it.

There are also matches with unusual rules. For example, in "Duel" there are only two competing fighters on the location, in "Thug" you have to shoot only at heads, and in "Hardcore" every hit is fatal - you have to play without mistakes. There are even battles against dinosaurs and zombies. Will you find such a variety in CS? In addition, Point Blank is distinguished by a full-fledged pumping of characters. For successes in battle you get ribbons, ranks, medals, experience and points, for which you can open new missions. The higher the rank, the more opportunities and guns you have - there is an interest to return to the battlefield again and again.

Let's get away from rebels and peacekeepers and change the topic to something more fabulous. RAID: Shadow Legends is a free-to-play game with "gacha" mechanics, where you have to collect and develop heroes in your squad. According to the plot, the kingdom of Teleria is attacked by the dark lord Cyrot, filling the peaceful lands with his monsters, and you need to give the evil a worthy response. Do it is offered in turn-based battles, taking turns activating characters, which after the battle can be pumped at your discretion. There are hundreds of such fighters in the game - each user is free to make up a team to his liking, and then fight against monsters or the same parties of other players.

Since the game was ported to PC from mobile devices, it doesn't require much from your system or yourself. Control here is as simple as possible, the progression of heroes is organized in an elementary way (you just need to gain experience and get stronger items in battle), you don't need to think about decisions and get into the plot. At the same time there is a full-fledged three-dimensional graphics with animation of all figures and a nice depth-of-field effect. Just right to pass the evening after work or study.

This game is for those who, on the contrary, are ready to move their minds in solving strategic problems. Rail Nation offers to build your own railroad empire, unlocking new models of locomotives, laying tracks and perfecting the logistics on the map. It is available for free on the official website, and runs directly in your browser, so you don't need to run to the store to upgrade your computer for this entertainment. All you need is to register an account with an e-mail account.

The project is not even a strategy, but a taikun, that is, it contains an element of simulation. Here you don't just run trains along the tracks, but build a whole infrastructure with sawmills, workshops, laboratories, depots, banks, train stations, restaurants and even shopping centers. All this must be managed, spending resources wisely, and at the same time to supply supplies to the surrounding cities, so that the railroad brought profit. Naturally, gamers do not try to do it alone - there is competition between them in the world of Rail Nation. From time to time there are competitions: users find out who transports more grain, or measure the power of locomotives.

With Travian: Kingdoms the situation is even simpler. The game is launched in the browser, and the graphics is such that 512 MB of RAM will be enough for you. The world of this online strategy reminds an educational cartoon, describing the development of ancient nations - Romans, Gauls, Germans and others. At the same time, unlike the same Rail Nation, here much attention is paid to user interaction, especially in the creation of alliances for conquest campaigns and joint defense against aggressors.

You start with a small village, where traditionally for the genre you need to build barns, forges, barracks and other initial objects. And then there is development, the ways of which depend on the chosen people. For example, the Romans have a strong army, but it eats a hole in the budget the size of the Colosseum, and the Germanic soldiers are trained cheaper and faster, but you have to prepare them at a double pace. In addition to your personal territory in Travian there is a global map - on it you make friends, fight and expand your sphere of influence. But doing it alone is not the best idea. You'll need the help of your friends. Fortunately, all of them can have weak computers and do not invest a penny in the game.

Another free-to-play online cartoon game that combines strategy, adventure and role-playing elements. Partly Hustle Castle is similar to Fallout Shelter, but offers much more possibilities. In the story you need to save the princess from the clutches of the villain, for which you should build and develop a castle, and then hire heroes in turn, ready to challenge the forces of evil. Battles take place in turn-based mode, and before each fight you can improve your characters by adding new armor or developing a skill.

There is a lot of humor in the story: the actors are funny drawn and do not go into your pocket for a joke, and in addition, the virtual world itself brings a smile. But this does not save the gamer from mental effort - it is necessary and the inhabitants of the castle to distribute the workplace, and the treasury to watch half-eyed, and with trophies to handle competently. Otherwise, to defeat the demons will be very difficult. And who wants to compete with a live opponent, can take part in clan wars, raid the land of the opponent or show their prowess in the Arena, where tournaments are constantly held.

And what about the MMORPG genre on weak computers? Such entertainment can also be undemanding, but it is worth paying attention to the classics that came out at least a dozen years ago - so there are more chances that the outdated PC will pull it. Neverwinter Online, which was released back in 2013, is a vivid representative of such "netlenka". And the world, where the action of the game unfolds, is even older, because it is Forgotten Realms, which gave rise to the game series Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. Taking into account the well known to fans of the genre setting, the online version of the universe pleases with the abundance of adventures and developed role-playing component.

The exploits start in Neverwinter, the city of the title. Its inhabitants are under siege, and the ruler's crown has been stolen by mysterious villains, so you need to take up arms and deal with the problems. Well, or do other useful things - forge armor, sew clothes, brew potions in the alchemy lab. There are plenty of classes, as well as classes with races. On the other hand, social interaction is based on finding friends for the next campaign for loot, rather than rivalry of factions. But the main thing is that the three-dimensional graphics of the game does not load the user's system, because no one screwed on it with fancy effects. The developers, who still support their project, are more busy composing new plots and adding temporary activities.

Where there is room for a fan of alliances and large-scale wars between factions, it is in Perfect World. Korean MMORPG also looks pretty, although its release took place in 2005. It is noteworthy that this free game has a lot of settings for PCs with low performance - nothing prevents, for example, to reduce the number of characters on the screen or reduce the range of drawing. But it won't reduce your possibilities in Perfect World at all. Here you can fly on wings over the earth, sail the seas on ships, build your own manor and fulfill guild quests to make your hero even stronger.

The story is set in a universe created by the god Pan Gu. At some point, the creator decided to destroy his creation, but instead of the death of all living things, it led to an invasion of monsters. In such an environment and have to act brave men, who after taking the 20th level go on a free journey. In addition to four types of single quests there are activities for groups, clans and guilds. In addition, there are Arena fights and tournaments, dungeons with bosses and grandiose "Battles of Dynasties", which bring together the inhabitants of different servers on the same battlefield.

There are also browser-based MMORPGs that are as good as client-based ones in terms of their aesthetic qualities. A great example is Dragon Knight, which combines three-dimensional and two-dimensional graphics. It works on Flash, so it is unlikely to puzzle your computer. But it offers full-fledged mechanics of the genre, including battles with demons in dungeons, tower trials, battles in the Arena and traveling through various locations. But in addition to all this, the player gets "lazy" gameplay, when most of the tasks are performed automatically.

The same applies to turn-based battles, where you control only the hero, and his squadmates fight on their own when it's their turn. Pumping, in turn, consists of a full set familiar to fans of the genre - from the development of the hero's characteristics to improving the properties of items in the inventory. Among similar games that run in the browser and have nice graphics, we should also mention the second Dragon Knight, World of Chaos, Jade Goddess and Dragon Contract. In other words, even if you have a weak computer, there are still plenty of options to have fun alone or with friends.