The best Chromebook games serve us some much-needed entertainment to offset our busy, stressful or hectic lives. Thanks to the Google Play store, you’ve got an incredibly vast catalog of games for Chrome OS. There’s only one catch. Not all Android games run well on Chrome OS — and some don’t run at all — because they were initially built for phones and tablets, not laptops.
With all the games in the Google Play store, it’s hard to know which one is worth downloading. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best Chromebook games you can find.
Top Chromebook games include the madly addictive Fallout Shelter, which runs without a stutter and benefits greatly from the larger screen, and Among Us, an excellent whodunnit murder multiplayer game that you can play with friends or strangers.
What is the best Chromebook game?
The best Chromebook game is arguably Alto’s Odyssey, especially if you’re the type of Chromebook gamer who prefers blissful, relaxing games to zone out to so that you can escape into a fascinating virtual world. It’s mesmerizing as you snowboard (or sandboard) downhill through hypnotic landscapes in the background.
You’re playing as a man called Alto who races downhill on an infinite, never-ending slope on a board; you’ll get to spin around in the air with amazing tricks (backflips included) and collect coins along the way. You can jump over rocks and other impediments, and you must leap over them to stay in the flow of the game. Alto’s Odyssey isn’t for the gamer seeking complex mechanics to win the game. The reward with this game is the visual pleasure of sliding through an enthralling world and getting lost with Alto during his downhill Odyssey.
If Alto’s Odyssey isn’t your cup of tea, the best Chromebook game for you could be Injustice 2, which is a good pick for gamers who prefer a faster pace. You can join your favorite DC superheroes and villains in the best Chromebook fighting game. You can assemble a team of heroes such as Wonder Woman, Flash and Batman to kick butt against rivals. You can conquer your enemies by using Superman’s heat vision, Flash’s lightening kick, Harley Quinn’s cupcake bombs and more.
To check out more titles that we feel are the best Chromebook games, take a look at our list below.
1. Alto’s Odyssey
The sequel to Alto’s Adventure is even more beautiful than the award-winning mobile game that preceded it. Expanding on the tap-to-jump gameplay with a new hold-to-wall-grind move, Alto’s Odyssey is more of the same, and that’s not an insult. Also, Odyssey is just as calming as increasingly luscious locales, with vibrant and calming visuals. You’ll need a touchscreen Chromebook, as there’s keyboard support, but sincethere are no on-screen controls to tap — you just tap anywhere you want –it’s comfortable to play even on larger screens.
The multiplayer game Among Us exploded into popularity as players reveled in getting the opportunity to play a murderous imposter while others call “emergency meetings” to determine who, among them, is the dangerous intruder.
Among Us is recommended on Chromebooks because the game is optimized for Chrome OS laptops; players will get to enjoy this game in all of its full-screen glory. In fact, some Chromebooks already come with Among Us pre-installed (e.g. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2). Among Us is one of the best mobile games of the year, so don’t miss out on playing the whodunnit game on your Chromebook.
2. Into the Dead 2
Into the Dead 2 is one of the best Chromebook games for Chrome OS users seeking some thrilling, creepy, apocalyptic action. Into the Dead 2 is a game that throws you into a terrifying Zombie apocalypse. You will step into the shoes of a man who wandered a little too far away from home. He has a wife and daughter to get home to, but there are a horde of zombies threatening to impede his journey back home.
Armed with a gun, you must escape zombie-filled areas by shooting them out of your way. You can collect weapons and upgrade to more powerful artillery. This is one of the most action-packed Chromebook games you can play as you try to survive the zombie apocalypse.
3. Sniper 3D
Step into the shoes of a exceptional, unparalleled sniper who is given assignments to take out all the bad guys of the world. Take out bank-heist thieves downtown, save hostages from criminals and assassinate key figures to protect the world from evil characters.
This is action-packed game is exciting! You can take out your target from a moving vehicle or you can stake out your person of interest from a high vantage point. You are often given assignments where you’re simply given a vague description of who your target is – make sure not to take down an innocent civilian! You also have to ensure that you do not wait too long to assassinate your person of interest, or else he will disappear from your field of vision and you’ll fail your assignment.
4. Holedown
One half Tetris, one half Peggle and entirely addictive, Holedown is now available on Chromebooks, and it works well. Yes, now you can drill down intoorbiting planets during breaks from your lengthy Google Docs. In this game, you’re tasked with breaking rows of slowly rising bricks, by firing a series of white balls at them. Numbers on said bricks indicate how many hits you need to land to shatterthem, and power-ups can give you more shots.While it doesn’t support keyboard input (a touchscreen is a must) this is one of the best Chromebook games out there.
Read my Holedown review.
5. Bullet Hell Monday
This vertical-scrolling shooter takes everything we loved from the games of yore, and places them on Android (and now Chrome OS) devices. Oh, and you won’t *need* to use a touch screen, as clicks from your cursor can replicate taps. So we’ve only got one question, why is it called Bullet Hell Monday? Yes, Mondays are hell and this is a bullet hell title (where you’re dodging an insane amount of fire), but the connection isn’t exactly obvious in the game.
6. Asphalt 9: Legends
The latest version of the Asphalt racing series runs pretty well on Chrome OS, though you’ll see small stutters here and there. Overall, it’s very much playable, and I’d recommend playing it with the touch controls and rotating the screen. While there are keyboard controls, Asphalt 9‘s touch-based gestures, including swiping, make this game best for use with touchscreen Chromebooks.
7. Pokemon Quest
Arguably the most adorable Pokemon game yet, Pokemon Quest sends you to Tumblecube Island. There, you’ll meet Pokemon that look straight out of Minecraft, with brick-based versions of your favorites, including Pikachu (one of your starter options). Requires a touchscreen.
8. Threes
One of the most addictive puzzle games of the decade has landed on the Chromebook, with Threes, where you move tiles together in a grid to add them together. You start with 1’s and 2’s, and then add matching tiles together (3’s with 3’s, 6’s with 6’s and so on and so forth). Not to be confused with the bland knockoff 2048, Threes features a catchy instrumental soundtrack, and its tiles come to life as cute, growly little rectangles. Only supports touch-screen for tap controls.
9. Amazing Katamari
The cult classic Katamari Damacy ball-rolling game is one of the weirdest concepts in video game history, and its fun has now arrived on Android and Chrome OS. Instead of collecting items on your giant ball in an aimless manner, this mobile version is an infinite-runner where your ever-growing sphere gets larger and larger and becomes difficult to fit between dangerous obstacles. One note, though: you’ll want to use Amazing Katamari‘s touch screen controls, and not tilt option, as the latter isn’t sensitive enough for survival.
10. Injustice 2
While it’s not a straight port of its console version, the Android version of Injustice 2 plays quite well via Chrome emulation. Not only do the characters move smoothly, but you see them in tons of detail. Since there’s no keyboard support, and you need to tap the screen quickly, this one may be best on Chromebooks with smaller screens.
11. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp puts you in the role of a gal or guy who’s walking around the world, just looking to make friends and have them come over to hang out. Unfortunately, his world is filled with a bunch of lazy animals with increasingly high demands. Still, there’s a certain calm zen feeling to be gained by clicking around this adorable cartoonish environment. Unfortunately, Pocket Camp is touchscreen-only, as it doesn’t support the keyboard, which it could, since you’re just moving your character around on a map.
12. NBA JAM
It doesn’t have to be Throwback Thursday for you to have fun shooting hoops in NBA JAM by EA Sports. The major difference between this game and the classic version you’re used to? Updated rosters featuring the likes of Carmello Anthony, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook. Pro tip: if you can’t find LeBron James, tap on the Cleveland Cavs players to cycle through and find King James, who is surprisingly not a member of its default pairing.The keyboard doesn’t do anything in this one, so you’re better off setting your Chromebook in tablet mode.
13. Two Dots
All it takes to get addicted to Two Dots is to simply trace a line between two of its dots. Then, the dots become a grid of different colored dots, and you can only connect dots of the same hue. Then, some dots get trapped behind blocks you have to break. After that, you need to connect the dots before they can become lava. And while it supports using your touchpad to select dots, that’s a lot less natural than moving your finger on the screen, so better hope your Chromebook’s screen can bend-back to tablet mode, like those in the Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA, the Samsung Chromebook Pro, and the Google Pixelbook.
14. PinOut
One of the best mobile games you haven’t played yet, PinOut is part pinball and part infinite runner. That means your goal is to advance your ball by knocking it through a series of tables that keep going and going. And from its Tron aesthetics to its excellent electronica soundtrack, Pinball looks and sounds as great as it plays. Pinout also supports your keyboard, as clicking the left and right shift keys flip the corresponding flippers.
15. Sonic the Hedgehog Classic
The Chromebook is the latest platform to allow you to go back to Green Hill and Marble Zone to fight Eggman’s robotic army. And while it’s free to play, that is with ads (you can remove them for $1.99). And Sonic the Hedgehog Classic includes keyboard support: W, A, S and D move the iconic hedgehog and J makes him jump.
16. Super Mario Run
One of the best mobile games of 2016 also runs on touch-screen Chromebooks. That’s right, Super Mario Run’s Android version works well in Chrome OS’s Android emulation, allowing you to collect every single special coin (in pink, purple and black) and play Toad Rally to win more toads. The only catch, though, is that there’s no keyboard support. Oh and you’ll need to spend $9.99 to unlock the whole game, but that’s a pittance for how fun this one is.
17. Fallout Shelter
Fallout Shelter is a dystopian version of Sim City, where you build out a bunker using an ever-growing group of survivors taking shelter from a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Some will mate, some will produce energy and others will be armed and sent outside to fight the radioactive hordes. While this spinoff from the popular console and PC franchise runs smoothly on Chrome OS, it doesn’t support the keyboard, so you’ll want to set your Chromebook into the tablet mode.
18. Pocket Mortys
Just because you have a Chromebook doesn’t mean you can’t go forth with Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty to battle and capture other Mortys, in the wildly popular mobile game Pocket Mortys. Confused? Here’s another way to think about it: what if Pokemon embraced the dark nature of a franchise where teens ran around running monster fight clubs, and involved the smartest grandpa and most manic grandson ever? The on-screen directional pad and A button are mapped to your keyboard, but you’ll need to tap the screen for other buttons.
19. Pac-Man
Yes, even the true OG of retro gaming is also on the Chromebook, thanks to Android version of Pac-Man’s flat world landing on the laptops. Of course, you can use the up, down, left and right arrow keys to move the circular fellow, but the option to turn an entire tablet into a Pac-Man board is also a fun time.
