Thinky Games

The best adventure games for MacOS

Adventure games are a genre of video games that take place from the perspective of a character and feature narrative elements prominently. Under the control of the player, a main character explores a cohesive world and interacts with various non-player characters. Advancing the plot requires solving puzzles which are often seamlessly integrated into the game’s environments.

Since this narrative framing establishes no particular constraint on the nature of the puzzles being solved, adventure games may often be described in relation to additional video game genres. While the adventure genre has been associated historically with point-and-click games and “puzzle-adventure” games, adventure elements have also been included in detective games (e.g. Tangle Tower, Duck Detective), platformer games (Portal 2, Fez), and even sokoban games (Isles of Sea and Sky, Void Stranger).

Incidentally, first-person non-systemic puzzle games like Myst have become known as “puzzle-adventure” games. It should be noted, as evidenced by the games previously mentioned, that video games may feature both puzzle and adventure elements yet still be very different from so-called “puzzle-adventure” games.

The games listed below are the most favorited adventure games for MacOS in the Thinky Games database.

  • Tunic
    Windows
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    What appears to be a difficult Souls-like adventure game hides layers of secrets and discoveries.
  • Fez
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Explore the third dimension in this retro-style 2D puzzle platformer.
  • Myst (2021)
    Windows
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    A genre-defining adventure across enigmatic worlds.
  • Superliminal
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    A first-person puzzler where size is just a matter of perspective.
  • Gorogoa
    Windows
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    iPad
    Android
    Assemble vignettes to explore a hand-drawn story.
  • Untitled Goose Game
    Windows
    MacOS
    The local expert at causing chaos is an unruly bird.
  • Toki Tori 2
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    With only the ability to tweet and stomp, discover a metroidbrainia world and its surprising inhabitants.
  • Machinarium
    Windows
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Save Josef's girlfriend from the Black Cap Brotherhood in this robotic point-and-click adventure.
  • Quern - Undying Thoughts
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Uncover the secrets of Quern, solving contraption puzzles in this first-person puzzle adventure.
  • The Swapper
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Clone yourself and transfer consciousness in this sci-fi narrative puzzler.
  • Obduction
    Windows
    MacOS
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Explore a broken alien landscape in this first-person adventure from the creators of Myst.
  • Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Help the Duck Detective solve the mystery of a sinister sausage-based conspiracy.
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