What are Tactical RPGs?
Tactical RPG is a subgenre of roleplaying games with a gameplay focus on tactics and strategy. Typically, they are turn-based, and feature a group of playable characters rather than a single protagonist. That said, there are exceptions to this rule as well. It is not exactly easy to define what makes a game “tactical”. In the most broad sense, any complex combat system can be considered “tactical” to some degree. Most people, however, define a tactical combat system as a combat system with a focus on positioning. That is to say, the combat must take place on a map of some kind, and the units’ position on this map must be important to the course of the fight. There are other features that can make combat even more tactical, like different types of units, but positioning is considered essential. This is the definition we will be using in our list of best tactical RPGs for Mac.
Best tactical RPGs for Mac
Solasta: Crown of the Magister
Solasta: Crown of the Magister was developed by a studio called Tactical Adventures. With a name like this, it is quite obvious where the developers’ priorities lie. And although Solasta is their first game, it is very well-made and contains some unique features. Most notably, Solasta is a videogame adaptation of the famous tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. It uses exactly the same game mechanics as D&D 5e; if you’re a fan of that game, you will recognize many familiar terms, such as “initiative” and “attack of opportunity”.
Needless to say, these time-tested rules provide plenty of tactical depth to this game. You play as a party of four unique characters, defined by many things such as their race, class, background, and personality. As a result, their approach to combat will vary wildly as well. A barbarian cannot do the same things as a wizard, or vice versa. A character with a small body, like a halfling or a gnome, will find it easier to find cover, but will struggle to use heavy weapons.
The environments in this game are both three-dimensional and destructible. Hide below your enemies, where they cannot see, then decimate them with your surprise attack. Or, stay above them and drop a heavy rock on their healer’s head. Lure them onto a bridge, then collapse the whole structure for an easy victory. Frankly, the tactical flexibility D&D allows is practically limitless. And although Solasta does not come with a Dungeon Master, the mechanics are still just as robust.
Disgaea 2
Disgaea is a well-known series of tactical RPGs originally developed for Sony PlayStation consoles. Since then, most Disgaea games were ported to PC, but only Disgaea 2 is available to play on Mac. Thankfully, each game features a self-contained story, so playing the previous game, or the following ones, is not necessary. This game will tell you a story of a young adventurer named Adell on a journey to liberate his land from the evil Overlord Zenon. This game is very much a JRPG (same as other Disgaea games). The story is linear, and the player agency is limited to party composition and the choice of gear for each character. Hopefully, this will not push you away; although the “RPG” part of Disgaea 2 is lacking, the “tactical” part most certainly isn’t.
The combat system in Disgaea games lacks some features that are commonly considered “tactical”, such as visibility and cover. But is it still very tactical in its own way. Positioning matters heavily; melee characters can typically attack only things close to them, while ranged and magic characters can attack anything, but are still limited to a certain range. Special attacks can target multiple enemies, but not directly; they target multiple squares on a map. So being able to recognize a group of enemies in a vulnerable configuration will give you an advantage. You can also take the matter into your own hands; you can pick enemies up and throw them to a certain square to make them more vulnerable to such attack. You can throw your allies as well, which is useful for quick repositioning. There are other tactical elements as well; for example, Geo Effects allow you to apply status effects to certain map squares.
Wildermyth
Wildermyth is a procedurally generated adventure will show you the entire life of many heroes. They will start out as scared adventurers trying to make a coin by killing slightly-larger-than-average rats in not-particularly-threatening basements. Or maybe they will begin their journey as farmers who had to take pitchforks and defend the land they grow crops on. Or as something else; thanks to procedural generation, no hero is quite the same, and neither is their story. As they grow in might, they may become legends and, eventually, peacefully retire. Or maybe they’ll end up in a belly of a dragon long before that can happen.
Of course, you may be more interested in hearing about the game’s combat. It is, indeed, tactical, else the game wouldn’t be on this list. You will have to work around obstacles, ensure line-of-sight, flank your enemies, and much more. Some inconvenient cover can be destroyed with a well-placed magical explosion, but be careful; a destroyed wall is a wall your characters can’t hide behind, either. So as you can see, Wildermyth deserves to be on this list of excellent tactical RPGs for Mac.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 was made by the same people who made Baldur’s Gate 3, and it certainly shows. The game features a complex, non-linear story, detailed game world, and recruitable companions with plenty of personality. It is certainly an excellent RPG, but it’s also excellent in terms of combat mechanics and the tactical play involved. Indeed, tactical combat is one of the selling points of the game. There is plenty of movement involved; things like distance from the enemy and ground elevation matter quite a lot. But the environment plays a far bigger role than just that. Walking through a river, for example, will make a character wet. Not particularly dangerous on its own, but deadly if your opponents have lightning-based attacks. You can use this to your advantage as well. Coat a surface in oil to slow down your enemies, then set the oil on fire to produce a massive explosion. Poison the land under the enemies’ feet to deny them a tactically advantageous position. The possibilities are endless.
Unlike in many tactical RPGs, teamwork in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is fairly optional. Although it would be easier to recruit some companions and take on your foes with a party of four, fighting in smaller parties or even alone is a viable path. Parties larger than four characters, on the other hand, are simply not allowed.
XCOM 2
In XCOM 2, you will take on the role of “The Commander”, a mysterious person charged with defending the world against the alien threat. This threat is not purely hypothetical; some events in the fifties tip the world governments that extraterrestrial life exists, and thus, they make precautions. Several decades later, in the early 21st century, they are proven right; the aliens are here, and they are not here to talk.
Of course, although XCOM games are very tactical, people don’t typically consider them RPGs. But… why not? Yes, the story is completely linear, but that alone doesn’t mean a game is not an RPG. Just look at Disgaea 2. Both XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 place a certain emphasis on characters, both in terms of the story and in terms of gameplay. These elements are made even more prominent in XCOM: Chimera Squad, though that game is not available on Mac.
Conclusion
There aren’t that many tactical RPGs that can be played on Mac. The genre itself is fairly niche, and the fact that Mac computers are not typically considered gaming machines further exacerbates this problem. In recent years, even Linux became a better platform for gaming than MacOS is. But there are several ways to get around this issue.
Virtual desktop programs
The easiest one is an application called Parallels Desktop. Using this program, you can install Windows on Mac and launch it in a separate window inside MacOS (a “virtual desktop”). and play any game for Windows PC that you want, as long as your Mac meets the system requirements for it. Instead of being limited to tactical RPGs for Mac, you will be able to play any tactical RPG, like King Arthur: Knightâs Tale, and other tactical games, such as Othercide and Phantom Brigade.
Although Parallels Desktop is certainly the simplest virtual desktop program out there, it is not the only one. VirtualBox is one alternative; unlike Parallels Desktop, it is free, though much less user-friendly. BlueStacks, meanwhile, is a “virtual smartphone” application. It cannot be used to install Windows; instead, it allows its users to install Android.
Cloud gaming services
Cloud gaming platforms, too, can allow you to play any game you want, including tactical RPGs that are not available on Mac. One advantage of this option is that your Mac doesn’t have to meet any system requirements. You will need a fast internet connection, though, and the service itself will cost you some money (in a form of monthly subscription).
There are many cloud gaming platforms on the market, like Xbox Cloud, NVidia GeForce NOW, and Boosteroid.