Whether it’s for a cross-country drive, a long-haul flight, or a trip off the grid to a bunker for the end of the world, there are times in life when going offline will simply be a necessity. It’s a troubling thought, especially when, in at least one of those scenarios, entertainment can be just as valuable as clean water. Fortunately, some of the most compelling experiences in gaming don’t require much more than a smartphone or a handheld like the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch.
Even if it isn’t for dire reasons like that, the ability to play games offline is still very valuable to tons of gamers, and for good reason; despite an industry shift toward games that are always online, offline games used to be the norm. That doesn’t mean that offline-friendly games are a thing of the past, however. Offline titles can still offer just as much depth, replayability, and pure entertainment value as any live-service title, and these five unique games prove it.
Stardew Valley
Hundreds of hours of farming, relationships, and exploration
Seasonal cycles create natural gameplay variety
No internet required
Available on mobile devices
Stardew Valley is a perfect off-grid companion because it’s a comfy life-sim designed around its long-term progression. Stardew Valley’s seasons mean year after in-game year, there’s always something new to discover or do, be it fishing, mining, combat, farming, cooking, or Sims-esque socialization. All woven together, it’s easily feasible to sink 100+ hours into a single save file without ever revisiting the same content, and thankfully, it can all be experienced entirely offline.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection / Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Value-per-package: massive content libraries that support multiple playthroughs
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection has two 30+ hour campaigns with extensive endgames and multiple DLCs
Halo: The Master Chief Collection combines six entries of the most influential FPS in modern gaming history in one package
Both collections offer offline local co-op multiplayer
While unrelated at first glance, what ties these two game collections together is their place as the best examples of shooter genre excellence. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is a console-only package that delivers two great campaigns (Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel), each endlessly replayable thanks to the thousands of randomly rolled legendary weapons, multiple Vault Hunters with distinct skill trees, and tons of repeatable endgame boss farming. The humor may be divisive these days, but the shooting mechanics and loot lust are strong enough to carry multiple playthroughs and all the DLC content.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers six complete entries in one of gaming’s most important franchises, from Halo: Combat Evolved’s genre-defining debut through to Halo 4 and the great expectations of its narrative ambitions. It’s essentially hundreds of potential hours of legendary sci-fi shooter excellence all in one simple package.
Both Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and Halo: The Master Chief Collection support local co-op, meaning if you’re off-grid with a friend, you’re not limited to taking turns.
Released
November 11, 2014
ESRB
M for Mature: Violence, Blood and Gore, Language
Publisher(s)
Xbox Game Studios
Elden Ring
FromSoftware’s most customizable and accessible entry point
Exploration-driven progression allows for player-directed difficulty and length
100+ hour single-player open-world RPG with another 50+ hour DLC
Over 300 potential boss encounters
Though any Souls game could fit in this slot, Elden Ring takes the spot primarily because it’s a miraculous translation of FromSoftware’s traditional style into an open-world format that’s meticulously designed to reward curiosity. With zero meaningless collectibles or ugly quest markers, the open world manages to be best in class, with potential bosses, secrets, or powerful weapons and spells behind any and every locked door or castle gate. With multiple endings, builds, and a DLC expansion bigger than some full-priced games, Elden Ring is easily the kind of experience that can sustain a lifetime of offline play.
Baldur’s Gate 3
75-100+ hours for a single playthrough
Giant, branching narratives with multiple meaningful choices
Multiple difficulty options that modify the entire game
Origin characters that enable radically different playthroughs
Offline or otherwise, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the ultimate RPG for players who want incredible storytelling that’s replete with meaningful choice. With 12 classes, 46 subclasses, dozens of unique storylines, hundreds of spells and weapons, and both custom and origin characters alike, players could easily spend 300+ hours with this game. It respects player choice enough to let failures hit hard, successes soar, all while strange secrets and shocking developer-anticipated possibilities exist in the margins. Best of all, Baldur’s Gate 3 is fully playable offline.
Balatro
Roguelike deck-builder with poker mechanics perfect for short or long sessions
Simple enough for beginners, with endless strategic depth and build variety
Hypnotic soundtrack and flawless UI/UX
No online features and available on mobile
Balatro is the rare game that’s as fun on a ten-minute bus ride as it is during a six-hour play session, and the “just one more run” factor is second to none, on par with staples like Tetris. The game’s poker format seems simple until it’s been three hours, new jokers and decks are available to test, and players have formed new addiction neurons from figuring out how to turn a two-pair or a flush into a trillion-chip score. For any kind of offline gaming, having a game like Balatro that works in both short bursts and extended sessions is invaluable.
Unplugged Shouldn’t Mean Uncomfortable
With any of these six options, any offline or off-grid gamer is more than equipped to weather a potential long-haul journey or wildly far-fetched survival scenario. With all of the above, there’d be a wealth of unique genres, stories, and gameplay opportunities at their fingertips. Either way, these titles prove that offline certainly doesn’t mean roughing it.
