Here at Mac Gamer HQ, we spend a lot of time talking about how great the gaming situation is on the Mac.

But this year, oh boy, it could go down as the best year for Mac gaming since OS X was released. Really.

The release of MacOS 10.12.4 in April seems to have provided the Metal upgrade developers needed to finish some of the top ports. Within weeks of its release, we saw F1 2016, Total War: Warhammer and Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy released, and that promises more exciting releases for the next several months.

In all honesty, the list of games released in the first four-plus months of the year would make a pretty good year-end list; add in the titles we know or strongly suspect are coming during the rest of the year and our list of Best Mac Games 2017 gets truly impressive.

The following roundup of the Best Games for Mac 2017 Edition encompasses AAA titles from top developers and amazing indie titles that rival those top games in appearance, playability and just plain fun. These are the ones already out.

Released just in time for this post, Mafia 3 takes you back to New Orleans, 1968. You’re a soldier just back from Vietnam and as you prepare to escape your criminal past, your surrogate crime family is betrayed and wiped out. You must get your revenge by building a new “family” and battling the Italian crime family & corrupt officials with guns, fists and fast cars.

This open-world game is about giving you the freedom to explore the city at will and tackle quests in different ways. You can go in guns blazing or use stealth to go unnoticed by your enemies.

While winning praise for its story and soundtrack, there have been some complaints about repetitive missions and hit and miss graphics. Hopefully the extra time Aspyr took porting this game will ensure a beautiful and bug-free experience. Also of note, this is Aspyr’s first Metal release; we expect we’ll see more from them this year.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Mafia 3 is a very demanding game. It requires a powerful new Mac with a 2GB AMD graphics card.

Mafia 3 Mac Release Date: May 11, 2017.

After a delay that caused a certain amount of concern amongst Mac gamers, Total War: Warhammer is finally here. In the end, the delay was probably for a very good reason: Metal support, again.

Total War: Warhammer is the first Total War game not set in a historical period. That said, it’s still a Total War game, with both turn-based strategy and real-time battle modes. Just this time with a heavy mix of fantasy, including gigantic monsters, flying creatures, legendary heroes and more. So if you’re a fan of the Total War franchise (I personally own three … so far), the Warhammer universe, or fantasy games, this game is for you.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Because of its use of Metal, Total War: Warhammer requires a relatively recent Mac with a pretty powerful graphics card.

Total War: Warhammer Mac Release Date: April 18, 2017.

Do you like surprises? At Mac Gamer HQ we sure like this kind of surprise. Feral Interactive dropped F1 2016 on us with nary a warning, and we couldn’t be happier to have this franchise back on the Mac for the first time in four years.

One of the best rated and most realistic racing games out there, F1 2016 includes the complete 2016 racing season, and in addition to crazy realistic racing and graphics, the game allows you to simulate your team as well, working with your agent, engineers, and all the rest to become a true F1 champion.

Realistic cars, tracks, and racers from the 2016 racing season make this the closest thing to actually racing your own F1 car, and multiplayer rounds things out, allowing you to test your skills against other players.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Another Metal user, F1 2016 likewise requires a fairly powerful graphics card with at least 2GB RAM.

F1 2016 Mac Release Date: April 6, 2017.

If you’re as old as I am you remember how groundbreaking it was when Myst came out. Sure it may have been made in HyperCard, but it had 3D generated scenes, QuickTime and an amazing puzzle-based story. It was groundbreaking and essentially created a new genre of video games.

Well, Cyan, the team behind Myst, is still around, and their latest game builds on everything they’ve done before, and continues to push the envelope. Taking place in a mysterious world, Obduction continues their tradition of beautiful scenes, great stories, engaging characters and challenging but fun puzzles. Originally released for VR systems but later ported to the Mac, Obduction is everything good about the puzzle-adventure genre that Myst pioneered.

The game was a huge Kickstarter success too, raising over $1.3 million, and proving that Myst fans couldn’t wait for a new adventure.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Obduction requires a Mac that supports Metal and MacOS 10.12.4 (Sierra).

Obduction Mac Release Date: March 30, 2017.

Did we tell you this was going to be a great year? Yes, yes we did. And we had to stop the presses (if we still used presses) for this one, as it was just released by Feral Interactive. The newest Warhammer game is now available on Mac, since yesterday, June 8, less than two months after its Windows release.

The latest in the famous series of real-time strategy games, in Dawn of War 3 you play as the heavy-hitting Space Marines, the savage Orks, and the technologically-sophisticated Eldar, in huge battles where you control whole armies and special elite squads. The game includes a single-player campaign and a multiplayer mode that will be cross-platform with Linux players.

Can Your Mac Run It?

System requirements are not as demanding as I expected but Metal is required.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 Mac Release Date: June 8, 2017.

Another Kickstarter-funded game promising a return to old-style role-playing, Torment: Tides of Numenera is the spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment, if not technically a sequel. Like the previous title, Tides of Numenera focuses on story and meaningful decisions and interactions with the world to drive the story forward in unique ways.

While the game was more than two years late, it was a simultaneous release for Windows, Mac, Linux and consoles. Though some fans of the original find Tides of Numenera lacking in various ways (story, combat, length), most people think it is a worthy successor and a rare RPG where you can finish the game with little or no combat.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Tides of Numenera should run well on any Mac from the last several years.

Torment: Tides of Numenera Mac Release Date: February 28, 2017.

The Witness is another new puzzler for Mac where you find yourself alone on an island and you must solve puzzles to figure out the story. Created by the developer of Braid and a spiritual successor to Myst, The Witness is a Mac App Store Editor’s Choice which has been praised for its beauty and difficult but solvable puzzles (and lasers!), while some have been frustrated by the emphasis on 2D line puzzles and the minimal story.

Coming to the Mac over a year after its release on Windows, The Witness is another in the growing list of games requiring Metal, though otherwise, its system requirements are modest.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Requirements are modest and The Witness will run on any Mac that supports Metal.

The Witness Mac Release Date: March 8, 2017.

From Back to the Future to Game of Thrones and many places in between, it seems there is nothing Telltale Games can’t make an episodic, story-based series out of, and make it well. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Telltale Series is the latest and greatest, even though only Episode 1 is available so far.

Staying true to the Telltale system of story-based gaming, Guardians of the Galaxy perhaps has less decision-making and more story watching than some; if you haven’t played one of these games, at times they feel more like watching a show than playing a game, except you can truly guide the story in different directions by making dialogue choices and engage in some combat.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Guardian of the Galaxy requires Metal and macOS Sierra and a dedicated graphics card is recommended.

Guardians of the Galaxy Mac Release Date: April 24, 2017.

Looking for a World War II shooter with a focus on team play and tactics? No, I’m not talking about the original Call of Duty, though Day of Infamy has been compared favorably to the original in that series. With an emphasis on close quarters battles and a variety of maps, objectives and player classes to choose from, Day of Infamy is the follow up to the popular Insurgency, this time set in the Western Front of WWII.

Rather than just shoot everything that moves, Day of Infamy requires you to work with your teammates and use proper strategy and tactics to survive and succeed. Choosing the Officer class and connecting with a Radioman adds another level of realism, allowing you to call in support units, supply drops and more. The modest system requirements will appeal to those hanging on to their older Macs.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Any Mac from the last several years should do fine.

Day of Infamy Mac Release Date: March 23, 2017.

Another Kickstarter-funded throwback game, Yooka-Laylee is a 3D open world platformer from some of the creative talents behind the Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country games.

Featuring the buddy duo of Yooka and Laylee, the game recreates the fun of those old platformers with large worlds, a variety of abilities, and gameplay-expanding collectibles. A beautiful game designed to appeal to fans of those classic platformers from the 90s, Yooka-Laylee also features a great soundtrack, cooperative play and local multiplayer, and modest system requirements.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Any fairly recent Mac should do it, although a controller is highly recommended.

Yooka-Laylee Mac Release Date: April 11, 2017.

One of a growing number of games paying homage to the classic 8/16 bit games of yore, Owlboy is an indie action-platformer featuring colorful graphics that feel modern, and familiar yet unique gameplay. The game looks and sounds great and features more of a story than you might expect from a 2D action platformer.

Nine years in the making, the game succeeds not just on nostalgia, but also on the amount, variety, and difficulty of gameplay, especially against the bosses. The game also distinguishes itself by your character’s dependence on allies to actually kill enemies (you can stun them) and the variety and individuality of both allies and enemies.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Just about any Mac should do it.

Owlboy Mac Release Date: January 27, 2017.

The latest in the popular franchise (stop me if you’ve heard all this before) was ported by Feral Interactive. With the Linux version out for months, Hitman was waiting on Metal too. Luckily, the wait is now over as Feral just released the game on June 20.

A stealth action game, you succeed as an assassin by careful planning and execution (pun intended) of your missions set in gorgeous locations around the world. Having played and reviewed the previous title in the series that made it to Mac, Hitman: Absolution, I can vouch that this should be one of the top Mac games of the year when it’s released.

Hitman’s missions were released as separate episodes, but with all them now available, we expect The Complete First Season will come to Mac.

Hitman Mac Release Date: June 20, 2017.

Owlboy notwithstanding, Hollow Knight is one of the prettiest games you’ll play this or any year. Using traditional hand-drawn 2D art and animation, Hollow Knight pays homage to the Metroidvania side-scrolling classics you love while providing plenty of modern touches.

Choose your own way through the vast underground insect world of Hallownest, meet quirky friends and powerful enemies, find powerups, everything you’d expect in a side-scrolling action adventure title. But the depth of story, character development, and interesting allies and enemies may surprise you. Add in a great soundtrack (and did I mention this game is gorgeous?) and you’ve got one of the hottest indie titles of 2017.

Can Your Mac Run It?

A decent Mac will be needed.

Hollow Knight Mac Release Date: April 11, 2017.

Another Kickstarter-funded indie game, Night in the Woods is a story-based adventure game featuring anthropomorphic animals; you play as the cat Mae, returning home after dropping out of college and discovering that things are not as they seem, or as they were, in her hometown.

While you could call it a side-scrolling adventure game, that would give a somewhat wrong impression, as the focus is on story and characters much more than traditional side-scrolling action. You have plenty of opportunities to interact with other characters and there certainly is gameplay involved as you try to solve the mystery at the heart of the story. Beautifully drawn and written, Night in the Woods is one of the best indie titles of 2017.

Can Your Mac Run It?

With modest system requirements, most Macs from the last several years should be fine.

Night in the Woods Mac Release Date: February 28, 2017.

Looking for an ultraviolent 1990s retro first-person shooter? Well, I just happen to have one for you here. Drawing comparison to some of the original shooters such as Doom and Quake, Strafe doesn’t try to be any more or less than what it is: a shoot everything that moves rogue-like game with procedurally generated textures and graphics and sounds straight out of the 1990s.

Released simultaneously for Mac and Windows, Strafe revels in its efforts to be inappropriate, though not quite Duke Nukem inappropriate. Strafe has been praised for its successful retro look, feel and fast gameplay, though some have found the game repetitive with little variety from room to room or level to level.

Can Your Mac Run It?

Thanks to its retro nature, just about any Mac today can run Strafe.

Strafe Mac Release Date: May 9, 2017.

2017’s top Mac games so far are great, but the games still to come are just as exciting. You never know if a developer will meet its release date or not, but these have been officially confirmed, so unless a catastrophe occurs, these games should be released before the end of the year.

The latest in the Deus Ex franchise, Mankind Divided has presumably been delayed coming to the Mac (it’s already out on Linux) by, wait for it, Metal. Listed as Coming Soon on Feral’s website, this installment continues the franchise’s story and gameplay.

In the latest edition, augmented humans such as yourself have become outcasts, segregated from the rest of society. You’re obviously out to fix that. As in the previous installments, you choose how to upgrade your augmentations and how to play the game: stealth, barrels blasting, hacking, etc.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Mac Release Date: Soon, according to Feral Interactive.

DiRT Rally is Codemasters’ latest racing game and aims to be the most authentic and thrilling rally game ever made. DiRT Rally is winning high praise for its realism in every aspect, although this includes cautions that it is a deucedly difficult game to master. The game looks like the off track version of F1 2016, making this a great year for Mac racing sim fans.

On the downside, DiRT Rally is another franchise that, according to Steam, is waiting on Metal support. While this may be frustrating for Mac gamers, in the long run, this should be a good thing for us.

Strafe Mac Release Date: May 9, 2017.

The latest in the WWII real-time strategy series, Sudden Strike 4 will be the first game in the series to make it to the Mac. In Sudden Strike you play as either the combined British and American forces, the Germans or the Soviets in campaigns covering large battlefields and a variety of troops. In a first for the series, you’ll also get to choose from one of nine famous commanders who will allow for different approaches and abilities.

I’m a huge fan of WWII games and as a lifelong Mac gamer who had never heard of this series, I was immediately excited by it and am about to give developer Kite Games my money.

Sudden Strike 4 Mac Release Date: August 11, 2017.