How to play 10 popular games

Apple introduced the MacBook Neo as a budget-friendly laptop powered by the A18 Pro chip, and many people immediately asked a simple question: can this little fanless machine really handle games. The device uses a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and 8GB of integrated memory, which sounds modest compared to regular laptops, however early tests show that the machine performs better than expected when using simple titles and native macOS games.

At first glance, the MacBook Neo looks like a productivity laptop designed for everyday tasks like browsing, writing, and office work. However, actual testing shows that the hardware can handle a few popular games when developers optimize it for macOS or when the workload stays within its memory limits. Performance is still highly dependent on how demanding the game is and whether it runs natively or with rendering layers.

Andrew Tsai tested the MacBook Neo with ten different games and Nintendo Switch emulation, using the 512GB model. His results show that the laptop handles native Mac titles admirably while heavy Windows games struggle due to the tight 8GB memory limit.

MacBook Neo Gaming results

Here’s how each game tested performed during the analysis.

• Cyberpunk 2077
  It ran at 720p with settings pushed below the lowest preset. Performance remained unplayable, but the fact that the game was launched and ran at all on this hardware surprised many viewers.
• Minecraft Java Edition
  It delivered the best performance among the tested games. At 1080p with performance modes and fast resets, the game reached 200 to 300 FPS. Adding shaders reduced performance to around 50 to 60 FPS but still playable.
• Military World
  It performed well in open areas at 1080p with Graphics Preset 7. In crowded areas the test reduced the resolution scale to 50 percent and switched to Preset 3 to maintain smooth gameplay.
• Take control
  It ran at 1080p with low graphics and MetalFX upscaling from 540p. Frame rates stay around 40 to 50 FPS even during intense combat.
• Bad Need for Residents
  It’s unplayable because the system quickly hit the 8GB memory limit and relied heavily on swapping storage.
• Resident Evil 2 Remake
  Go smoothly using default settings with MetalFX upscaling from 540p, producing stable and playable performance.
• Counter-Strike 2
  It failed to work properly and remained completely unplayable in this configuration.
• Elden Ring
  Struggles more with memory limitations. Even at a small 450p window the game couldn’t reach playable frame rates.
• Dark Souls Reborn
  Brought close to 60 FPS at 1080p after lowering graphics settings.
• Mewgenics
  You ran well in CrossOver because the game is a simple 2D OpenGL title.

Changed the simulation with the Ryujinx fork occasionally reached 30 FPS but experienced significant stuttering during shader compilation.

All in all, the MacBook Neo proves that Apple’s entry-level laptop can handle several games where the settings are kept low and the memory demands are reasonable, although the hard limit of 8GB continues to hold heavy modern titles.