RetroArch AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Game Emulators

The best Game Emulator alternative to RetroArch is DuckStation, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to RetroArch and loads of them are Game Emulators so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Game Emulator alternatives to RetroArch are Lemuroid, OpenEmu, Lakka and VisualBoyAdvance.

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RetroArch alternatives are mainly Game Emulators, but if you're looking for Game Library Managers or Linux Distros you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Linux, Android and iPhone. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to RetroArch.
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Alternatives list

  1. DuckStation icon
     54 likes

    DuckStation is an simulator/emulator of the Sony PlayStation(TM) console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability.

    13 DuckStation alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
     
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    1
  2. Lemuroid icon
     39 likes

    Lemuroid is an open-source emulation project based on Libretro. It's completely free, without ads and focused on ease of use and good user experience.

    36 Lemuroid alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
     
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    4
  3. OpenEmu icon
     67 likes

    Open Emu is an open source project to bring game emulation to OS X as a first class citizen, leveraging modern OS X technologies such as Cocoa, Core Animation and Quartz, and 3rd party libraries like Sparkle for auto-updating.

    56 OpenEmu alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  4. Lakka icon
     38 likes

    Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem. Each game system is implemented as a libretro core, while the frontend RetroArch takes care of inputs and display.

    37 Lakka alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Cubieboard
    • HummingBoard
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Odroid
     
  5. VisualBoyAdvance icon
     156 likes

    VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is a free software (GNU GPL) emulator targeted for the Game Boy, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo.

    42 VisualBoyAdvance alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
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    2
  6. Ludo icon
     21 likes

    Ludo is an Emulator Frontend able to run retro video games. Ludo does not emulate the consoles itself, but does it through emulator plugins called libretro cores. Libretro cores are well known emulators (like Snes9x or Genesis Plus GX or PCSX) stripped from their user interface.

    38 Ludo alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. ScummVM icon
     126 likes

    ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files.

    13 ScummVM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Symbian S60
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
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    1
  8. PPSSPP icon
     87 likes

    Run PSP games across platforms in crisp HD, enjoy sharper textures, post-processing effects, anisotropic filtering, save or restore progress, customize input controls, transfer existing saves, play on low-spec devices with JIT-optimized performance, and more features.

    9 PPSSPP alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Meta Quest
     
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    1
  9. Vita3K icon
     17 likes

    Vita3K is the world's first functional experimental open-source PlayStation Vita emulator for Windows, Linux and macOS.

    5 Vita3K alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
     
  10. Snes9x icon
     150 likes

    Snes9x is a portable, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator. It allows you to play most games designed for the SNES and Super Famicom Nintendo game systems on your PC.

    28 Snes9x alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
  11. ZSNES icon
     198 likes

    ZSNES is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulator. Aside from emulation accuracy, many interface features first introduced in ZSNES have been adopted by other emulators. ZSNES interface features include: Smoothing and dynamic image scaling; screenshot capture; state...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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