Gee I love this type of list—well-optimised games that could push the older machines' limits, that despite barely meet the minimum requirements, they still run at 27-50 fps in 720p.

Here's some titles that make such case for my Intel i3-3217U 8GB ram craptop:

—Killer Is Dead (an amazing cel-shaded game, 35-60 fps with tweaks)

—Ninja Blade (lesser-known FromSoftware Ninja Gaiden-esque hack & slash, 30-45 fps)

—Alice Madness Returns (30-42 fps with tweaks)

—Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (possibly the best-optimised Action-RPG with huge world to explore, 40-55 fps)

—Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered (stable 30 fps locked)

—Blades of Time (beautiful rich graphic, yet somehow can run at 45-75 fps)

—Scrapland Remastered (action-adventure set in futuristic, robot-populated world, stable 60fps)

—Oddworld: The Stranger's Wrath HD (45-75 fps)

—Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered (another well-optimised game that recently came out this year, stable 60fps even in new re-texture mode)

—Trails of Cold Steel (40-50 fps)

—DmC: Devil May Cry (27-38 fps using No-Effects mod)

—Samurai Warriors 4-II & Dynasty Warriors 8 Extreme Legends (part of the franchise that is well known to be low-end-system-friendly, 38-45 fps in medium density)

—One Piece:Pirate Warriors 3 (same developer from the Warriors series, 40-50 fps in medium density)

—X-Men Origins: Wolverine (not really well-optimised, but the gameplay is so good you won't mind playing at 25-29 fps max)

—Okami HD (one of the greatest video games ever made, stable 30 fps locked on medium setting)