Top 10 Multiplayer Games – 2021 Edition

As we head into the twilight years of the PS4 and the new beginnings of the PS5, I thought it would be worth taking a look at my favourite multiplayer games, the titles that still pull me in regularly for a few rounds of immersive gameplay. Here’s my top ten games to play, if you haven’t given them a spin already.

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10. THE LAST OF US REMASTERED

My love of The Last Of Us is no secret and I’m super excited to see what the new multiplayer offering will be when it lands (hopefully this year!) but there is still a solid (albeit highly skilled) community playing the original title’s multiplayer component. My favourite mode is Survivors, a 4v4 game played over numerous rounds in which you don’t respawn when killed. The tension is unreal and leads to some fantastic fights. The gameplay is as strong as the single player game and the online is also quite dark and brutal. It’s like no other online offering so I highly recommend it.

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9. UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END

The Uncharted series is, quite rightly, known for it’s great single player story mode but over the numerous titles in the series the multiplayer offering has been much improved. The online brings in the supernatural element that the series is known for by including mystical abilities, such as the healing Cintamani Stone (that originally featured in the Uncharted 2 single player story), along with interesting climbing and rope swinging mechanics to really make the game feel different to other online titles.

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8. STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II

I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan in the world but the appeal of a shooter in that universe is something that could pull in even the most casual of gamers. The cool thing about this title is that you play mostly as a low level soldier but can cash in points you’ve earned during the round to take control of a well known hero or villain that has special abilities, for example Princess Leia or Darth Vader, for a short time. The shooting feels great and the game can be played from a first person or a third person viewpoint, depending on which you prefer. Also it looks glorious and the attention to detail in level design and style is fantastic.

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7. RED DEAD ONLINE / GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE

I’ve been a bit cheeky here and included both of these massive titles in one entry. The reason for that is I suspect your choice will be based more on the setting than the gameplay. Both of these feature huge, living, breathing worlds for you to explore – with different missions to take on, characters to meet and a huge variety of activities to take part in. So the question really is do you want to take on heists, armed robberies and car races in Grand Theft Auto? Or would you prefer to track down errant stage coaches, shoot down rival wild west gangs and maybe hunt down animal pelts in Red Dead Online. I’ve enjoyed both titles and would certainly recommend giving them a shot if you want to get lost in a massive game world, whether that’s the urban sprawl of San Andreas or the open vistas of West Elizabeth.

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6. FORTNITE

Fortnite continues to be a goalith in the gaming space and for good reason. Aside from some very clever marketing and promotion outside of the actual gameplay, the reason is that the on screen action still holds up really well. It’s one of those games that you can not play for weeks, then jump back in and it’s like you’ve never been away. The shooting feels great and the ability to traverse terrain via building/construction is as strong as ever. Fortnite remains the best Battle Royale out there – jumping out of a plane and fighting to the death for victory remains a thrilling prospect and map updates and in game events help to keep things from ever feeling too stale.

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5. DESTINY 2

Destiny 2 has had plenty of issues across its life cycle so far but one thing that has never been in doubt is just how glorious the moment to moment shooting/traversal gameplay feels. For a lot of people the story quests and cooperative modes are where they spend the most time but I love the player vs player Crucible modes. I’ve had some thrilling rounds of Control and its great to see the different abilities and classes playing off each other. Whether you’re chaining lighting attacks or hitting people with void energy, the abilities combined with the amazing gunplay makes for a brilliant online experience.

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4. BATTLEFIELD V

For all the missteps that the Battlefield series makes, often a necessary evil for online focused titles, there is a time in every title’s life where it just feels… truly fantastic to play. When you get into the flow of Battlefield its pull is immense. While I’m ready to move back to a current day setting, Battlefield V’s version of World War II was a brilliant sand box that really stands out when it works. Dodging incoming fire and taking enemies out before jumping into a jeep and speeding to the next objective is exhilarating but the freedom of play does come with a downside. Being repeatedly killed by the same plane pilot over and over again can be an issue if you come up against an expert plane player and sometimes matches can be very one sided. Having said that, as I mentioned above, when it works there really isn’t anything else like it, certainly in terms of scale.

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3. ROCKET LEAGUE

Speaking of games there isn’t anything else like… in Rocket League you play football with turbo charged cars! It’s a lot more nuanced than it sounds and can be a highly skilled game but even if you’re a more basic player like me this is an extremely fun game to play. Whether you’re playing solo or with friends, Rocket League brings some much needed hilarity to the table as crazy or unusual things happen throughout the game. It’s also wildly competitive and very addictive. The games are short so it’s definitely a title you can pick up and play in smaller bursts and the skill level is insanely high if you want to get more into the mechanics of play. Added to that the game is now free to play so there’s no excuse not to check it out.

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2. RAINBOW SIX: SIEGE

Rainbow Six: Siege continues to go from strength to strength, after a shaky start following release back in 2015. This online shooter is grounded in reality, despite some outlandish near future technology, and if you get shot you are more than likely dead. The game is 5v5 with one team holding a section of a building (usually a room or two) and the other side infiltrating/attacking the space. Each character has their own special equipment, things like toxic gas grenades or proximity alarms that trigger when enemies are nearby. With a whole host of characters this leads to a meta-game of who has picked which characters, which definitely plays a part but as I said earlier if you get shot no grenade or alarm will help you out. At times it does feel brutal, you can be shot and killed with no warning and this is a game in which you have to think about every step you make. The fact it is so good is what pulls me in for Just. One. More. Round.

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1. OVERWATCH

Anyone who has read my blogs previously will know what a huge fan of Overwatch I am. It is without a doubt the game I’ve played the most in my gaming life and I still play every season competitively, as well as copious amounts of the other regular modes. Overwatch is a 6v6 objective based game in which each team tries to achieve something, or stop the other team getting to their goal. Every character has different abilities and there is a large selection of colourful heroes to choose from. Not every character shoots weapons, some are healers and some are tanks – large stocky characters used to shield the rest of the team. While you have two ‘regular’ abilities that can be used every few seconds you also build up an ultimate ability which can be devastating when triggered and turn the tide of a fight. This can be something offensive, like a large explosion but just as easily something defensive like a shield or increased healing for your team. The mix of heroes and abilities is what drives the game and keeps people playing – it helps that the characters are well designed and memorable as well. Think 80’s/90’s Saturday morning cartoons and you’re in the right ballpark. For me, Overwatch makes it really easy to get into a flow state but even for new players the game does a good job of getting you on board quickly – trust me, you’ll be landing the coveted ‘Play Of The Game’ highlight reel in no time!

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So there you have it, as always interested to hear what games you’d have on your list or which titles I’ve missed that are still active. Shout below or on Twitter.

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GregHorrorShow’s Year In Gaming 2020

As we ease ourselves into 2021, it’s a great time to reflect on the last year of gaming. As always this isn’t a piece about the games that came out in 2020 but the titles I played throughout the year.

Starting with some older titles, I finally picked up and made a start on the excellent Celeste, a challenging puzzle/platformer with a wonderful art style/music. I really enjoyed Absolver, a title that lets you customise your fighting style/stance as you progress through the game. Exploring the game world was peaceful and it was another game with a decent sense of challenge. I’d had my eye on Dex for a while, an old school looking Cyberpunk RPG title – while I’m far from finishing it, I’d recommend giving it a whirl if you like that genre.

Erica is a title that is all film footage, you make your choice of what to do and the next scene plays until you get to the end of the story. I quite enjoyed it, although there seemed to be a fair few plot holes unfortunately. Close To The Sun tells the story of Rose Archer, a journalist searching for her sister on a vast ship. It’s 1897 and set in an alternate universe where Telsa and Edison are vying for dominance of the science world. It’s essentially a first person horror title with some neat jump scares and tricks up its sleeve. Again the story ended up with some gaping plot holes but it was a fun 8-10 hours. A game I adored was Sayonara Wild Hearts, a rhythm action game with a killer synth pop soundtrack. Highly recommended.

Last year I also ended up doing something I rarely do, replaying old games – or at least the remastered versions. I played through Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (which was a great walk down memory lane) and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (which had some fun moments but didn’t really do it for me). A title that came packed in with the PS5 was Astro’s Playroom, a love letter to the PlayStation brand and stellar showcase of the new PS5 controller. This is one of my highlights of the year, such fun and a lovely look back at the previous four PlayStation generations.

PES 2021 was a minor update to the series but the gameplay remains strong and I got into NBA 2K20 as well via PlayStation Plus. Dirt 5 was, without doubt, the best feeling racer I’ve played in the last few years and the free PS5 upgrade was a great touch.

On the multiplayer front I tried HyperScape, Ubisoft’s battle royale offering, but it didn’t really stick for me. I was happy to switch between Call Of Duty: Warzone and Fortnite for my fix of large numbers of players jumping out of planes. I stuck a fair bit of time into Red Dead Online, the recently added character specialisations (I went for nature photographer) bring some new life to the game beyond just wild west shoot outs.

In terms of ongoing games Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Battlefield V and Destiny 2 all kept things ticking along nicely by either running regular events or giving the entire game a fresh lick of paint. All remain immensely playable and highly recommendable, especially as they still have high player counts and it’s easy/quick to get into a match.

But my favourite multiplayer game of 2020 has to be Fall Guys. Out of nowhere came this insane bundle of joy. Mixing a battle royale format with ‘It’s a knockout’ style games was a winning recipe. I am still yet to claim a show victory, despite my best efforts, but Fall Guys is a title I’ll no doubt return to again and again.

In terms of bigger, longer games I really liked A Plague Tale: Innocence – the story of a brother and sister trying to escape the clutches of the Inquisition that also has a supernatural twist. Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider is definitely substantial enough to be considered stand alone, in my opinion. A great story well told and another excuse to visit one of the most stylish game worlds of recent times. I’ve only recently started The Outer Worlds but after 8 or so hours I’m really enjoying it so far!

Unfortunately, while I was loving Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey finding out I was only halfway through when 35 hours into it meant my playthrough ended there. I had been ready for things to wrap up but couldn’t face another huge chunk of time, sadly. I recently started Ghost Of Tsushima (on PS5) and it is a glorious looking game. I like the way it plays and am finding roaming the game world to be quite laid back. I’m also playing it with the Japanese language option, which is cool. So far, it’s a great game.

One huge title I did finish was Death Stranding. While I think it was 3 or 4 hours too long, the story was nonsensical and some of the dialogue was not great, I did actually really enjoy it. Traversing the world and exploring was fun and fairly peaceful. Walking everywhere didn’t seem too much of an issue when played in short bursts of a couple of hours. I’m interested to see what Kojima comes up with next.

Which brings us to the title I’ve given my game of the year award to – The Last Of Us Part II. Expectations were high for this one, the first game is a masterpiece in my eyes and so there were questions as to whether Naughty Dog could deliver. Deliver they did, in terms of story, gameplay and technical achievement. I haven’t played many games like this where you are forced into making bad choices or doing bad things by the characters. You’re complicit with each button press. This isn’t a fun, easy play. The violence is brutal and at one late stage in the game I had to take a break from what was going on. Despite all that it was well worth seeing it through. Without a doubt one of the best games I’ve ever played.

And so there you have it. 2020 in a nutshell – mentions must go to Spiderman: Miles Morales, Bugsnax and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, unfortunately I simply didn’t get time to put enough hours in with them for consideration here. I’m sure they will be here next year 🙂

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Games As A Sevice – The Future Of Games?

As technology has advanced, a lot of games have moved away from simply creating a product, selling it and then making extra content to be sold for it in batches. Being able to regularly update games via downloadable patches has meant that titles can now have a lifespan long beyond traditional game releases.

This means that older games like Overwatch (2016), Rainbow Six Siege (2015), For Honor (2017) and Battlefield V (2018) can have very high engagement rates and keep players coming back to discover new content, whether it’s new maps, characters or game modes.

But as a large amount of titles look to move towards becoming what is known in the industry as ‘Games As A Service’ (GAAS from here onwards), what benefits – and drawbacks, are there for gamers?

One of the biggest positive effects of this trend is the fact that it can really help keep games fresher for longer. Take Overwatch as an example. In the old days, a character based Mega Drive game like Eternal Champions would release and if the characters were unbalanced or disliked you were stuck with the game as it was. Now if a character isn’t being used because people feel they are ineffective (Symmetra in Overwatch, for example) the developers can tweak the character to make them better or, as in the case of Symmetra, completely rework her ability toolset. This allows the game to evolve, rather than being stuck in a static state.

These changes can help mould the game around the desires of the players. Although it must be said, depending on the game this could also be a negative because pandering to your audience doesn’t always bring the best results.

Something else that often gets raised when talking about GAAS is the ability to bounce back from a rocky release window. As a developer if you continue to support and tweak your title following a negative or disappointing release you can still find an audience. Rainbow Six Siege and For Honor are both great examples of this, titles that struggled at release but have gone on to be very successful and popular titles. On a personal level I started playing Rainbow Six Siege TWO YEARS after it released!

Another reason people sometimes like GAAS is that you often feel you are getting a lot more value for your money. That depends on the game though, as if you’ve played full price for something you might feel the value proposition is less than a free to play game that gets constant updates.

Which brings us onto the negative aspects. The first of which is the flip side of the final positive point – sometimes GAAS can feel like a complete rip off. If you’ve paid £50 for a game there is an expectation that extra content will arrive without further cost but that often isn’t the case, especially with games that feature microtransactions, even ones just for cosmetic goods. This also plays into the Loot Box conversation and whether blind boxes are ever a good thing. I don’t mind them as a mechanic in games if I can also use in-game (earned) currency to unlock the same items. I do find them a bit sleazy if they are the only mechanic to unlock items.

Another issue is regarding the care of workers and the people making the game. The more updates and changes the developers have to make, the harder and quicker people are expected to work. This has recently led to a series of articles about the poor work environments on some games:

• https://kotaku.com/report-fortnite-developers-are-severely-overworked-1834243520
• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/features/anthem-troubled-development-highlights-crunch-culture-proving/
• https://kotaku.com/the-human-cost-of-call-of-duty-black-ops-4-1835859016

The developers of the game Cuphead have also announced they are delaying new content exactly for this reason. Although it isn’t a GAAS, I still think this is great. It also leads us to the question of whether a GAAS will ever be truly finished? And if that even matters any more?

The most valid criticism I’ve heard was actually around the game Overwatch. It was recently leaked that the game will be moving to a 2-2-2 locked format. Currently there are 30 characters formed into three ‘classes’: Damage, Tank and Support. At the moment you can play any characters you want – 6 Supports? No problem (although you’ll likely lose the game). The developers feel that having 2 characters of each class will better balance matches and gameplay.

As someone who plays the game a lot this makes sense to me, a balanced team is more likely to get results and probably has a higher chance of playing closer, enjoyable matches. But where this is a problem (along with the point I made earlier about tweaking and changing characters) is that the game can feel very different and might end up completely unrecognisable to the one you bought at launch and had enjoyed up until the changes. Perhaps you had a favourite character and now, months or years later, they now don’t match your playstyle and have completely different moves and abilities – I can imagine it would be really disappointing.

So there are definitely positives and negatives to Games As A Service. Most of my experiences so far have been good but I can certainly see why some people might have reservations about them. I think my biggest concern is that every title might try to be a GAAS which would leave gamers worse off both financially and in terms of the actual time we get to play games.

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Playing Games Like You Watch TV Or: Why It Took Me Over Two Years To Finish Dragon Age: Inquisition

I’ve spoken about my gaming habits plenty in the past but I’ve noticed another shift in the last year or so. If I have an hour spare now in the evening I’m much more likely to play an online game, not something single player based.

While it sounds contrary to the above, I feel like I want to invest more time in single player game sessions than ever and really lose myself in that world, which conflicts with my gaming schedule – essentially the odd hour here and there in the evening. I’m finding that I don’t want to play something story based for 45 minutes or an hour. Or at least that’s how I feel about open world games, I’m certainly still happy to play an hour long session to complete a chapter of Uncharted or a main mission in Tomb Raider. More linear games still lend themselves to that style of play. I’ve always played those kind of games like TV shows anyway, a chapter or two at a time over the course of weeks rather than days. I’ve never been a gamer who will rush through a 15-20 hour game in a weekend.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a good example of this new play style, a game I likely would’ve rushed through before is now a title I’m planning to play over the course of months rather than weeks. Crucially, I also feel like I’m getting more enjoyment out of the game by taking the time to explore and discover smaller content along the way.

I think there is an accompanying parallel change in multiplayer games, which are doing a much better job of getting you to come back and play more often. There has been a positive change in a huge amount of games whereby new content (new levels/maps or characters) is being added free of charge for all players. This is important because, firstly, it means the player base isn’t split (some that paid have the new content but others don’t and they can’t all play together) and secondly it gives people a strong reason to come back to games they might not have ever returned to before this trend. In addition a lot of games are rewarding players for logging in and playing, which keeps people interested for longer.  I also feel like there are a ton of pick up and play online experiences that last 5-10 minutes per game, which align perfectly with the time I have available.

If I only have 30-45 mins spare why waste my time on an open world title and have to turn it off just as I’m getting into the rhythm of the game? I’d rather play a few rounds Overwatch and a game of Rocket League. It’s also occasionally quite nice to play something that has a set beginning, middle and end. I guess it’s similar to watching a really good eight episode TV show knowing it only has one season and tells a complete story within that.

Big, sprawling open world titles are definitely still attractive to me, Horizon is one of the best games I’ve played in the last 4 or 5 years, but I just need more time to play and invest in them. Dragon Age: Inquisition took me over two years to finish. Why? I suspect the TV season-like structure helped, along with the change in my own gaming habits. What I loved about the structure of Dragon Age in particular was that your main hub in the game was your ‘War Table’, where you and your colleagues/advisors would plan your next tactical move and which mission to take on. On this table you had a selection of smaller missions, including favours for your colleagues that would reveal more about them and strengthen your relationship with them, but also one bigger mission that moved the main story on considerably. So for me, the game became like a TV show in so far as I would spend a few weeks playing side missions, levelling up and getting some character development for my team before doing the big, climatic ‘end of season’ mission and then putting the game down for a month or two.

Another huge title in terms of scale is Fallout 4, which I’m still playing 18 months after I started. Why? Well for similar reasons to Dragon Age but with the added decision from the outset not to follow the direct path for ‘character reasons’. I decided to make my character more selfish than my usual created characters, for example my elf Inquisitor from Dragon Age or Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect. In Fallout, Bella would be a character that was, for the most part, more interested in her own current affairs than any grander goal – which has been great fun and I’d recommend everyone to try playing a character like it at some stage!

Another issue with mainlining games is burnout, doing the same thing over and over again is certainly not fun and can severely lessen your enjoyment of a game. However, I think there is a huge difference between repetitive gameplay over a longer period of time in hour sized chunks and repetitive gameplay experienced in bigger 3 or 4 hour time slots.  I genuinely believe that the reason I still enjoy long running game series like Assassin’s Creed, where you are essentially doing the same thing in every iteration of the game in a different setting, is because I’ve never really sat down and played them for 4 or 5 hours at a time.

Episodic gaming kind of solves this play style problem, although it doesn’t always necessarily do the best job. Titles like The Walking Dead and Life Is Strange are great games, although each episode usually runs the length of a film which runs into the same problem for me time-wise. Hitman, which is perfectly suited to the episodic format, is another title with lengthy levels (a positive when I have the time to invest) although the inclusion of smaller one off assassinations does mean that is a game you can also dip into here and there.

Some people are quick to mainline these huge games and I just don’t get it. Why would you want to rush through these big titles? Where Uncharted is like a film, games like Skyrim, Mass Effect or Dragon Age are like having 10 seasons of a TV show in front of you. Finishing these open world games as quickly as possible by doing just main quests would be like having a cut down version of the TV show that just focuses on the main character and no-one else. Sure you’d get to experience the story at the centre of the show but without any focus on other characters. Imagine a Buffy The Vampire Slayer without any development of Willow or Xander? Or an Orphan Black with no focus on Donny or anyone except Sarah? Indeed, imagine a Mass Effect that didn’t bother to flesh out your crew but just double downed on the main story.

I’m as guilty as the next person of binge-watching TV shows but I do feel that for games it is a little different – as I mentioned above my confusion isn’t really based on people playing games quickly, it’s what you might be missing along the way. Even if I binge something like Jessica Jones I am still seeing all the story the creators put in there and want us to see. If you mainline a game you could be missing a wealth of interesting content and potentially things that might be integral to the wider plot of the game.

Even in this age of on demand binge watching it can be nice to watch a TV show week by week – one of the biggest luxuries of the ‘old’ approach to watching TV or playing games is that you have time to think about and appreciate the content you’re consuming. I’ve found that in games but also in TV. Recently, Legion was a delight to watch week by week and I actually think I needed that time between episodes to process what I’d seen. Sure, there is a rush from getting through something you’re enjoying – it can exhilarating knowing that you are just a click away from another episode or main mission but I’d recommend giving slower paced gaming a shot. It’s definitely a different experience and one, for me personally, that means I’ve gotten more enjoyment out of open world games.

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Rocket League – Review (PS4)

I think Rocket League might be the dumbest game I have ever played, the insanity of using cars to play football in a giant arena with a huge ball is like nothing else out there. It’s also the best multiplayer experience I’ve had in the last few years and a great game to boot.

So as I said above, Rocket League is essentially football (soccer) with cars. The beauty of the game is how well balanced the play mechanics are and how well the physics of the ball work. The ball has a great heft to it that makes clean contact (if you can get it!) a wonderfully visceral experience. The cars handle well and while there are a variety of vehicle styles, none of these change the handling, they are purely cosmetic.

As well as vehicle styles there are flags, paint patterns, wheel types, hats and different boost effects so you can really go to town on making your vehicle feel like your own. These items are unlocked randomly at the end of each match, regardless of performance (and result) which is a great way to keep people playing. Another reason to keep playing is that the developers have completely nailed the ‘just one more game’ feeling and with matches only taking five minutes, it’s very easy to still be sitting there forty minutes after you were going to stop!

Matches take the form of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4. I found 1v1 and 2v2 to be fun but a bit too challenging and the 4v4 mode is actually called ‘Chaos’, which gives you an idea of how that plays. For me 3v3 is the perfect amount of players, taking into account the size of the pitch and the movement of the cars/ball.

These games can be played online or offline with computer controlled bots and there is also a cool little Season mode, which puts you in a league and ends with a post season playoff for the championship. It’s a cool addition and adds another layer of depth of proceedings. The same goes for the tutorials which, although short, do give you a great sense of how to play the game with a bit more finesse.

And that’s the real genius of Rocket League, anyone can pick this up and play. The basic driving isn’t difficult and the idea of the game is simple. Hit the ball into the goal. No offsides. No fouls. No stoppages. The developers have stripped out everything football related that might be a barrier to entry. However there is still an elation when you score a goal or win a match that replicates the buzz of football.

That buzz is only half of Rocket League, the rest of it is made up of joy and laughter. While I’ve scored some memorable goals, the moments I often describe to others are the times I backflipped into one of my own team and caused them to miss a shot or when I had a shot and it ricocheted off the post and crossbar and trickled along the goal line until a desperate opponent put it in his own goal.

This is a game that should be in everyone’s library. Play it with strangers, play it with friends but definitely play it, Rocket League is one of the best online experiences available.

Rating: 10/10