When it comes to multiplayer games, there are typically two ways for the game to be balanced. The developers may try to make the game intense and competitive, driving players to always be improving or else they may fall behind other players. Alternatively, you might find a game that aims to keep things casual, sometimes even silly in its gameplay. If you’re looking for a game that fits either style, I’ve got a few recommendations for you.
If you’re into fast paced FPS games and you somehow haven’t heard of it, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege is absolutely worth picking up. The game has 68 playable operators, all with unique gadgets and weapons in their arsenal. All maps have destructible environments, allowing for creative strategies for both attackers and defenders. On top of that, all weapons will kill in one shot, provided they hit the enemies in the head. All of these aspects together create a game that rewards good teamplay, but also individual skill. As you begin to play, you may find yourself dying. A lot. Siege can have a bit of a hostile environment for a newer player as many rounds can be decided by one person with a really good aim. The competitive nature of the game can be demanding, forcing players to improve their skills in a trial by fire. With 1100 hours in game, I highly recommend it for the flexibility of the game while still retaining its competitive nature.
If you’d like to stay in the FPS category but play something a little more casual, I will never hesitate to recommend a timeless classic, one of my favorite games of all time: Team Fortress 2. The game is completely free and comes with nine playable classes which are all unlocked as soon as you start playing. All of the characters have unique personalities and equally unique voice lines. Every class can fill a different role in your team of 12. Some of them have very high skill ceilings, such as the soldier who can use his rocket launcher to send himself flying across the map. The cartoony graphics lend themselves to the silly nature of the game, and it creates a somewhat surreal arena shooter environment. The game even allows you to create a keybind to die as soon as you press it, which can often be the funniest part of an in-game interaction. I have no doubt that if you play TF2 for even a couple hours that you’ll have a good time and some good laughs. Sitting at 1800 hours in the game, I can’t recommend this goofy, silly shooter enough.
If you’re not interested in shooters, but still want an exciting online game, perhaps Dead by Daylight is right for you. A one vs. four asymmetrical horror game in which a vicious killer hunts down a group of survivors, who are trying to repair generators and open an exit. It offers wild chases, terrifying hide-and-go-seek moments, and heart-pounding escapes on the side of the survivors. Meanwhile, the killer must use information to find their prey, outsmart them in chases, and sacrifice them before they can make a getaway. The game is taken very seriously by some players, bringing it to a very competitive level. Full teams of survivors optimize their perks and items to escape quickly and safely, while killers typically bring strong builds to hinder survivor’s progress and chase them down unpredictably. Much like Siege, many players are incredibly skilled at the game on both sides. However, the matchmaking system in DbD is generally good at creating fair matches, granting new players some breathing room while they learn the game. I have 1770 hours in the game, with a fairly even split between the two roles. I can confirm that once you’ve begun to understand the game you’ll start having a blast learning new ways to trip up your opponent!
Jumping to a newer game of the same genre, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a very similar, yet wildly different experience. In this game based on the highly rated horror movies, you may play as the Family, a group of three cannibals, or the Victims, four teenagers desperate to escape their captors. The objectives for Victims to escape are very different from Dead by Daylight, sometimes only requiring a moment of ignorance from the family for an escape. However, there is a reason that they’re named Victims and not survivors. The Family is incredibly strong, each character having a special ability to make escapes more difficult, from padlocks to poison. Another critical difference between the two most popular asymmetrical games is that the Victims in TCM also have unique powers to hide, escape, or fight back. As the game is still fairly new, it remains a casual environment while players figure out what is most effective and what is the most fun. The developers have claimed in an interview that they intend to keep the game casual. In some ways, they are already making great changes, such as randomizing objective locations or changing where they spawn if they were too easy to escape through. I only have 60 hours in TCM so far, but the mechanics of the game seem to work towards keeping it a little on the sillier side so I can easily see myself playing more of it.
There’s a lot of options if you’re looking for an online experience. Regardless of if you want to test your skill in something more serious or just have a relaxed game, I hope that my recommendations here will help you find something fresh to play whenever you’d like to get online.
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