The Best Video Games for Socialising while Social-Distancing
With the way things are at the moment, it looks like we’re going to be spending much more time indoors in 2020. Video games are the perfect medium however that will provide you entertainment and can keep you in touch with friends without the need for leaving your home. The following is a guide for the best video games for socialising while social-distancing.
Many of us are stuck at home at the moment due to the events around the world. The good news is video games are perfect for keeping in touch with your friends while we’re spending more time indoors.
Over the past weekend, Steam hit record numbers with 20m concurrent users, with 20 million players online and approximately 6.4 million active users playing video games.
You can play with in-game chat features, but the best solution is to probably use Discord. The voice chat features are really good and you can create a bunch of rooms if you have a big group of friends and you want separate rooms for different games.
Sea of Thieves
What better way to take your mind off things by gathering a bunch of friends and taking to the high seas in a pirate adventure. You can explore islands, fight huge sea monsters and also other pirate ships. You can play with up to four players in your immediate party, but there could be more if you play nice with other crews on the same server.
This one is available on PC and Xbox and is available through Xbox Game Pass.
Rocket League
Rocket League is kind of like football, but instead of players, you have rocket cars. One of the best things is Rocket League has cross-platform play – that means you can play with up to four people on PC and consoles. There are events, limited-time modes and you can decorate your rocket car.
Rocket League is available for Xbox, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Jackbox Party Pack
This is a party game full of funny mini-games. It’s all about playing together in groups. There’s trivia, drawing, guess true or false statements and word association games. There’s been plenty of expansions to Jackbox, so there will be something for everyone.
Up to 8 players can play Jackbox together using their phones, tablets and controllers – so this one is a little more accessible to those who perhaps aren’t used to video games.
This is available on Xbox, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Friday 13th
This is a horror movie come to life and a great game to play with friends. You can play as a teenager trying to escape from the camp, or Jason Voorhees who’s trying to get revenge on well, anyone. There are loads of weapons and missions and it’s probably the most frightening game of hide and seek you’ll ever play. Load up Discord, get everyone in party chat and have a great time. You can play with up to seven friends online, so this one is great for bigger groups.
Friday 13th is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Monster Hunter World
Monster Hunter World is a game about chasing down monsters with your friends, levelling up your character and getting new weapons and armour. The battles with Monsters can take 20 + minutes and can be super tough, but when you manage to take down that huge beast it’s very satisfying. There’s nothing like being chased around a jungle for 20 mins by a T-Rex looking thing and coming out on top.
You can play with up to four players in your party and you can mix and match your weapons. There’s plenty of weapon styles to learn. It’s also one of the most beautiful games on current generation consoles and PC. This was followed up with a huge expansion called Monster Hunter World: Iceborn, so there’s plenty of content for you to play through.
Check out Monster Hunter World on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Also, there’s a free alternative to Monster Hunter World called Dauntless, which is cross-play – meaning you can play with others on any platform.
Overcooked 2
Overcooked 2 is a fun, social cooking game – great for the whole family. This is the follow up to the original and have more recipes, characters and kitchens. You can bake, barbeque and broil with up to 3 other players locally or online.
There are loads of recipes including sushi, pasta, cakes, burgers and burritos and it’s your job to serve them up to hungry customers. This is a great one for the family while you’re stuck at home.
Overcooked 2 is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the biggest collection of video game characters found from all generations, all in one place and ready to duke it out. There’s Nintendo classics like Mario, Luigi, Link, Kirby and Pikachu.
There are classic characters like Ryu from Streetfighter, Pacman (from Pacman) and lots of Fire Emblem characters. The game has been followed up with DLC including new fighters like Banjo Kazooie and Joker from Persona.
There’s a huge amount of characters, stages and items. The soundtrack is also legendary! You can play in local co-op or online with 1-4 players.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is exclusive to Nintendo Switch.
Call of Duty: Warzone
Call of Duty: Warzone is the new free-to-play battle royale from Activision. This one is available with the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or you can download it as a stand-alone game.
This one has 150 players, an increase of 50 from other battle royale games like Fortnite and Apex Legends and the aim of the game is to be the last one standing.
Infinity Ward, the developers, have provided some incremental improvements to the battle royale. Much like Apex Legends improved things with the ping system, Warzone also adds some new features that make battle royales even more fun. For example, you can come back into the game if you die. When you die you’re sent to a gulag and you have to battle it out one on one with another player to get back into the game. Win and you’re in, die and you’re out. It’s exciting stuff.
Warzone is crossplay enabled, so you can play with others across different platforms. You can play in squads of 3, so with 2 other friends. There’s talk of bigger squads coming to the game too, but that’s sometime in the future.
The game is available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. It’s also free to play, so give it a go.
Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is an online looter-shooter with player vs player or player vs environment modes. You can team up with 5 others in a fireteam to take on 6 others in PVP, or you can team up with 2 others and just explore the solar system.
If you’re up for a challenge then some of the best content in the game is the raids, where up to 6 players can take on massive bosses in some of the best content found in video games.
There’s a whole bunch of things to do including exploring, quests, big set-piece horde modes and seasonal events. It’s a great game if you want a challenge, or if you want to simply travel around the solar system going from planet to planet. The game is free-to-play and can be downloaded via Steam.
Let me know down in the comments what games you’re playing while stuck at home.
That’s it for this guide for the best video games for socialising while social-distancing. Check out more features on This Week In Video Games or subscribe on YouTube.