2020 what a year. Was it only a month ago that we were gearing up for GDC and this year’s E3?! Now all those shows and basically the year is cancelled, but silver lining – we still have our games. Right now if you’re like me you’re stuck at home with nothing to do. Don’t nobody tag me in one of those pushup challenges, I’m allergic. So what’s a gamer gonna do with all this time? They gonna game. But this time I guess I should probably be a bit social, to avoid going crazy.
Borderlands 3
Ah, Borderlands 3 the looter-shooter sequel after 7 Years + 6 Months. Getting back to this wacky world with its plethora of mentally-challenged lunatics who should, under no normal circumstances, be allowed to hold any sort of firearm, was fun. No, this game will not win any awards for writing or character development like Borderlands 2. What this game offers is good clean fun FPS fun with lots of hilarious side-quests, tons of joke references and easter eggs (I just fought a teleporting, blue-haired bandit duo called Wick and Warty, get it?) and fun-to-use weapons and mechanics. It’s one of those games you can just sit back with and just grind for a couple of hours. If you’ve got friends, even better! Check out our Vault Hunter guide if you’re having trouble choosing your character.
Borderlands 3 is out now on all platforms minus the Nintendo Switch. But if you’re a fan of Borderlands and do want to play it on the Switch then you’re in luck because Borderlands, Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is out on the Nintendo Switch now. If you were an early adopter like me and bought Borderlands 3 on the Epic Games Store, do know that you’ll be able to play with your Steam friends via the Shift network. Cross-platform between consoles and PC, however, is not supported at this time.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, PC – Steam & Epic Store, Mac
Genre: FPS
Left 4 Dead 2
An oldie but a goody, also a good choice for your not so big gamer friends. It’s really cheap and holds up as a great co-op FPS game until today. LFD2 is the game that turned me on to the Zombie FPS genre in the first place. Left 4 Dead 2 features a motley crew that bands together to survive the zombie apocalypse. From running away from a horde spawn to getting ganked by special zombies, this game features many fun WTF moments that will make for great remember-when-that-happened conversations. However, do try to go into this game with a group of friends. Not only does it make the experience more enjoyable, but the AI is just terrible.
WWZ the spiritual successor to L4D2 is currently free on the Epic Games Store. So your even cheaper friends can download that now to play. I know that’s what I’m going to be doing.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC – Steam, Mac
Genre: FPS
Heroes Of The Storm
MOBA is a genre I’ve really fallen for, and I’ve played almost all the big MOBA games out there: Defense Of The Ancients, League of Legends, Defense Of The Ancients 2, Smite, Heroes of Newerth, Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang, etc. But the one that stands out of the crowd for me is Heroes Of The Storm, Blizzard’s take on the MOBA genre.
There are many things about this game that just keep pulling me back to play it over other MOBAs. The heroes inspired by other Blizzard titles, the variety of maps with various team-fight objectives. But the best part for me is the various ability mechanics which make for some very fun and creative uses. Most people would argue that HotS is the beginner version of DOTA and LoL and doesn’t require as much skill, but I see it as a MOBA that requires an entirely different set of skills. HotS revolves around ‘teamwork’ with each player contributing to the shared team level and roles in fights. I say ‘teamwork’ because more often than not, you will encounter the all too common toxic troll. What’s an online game without one? At the end of the day, you’re there to have fun, not be a world competitor.
Platform: PC
Genre: MOBA
King’s Raid
Here’s a random one but something I’ve been playing for a bit now. King’s Raid is a beautiful Mobile JRPG with Gacha elements. For those not in the know, Gacha refers to Japanese toy-vending machines where people would spend money to get a capsule with a random item inside, essentially loot boxes. Whilst there are many Gacha games out there, what makes King’s Raid unique is that the heroes are not part of the Gacha mechanic. Unlike other Gacha games, King’s Raid features all unique heroes and abilities which you can mix & match to create your dream team.
The only real problem is choosing which heroes you want first since each of them are have their own unique design, backstory and sidequests. The Gacha elements themselves are centred around the equipment you receive. As the game features unique weapons and treasures specific to certain heroes. There is, of course, a bunch of the standard mechanics as well such as evolution and skill increment. But thanks to the well-designed tutorial of the game, I never felt overwhelmed with the information and was able to easily set up my daily routine for the game. King’s Raid also features a decent story and cute animated cutscenes. The side-story scenes where you get to see the heroes intermingle with one another is just icing on the cake.
Platform: Mobile
Genre: JRPG
Well, that’s what I’m playing during my lockdown period, if any of these tickles your fancy, why not give them a try? And whilst you’re at it, why not share what you’re playing during the lockdown? Maybe it’ll help someone from going insane and start writing ominous messages on their walls.