Games can be a great escape from the stress of the modern world, and while many of them provide a lot of fun through a single player experience, it’s often much nicer to share it all with a friend. Increasingly, more games are starting to cater to co-op and multiplayer fans as well, which is great news.
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However, while in some games the multiplayer experience works brilliantly, in other titles it falls flat and fails to deliver a smooth experience. It’s evident that it takes a lot to make a good multiplayer mode, which is why we’ve gathered five games that actually do it well, and five that should have never even tried.
10Great: Monster Hunter: World
With a relatively simple premise,Monster Hunter: Worldis a game that really delivers. Not only is the single player extremely engaging, but the multiplayer works absolutely seamlessly. It even makes sense to have such a mode for the game, given that it’s all about Hunters going after monsters.
Through battling a wide variety of enemies, players are able to craft better and bettergearto then take on more difficult enemies. With new content and new monsters coming in as DLCs from Capcom, this is a great game to play in a multiplayer environment.
9Awful: DOOM
Back in 2016, there was so much thatDOOMsucceeded in. It really captured the fun, core aspect of its predecessors with the gameplay, but where it fell completely short was its multiplayer experience. Given that this part of the game was worked on by a different company, it’s no wonder it felt so different from the actual game.
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DOOM’s multiplayer was initially riddled with flaws, and continues to be average at best today. It had a distinctively different feel, similar to actual FPS multiplayer games, which had nothing to do with theDOOMfranchise. With matchmaking issues and weapon loadouts being a feature, it’s a definite pass for anyDOOMfans.
8Great: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
So far,Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas proven to be everything it promised to be. The brand new installment in the franchise takes the player to their very own island, which they must then develop into a fully grown community of island dwellers by gathering and selling items.
That’s not all, however — the game allows players toconnectwith others. It’s possible to fly to a friend’s island and play together, as well as chat with them. This is truly the ultimate form of the franchise, a chill experience easily shareable with friends who have the same passion.
7Awful: Grand Theft Auto Online
Grand Theft Auto Vis one of the top games of the last decade. That being said, it definitely has its own flaws, and one major downfall was its multiplayer experience. The thought of playing the game with other people might sound like a cool possibility, but what players really received was a slow-loading experience to servers of maximum 27 people.
Not just that, the multiplayer mode was profoundly anti-fun, requiring players to grind hours upon hours just to be able to afford a vehicle. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the games that rewards those who can afford to spend the most real money, which gives them unfair advantages that aren’t based on skill or time spent on grinding.
6Great: Minecraft
Minecraftis the ultimate sandbox experience, and has so many different ways it can be played. Whether players enjoy creative mode or hardcoresurvival, there’s something for everyone here. And yes, that does include multiplayer mode, which has become increasingly easier to set up in recent years thanks to the release ofMinecraftrealms.
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Realms allow players to set up a simple server hosted by Mojang, with the first thirty days free of charge. Players can either complete adventure maps together or just play traditional survival mode. Even creative is an option if the Realm owner so wishes. The possibilities are endless, which is why it’s the ultimate multiplayer game.
5Awful: Far Cry 3
Another tremendously good game from the last decade isFar Cry 3. Its single player mode was spectacularly fantastic and captivating, but like many other great games, where it truly flopped was its multiplayer mode. This mode takes great inspiration from games likeBattlefieldandCall of Duty, but while those games succeed in delivering a great FPS experience,Far Cry 3does not.
The main issue inFar Cry 3comes from its extremely poor, defender-favoring map design. The levels tend to be quite big and open, which means players will need to go through a lot of terrain to find the enemy. With very little cover as well, the aggressors are often at a disadvantage when at range.
4Great: Don’t Starve Together
Not all multiplayer modes of great games pit players against one another. InDon’t Starve Together, the multiplayer expansion of the originalDon’t Starvegame, players can either play the survival experience in co-op mode or with strangers online.
The game works fantastically, even as a team effort. Although it can be a bit challenging to master, it’s an excellent test of friendship and teamwork. With unique art style and a dark, strange world to explore, players aren’t likely to grow bored easily.
Dead Space 2is possibly the best game in its franchise, as it has a nice balance of great graphics and good story. However, for a reason that can’t be comprehended, EA made the decision to add a multiplayer mode to it, which basically splits eight players into two teams: Necromorphs and the Marines.
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The multiplayer mode is severely lacking in variety, and fails to compete against any major multiplayer games out there. If anything, this mode was just made as a small bonus that players would probably touch once or twice, but not much more than that. All in all, whether it had been released or not doesn’t make much of a difference.
2Great: Divinity: Original Sin II
Few games provide as much content and customization for a multiplayer experience asDivinity: Original Sin II. While there’s no massive multiplayer mode in this game, it’s still worth a mention on this list due to players being able to find games nearby and join any of them, or set up their own games that others players can join.
InDivinity, players take on the roles of Sourcerers, and experience the main campaign of the game together. This is what makes this game so incredibly powerful: it can deliver astorywithout any hiccups, even when there’s more than one player involved.
1Awful: Silent Hill: Book Of Memories
Silent Hillis a series that deserves our greatest sympathies for being so completely butchered by its final releases before fading into its current oblivion.Book of Memoriesseemed to have been, both multiplayer and single player-wise, the final nail into the franchise’s coffin.
This exclusive game for PS Vita is proof that Konami had very little clue on what to deliver to its fans. From wonky character creation mode to the actual dungeon-crawling gameplay, which has absolutely nothing to do with previousSilent Hillgames,Book of Memoriesis a disaster of the highest degree that doesn’t deserve to be experienced with either friends or strangers in an online environment.
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