These last few days haven't being easy for anyone. The stress and uncertainty of what will happen next can be brutal. Honestly, this might've been the first time humanity faced a problem in common regardless of social/political/economical views.
I've seen lots of people complaining about how bored they've been with nothing to do now that their busy lives are not that busy anymore. I've also seen a strong correlation between people who don't complain about this matter that often and the ones who play video games.
Being honest, this whole thing would've been ten times harder for me if it wasn't for video games, more specifically my versatile and trustworthy Nintendo Switch.
Dauntless
- Free-to-play
- Available on: Switch, PC, PS4 , Xbox One, and Android
Ever since I first heard about this game I was a bit skeptical about it. I was never a big fan of games such as Monster Hunter, never really saw the point of a game only about boss fights. It turns out I was wrong.
Dauntless is quite fair when it comes to testing players' skills and not their wallets. The gameplay on this is so fluid it barely feels like a free-to-play game. The monsters' designs are cool and creative and the battles are engaging.
Another nice thing I like about it is the crafting system that makes you explore the maps looking for the necessary items to craft weapons and armors.
Minecraft
- Available on: Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, iOS, Android, and even Raspberry PI lol
This game gets a lot of flak for being a kid' game, or having no story at all, or even for its blocky graphics. Truth is, to have a (virtually) infinite procedurally-generated world, in which you can build anything you think of, is such a cool idea to this day.
I was part of the first wave of Minecraft players in the beginning of the last decade, stopped playing, and would come back once in a while. Hell, I was even one of the game's haters, but still, this game still impresses me when it comes to all the things you can do in it.
Building your own world is a great way of escaping the real one, given its current state. Farming, exploring and having pets of lots of different species also helps.
Hollow Knight
- Available on: Switch, PS4, Xbox One, macOS, Linux, Windows, and Wii U
This game is the pinnacle of modern 2D games. Hell, it is the epitome of video games in general. It allies an incredibly agile and precise gameplay with a beautiful soundtrack, alongside one of the most well-made and original graphics I have ever seen in entire my life.
The fact that it is open world was just one more positive point to me. I was a bit timorous to try this title, since the gaming community often refers to it as the "Dark Souls" of side-scrollers. Not because I necessarily don't like Dark Souls, but because I don't think I'm competent enough to beat a game like that. Therefore, acquiring this game would likely bring me lots of frustration. Guess what, I was wrong again.
The action on the game is out of this world. It's that type of game in which whenever you fail at something, you know it was entirely your fault, and feel compelled to try again until you make it. It seems like this thing has been refined to perfection.
Each area you visit has its own feel, vibe, music and enemies. It actually feels like you are exploring a real and vivid world. Not to talk about how charismatic the NPCs and the Knight (main character) are.
By the way, have I mentioned that this game was HAND DRAWN?
Realm Royale
- Free-to-play
- Available on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Windows
This one is more straight to the point: it's a battle royale game. I know that it might look like a generic Fortnite clone, but what I find compelling about it is that there's no building in it. I know Minecraft is in this same list, and I do like crafting games and battle royale games. But combining both of them is like combining chocolate and beef to me.
Realm Royale works well as a midpoint between the arcadiness of Fortnite and the seriousness of PUBG. The fact you can summon a horse at any time helps a lot to travel throughout the map and the matches can get quite intense.
Playing this with my girlfriend has been great and keeping us entertained. Our teamwork has been working well so far. We've been playing squads with only the two of us in the team and we got second place earlier today lol.
I hope you all have also been finding ways to cope with this scary and unprecedented situation.
-Betel
