Although the pandemic has separated people due to health and safety reasons, video games gave the opportunity for them to gather virtually through various multiplayer games that helped them cope with the situation.
Here are some of the five video games that gained attention and a massive player base during the pandemic.
1. Among Us (Mobile, PC)
A space-themed game developed by American game studio Innersloth, this cross-platform multiplayer game gained popularity during the start of the pandemic, two years after its initial release.
Among Us gameplay revolves around four to 15 players, called crewmates—deducing who among them are the impostors, hence the title. The game ends when either the crewmates eject all impostors in the ship, or the impostors successfully kill off all other crewmates one by one or through a sabotage.
The game saw its popularity rise in early 2020, attributed to the start of the lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19. Given the social restrictions that were in place, Among Us allowed players around the world to interact with each other, with YouTubers and Twitch streamers even collaborating through a series of games.
The game set a record 438.5-thousand player count on Steam last September, 2020. It can be downloaded for free on the Play Store for Android and the App Store for iOS, while the PC version is for P160 (USD4) on Steam.
2. Apex Legends (PC, Console)
A spin to the battle royale genre, Respawn Entertainment spiced up the battlefield combining elements of a hero shooter to the chaotic all-out warfare of the battle royale with Apex Legends. Released back in early 2019, its integration to the Steam platform last year brought more players to the game, garnering 100,000 to 200,000 players daily on Steam alone.
The game revolves around outlasting other teams of 3 in one gunfight after another as you explore the map for upgrades and weapons to get you through a match. A typical match starts with over 20 squads with 3 players each, the last squad to survive wins the game. Each match could play out differently as squads can consist of combinations of hero combos from a pool of 17 selectable characters and with 26 guns with multiple attachments scattered around each of the 3 arenas.
Apex Legends can be downloaded for free on Steam and Origin with available in-game purchases as you can purchase characters and cosmetics.
3. VALORANT (PC)
Riot Games first teased Valorant as “Project A” last October 2019 and ultimately revealed its current title during the beta phase. It was officially released on June 2, 2020. It is a 5v5 character-based first-person shooting game similar to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The game had almost 3 million players per day during the beta phase for 2 months.
Valorant has different agents with different abilities. When starting, there will be 5 agents available for free, while the others have to be unlocked by gaining experience from playing or buying them. Currently, Valorant has 17 playable agents, while one of the 6 maps is randomly picked when queuing in a game.
The game has different game modes, but its main focus is the search and destroy game similar to CS:GO, but it is a first to win 12 rounds. In the game mode Unrated, if both teams get 12 rounds each it goes to overtime and whoever wins that round wins the game. But in Ranked mode, if it goes to overtime, one team has to win 2 consecutive rounds to be victorious.
Valorant is a free game that can be downloaded from the Riot Games website and gun skins, buddies, and player cards can be bought in-game.
4. Genshin Impact (PC, Mobile, PS4, PS5)
This multiplayer action role-playing game developed and released by China-based miHoYo in 2020 is currently on the top charts of mobile app stores and was even considered one of the highest-grossing games worldwide last year.
Featuring the open-world of Teyvat, Genshin Impact takes its players, called Travelers, on an adventure around the world to find their missing sibling. The game features story quests and daily missions and is being updated to include future storylines. Players are then given characters with elemental powers to aid them through their journey, with the elements being a key gameplay feature.
Genshin Impact takes its popularity from its ever-growing story, anime-esque art style, and its gacha system, wherein players can use earned currency called “primogems” (or even real-world currency) to pull for stronger characters and equipment. The game also features certain multiplayer events, using its built-in “co-op” system.
The game can be downloaded for free on the official Genshin Impact website for PC and the Play Store and App Store for Android and iOS, respectively.
5. Phasmophobia (PC)
An indie game that seemingly came out of nowhere, Phasmophobia puts you and your friends in the shoes of a group of ghost hunters as you visit ghastly environments and levels such as an abandoned school, a haunted suburban home, or a prison.
Players will get to fiddle around with dozens of different tools that only a ghost hunter could utilize, equipment such as the spirit box, an Ouija board, and an EMF reader among others. These tools are used to determine what kind of ghost a certain level has which is the end goal of a play session. The more accurate the evidence, the more points and money you'll get at the end. Players can play with friends as a team of ghost hunters consists of 4 but you can also choose to play alone or queue with random people.
Phasmophobia was released on Steam last September 18, 2020, having around 15,000 players daily with a peak concurrent player count of 130,000. The game can be bought for P323 pesos if you buy now during Steam’s summer sale or P380 without the discount.
