The idea of a game that never ended was just a dream only a decade or so ago. Sure, we had plenty of games withonline multiplayer modesthat you could theoretically keep playing as long as the servers were up, but you were never meant to stick around for years after.Even DLC contentwasn’t big or frequent enough to keep people around for long. Once consoles caught up to PCs a bit more around the PS4/Xbox One era, suddenly a new type of game emerged: the live-service.
Instead of buying a game, beating it, andwaiting for the sequel, live-service games add bits of content over time instead of making a complete sequel. This usually includes some combination of smaller updates, like daily/weekly events or quests in between bigger drops of new areas, characters, and stories. Live-service games can take a lot of different forms, but the one thing they have in common is how easily they can eat away at your time. If you’re not careful, these games could steal entire days before you even realize it.
6 epic Metroidvania games that will keep you glued to your screen
If you love getting lost and honing your navigational abilities, I’ve played the best Metroidvania games and have some recommendations.
Space ninjas with guns
There are few games that have transformed themselves over the years as much as Warframe has. When it first released, this game was little more than a third-person shooter with awesome movement, melee weapons, and tons of loot in short linear missions. Now you can fly your own spaceship, explore an open world, and even go fishing. At the heart of it all is still that fast, fluid, and euphoric movement system that lets you move through levels like a parkour master while blasting aliens with overpowered weapons and abilities. The grind for new frames – which are essentially new classes – never feels like a drag, because you’ll never get tired of repeating missions. It also helps that the team is so generous and fair with the monetization model, so you won’t ever feel pressured to spend real money.
How to play all the Call of Duty: Black Ops games in chronological order
I went undercover to extract all the intel you need to play the Black Ops series in chronological order. I’ve included a release date order, too.
2Final Fantasy 14
The WoW killer
Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
9 classic games we’d love to see get a remake
Some classic games are wasting away on old consoles. These are the ones that need a remake most.
3League of Legends
Stop feeding
League of Legends
If you’re going to play a MOBA, you basically have two choices: DOTA 2 or League of Legends. Both fit the live-service bill, but I can’t deny that League has far better support. This game is getting updates on a near-weekly basis and already has hundreds of characters and cosmetics to earn and play. Unlike a lot of other live-service games, though, MOBAs don’t change a ton besides the characters. You won’t get any new story, maps, or modes, but if you love the core gameplay as much as the thousands of people playing every day do, then you probably don’t want it to be changed that much anyway.
Upcoming PC games: 13 new games I can’t wait to play
Here are the most anticipated PC games set to launch in 2024 and beyond – from epic survival sagas to intense shooters.
Winner winner
As obvious as it is, I can’t make a list of live-service games without including the king of them all. Fortnite is such a successful live-service game that it has become a platform for other games and events inside of it. The key to its success is so simple but still genius when you consider how many others have tried and failed to replicate it. It is available everywhere, for free, with a bright and appealing artstyle, hundreds of skins from every major media franchise, and makes massive changes each season. It isn’t afraid to completely flip the table on how the game works for a few weeks and see what happens. It also introduced a battle pass and nails the daily challenge system so you always feel like you’re working towards something cool even if you may’t win that chicken dinner.
5 hidden video game easter eggs you’d never find on your own
Easter eggs are meant to be found, but these were so well hidden that I can’t believe they were discovered.
5Honkai Star Rail
Get your gacha
Honkai Star Rail
JRPGs and live-service games don’t sound like a good mix, but miHoYo has one secret ingredient up its sleeve: amazing character designs. Just like Genshin Impact, Star Rail is basically an entire single-player game for free with no strings attached. However, there are dozens of characters you won’t have access to unless you grind or pay to roll for using the gacha system. This can be frustrating for some, but there is an undeniable bit of excitement that comes from the random chance of unlocking that one character you want to add to your team so badly. If that’s not for you, it’s very easy to ignore and just go through the story and explore the world as new updates add more areas and quests. You never have to pay for that core content, making it one of the most generous live-service games out there.
Hades 2 might be an unfinished game, but it’s the best one I’ve played
Despite being in early-access, Hades 2 has more content and polish than most full releases.
