10 Best Online Games to Play With Your Friends

The world is in a dangerous situation right now. So the wisest thing to do right now is to stay indoors, but for how long? The four walls of your room might be getting to you. Maybe you need something to spice up your social distancing. And that’s where online video games come in.

Playing with friends will never get too old. But in this situation, we are confined to the internet to even interact with them. And of course, Ludo gets boring pretty easily so it’s understandable to have difficulties passing time. Learning new things might also be a new alternative but hey, who can keep learning all day?

So here are the 10 best online video games for you to enjoy with your friends. This list features games that run on low to mid-range PCs. And of course, the games are ranked in order. And there’s one particular game at the end that has been regarded by a vast majority of gamers to be the best game of all time.

10 Best Online Games

10. PUBG Mobile

I feel sorry for PUBG Mobile fans but it is what it is. Yes, despite the hype, PUBG Mobile ranks last on this list. And for those of you who haven’t played PUBG Mobile, it’s a free battle-royale game designed for mobiles. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was originally released as a mod game, similar to Garry’s mod.

But soon, it began to appeal especially to the Asian player base. Ranking last on this list doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. So let’s go over the pros and cons of why PUBG Mobile is here on this list. Going over the pros, PUBG Mobile, as the name suggests, was developed for mobile so you can play it on the fly. It also has PC integration with Gameloop, verified by Tencent Games. Moreover, its easy to get into and have fun with friends.

As for the cons, Cheaters. This will be a recurring con for a lot of games on this list but PUBG Mobile has seen a large amount of cheaters in its player base.PUBG Mobile doesn’t even have a dedicated anti-cheat to combat cheaters instantly. And then there’s limited FPS. FPS, which stands for Frames Per Second, is a very defining factor whether the gameplay is smooth or not. And as for PUBG Mobile, the maximum FPS you can get is 60 on mobile devices and 90 on PC. This makes the gameplay very sluggish.

Being a relatively older game, it’s extremely sweaty. Players tryhard in every other game which makes it a lesser choice to just wind out and have fun with friends, without someone yelling at their mic in Hindi. RNG elements are a major factor in defining the battle-royale genre. But they are also a huge factor in you winning or losing. RNG will determine what you get inside a house or in a particular place. If losing due to RNG triggers your anger cells, this is not the genre for you.

Regardless, PUBG Mobile is a great game to get into if you don’t have a high-spec PC or you just like mobile games. And it’s free on the PlayStore and AppStore as well.

9. Fortnite PC

Another massively popular game on the battle-royale genre is Fortnite. Also known as the first polished battle-royale game ever. You could just say that Fortnite is just PUBG but with cartoony graphics but you’d be wrong. Cause it has a major aspect of building to it. In Fortnite, you build your own cover, or so says Epic Games, Fortnite’s developer.

I know they completely disregarded the number of times someone has downed me from miles away with an assault rifle while saying this but that’s okay. Because Fortnite is a very fun game to play. The playerbase is generally playing casually and you’ll hardly get into any lobbies with tryhards. But no words can describe the amount of disrespect I have for people trying to trickshot in this game. Since it was meant for the younger player base, this game is filled with kids trying to trickshot you.

Trickshotting or “being an absolute unit at the game” is a skill in shooter games that feature near-impossible shots or once in a million shots. And it’s pretty popular over on YouTube so why wouldn’t anyone? The problem is that when you just play the game for trickshots, the receiving end of the player base gets frustrated and quits the game.

Now, being a game of the godly battle-royale genre, Fortnite has a lot of RNG. Even the shooting isn’t very accurate as the bullet spread is all over the place even when standing perfectly still. Regardless, Fortnite uses “Easy Anti-Cheat” which is one of the best anti-cheat, or cheater detection programs in gaming history. Moreover, this anti-cheat is very safe to install so you won’t be getting as many cheaters in Fortnite as you’d get in PUBG Mobile.

All in all, Fortnite is a great game to wind out and have fun with friends so you should definitely try it. It’s available on the Epic Games Store for free.

8. Apex Legends

If you liked the gunplay in PUBG and the smoothness of Fortnite, Apex has both of them. Apex is also one of my personal favorites as it has THE BEST movement in any game on this list. Even outside this list, only Titanfall 2 has movement as fluid as Apex Legends.

Belonging to the battle-royale genre, Apex Legends is in fact the battle royale game for Respawn’s Titanfall 2. In Apex, you can choose from a variety of different characters, or legends as they are referred to, and enter the arena. The movement is just perfect for a mechanical junkie like me. If you like games that require you to have good mechanics, Apex is a no-brainer.

This game also has a heavy focus on the RNG aspect of battle-royale games and is the only battle-royale on this list to have a squad of three. But that’s mainly for game balance as character-based shooters are very difficult to balance with the introduction of newer characters. Apex Legends also uses the “Easy Anti-Cheat” as its core cheater detection system.

The only problem with Apex is that this game is highly competitive. It was released as a surprise in 2019 but in barely 2 years, the game has become competitive beyond measure. And it wasn’t even intended to become a competitive game at launch. But when you add so much mechanical play to a game, this is a given.

Other than that, the community is very welcoming and the TTK or Time To Kill is very high so you’ll have a great experience with this battle-royale. If I were to suggest a battle-royale, I’d suggest Apex Legends. Having played both PUBG Mobile and Fortnite, they just don’t hold up to the standards that Apex has set.

7. Genshin Impact

If you didn’t see this one coming, you’re probably living under a rock. Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG game set in the fantasy world of Teyvat. The game is a single-player game until you reach Adventure Rank 16. This is done to help familiarize the players with the game mechanics. And it doesn’t take too long to reach Adventure Rank 16 too.

Now that we’ve come out of the battle-royale genre, Genshin Impact offers a very relaxing feel when playing the game. You can control four characters at a time and switch between them. Other than that, there’s no stress in this game. The music is very relaxing and the main storyline is very interesting. Also, MiHoYo, Genshin Impact’s developer, puts out new content from new map unlocks to new characters every now and then.

The downside of this game is the grind. Since Genshin Impact is a gacha game, meaning you take your chances at getting something. It’s very similar to gambling. And the higher-tier characters are obviously more powerful than the characters you get for free. So, you’d either have to spend some hefty amount of cash on this game or grind it out.

Other than that, it’s a very good game to explore with your friends. You can have up to 3 other friends in a party and explore the world together, starting from Adventure Rank 16. All in all, an excellent game to try this lockdown.

6. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Who expected the godfather of first-person shooter games to rank number 6 on this list? Although CSGO is a game that most modern FPS titles are based on, the original has its fair share of cheaters. And cheaters are the only reason why it’s number 6 on this list. After all, who would want to play against a cheater?

CSGO is a free-to-play first-person shooter game available on Steam. It’s also regarded as the godfather of FPS titles as most of the mechanics we see today in FPS games are derived from CSGO or, are small tweaks to CSGO’s mechanics. And that right there explains what a beauty this game is in itself. The movement is very fluid and the shooting mechanics are on-point with little to no RNG elements affecting the gameplay.

However, despite being an absolute beauty of a game for its time, the CSGO community is toxic beyond measure. If you’re a new player in CSGO, you’ll most likely be greeted with cheaters or people who yell at you for missing a single bullet and suggest you to uninstall the game. At which point, you should most definitely take their suggestion. Since CSGO is just 5 tryhards versus 4 tryhards and a cheater every now and then, this beautiful masterpiece has ranked number six on this list.

Don’t even get me started on the amount of cheaters in CSGO. If you don’t have the “Prime Matchmaking” feature, you’ll be greeted by cheaters every match. And even with Prime, you won’t be completely rid of cheaters. It’ll be a cheater every 2 games instead of a cheater every game. Also, smurfing is a big problem in CSGO since it went free to play.

Regardless of its flaws, if you just want to enjoy CSGO, I would highly recommend you install it and give it a try.

5. League of Legends

League of Legends is Riot Games’ Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. LoL’s roots come from Warcraft 3, or the original DotA as it is referred to as. The games are very fast paced and a lot of fun as there are over a hundred characters, or “champions” to choose from. No two games will be the same and that’s the fun in it.

While other games on this list had a horrible time balancing the RNG aspect of the game, LoL does a great job in balancing the RNG aspect with items and characters to counter the exploit of such RNG features. Players choose a champion and enter a 5 versus 5 arena with three lanes on each side respectively. They then try to win their respective lanes and break the enemy “Nexus” to win. So, kills don’t really matter in this game. All that matters is that you break your enemy’s Nexus before they break yours.

The Nexus is guarded by three turrets in each lane with a set of barracks and two extra turrets standing just beside the Nexus. So it requires a lot of teamwork to win. Hence, it’s a great game to play with friends. And this game is also not very mechanically focused. There are very little active items and all the characters are very easy to get into.

The only downside to this game is its toxicity. Riot has put up countermeasures to combat toxicity but that just isn’t helping. There are no cheaters in LoL because the game is built so that even if you cheated, you wouldn’t win without teamwork. New players are always welcome but the Ranked Mode is where the toxicity begins. Every now and then, there’s a player bragging about how he has the highest rank hence he should play a specific role. The toxicity goes on and on.

Regardless, a great game to try if you have never played any other MOBA game. It’s free on their official website and on Garena, if you wish to play with only Asian players.

4. Dota 2

Surpassing League is the other mod from the original World of Warcraft 3, Dota 2. Ever since Valve acquired rights for Dota 2 from Blizzard, the game has only blossomed. This is a similar game to LoL with just a high mechanical ceiling. It’s not a game that is easy to get into but it’s worth your time trying to learn the game.

Dota 2 features over a hundred characters, or “heroes” to pick from which include legends like the Monkey King and Medusa, and even gods like Zeus and Mars. The playstyle on every hero is different and no two games are the same. Dota 2 has a lot of active items, meaning you will need to press their respective button at the right time to have their full effect. And the heroes are very complex as well.

Heroes like the Invoker or Meepo can take years to master. So, Dota 2 tests your patience and dedication. The game rewards your patience and dedication with strategic outplays and versatility. You can do virtually anything within the map. Sure, there are roles in Dota like LoL, but even “Support” role heroes can be played as the “Carry” role. The beauty of Dota is that it’s immensely complex and the strategy begins right during the pick phase.

Similar to LoL, you need to break your enemy’s “Ancient” or “Throne” to win. The number of towers and barracks defending the throne are the same. However, Dota is relatively slower paced than LoL just to avoid a cluster of abilities since the game is very difficult mechanically too.

The only downside to Dota is its smurfing problem. The community is fairly less toxic than any game on this list but the amount of smurfs, or people of higher ranked with new accounts, are massive. Dota has set up countermeasures to combat smurfing by implementing 100 hours of playtime before playing Ranked Mode but this just isn’t enough.

In retrospect, Dota 2 is a really fun game to play if you have the patience and dedication to learn the game. It’s available to play free on Steam.

3. Among Us

The first stage lockdown phenomenon ranks third on our list. Among Us became widely popular due to Twitch streamer Sodapoppin during the first stage of lockdown. Among Us is a game of deception that you can play with your friends.

In Among Us, you start as either an Imposter or a Crewmate. While Crewmates try and fix the ship they’re on with tasks assigned to them, Imposters try to kill the Crewmates to win. When a kill occurs, anyone can report the kill and a meeting is called. Players are only allowed to talk during the meeting and will deduce who the Imposter is.

It’s a very entertaining game and one that will test your friendship too. Simple but engaging is how I’d describe Among Us. There are virtually no cheaters in this game and the problems aren’t a great deal too since you’ll be playing with your friends.

There are a lot of maps and a lot of costumes you can get and play the game. It’s available on the Play Store and App Store for free. But if you’d like to support the developers, it’s also available on Steam for $2.99.

2. Valorant

Running up first on this list is Valorant. Valorant is Riot’s take on the massively popular first-person shooter genre. Its roots are of course, from CSGO with the bomb sites and guns and shooting mechanics. But it also takes inspiration from other popular shooter games like Overwatch and Rainbow Six: Siege. Valorant puts together all the good elements of these games and complies them into a much better FPS game for the modern FPS junkie.

And Valorant is very easy to get into and learn as well. There are multiple characters, or “agents” to choose from. Every agent has a unique ability to them which keeps the game entertaining. RNG elements in the game are low to none and the player base is very welcoming as well. The gunplay is smooth, the characters are balanced in their own right, and it can run on low-end PCs as well.

There are multiple maps to play on with new ones being introduced every three months with new agents as well. And the best thing about Valorant is that its anti-cheat is extremely strong. Vanguard, the anti-cheat developed by Riot for Valorant, is a kernel-level anti-cheat that runs when your PC starts. Of course, people will have security issues as it has ring zero access meaning everything you do on your PC could potentially be tracked by Riot. But the fact that Riot themselves have guaranteed privacy in their terms and conditions is a bit of a relief.

Anyway, the anti-cheat has an HWID ban waiting for whoever decided to cheat. Meaning that you’ll get hardware banned if you cheat in Valorant. So, you either need a new PC to play the game or you just quit it. This also makes players less likely to cheat and makes the game fair. Moreover, you can also report a server admin if you think someone is cheating and the anti-cheat isn’t catching them. The admin will then immediately look into the player and manually ban them, if necessary.

All in all, Valorant is one of the best games to play with friends during this lockdown. You can download the game directly from Riot’s official website for free.

1.     Minecraft

The best game of the decade, for two decades straight takes the number one position on this list. Minecraft is a building game. Well that sounds pretty boring, how did it become the best game for two decades? The twist here is that whatever you want to build will only be limited by your imagination. And you’d be surprised to know that the entire game was built only using Java. The entire world of Minecraft is created based on RNG elements and you need to find resources to build whatever you want.

Or, you could go into creative mode and start building instantly. Want a floating castle? Or the Pyramids of Giza? You can build virtually everything. The world is endless and waiting to be explored. You can also play with friends in both the paid and the Tlauncher version, which is free. You’ll need to have a server set up first. For the paid version, you’ll need to buy a server but for the Tlauncher version, you can get a server for free from Aternos.

And you can play with as many people as you want in Minecraft. It’s a game of creativity and the music is very relaxing too. So hop onto Discord with some of your friends and turn on the server and start turning your imagination into reality.

Minecraft also doesn’t have any problems associated with other games on this list so it’s basically the perfect game. You can download the paid version from Minecraft’s official website or the free version from Tlauncher’s official website.

Conclusion

And that was the end of this list. The games on this list have all been tried and tested so you don’t have to. You can simply read the description for any game you want and try it instantly if it favors your taste. All the games on this list can be acquired and played for free so you don’t have to spend a single penny to play them.

So what’s the hold up? They’re all free, why not try them all with your friends and play the one that appeals to your group the most? Again, this list is ranked according to my experience with the games mentioned. PUBG Mobile fans might be raging right now but it is what it is. The good and the bad for every game has been listed and it’s only my personal opinion with enough logical reasoning to back it up.

Author

Shashwat Dhakal