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| By MakeUsesOf |
From
military games to sci-fi to fantasy and back, MMOs to block builders to card
battlers, it turns out that zero can buy you quite a lot.
1. World of Warships
World
of Warships has now launched and it's awesome. While World of Warplanes
struggled as a second act for Wargaming after World of Tanks, Warships is a lot
more fun. At first you'll struggle to hit anything but give it a chance and the
combination of action, strategy and team play will keep you coming back.
2. Rift
Rift
was a phenomenal subscription based fantasy MMO - World of Warcraft in new
trousers, essentially. It made its name by updating and improving itself at a
ferocious pace: with new raids, new zones, and new world events appearing on a
monthly basis. Now, it's entirely free-to-play: you can play it without
spending a penny. It's a brilliant option: you can sink hours into it. Highly
recommended.
3. ArcheAge
Archeage
is closest thing we’ve got to a proper pirate MMO. You can try and master the
endless sea as a notorious pirate or choose to be a humble peddler of crafted
goods. Its labour system - how it gates content - may take time to get used to,
but nevertheless it’s a really solid free-to-play experience. There’s
absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t give this a try.
4. World of Tanks
One
of mightiest free-to-play games there has ever been, World of Tanks is an
accessible and exciting tank simulator that hides some complex game mechanics.
It pits two sets of tankers against each other in team deathmatch. There are
hundreds of vehicles to unlock across ten different tiers, from speedy scouts
to hulking heavies. You’ll never believe so many tanks existed.
5. War Thunder
A
massively multiplayer World War 2 combat game that effortlessly encompasses all
of the explosions and excitement that tanks and planes are capable of
generating. War Thunder's recent updates lavish the fast-paced battler with
dozens of new vehicles and game modes. It's a free to play gem.
6. Star Wars: The Old
Republic
After
a long, slow start, SWTOR is now pretty great - particularly thanks to the
Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion, which is basically 'Bioware does Star
Wars'. It’s a fast-paced action-RPG with lightsabers and space combat and Jedi
houses and bounty hunters and, if you go full dark side, you can fire lightning
from your fingertips. Really.
7. Skyforge
Skyforge
blends sci-fi and fantasy together for an action-heavy MMO that’s happy to
ditch many of the rules so many other games adhere to. There’s no levelling or
strict classes: instead you develop your character how you like and can swap
between different combat roles whenever you wish. As you gain more power you’ll
eventually become a god incarnate, complete with your own followers. But being
a god comes with its own responsibilities though, and you’ll have to help
defend the world of Aelion from attacks by hostile deities.
8. Nosgoth
A
free to play combat game set in the Legacy of Kain universe, Nosgoth pits
vampires against vampire hunters in tight deathmatch arenas. Asymmetrical
abilities and diverse tactics keep the action as sharp as the bloodsuckers'
pointy fangs.
9. Warframe
Everything’s
better in space, as Warframe proves with its Ninjas in space theme. It’s a
co-op third-person game where teams of ninjas suited up in powerful ‘Warframe’
armours head out to slice up bad guys, or just hang out at the dojo. It blends
some MMO elements with the sensibilities of a more straight-forward action
game, creating something slick, exciting, and very sociable.
10. Hex: Shards of Fate
At
its heart, Hex is a two player card game. Hex’s rules are a little more complex
than Hearthstone’s but we found it to be a more rewarding game. Both players
have 20 health and draw cards from their decks to summon creatures and cast
spells against each other. The spells and creatures can weave their abilities
together to make powerful combinations. Hex is in free open beta right now, and
with hundreds of different cards available, players are still finding new ways
to combine them.
11. Star Trek Online
Who
wouldn’t want to take control of a starship, explore the fringes of the galaxy,
battle dangerous aliens and train an elite crew of pangalactic professionals?
This is your chance to show the internet that you’d make a much better Picard
than Picard. Or, at least, than they do.
12. Guild Wars 2
Guild
Wars 2 is one of the best MMOs available. Even better, you can play a huge
chunk of it for free. It works because it bucks the trend of so many games by
scrapping ‘the trinity’ of players required to play: no longer do you need a
tank, DPS, and healer character working together to be effective. Now, every
class can contribute damage and keep themselves healthy. There’s a lot to do,
from traditional questing for NPCs to zone events where everyone can suddenly
get involved and work as a massive team to bring down a boss, or help a burning
village.
You’ll
need to pay to get into the Heart of Thorns expansion, but the base game is
huge enough as it is, and the backlog of Living World stories now available to
play means there’s plenty to see, explore, and get involved with.
13. Lord of the Rings
Online
Turbine’s
free to play MMO is the third most popular in the world, depending on who you
ask, and it’s all because they ditched the subscription model and went full
throttle towards a cash-free future. The LOTRO Store is where premium players
can drop pennies, but otherwise frugal adventurers can lose themselves in
Middle-earth just as easily.
14. Trove
Trove
is the MMO equivalent of Minecraft, and exactly as good as that sounds. It's
fast paced and fluid, with you exploring and dominating voxel worlds. What's
neat is just how much you can customise the look of your character: every item
dropped can be used to change your style.
15. Path of Exile
An
action RPG in the mould of Diablo, Path of Exile is one of the most polished,
well-executed games on this list. Adventure with a friend or two through
hundreds of areas in a dark fantasy world that provides a dizzying collection
of monsters to repeatedly click on until they squish. Path of Exile does
feature a microtransaction system but it’s admirably unobtrusive and
ethical.
16. Armored Warfare
In
Armoured Warfare, the tanks of today and tomorrow are at war. The idea is that
you're fighting as part of a modern day private military company. Big player
versus player rucks are exciting, but if you're not into that, there's a co-op
campaign you can play with your mates.
17. Wildstar
Wildstar
is built for lapsed World of Warcraft players. It's a sci-fi MMO that looks and
feels like a Blizzard game, but with one important difference: it's for the
hardcore. Ignore the cutesy looks: at the top end of the game, you'll find
raids that make Warcraft's easy-mode dungeons look like something for kids.
18. Smite
Following
the same formula as League of Legends and Dota 2, Smite has teams of five gods
trying to fight their way into their opponent’s base. Rather than giving
players a top-down view of the battlefield, it chooses a third-person
perspective, switching the focus of the game from tactics to action.
19. League of Legends
Inspired
by the original Dota, this takes the same concept but introduces a different
roster of playable characters that is constantly being expanded. Many players
find League of Legends is both easier and more accessible than Dota, but it’s
still extremely nuanced. 12 million players play it every day. You won’t
struggle to find a game.
20. Hearthstone
Blizzard's
world dominating card game is about as addictive as chips. Who's ever had
enough chips? You've always got room for more chips, and you've always got time
for another game of Hearthstone. Oh, and it looks pretty great on phones and
tablets too.
TRY HEARTHSTONE
21. Heroes of the Storm
It
wasn’t going to be long until Blizzard entered the MOBA fray, and Heroes of the
Storm is their stab at taking on Dota and League of Legends. Yet this 5v5 arena
game isn’t just another Dota clone. Instead of a single map, Heroes of the
Storm has many themed arenas that ask you not only to defeat the enemy but also
complete side quests to help improve your chances. Not only does this provide
variety, but it’s intensely fun.
22. Marvel Heroes 2015
Gazillion’s
superhero MMO, has improved massively since it launched in 2013. The revised
game, from Diablo’s creator David Brevik, is a lot of fun and one of the most
played games on Steam. You can play as all your Marvel favourites and the game
does a neat job of keeping up with updates in the Marvel universe with new
content around stuff like the Age of Ultron movie release and the Netflix
Daredevil show (pictured above)
23. Team Fortress 2
Valve’s
class-based shooter has achieved legendary status thanks to its varied game
modes, impeccable sense of fun, and being home to more hats than the world’s
millinery stores combined. The whole game is free to play these days, from the
standard shoot-everything-that-moves deathmatches to the fantastic Mann vs
Machine co-op mode where teams fend off waves of robots.
24. Firefall
The
ex-Blizzard lot at Red 5 done good, pulling together to create a kinetic and
skill based third-person shooter-y sort of MMO. An intensely fun blend of PvP
and RPG exploration that continues to go from strength to strength.
25. Planetside 2
Battle
has never been so big. Imagine entire continents at war, with tanks, trucks and
fighter craft alongside hordes of infantry. Throw that into the far future and
you’ve got Planetside 2, a never-ending conflict on an incredible scale that’s
pretty damn good looking to boot. There is nothing else quite like this out
there.
26. Battlefield 1942
This
was the game that the entire Battlefield series: a World War 2 first-person FPS
that demonstrated tanks and planes and submarines and everything in between
belonged in our deathmatch arenas. It may look dated now, but it’s still a fine
example of World War 2 shootery, so take another tour of duty.
27. Mechwarrior Online
Pledge
your loyalty to a great house or sign up for a mercenary company in this mech
simulation. Whether you’re piloting a light or heavy mech, you’ll have to
manage your weaponry and keep an eye on your system temperature. In the
Mechwarrior universe, piloting a giant robot can be a technical and rather
nuanced occupation. There is also stomping.
28. Tribes: Ascend
Tribes
is probably the fastest FPS in the world. It’s set across huge levels of open
valleys and leafy forests: you zip through them by skiing down mountains and
jetting up hillsides. Just be aware that success comes from both ultra-fast
reactions and clever teamwork.
29. Warface
Warface
is a fast action military shooter: but less concerned with realism than it’s
po-faced peers. Warfare wants you to do two things: co-operate with your team
in fast urban deathmatches. And slide along on your arse while firing a machine
gun.
30. World of
Warplanes
Seize
the free-to-play concepts behind World of Tanks, take them to the skies and you
have World of Warplanes, a game of whirling dogfights and nail-biting bombing
runs for teams of jet bombers and biplanes alike. Sure, it’s still in beta, but
it’s getting sleeker and shinier with every release.
31. Magicka Wizard Wars
New
entry into our list, this is absurd. Absolutely raving bonkers. A
wizard-focused action RPG where spells fly faster than bullets. Mulitplayer fun
where sizzling fireballs and searing beams slicing through friend and foe
alike.
32. Black Mesa
It
took nearly a decade, but it’s a now a real thing: Black Mesa is what happens
when a mod team decides to recreate the original Half-Life in the Half-Life 2
engine. The result was a faithful and quite brilliant representation with a few
new flourishes and without any of that Xen nonsense at the end.
33. Star Conflict
Take
your dogfighting to the stars with this scifi take on fighter combat. Star
Conflict gives you a hangar’s worth of gorgeous starships to launch into
battle. Combat takes place in asteroid fields or high above distant worlds and
the lasers fly hot, free and fast.
34. Heroes &
Generals
Do
you want to shoot all the guns and make all the decisions? War isn’t all about
what happens on the front line, but nor is it about the decisions made back at
headquarters, so Heroes & Generals is the perfect game for players who want
to try a bit of both.
35. Runescape
Runescape
holds the record for being the largest MMORPG ever, as well as for being the
most updated game. Runescape has an enormous player base and a massive, ever
evolving world to explore, full of challenges that you can choose according to
your own interests. Want to fight, to complete quests or just to play
minigames? In Runescape it’s entirely up to you.
36. Realm of the Mad
God
A
massively multiplayer top-down semi-twin stick shooter, this is all about you
and your buddies filling the screen with bullets as you work together to blast
your way through an increasingly challenging host of horrors, before facing
down the final foe in his evil lair. Unlike many MMOs, character death here is
permanent, so watch your step.
37. D&D Online
Do
you want a chance to adventure in some of the most famous fantasy worlds there
ever were? With D&D Online you can set foot in the Forgotten Realms and the
land of Eberron, stepping into the well-worn boots of a thief or a spellcaster
as you fight dragons and demons. It’s not often you get high fantasy for free.
38. RaiderZ
RaiderZ
is an MMO with an unusual take on combat. You you directly control your
character swipes and wings: you’re not simply pointing and clicking. It’s
entirely down to you whether you roll out of the way of an enemy swing, or
whether you jump past a monster’s defences to inflict that critical blow. It is
good.
39. Dota 2
Two
teams of five choose their heroes from a selection of hundreds, before taking
to the battlefield to destroy the other side’s base. It’s no mean feat, as both
bases spawn waves of creatures and are protected by powerful towers. Each
player will need to make the best of their hero’s abilities in what is not only
a game, but a sport. It’s tough, complex and it inspires fanaticism in its
fans.
40. Digital: A Love
Story
An
adventure set in the early days of the internet, Digital is a game like nothing
else. It presents you with an Amiga-style interface and has you dialing into
the bulletin boards of old, a place where esoteric communities chatter and
strange secrets are waiting to be found.
41. Spelunky
It
says something about how special PC gaming is that one of the best platformers
we’ve ever seen is still free. Spelunky is inspired by the 8-bit classics, but
it randomly-generates its levels so that you have something new to explore
every time you play. It also has snakes, boulders, ice caves and more bats than
you can shake your shotgun at. If you can find one in the darkness.
42. Red Rogue
A
black and white platformer of dungeon exploration, Red Rogue builds new levels
every time you play and has a host of different weapons and powerful artifacts
just waiting to be discovered. It introduces all sorts of canny game mechanics,
such as backstabbing and even prayer.
43. Desktop Dungeons
This
is the ultimate roguelike, the most distilled dungeon adventure yet and a game
that fits into just fifteen minutes. You explore a single level of a dungeon,
batter the monsters, collect the loot and see if you can last until the very
end. Can’t quite make it? Then try it all again, but with a new character
class. It’s quick, deadly and addictive.
45. Super Crate Box
This
is a super-fast, super-dangerous platformer where enemies constantly drop from
the top of the screen. Score points not by killing them, but by collecting
crates, each of which has a new weapon for you, though some are much better
than others. Let any of the monsters past you and into the fire below and they
respawn more powerful than before. Repeat this formula and enjoy ad infinitum.
46. EnviroBear 2000
Imagine
that you’re a bear driving a car with your furry bear paws. Imagine that you
need to drive about the forest and collect food before winter arrives, but
badgers and bees may find their way into your car and foil your efforts. That’s
EnviroBear 2000. Play it.
TRY ENVIROBEAR
2000
47. The
Battle for Wesnoth
This
is one of the most impressive examples of a game made entirely for free, simply
for the love of the challenge. Hex-based fantasy strategy is what it’s all
about, with elven archers and orc warriors, but don’t think the setting means
it’s lighthearted or easy. Wesnoth is a tough game, certainly as tough as any
gritty, WW2 strategy game.
48. Ground
Control
Real-time
strategy without the base-building, Ground Control was one of the first games
in its genre to emphasise the importance of terrain, letting you perch
artillery atop hills or hide tanks just around the corner. You can even name
all of your units, for that added personal touch.
49. Lemmings
If
you haven’t played Lemmings, you haven’t lived. Hundreds of mindless humanoids
need to be shepherded across a series of ever more dangerous levels towards an
exit. At your disposal are a very limited selection of special powers that you
can give them, such as the ability to build stairs, to dig through obstacles or
to fall very gently. Each level is more complex and more deadly than the last.
50. System
Shock
Not
really a first-person shooter, but much more of a first-person adventure game,
System Shock set you in the role of a hacker trying to defeat a rogue AI that
had taken over a far future space station. While sometimes you’ll shoot your
way out of trouble, most of the time you’ll be both exploring and solving puzzles
in this atmospheric and sometimes downright creepy game.
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