Stay Calm and Social Distance with the Best Video Games to Play During Quarantine

Stuck at home with nothing to do? Grab the nearest video game console and start tearing through some of the best games out on the market. Just because we’re all spending more time within those familiar four walls of ours, that doesn’t mean we need to stop having fun. And if you really want to have fun while inside, you should turn to the best video games out right now.

You’ve probably heard talk about the nefarious capitalist Tom Nook usurping bells in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Or maybe you’ve come across debates on who Cloud should be with in Final Fantasy VII Remake: Aerith or Tifa. While we’re all waiting to weather this particularly frustrating storm, it’s time get caught up with the coolest adventures this side of Midgar.

Whether you’re into lengthy role-playing games or gritty first-person shooters, we’ve got a little something for everyone here. Strap in and get ready to take a trip down the gaming rabbit hole. These are the best video games out right now.

Half-Life Alyx may not be the Half-Life game we’ve all been waiting for (it doesn’t have a “3” in its name), but it’s an excellent VR shooter just the same, and the return of the franchise after years of waiting. It takes place five years after the events of Half-Life 2 and puts players in the shows of Alyx as she works to steal back a superweapon that belongs to the alien Combine race. Using your VR headset, you’ll go hands-on with blowing these aliens away and solving puzzles.

It’s the ultimate quarantine game, and you’ll know exactly why everyone is so obsessed with Animal Crossing: New Horizons as soon as you jump in for the first time. Cultivate a community on your own personal island as you get used to living solo in a tropical paradise. Spend your days fishing, catching bugs, picking fruit, and hanging out with your animal pals as you eke out a humble existence. Create your own custom clothing, meet new people, and hang out with friends as you take in the sights and sounds. Whether you play alone or with friends, there’s always a veritable party going on. Already have Animal Crossing on your Switch? Check out our favorite Switch games of all time.

Get ready to rip and tear through the ultimate gory first-person shooter: Doom Eternal. The follow-up to 2016’s Doom and the fifth core entry in the Doom series, it has players taking on the role of the Doom Slayer, who takes his Combat Shotgun, BFG 9000, and massive arsenal of weapons and goes to ridding Earth of the demons from hell who have overtaken it. It’s rife with brutal kills, terrifying monsters and plenty of ways to eliminate those plaguing humanity.

This critically-acclaimed platform is a gorgeous sequel to the original title, which featured a sprightly little spirit named Ori. Ori must set off on an all-new adventure throughout a colorful twilight world as they search for a lost owlet named Ku who’s swept away during a storm. Players must jump, glide and swim throughout intricate forest levels in a bid to save Ku as well as understand the secrets behind Ori’s myriad powers.

There’s no doubt that Resident Evil 3 is one of the all-time best Playstation games. After the first two Resident Evil titles were remade from the ground up, it was finally time for the third game to get the same treatment. The result is a collision of classic survival horror with modern elements. Experience the PlayStation original through a new lens with new areas, dialogue and even character designs that revitalize a familiar story and make it even more spine-tingling than before. Resident Evil 3 is a force to be reckoned with, even for seasoned fans.

You’re probably thinking the same thing everyone else did before they jumped into Gears Tactics: “Gears of War can’t work as a strategy game!” Well, it can, and it does. The very same carnage you’ve come to expect from Xbox’s tent-pole third-person shooter franchise feels just as visceral from a top-down perspective in the vein of XCOM, and it’s every bit as brutal. The Gears of War franchise was a major presence on our ranking of the best Xbox One games, and this title is another thrilling edition.

Looking for a challenge? Nioh 2 can give you that and then some. The sequel to the wildly popular 2017 PlayStation 4 title, this action RPG is a Souls-like in that it will challenge you at every turn. Following a half-demon character named Hide, players must journey through the Sengoku period of Japan alongside demon hunter Kinoshita Tokichiro, eliminating mysterious monsters and yokai along the way. Using a variety of different skills and leveling up with Soul Cores is key — but so is being extremely patient.

Experience the story of Dragon Ball Z from start to finish with the ultimate RPG. You know the story of Goku, but now you can see how it all plays out firsthand and then some. Jump from character to character as you take on the role of Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta and everyone in between as you watch the Z Fighters grow into the universe’s fiercest protectors. Engage in satisfying real-time combat, collect mementos from throughout the anime series and complete a variety of side quests as you play through one of the great anime stories of all time.

Ready for another brutal online multiplayer shooter? Bleeding Edge gives you 12 different characters with a variety of inventive attacks and abilities, each of them meant to pummel the other players into oblivion. From Buttercup, who zips around on a motorcycle, to Nidhoggr, who deals damage with his guitar, it’s a zany take on games like Overwatch that’ll have you jumping back in round after round.

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