With movie releases having dried up, no new sport being played out, more and more people are turning to games. The great news is that there’s a bunch of ways to play games at all levels on both mobile and with the latest consoles that don’t require you running out and spending $100 at the shops. There’s a bunch of services on mobile, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch that are similar to Netflix in the sense that you pay a small fee and get access to major libraries of games. Here’s six ways to get through isolation with games.
APPLE ARCADE
Apple launched a mobile subscription service (think Netflix for gaming) on all of their devices last year. You can play all of the games on iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Apple TV and your save progress will transfer between all of your devices. You can try it free for 30 days, and then it goes up to $7.99 a month, but there are no in-app purchases and you get every game in that monthly fee.
There’s new games from the Sonic franchise, Rayman, LEGO, Pac-Man, Frogger as well as a bunch of new games that have been created by Australian developers and those from all over the world. There’s something for everyone, and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. Try it here.
PLAYSTATION HITS
If you’ve got a PS4 lying around your house, you’re in luck. As of last year, Sony discounted a bunch of their most popular PlayStation 4 games under a new ‘PlayStation Hits’ banner. For instance, right now on the PlayStation Store, you can play games such as Gran Turismo Sport for $25, DOOM for $12, God Of War III for $14, Resident Evil 7 for $24, The Last Of Us Remastered for $14 and a bunch of other games for ridiculous prices. Check out the whole range HERE.
XBOX GAME PASS
Xbox Game Pass is probably the best value in gaming. If you’ve got an Xbox One console (they can be had for as little as $200), you can pay $10 a month and get your hands on a bunch of great games every month. It’s the Netflix of console gaming and has completely changed the way we access games. Microsoft has all the Halo games on there, Gears of War, Forza racing games, Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2k20, Mortal Kombat, PUB G and PES 2020. That’s just a tiny taste of the hundreds of games on there. You can see the full lineup of games HERE.
NINTENDO SWITCH
The Nintendo Switch is definitely one of the best ways to stay occupied at the moment. With classic games such as Mario Kart, Mario Party, a handful of Pokemon games and newer, but just as addictive titles such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there’s enough there for the whole house or just to sneak away to your room and play alone. There’s also old-school NES and SNES games that you can play online with friends by subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online ($4.99 a month).
HOUSE PARTY HAS DECENT GAMES
You may not know this but House Party (the social media platform that has risen dramatically in popularity in the last week or two) is actually owned by Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite. It has some decent games such as Trivia, Heads Up, a drawing game and a decent take on Cards Against Humanity. You can grab it HERE.
WHIP OUT AN OLD CONSOLE
Seriously, you’ve got to have an old console somewhere around the house. Whip out that Nintendo 64 to play some Mario Kart 64. Get the Nintendo Wii out and play some Wii Sports (just like Christmas 2006). Get the GameBoy out and play some of the original Pokemon game or get out the Xbox and play some Halo.
