What are the best games for a Slant community gaming event?

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Feb 26, 2023

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Team Fortress 2 vs Rocket League vs Minecraft

vs Europa Universalis IV vs Garry's Mod vs Super Tux Kart vs Brawlhalla vs 0 A.D. vs SMITE vs Sid Meier's Civilization V vs Everquest vs Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft vs Warsow vs Starcraft 2 Arcade vs Wurm Online vs Urban Terror vs No More Room in Hell

Specs

Genre

Hero-based FPS

Platforms

Win / Mac / Linux

Co-Op

6 Player Online / 6 Player LAN

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Controller Support

Partial

Publisher

Valve

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Sports / Racing / Soccer

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Co-Op

4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Full

Publisher

Native Resolution

1080p60

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Indie / Survival / Sandbox

Platforms

Java: Windows 10, Linux, Mac. Bedrock: Windows 10, Android and ios.

Co-Op

8 Player Online / 4 Player Couch / 8 Player LAN/ Infinite Player Servers

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Yes

Publisher

Native Resolution

1080p60

Cross Platform

Java can join to java. Bedrock can join to bedrock. No java and bedrock together support

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Grand Strategy

Platforms

Co-Op

12 Player Online / 32 LAN

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Yes

Platform

Windows, macOS, SteamOS + Linux

Single-Player

Yes

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Sandbox

Platforms

Co-Op

Yes

Steam Rating

Overwhelmingly Positive

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Linux, Mac, Windows, Android

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Yes

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Yes

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Fighting

Platforms

Co-Op

Online/Shared PvP

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

real-time Strategy

Platforms

Windows, Mac, UNIX-like

Co-Op

Yes (teams)

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

GPLv2

Game engine

Pyrogenesis

Multiplayer

Yes

Graphic design

PvP

Yes

Singleplayer

Yes

PvE

Genre

MOBA

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Hi-Rez Studios

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Windows, macOS, SteamOS + Linux

Co-Op

2 to 21 Player Online / LAN

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Controller Support

Steam Controller Officallly supported

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Mixed

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

First person shooter

Platforms

Windows, macOS, UNIX-like

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Open source

Game engine

id Tech 2 (Qfusion)

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

First person shooter

Platforms

Windows, macOS, Linux

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Freeware

Game engine

id Tech 3

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Genre

Platforms

Co-Op

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Controller Support

Publisher

Native Resolution

Cross Platform

Multi-Player

Platform

Single-Player

Single Player

Graphic Design

License

Game engine

Multiplayer

Graphic design

PvP

Singleplayer

PvE

Pros + Cons

Pro
Offline LAN support is pretty easy to implement

As long as users have logged in to offline mode on Steam before trying a LAN connection, LAN will work. Which could be an area of confusion, but luckily is easy enough to do if you know you need to do it.

Comment

Pro
Engaged, active, fun, and creative community give the game a welcoming feel, even for outsiders

The TF2 community is know for actively engaging in different TF2 related activities. They create shorts using the source filmmaker, sell items via the steam workshop, build real-life sculptures, etc.

Comment

Pro
Hectic FPS gameplay that utilizes 9 distinct classes, each with lots of varied items

TF2 has 9 playable classes - Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy. This allows for a range of playstyles. For example, the Heavy, starting with 300 health (going up to 450), wielding a machine gun and usually assisted by a Medic, will be commonly found on the front-lines soaking up lots of damage and pulling the enemy team's focus; at the same time the Engineer will try and avoid direct battle as much as possible, providing infrastructure (teleports, sentry, dispensers). Add to this hundreds of weapons for each class providing different stats and you have an impressive amount of variety in gameplay.

Comment

Pro
Tons to do in the game with plenty of game modes and plenty of community mods

TF2 has more than 10 game modes, plus variations on those, as well as community mods that offer a wide range of objective-based play. Classic game modes include Capture the Flag, Control Point, King of the Hill and Payload. There's also Mann vs. Machine, a co-operative game mode where you play against waves of AI controlled enemies.

Comment

Pro
Completely free to download and play any existing section of the game

The game can be downloaded and played for free, allowing anyone to try it out. There are some items that can be purchased with money, but those are optional and only decorative.

Comment

Pro
Fun and humorous gameplay with graphics and sound that fit with this theme

This game has a history of over-the-top characters, visuals, voice-overs, and various other items, which altogether create an amusing world both within the game and outside of it as well. You get a feeling a lot of thought has gone into the development of the characters as well as the world they live in. For a genre that is often filled with drab characters in a drab world, it is refreshing to see something so well fleshed out.

Comment

Pro
Cross-platform

The game runs on Windows, OS X and Linux machines.

Comment

Pro
Fair free to play model

This game is mostly pay-to-gain, as in to get more weapons. You can randomly get things, though. You can use the things you randomly get to be also used in crafting recipes to make other things.

Comment

Con
Random critical hits add a significant luck element into the game and push certain types of players out

In most 'public' servers, an option called 'random crits' (short for 'random critical hits') exists by default. This allows a random percentage of your shots to multiply damage by 3 for a shot, and also remove the damage drop-off over range. This 'feature' gets increasingly more annoying as you get more experienced, as you will die more often than your opponent having x3 or more damage over you, actively making their experiences and wins less meaningful. Some classes are especially burnt by this. Medics don't use weapons often, Snipers only have secondary weapons and melees, and Spies only have their revolver (and most sidegrades of that revolver remove this ability entirely). Quickplay (a feature most newbies use to get a match) also disables these servers from appearing in the list, so there are very few 'nocrit' servers because many don't know they exist.

Comment

Pro
Can be played with low specs

The minimum specs for the game are quite low, which translates to many players being able to play the game, as it is not dependent on having a powerhouse of a system.

Comment

Con
Would require players to make an investment if not already owned

The game costs $20, which means those that do not own it would need to purchase the game in order to play in the Slant gaming event.

Comment

Pro
Objective of the game made clear and straightforward

Get the ball in the net! Soccer at it's simplest, this game is physics driven using different cars as players, making it a fast-paced and exciting game with a basic underlying objective.

Comment

Pro
Easy-to-use controls

Whether you use a controller or keyboard and mouse, the controls are fairly simple. You are driving a car pushing a ball around, with forward, reverse, boost, power-slide and jump as the primary motions at the player's disposal. The more challenging aspect comes in the form of learning how to best use these motions when performing off-the-wall manoeuvres and in the air, making way for breath-taking replays.

Comment

Con
Limited to max 4v4

Only 8 players to one game would mean Slant would have to do a tournament where there are tiers of players that progress. There would be no way for everyone to play at the same time in the same game session. This would be workable, but something to keep in mind.

Comment

Con
Not free

With the exception of the singleplayer demo, the game is not free.

Comment

Pro
Great creativity tool

If you prefer building, creative mode is the way to go. It immediately gives you unlimited blocks, the ability to fly, and immortality. This allows you to easily build anything you want without worrying about height or enemies. Things like giant castles, villages, roller coasters, and even unique builds such as the Enterprise from Star Trek. You can really let your creativity loose.

Comment

Pro
Randomly generated worlds and distinct locations keep the gameplay fresh

Each new world is randomly generated, making for a different experience every time. There can be plains, rivers, beaches, ravines, giant mountains, hidden villages, and a lot more. There are also 38 biomes, which includes snow, desert, forest, swamp among others. Each one has its own set of unique blocks, plant life, and creatures. You won't get tired of exploring above ground or underground because every location will seem new and exciting.

Comment

Pro
Amazing extended community

The community surrounding this game is huge due to its popularity. There are lots of servers and projects revolving around it that allow for so many different choices in how one wants to play and who they want to play with. From crafting guides/videos, themed servers and YouTube play sessions, there is enough out there to help one find what they are looking for.

Comment

Pro
Local multiplayer option for when there is no internet

Minecraft can be played by 4 players locally via splitscreen. This makes it a great way spend time with your friends and family when you don't have access to the internet.

Comment

Con
Lack of meaningful story mode

There is no story mode in Minecraft: there is only a create mode or a survival mode. Neither, however, supply any kind of story or background as regard what is going on in the game.

Comment

Con
A bit overpriced

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Comment

Pro
Can support many players

The only limitation to the number of players is the host machine running the server.

Comment

Pro
Popular

Many people already have it, so it's less likely someone will be left out.

Comment

Pro
Many different game-modes

Allows for much variety, without the need to switch games entirely.

Comment

Pro
The games mechanics and mods allow for ridiculously funny gameplay

You can do some really crazy things in this game thanks to all of the community mods available as well as the built in, in game tools. Pretty much any scenario can play out in the game, if you so desire. Of course the winning combination of funny tends to be when players are just goofing around.

Comment

Pro
Tons of community made add-ons allows the game to continually grow

Garry's Mod has a wide variety of community made add-ons, which deeply extends the games content and versatility. Pretty much, if you can think of it, someone has probably already made it.

Comment

Con
Tons of bugs

At least in earlier versions.

Comment

Pro
Completely free to play

Brawlhalla's developers have a strict "no pay to win" philosophy. There's an in-game store where you can buy things like alternate looks for your characters, new taunt and KO animations, etc., but there's no power-ups, no new mechanics, nothing that would give someone putting money into the game an edge.

Comment

Pro
The controls are very good

Controlling a character in Brawlhalla is great because everything is so responsive and just flows perfectly. Not only does this make performing combos and special moves easier, but it simply feels good to play.

Comment

Pro
Very rewarding gameplay

In game, some of the moves are completely over the top, and when you connect with them it's just so satisfying. There's not much quite like being deep into a game and pulling off a ridiculous combo that clinches the victory for you. On top of that, fighting games inherently have a lot of room for improvement, even for the top players in the world, and Brawlhalla is no exception. You can spend hours practicing your favorite characters and still want to get better. After spending all those hours practicing, it's great to put the beat down on an opponent in true Brawlhalla fashion.

Comment

Pro
Tons of different ways to enjoy the game

Brawlhalla is a 2D fighting game where you choose a character and fight in matches that are one of the following: 1 versus 1, 2 versus 2, 4 versus 4, and 4 or 8 person free-for-alls. Every game mode has a different reason to love it, from the fierce competitive feeling of the one on one match up, or the all-out ridiculousness of an 8-man free for all, Brawlhalla has a way for everyone to have fun.

Comment

Pro
You're able to test your skills against others via a ranking system

Brawlhalla offers a ranked game option if you're into competitive play. In ranked games, each player has 3 lives and you battle until one player loses all of them. Every player has an ELO rating, essentially a number that shows your rank. Winning games will raise your ELO, while losing will lower it. Every player also has two other ratings: the Matchmaking Ratio (or MMR), which is hidden from everyone, and an ELO for the character they're playing. Your MatchMaking Ratio (MMR) is a secret number that determines what other players you'll be playing, and how quickly your ELO will rise or fall with victories and defeats. The ELO for the character your playing has a distinct effect on your MMR - a character you're not as good with will place you against lower ranked people than the character you're best with.

Comment

Pro
Playing is addictive

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Comment

Con
The community can be rather mean

Like most popular competitive games, it attracts a lot of people who are less than sportsman-like. The toxic community doesn't represent the majority of players, but a significant enough portion that it's a problem.

Comment

Con
Long games, cant join mid game

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Pro
cant join mid game

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Pro
FPS-style gameplay

Smite uses standard 3D camera and movement controls, and has no lock-on aiming for standard attacks. Techniques like leading a target and line-of-sight blocking are essential.

Comment

Pro
$29.99 "Ultimate God Pack"

Like League of Legends, Smite allows you to earn character unlocks while playing for free. However, you can also make a single purchase to unlock all current and future characters.

Comment

Pro
Beginner friendly

New to SMITE? Well, you don't have to worry. Get five free gods of every role at the start to help you learn the role you want. Learn the game basics and mechanics over the Practice mode and the Jungle Practice map where all gods are available for you to try and experiment with. The community is also friendly to new players. You won't have a hard time adjusting to SMITE's mechanics and gameplay.

Comment

Pro
Completely play to win and not pay to win

There is no difference between a new player and a world champion. All players are equal. You don't buy your runes or as we call it, actives with real life cash, you buy them in game. You decide what active to use. This gives all players the ability to strategize and counter without using real cash. Microtransactions are only for buying gems (in game currency) which you can use to buy cosmetic items which does not necessarily affect your play style.

Comment

Con
No Linux Support

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Pro
Limited number of players

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Pro
Free to Play

Aka people would not have to pay to join in.

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Pro
It would be funny

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Pro
Offers a good bit of nostalgia

Everquest is quite an old game, and being so many people have played it at least a few times in its long history. This makes for a fun game to revisit to get back some of those feelings of many years ago.

Comment

Con
Content locked behind paywall

The free version of the game only has four classes available, those that pay money can get more, but for how old this game is it does appear to be a bit pricey in order to get what many other games offer for free.

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Con
New players are at a disadvantage

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Pro
Free to play

Anyone can download the game in order to play it. This removes any need to spend money on the game to join in on the Slant event.

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Pro
Elegant simplicity of rules that makes it easy to pick up while still offering lots of depth

To start, all you need to know is that Hearthstone is a two player card game where the goal is to get the opponents health down to zero. Players take turns to play cards that represent things like casting spells and putting minions on the board. All cards are different from one another, but you don't have to memorize them to play the game as the function of each card and its cost is described on the card itself. Most of the game's mechanics such as card draws, mana distribution and action order are automated. You just have to focus on playing the cards in your hand in the best order possible. That's it. While the mechanics are straightforward they allow for wildly different situations to be created on the board. And the more you know about the game the more ways you'll find of creating situations that benefit you. Add to that an ever expanding list of cards and the ability to customize your deck and you can have stuff to delve into for ages.

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Pro
32 players

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Pro
Cross-platform

This way it can be played by everyone who has a PC.

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Pro
Free

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Pro
Wide variety of games available

There is a wide variety of games in the StarCraft 2 Arcade. From hide and seek titles such as Doodad Hunt 2 to cat and mouse games like Sheep Tag Rivals and ultra-popular tower defence titles like Squadron Tower Defense.

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