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What are the best free to play multiplayer games on PS4?

8

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May 8, 2018

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8 Games Considered

Best free to play multiplayer games on PS4	Price	Genre	Available on Steam
89 Hawken	Free	Sci-Fi / Mechs / Action / FPS	No
-- Paragon	$19.99	-	-
-- Warframe	Free	Action	-
-- Brawlhalla	FREE	-	-
-- SMITE	Free	MOBA	-

Hawken

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Top Pro

No PS+ subscription required

Most PS4 games with multiplayer modes require an additional subscription called Playstation Plus. However, free games that have online multiplayer don't generally need PS+ to play online, which is a much welcomed feature for players who can't fork out money for this subscription. See More

Top Con

Lack of story is a missed opportunity

A current trend in online gaming is that many games do not offer a single player campaign or any means to tell a story. Sadly Hawken continues this trend as it does very little to expand on its interesting setting, which is very disappointing. See More

Specs

Genre:Sci-Fi / Mechs / Action / FPS

Top Pro

Fast-paced and fun action

Hawken breaks the idea that large heavy mechs equate to slow movement. You'll instead move at a brisk pace, constantly firing your machine guns and launching rockets at the enemy. The mechs are also equipped with jump-jets, allowing you to make very swift evasive maneuvers and hover above the battlefield, so it has a 3D tactics aspect unlike most FPS games. All of this makes the action really enjoyable. See More

Top Pro

Great sense of immersion

Hawken does an excellent job of making you feel like you really are in the mech. From the vibrations on the glass when you're firing off a salvo of missiles to the swaying of the cockpit when you're stomping your way through a destroyed city, there are many details that considerably add to the immersion. See More

Top Pro

Almost completely free

In Hawken, almost everything can be bought with in-game currency. Unlike most free to play games this even includes items such as cosmetic changes. While you may have to do a bit of grinding, this game can be fully played without spending a dime. See More

Top Pro

Encourages teamplay

In a genre saturated with lone wolf games like Call of Duty, it's nice to have a game like Hawken which makes teamwork a necessity. You'll immediately notice how disadvantageous 1v2 battles are, so you'll always look to cooperate with your teammates. From things like providing covering fire to defending each other when repairing mechs, it feels nice when you can rely on your teammates on a regular basis. See More

Paragon

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Warframe

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Fast-paced, space ninja action

Warframes are essentially space ninjas that can move incredibly fast. Just running won't be enough, so you'll have to build momentum by sliding, jumping, and rolling. Each of these moves also help you dodge enemy attacks, while allowing you to attack. It takes a while to get used to the fast pace, but when you do, it feels incredibly satisfying. See More

Top Con

Can get repetitive easily

At the very core, Warframe is a game that needs a lot of grinding. You'll always be grinding for new blueprints, relics, materials, credits or just leveling your existing equipment. After a while some of the mission types such as defense (where you fend of waves of enemies), will get really boring. Then it turns out the blueprint or relic is really rare and you'll probably have to repeat that mission about a hundred more times. Coupled with the fact that there's no real progression outside the Mastery Rank, some players may quickly lose interest. See More

Specs

Top Pro

A huge array of weaponry

Warframe boasts over 300 weapons, split into 3 classes: Primary, Secondary, and Melee. Primary weapons are the big guns such as assault rifles, shotguns, bows, and grenade launchers. Secondary weapons are the sidearms, usually handguns, machine pistols, and thrown weapons. The melee weapons consist of swords (even katanas), hammers, fist weapons, scythes, and others. Most of the weapons have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Simulor is a weapon which creates small balls similar to black holes, which pull in and kill enemies. Unfortunately, the range is very short, so you'll have to predict enemy movements and place the shots carefully. Another example is the Zarr, a massive canon, which has two firing modes, allowing you to use it as a canon or a shotgun. The downside is that you'll get damaged by your own explosions, so you have to always keep distance. The weapons can also be upgraded, adding various elemental damage types such as radiation or corrosion. You can also improve other stats such as rate of fire, crit or reload speed. See More

Top Con

New content is poorly optimized

Warframe was released in 2012 and has received a lot of improvements over the years. This includes updating the old tilesets with new textures, which has caused a lot of performance drops. The prime example would be the Earth tileset update, which caused performance drops and made it unplayable to a lot of people, even though they could play normally before it. See More

Top Pro

You can choose your own play style

In Warframe, there are tons of weapons, both ranged and melee, that will let you fight however you like. Maybe you want to be a long-range sniper, or a massive melee beast with a huge hammer, or maybe you want to stick closer to the ninja tradition and use a sword and a bow. Whatever you prefer to play, Warframe has an option. See More

Top Con

Crafting new equipment takes really long

The crafting system in Warframe involves very long wait times, varying from 12 to 72 hours. The wait times can be be skipped by paying platinum (bought in the in-game store with real money), but most of the time it's not worth it. See More

Top Pro

Great contact physics

Many online titles and MMOs feature combat with poor contact physics, so it often feels like you're not actually hitting the enemies. In Warframe, hitting an enemy with a hammer will make them fly and sliding at their legs will make them trip. This makes it feel more like a single player game than an online co-op game. See More

Top Pro

Great selection of classes

In Warframe, you're able to play as one of the many Warframes, which are essentially character classes. You start off by choosing one of the three basic frames. Excalibur who specializes in swords and has an ability to equip an energy sword and shoot beams of energy. Volt who uses electricity to boost his damage, movement speed and attack speed. Or Mag, a frame specializing in magnetism and controlling the enemy. After that you can run missions to find plans for new ones, or purchase them with platinum (the real-money currency). There are currently more than 30 basic Warframes and their "Prime" variants, which are superior versions of the basic frames. See More

Brawlhalla

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

SMITE

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Top Pro

The least toxic community for a MOBA

The community of Smite is the nicest in the MOBA genre and has many members who are ready to provide help and coaching to new and less experienced players. See More

Top Con

Excessive snowballing on certain characters

If not countered or shut down early, some characters can become extremely strong, making a comeback for the other team virtually impossible. This is especially annoying for new players since they'll have to learn it the hard way. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Characters are derived from mythological gods

Instead of imaginary champions and heroes, Smite derives its characters from ancient mythological gods from around the world. The roster currently consists of 92 gods from the Norse, Hindu, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Egyptian, Chinese, Celtic, and Japanese mythologies. See More

Top Con

Third person camera limits your view of the battlefield

Your camera is locked behind your character, so you won't have an overhead view or be able to view the entire battlefield like in most MOBAs. This makes communication much more important since you can only react to what happens in your line of sight. Without proper communication you won't be able to set up regular plays you could do in most MOBAs. See More

Top Pro

6 great game modes and a rotating match of the day

Smite has 6 game modes and all of them are extremely popular: Arena. A 5v5 death match, no lanes or objectives. Arena is best for people who prefer intense combat over strategy. Good for impatient but independent players. Joust. A 3v3 mode, with a single lane and monsters camps on one side, and an objective lair on the other side. Surprisingly focused on teamwork, despite small teams. Everyone has a role to fill, and learning how to adjust your play for your two teammates is half the battle. Conquest. The typical 5v5 mode, three lanes, jungle, towers, objectives. Conquest is the standard MOBA game mode, requiring lots of communication. Siege. A 4v4 objective push map slightly similar to Joust, but instead of small skirmishes it has massive battles. Two lanes definitely add chaos to the mix. Assault. A 5v5 ARAM (All Random All Mid) mode where everyone gets a random hero and has to fight on a single lane. You'll often get unevenly balanced teams but nobody ever gets upset because of the sheer fun of the game mode. Clash. A 5v5 mix between Conquest and Arena modes. Additionally, there's the Match of the Day (MOTD) feature. It takes a random game mode each day and gives it a twist. This includes having no ability cooldowns, not being allowed to use basic attacks, being able to character swap and more, which can sometimes be a lot more fun than the regular game modes. See More

Top Pro

Beginner friendly

You get five free gods of every role at the start to help you learn the role you want. You can learn the game basics and mechanics in 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. See More

PlanetSide 2

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Top Pro

Vehicles

The vehicle options in game add a lot more depth to the strategy of planning attacks on the enemy. See More

Top Con

Pay to win

PlanetSide 2 has pay to win mechanics meant to coerce players into paying for equipment to avoid the extremely long grind it takes to earn anything in game. A brand new player with a deep wallet can customize their gear to their prefered playstyle giving them an advantage over those that opt not to pay. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Open world MMO-FPS with huge persistent battles between 3 factions

Three factions are in constant battle for points on a map, with the goal of getting the most pieces on the map or the whole thing. See More

Top Con

Poor tutorial, hard to figure all mechanics out

PlanetSide 2 does a poor job at explaining how to play the game or what anything in the mues do. Equipment loadouts are confusing as well as a minefield of pay items. See More

Top Pro

User selectable respawn points

Users can select where they want to respawn after death. There are even vehicles that provide new spawn points on the map that players can drive and leave. This creates a great element of strategy on where to place spawn points when attacking certain targets. See More

Trove

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

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