Playing a lot of blockchain games comes with the business, I guess. But even given that’s the case, I’ve been surprised just how many games I’ve been dipping into recently.
So I thought it might be interesting to provide a brief overview, even if the majority of them are yet to go live with actual blockchain integration.
I’ve currently got a decent selection of games I’m playing daily. Brower game Alien Worlds has been live for a couple of years on the WAX blockchain, and thanks to the selection of NFTs I’ve acquired, I can mine a small amount of its TLM token every couple of hours. There are also missions you can perform on the BNB blockchain, which you accomplish by staking tokens for set periods of time, receiving NFTs in return. The game is also building up its planetary DAOs, where you can stake tokens and vote on proposals.
More of a web2.5 experience — it’s an App Store game running on the Avalanche blockchain — I’ve been playing Castle Crush regularly since May 2022 and now have three teams of NFT characters, with which I have to win at least one battle to max out my daily allocation of ACS tokens. These are then used to unlock new character chests and level up existing characters.
Currently in early testing and not using NFTs — apart from the fact you need to own Axie Infinity land to play — Axie Infinity Homelands is citybuilder in which you’re creating and levelling up buildings to generate more complex resources. There’s also an interesting gearing system whereby you sell the items you craft to adventurers who then rank through passive battles. The game is currently in its second season, and although the UX isn’t helped by it being an idle-style game but running on PC, I find it peculiarly appealing.
Not quite as advanced but easier to access as browser game is Faraway Land, which is another citybuilder from the developer of shooter Mini Royale, which is also working on Serum City with NFT community Mutant Cartel. Again, this is fairly early in development and it doesn’t include any NFTs or tokens. But it does provide that simple satisfaction that comes from fulfilling random orders by making the correct produce through the various buildings you construct.
Much more action-oriented is Hunters On-Chain, the web3 version of Boombit’s Hunter Royale. Available as a browser game or via APK, it’s currently running on the Polygon Mumbai testnet — using the Sequence wallet to onboard — with each player holding an NFT getting five energy points per day with which to earn ingame test BGEM tokens. However, you can also claim 25 free mainnet BGEM token daily, and the legendary genesis collection of game’s NFTs have been live and trading for weeks.
The final game currently on my daily rotation is Mythical’s NFL Rivals. It’s just launched through app stores and — as far as I can see — there are no blockchain assets integrated. I’ve tested this as I own one player NFT and I’ve connected my wallet to the game but the only players I currently have in-game are the web2 ones I’ve acquired through gameplay and standard IAP. Nevertheless, it should be said that as an arcade-style sports game, NFL Rivals is well presented and enjoyable, even if I’m only playing to see how NFTs are eventually implemented.
This Substack is sponsored by Hiro Capital: Investing in the future of play
Aside from my daily schedule come the games that I dip into more irregularly when I have the time and/or inclination. These are PC-based and action-focused.
For a long time, I wanted to play more Big Time and now I’m finally doing so. Big Time is a PC-based coop RPG which is currently in closed beta — you need one of its NFT passes to play. But significantly players have completing missions and collecting and selling the game’s cosmetic NFT skins for many months. It’s just updated its infrastructure with a new launcher client for its underlining Open Loot blockchain and marketplace platform, which makes the UX much simpler.
One of the games recently added to Epic Games Store, although it also has its own launcher and is available through other web3 distribution platforms, World Eternal Online is a classic MMORPG. Again there’s currently no blockchain — either in terms of assets or integration — and given it’s still in alpha, things are rapidly changing. But I have high hopes for this one.
Another recent game made available via Epic Games Store — with access code via Discord — The Machine Arena will be one of the first thirdparty games on the Ronin blockchain. It’s a MOBA-style shooter: again no NFTs or tokens are yet available but the current playable version feels pretty solid in terms of the gameplay.
The final Epic Games Store PC game is MetalCore, which is a mech-based FPS available for alpha testing for those with an early access code; available through Discord. The first character NFTs were launched in 2022 but aren’t yet integrated into the game and the launch of mech, aircraft and vehicle NFTs are all forthcoming too.
Other notable titles taking up some of my time include:
Crypto Crusades — fully on-chain (Skale) mobile strategy game
Soccerverse — fully on-chain (Polygon) browser soccer manager game
Angry Dynomites Lab — has just launched its third offchain demo test. Tasty!
Mojo Melee — Polygon-based autochess battler going into open beta
Really — after all that lot — it’s a wonder I get anything else done!
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