Summary
For the longest time, player vs player video games have always been some of the most popular games around. In recent years, PvP games have exploded,thanks to the advent of the battle royalegenre, the popularity of streaming, and general accessibility for online play.
Whilesplit-screen couch playmight not be as common as it once was, playing with friends is just as prevalent. Even playing with other people in a team can be enjoyable at times. A factor for online accessibility is Steam, Valve’s gaming platform, allowing for cooperative PvP video games to thrive. Spanning across various genres, co-op PvP often tops the Steam charts, with many of them proving worthwhile games to play.
For Honoris one of those rare games that stands out due to its genre. Most of the well-known PvP games are shooters, yetFor Honoris a game based on melee chivalry,something that the occasional title dabbles in, but never reaches the same highs as their gunplay counterparts.
A reflex dependent game,For Honorpits various fighters from different timelines against each other, such as samurai, knights, vikings, and others, all situation in the game’s own fictional setting. While the stability of the servers has come into question numerous times, the skill ceiling inFor Honoris quite high, with various playable heroes from each faction.
A recently released title,THE FINALS,has soared in popularity on Steam, with a ‘Mostly Positive’ review rating. Joining the ranks of its peers,THE FINALSis a free-to-play FPS centered around fast-paced gameplay.
A selling point ofTHE FINALSis its destructible environment,a feature that always draws attention. Similar toTeam Fortress 2andOverwatch,there are different characters to choose between, from fast but weak to slow but tanky. With these characters, various objectives must be tackled, such as looting a vault and taking it to the drop-off area. However, playing with a large friend group will be a problem, asTHE FINALSonly allows for a team of three people.
WhileFortnitemay have been the game to bring battle royales into the mainstream,Apex Legendshas risen as a strong contender for the best game in the genre. Being a battle royale,Apex Legendsfocuses on gunplay and team coordination. However, unlikeFortnite,Apex Legendsis an FPS, rather than focusing on third-person gameplay.
Much like most modern PvP games,Apex Legendsholds an array of different characters to play as, aptly named Legends. Each of the Legends has various abilities that can change the outcome of skirmishes, and a well-built team can synergize their abilities to be even more effective.
League of LegendsandDota 2often get the most attention when it comes to MOBAs, butSMITEputs a different spin on the genre with its 3D, third person camera approach.
SMITEdoesn’t exactly break any new ground, with many common features of other MOBAs, such as destroying towers via different lanes. The theme is a prominent element, with numerous gods as playable heroes from dozens of different cultures, like Japanese, Celtic, and Greek, among others. Furthermore, these gods are separated into five individual classes, each unique, that only one player can choose per game.
WhileLeague of Legendsmight be the more renowned name, theDotaseries was the one to popularize the MOBA genre. The game is known for having more difficult gameplay than itsLeague of Legendscounterpart, and its huge professional scene.
AsDota 2is a MOBA, it has many of the recognizable features of the genre, with a vast number of Heroes that all have various abilities and statistics. Some are more difficult to learn than others, and each has different attack types, such as melee or ranged. Players must fight in various lanes through towers to get to the other teams’ base and destroy it.
TheRainbow Sixseries has been around for a long while now, butSiegewas the game to ignite its popularity to new generations of gamers. Somewhat similar toCounter-Strike, it features two teams of five players, one attacking and one defending, as is filled with various guns and Operators to play as.
Rainbow Six: Siegeis notable for its tactical gameplay,as is often the case with Tom Clancy games, with different tools and gadgets to approach various situations. That, or just killing everyone with skillful enough mechanical aim.
4Rust
87% Positive Reviews On Steam
Rustwas released for early access in 2013, then fully in 2018, and has remained an incredibly popular game on Steam, often appearing in streams on Twitch to this day. Developed by Facepunch Studios, the makers ofGarry’s Mod, Rusthas garnered an aggregate of ‘Very Positive’ reviews.
The main point ofRustis the PvP survival element; hunting food and building houses,common traits of such games, is a main focus, and while it does feature cooperative play, it can be hard to find friends or other players who aren’t hostile. As the game is open-world, it can be tricky to meet up with any friends, especially if there are any other aggressive players around who kill indiscriminately.
PUBGmay have the all-time peak popularity for any Steam game, butCounter-Strike 2holds the title for the largest number of people still currently playing on Steam. For over 20 years, theCounter-Strikeseries has stood the test of time, despiteCS2drawing recent criticism.
CS2has an incredibly simple gameplay concept: one team is on the offensive to detonate a bomb, and another is on defense to stop them. Both teams consist of five players, each of which uses various guns and utilities to stop the enemy team. Similar toDota 2, CS2also has an incredibly popular professional scene that demonstrates just how high the skill ceiling can be.
Within recent years,Battlefieldgames have drawn criticism for various reasons. So, while people were getting fed up withBattlefield, in comesBattleBit Remastered, a game that is reminiscent of the earlierBattlefieldgames.
It had an explosive rise in 2023,drawing in many players. With a destructible environment, a simple leveling system, and huge player lobbies, it reached nearly 100,00 concurrent players despite the graphics resembling aRobloxgame, often a common joke about the title.BattleBit Remastereddemonstrated how games just need to be simple and fun, and people will enjoy them. Specifically, 254 people per lobby.
A classic both for the FPS genre and Steam,Team Fortress 2still has an active playerbase despite being seemingly forgotten by Valve. Clearly, this is one of the most well-known games in the industry, so much so that it spawned spiritual sequels in Blizzard’sOverwatchseries.
It’s easy to see whyTeam Fortress 2is so highly rated, with a simple gameplay loop of shooting enemy players but with nuance built in. Each team has nine different characters to play as who all possess different roles, such as the Medic who heals people, the Scout who is a fast aggressor, or the Spy who can cause sabotage. However, since the game isn’t all that competitive, playing a match won’t be as stressful as it can be in aCounter-Strikegame. The only caveat can be other people, asTF2’sfanbase is very volatile.
