The Non-Definitive Top 5 Live Service Games
Welcome, dear reader, to a brand new absolutely-certifiably-non-demonstrably-completely serious and not-at-all tongue-in-cheek series. The non-definitive top 5 “whatever” list. We thought it might be nice to kick things off by talking oh-so-seriously about the most friendly and welcoming genre of games, where the communities are nothing but kind and the content is only generous and not at all gouging.
That’s right, live services. The games that company CEOs and executives cream themselves over as the dollar sign icon vibrantly protrudes in front of their exuberantly robotic eyelids. There’s plenty to choose from, but we’ve carefully* curated the five best examples for your reading pleasure. I would say if you disagree feel free to roast me in the comments, but we’ll probably charge you a microtransaction fee for the privilege, in true live service style.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in to the non-definitive top five service games.
*Not carefully whatsoever.
5. Valorant
A PC-orientated shooter that requires the twitch reactions of a 13-year-old bouncing off the sugar rush of 52 Mountain Dews coming to console? What could possibly go wrong? If your sense of enjoyment comes from being slapped in the head with a bullet before you’ve even rounded a corner, this is the team-based shooter for you.
Granted, the old “git gud” argument probably holds some legitimacy here, but equally, we’d like to have a life outside of the colourful confines of this shooter. I know, I know, calm your Beany Babies, but believe it or not, not everyone has the avalanche of time required to learn how to instantaneously pop someone’s head with one bullet from 50 meters away. I’m sure your family is very proud of you though.
Valorant has recently arrived on console and while the excessive grind to unlock basically anything isn’t too egregious, the soon-to-be smashed controllers from scoring 3-13 in Silver rank is likely going to rake in quite the profit for Sony.
4. Destiny 2
Destiny 2 takes the yo-yo or rollercoaster analogy and savagely stomps it much like it does its own player base. What are you going to get with the next expansion? It could be one of gaming’s most mesmeric raids, or it may be a trawl through regurgitated content. Even better, maybe it’ll just lead to players being locked out of previous content they’ve paid for. The Destiny lord giveth, and the Destiny lord taketh away.
Despite compelling shooting mechanics which are Bungie’s bread-and-butter, controversy is never far away from Destiny 2. I’ve never seen a transmog system have this much backlash ever before, but breaking new ground is always a good thing… right? At least they wouldn’t kill off a fan-favourite character in the sequel and then muddle their way to an ending. Oh, yeah.
All of this for the low-low price of 100s of pounds, multiple brain-melting bundles of expansions and a levelling system that’s about as consistent as my sleep routine. A modern-day marvel indeed.
3. Apex Legends
2019 was a wonderful year. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was just about to grace our screens. Nero and Dante returned in Devil May Cry 5. Titanfall 2 hadn’t been completely obliterated by hackers and Apex Legends was the spectacular surprise, crashing like a meteor into an unsuspecting gaming landscape. Inevitably, a slew of controversies, not least around loot boxes and the aforementioned hacking debacles, slightly dampened the spirits of players over time.
Now, Apex Legends is wonderfully adorned with a Battle Pass split into two, each being charged the full price of one. Superb. Talk about making your cake, having a colossal dump on it and then proceeding to eat it too. Even if the core gameplay is still a tasty sponge, is the faecal-infused icing really as good as we like to pretend it is?
2. Dead by Daylight
With enough spaghetti in its code to make the entirety of Italy blush, Dead by Daylight is the quintessential live service to play if you utterly despise your own happiness. This is probably the only game that has a higher disconnect rate than it has active players, somehow. Running the gauntlet of toxic T-bagging to getting slugged and forced to watch your helpless survivor bleed to death over five agonising minutes, it has it all. At least their pain ends once the gauge runs its course…
Whether you’re being left on hook in solo queue as a survivor or getting a flashlight clicked excessively as a killer, you’ll be sure to have a torrid experience, guaranteed. Dead by Daylight is the only game I’ve ever been excited to go on, only to immediately be met by a resounding sense of existential dread as soon as I hit the loading screen. Did I mention there’s £30+ cosmetics and I somehow have suffered through 1600 hours of this torment?
Death certainly isn’t an escape from this live service of abject misery. Hell is comprised of facing a 3-gen against a Skull Merchant to the end of days.
1. Fortnite
If ever a live service game was the embodiment of a bank heist, only the bank is your wallet, Fortnite would be it. Why worry about the existential crises of the world when you can hit the griddy as Kratos after popping Spiderman in the face? With more crossover deals than the entire planet has had hot dinners, Fortnite is the live service to rule them all, the one that’s systemically eradicated the previous paradigm of what games should be.
Now, every company wants a Fortnite. How blessed we are to be inundated with recycled clones, god-awful cash grabs, and company CEOs who would sell your soul if they could sneak it into the T&Cs. Don’t even get me started on the sweat levels in build mode that could rival the Echus Chasma. If you’re a raging 12-year-old who doesn’t know what that is, perhaps spending some extra time in school instead of bankrupting your parents on the Fortnite store would be, you know, prudent.
Can’t deny the inherent pleasure of jumping into a Rocket League car as the T-1000 and running over Goku though. That alone makes Fortnite the #1.
There you have it. No ifs nor buts, just straight-up mad facts. Have any live services tickled your pickle more so than the ones we’ve listed? Feel free to let us know just how wrong we are down below. Better yet, if there are others you share a love/despise relationship with, drop us a comment and perhaps there’ll even be a part 2 with your suggestions.
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