Another E3 has come and gone and though it was filled with loads of fantastic ames to be excited about, I couldn’t help but wonder if a particular type of gamer is slowly being phased out. The prominence of multiplayer, whether it be couch co op or online multiplayer, is an ever growing trend that most seem to be in favor of. Is the single player gamer on the brink of extinction? 

Do bare in mind that i’m not the type of gamer who will exclusively play single player only titles, I like my fair share of multiplayer games. However, I can’t help but feel that multiplayer is being shoehorned into titles just to increase sales. I think there is room for both multiplayer games and solid single player experiences in the market, I just don’t think it’s necessary to tack on multiplayer to every game in order to increase replay value. 

When we hear the term “Next Gen”, i’d wager the first thing that pops into our minds are upgraded graphics and a higher frame rate. It would seem that the new meaning of “Next Gen” is always online, shared co op experiences. I had first thought that Indies would be the prominent force of this new generation of games and though they are strong in numbers, co op is definitely the gear this generation is shifting towards. 

It’s good to know that AAA titles will still be coming our way, I’m always up for a great blockbuster action game. It’s also great that there are so many varied experiences being offered to gamers but, I just would hate to see the single player experience phased out completely. The Division is an example of a fantastic looking game that i’m really excited about and sadly, will probably never play. That’s the type of game that requires a lot of cooperation and strategy with your team members and my closest friends happen to not be gamers so, I would never be able to organize that kind of team work. It’s things like this that sadden me, people like me are to miss out on great experiences because developer’s are making some of their games difficult to experience on your own. 

Everyone has they’re own tastes I respect that and  that’s wonderful, that’s what makes the gaming industry thrive. But, I can’t help but wonder is Far Cry 4 really the type of game that needs multiplayer? Was Batman Arkham Origins in any way suited for multiplayer? The Order 1886 is a perfect example of a great looking game that could very easily have multiplayer tacked on to it, a la gears of war. But Ready at Dawn decided to focus on making a polished single player experience and I respect that as well.

I’m all for different experiences and a variety of game types to play, I just think that developers should more carefully assess if it’s necessary for every game to have multiplayer and also if the game will be playable for a single player. Evolve is a game i’m very much looking forward to, one of my most anticipated games in fact but, I’ll likely be teaming up with random players online. This is fine with me but it seems the intension of the developers was for the game to be played with friends on the couch, which makes it seem like the developers are thinking of the single player less and less. Now of course this is speculation, will Evolve have a single player mode? It very well may but, the core experience is designed for multiplayer and I’d just hate to see an immersive experience like the single player mode be phased out of gaming. 

Thanks for reading! – Dean

Subscribe to my YouTube channel! –thebeastnj

Follow me on Twitter! –@thebeast_nj

Check out my Twitch channel –thebeastnj Twitch