I’ve been gaming for more than 25 years, and that means I’ve seen a lot of change impact the industry. Nothing has been so impactful, in my view, than the rise of online multiplayer.
Of course, there’s always been a competitive element to gaming. Way back in the mists of time, Pong matches surely got more than a little heated. What competitive online multiplayer has done, though, is multiply the scope of that to an incredible degree.
Ranked modes are designed around the whole concept, so we can hardly blame players for bringing their A-game and feeling a particular type of way about losses when ranking points are on the line. The unfortunate thing that competitive online breeds, though, is toxicity.
Whether through voice or text, gloating winners and sore losers alike love to unleash on their fellow players. Expletive-laden performance critiques from a player on another continent aren’t something we generally relish receiving, but that’s the reality of online multiplayer.
So, too, is the tendency to revert to the meta picks that bore me a little. Again, this is absolutely natural when winning is the whole point of the game, but I often don’t find it much fun.
Online play can be a hotbed of tryhards and trolls. I’ve seen everything.
Halo 4 players who refused to move in support of the objective, because they were desperately boosting their K/D with the DMR? Sonic users who love dashing about the larger stages of the Smash Bros. series spamming the “you’re too slow” taunt? It’s all part of the rich tapestry of decades of online gaming.
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A Nice, Nostalgic, Offline Time
I’ve been known to ‘tryhard’ with the best of them, and actually thought that For Glory mode was one of the best new additions to Smash Bros. when it arrived. Lately, though, I’ve steered clear of competitive modes and online play more broadly, and I’ve absolutely loved it.
During my school days, my friend group regularly met for split-screen sessions. It was quite a thing to split my tiny little box TV of the era into four usable screens, but we all squinted, shuffled closer, and made do.
These are my favorite gaming memories, and sometimes it feels as though they’re from a completely different era. It’s still entirely possible to enjoy multiplayer gaming when all gathered together, though, as the success of experiences like the Jackbox titles and Overcooked have shown us.
It’s all about what you play. These are great examples, and lately, my partner and I have been enjoying co-op experiences like Ship of Fools, a roguelike in which you try to keep a ship afloat against a tide of adorably animated yet vicious sea creatures.
We strategized together, assigned duties (I loaded and fired the cannons while they furiously wielded their oar against any critters that jumped aboard). It’s ridiculous, hilarious, and pure fun in a way that games and players alike sometimes lose sight of.
Losing streaks, of course, are disheartening in any competitive game, from a fighter to a MOBA or even the likes of Pokemon (an incredibly competitive experience when you drill down into it). If you’re in one of those communities, you’ll be familiar with the idea of taking a breather, playing a palette-cleansing game, and returning tomorrow.
Becoming tilted just means you’ll get frustrated, and therefore more likely to continue to lose. For me, the issue has been that I hate to finish a session on such a losing streak, and so have often extended it through stubbornness.
For now, I’m taking a break from all that. Skipping the first step and simply enjoying my favorite palette-cleansing games has reminded me of the joy of playing in the same room with another person (who isn’t an enormous troll or griefer).
The curious thing is, I can try something super difficult in a single player game over and over, without any frustration. Take the Path of Pain in Hollow Knight, or a particularly cruel section of a Celeste stage (some of which could be super challenging). Go figure.
This has also been a perfect time to rediscover some of my favorite single-player titles ever. In preparation for Hades 2’s graduation from Early Access, I’ve been maxing out my bonds with every character in the original and conquering new Heat levels. It’s been liberating, for Zagreus and for me.
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