Here Are The Best Multiplayer Games Of 2024 You Need To Try Out

One of the main things that distinguishes multiplayer from single-player titles is, unsurprisingly, their longevity — while the latter offers a tailored 50-hour or 100-hour experience, multiplayer games can stick with you for decades. Take Team Fortress, for instance, which is still kicking after more than 15 years.

Network troubles and region-locked content aside (which you can mitigate with a VPN from somewhere like FreeVPNmentor), the hassle is definitely worth it for the games released the previous year. We saw brand new IPs make a stoic entrance, sequels that took the world by storm, and even some popular franchises that saw a renaissance. If you’ve missed any of them, now’s the chance to enjoy them.

A Redemption Year For Call Of Duty And Marvel

Activision has had a firm grip on the multiplayer FPS genre for more than a decade now. While the sales of their previous few games have declined over the years, the new Black Ops 6 offers a lot of aspects that breathe new life into the game.

The multiplayer mode features consistently great maps. Black Ops 6 has a new Kill Order mode, where one player is a High-Value Target. However, Gunfight can be one of the most fun modes to play. It is a 2v2 mode on small maps. The matches are short and fun to play in short bursts.

In the same Black Ops fashion, the Zombies mode returns with two new maps. Make sure you play this mode with a group of friends, as I didn’t have a great experience matchmaking with random players.

On the other hand, while you and I were witnessing the stale nature and fall of Overwatch 2, Netease went to work and developed what was arguably the most successful game the Marvel IP has — Marvel Rivals. The game currently has eight maps, each of which is dynamic and can be destroyed through map events. This adds another layer of depth to the game, making it feel more chaotic as time goes on.

With the initial launch of the game, there were 33 heroes and villains. The roster is expansive, meaning that there’s a hero for every player. Rivals also borrow some gameplay elements from the MOBA genre since every character has their own defensive and offensive stats.

Pokemon Witnessed A New Challenger In 2024

Palworld was arguably one of the biggest games in 2024, taking the gaming world by storm and garnering a massive player count on Steam. It has been compared to the Pokemon series countless times and for good reasons — cartoony art style, capturable animals with superpowers, and an eerily similar “Pokeball” mechanic. It’s essentially an M-rated Pokemon game with guns and a survival element.

You drop into a vast open world where food is scarce and dangers lurk in every corner. The creatures, called Pals, roam around and can be captured. Depending on the Pal, you can use them as companions to explore dungeons and create automated factories, farms, and resource production.

I know its been said… but god I love this game
byu/SmollBoiPenguin inPalworld

On the surface, it seems like a straightforward title with some mechanics taken from arguably the biggest franchise in the world. However, what made it special was the fact it was a fusion of several game genres, not just monster-catching.

It’s a survival game, a crafting game, a third-person shooter, a farming/factory simulator, and a monster catcher rolled into one. The game focuses on player freedom and fun rather than rigid “game balance” or restrictions.

What most games would label as cheats or exploits, Palworld turns into features you can tweak in the world settings. Want to triple the Pal spawn rate or deal 5x damage? Go for it—play the way you want to. It also boasts incredible movement mechanics, which, for me, are a game-changer when it comes to enjoying a game.

Multiplayer Sequels That Went Above And Beyond

Helldivers 2 was honestly just a welcome surprise for me when I jumped into it for the first time. It offers a variety of missions, several weapons, armor pieces, and abilities that make every mission feel fresh.

You, along with three other Helldivers, go on missions ranging from destroying propaganda broadcasts, retrieving research data, evacuating trapped civilians, and hunting down targets. Every enemy in the game has their own characteristics, meaning that you’ll have to change your strategy depending on the enemies you face.

The game feels fantastic to play, and the progression doesn’t rely on micro-transactions. With so many modifiers for every mission and objective, this is a multiplayer game you and your friends can play for a long time. It is, by far, the best “hangout” game you can think of — just you and your buddies jumping into a session of pure mayhem and fun.

Moving onto a separate niche, fortunately, isn’t dumbfounding either. While the game is still in early access as of now, Path of Exile 2 feels like a complete game already, featuring improved gameplay, builds, and endgame mechanics that far exceed its predecessor.

You can choose between twelve classes, each of which focuses on a different type of playstyle but also lets you combine skills from multiple classes to create an ideal build. Every area you traverse through has a boss encounter, with more than a hundred bosses to fight in total.

To make your expenditure worth it, Path of Exile 2 has a long campaign, so it’s bound to keep you busy for some time. However, the game doesn’t end once you finish the game since there is an entire endgame section you can play through. It includes different biomes with unique encounters and more challenging bosses.