Thursday, 29 January 2026
Thursday, 29 January 2026
Me: So what are your plans this weekend?
Gamer friend: Stay at home and play video games.
Me: Because of the virus?
Gamer friend: Virus? What virus?
What seemed like a case of unusual ignorance at first was actually a bit of a joke. Gamers have had the luxury of near-oblivion before. But this time, we're all looking forward to a walk in the park.
Entire days could once tick by if the game was good, so why not now?
Move aside Scrabble tiles. It’s the age of Scrabble Go. And although online gaming cannot promise to switch your mind off to the virus, it has been a source of solace for many.
Even before a pandemic came into the forefront, virtual gaming has long been a means to maintain physical distance while still connecting socially with other people. Which is what the World Health Organisation wants you to do.
So when they started a campaign called #PlayApartTogether, all within a year after enlisting ‘gaming disorder’ as an official mental illness, both addicts and noobs started looking around for one thing- what to play.
Whether you are the competitive MMORPG gamer, or the relaxed Subway Surfer, whether you’re looking for games to sharpen your wit, or ways to pass the time with family when you can’t locate your box of Life, there is always something for everyone.
Here are some of the best games to play, online and on mobile, to bring your clan together and beat the virus.
Online games
Mobile games
1. Star Wars: The Old Republic
1. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
If a galaxy far, far away is your perfect setting, then BioWare’s stellar MMO is a winner. In one of the best Star Wars games around, play as one of eight classes, split across the Empire and the Republic. You can take on the role of an Imperial Agent, a Jedi Knight, or even a slave-turned-Sith Inquisitor if you fancy firing lightning from your fingertips.
YouTube/swtheoldrepublic
One hundred people airdropped on an island, left to survive, but only one can win. It’s as thrilling as it sounds. PUBG, one of the most popular games in India, has long taken the Internet by storm, and the craze isn't close to dying out. Perfect to team up with friends and play with, you can strategize, hide your way through, or go full assault- anything it takes to get the winner chicken dinner!
Official PUBG site2. Monument Valley
2. Minecraft
Dressed in the most artful, polished visuals that look right out of an old Disney film, the whole Monument Valley series is absolutely beautiful. Manipulate the world around you to lead the princess Ida through mazes of optical illusions and impossible objects. And it’s therapeutic, allowing you to lose yourself, like reading a book.
Screengrab
This sandbox video game drawn with rudimentary blocks and 16-bit colours may not appeal to the modern gamer, but it gives you one thing no other game of its kind truly does- freedom. You can turn your cave into a castle, or like a Hobbit, build a shack in the make a house a home, there is no instruction manual and no quest as such, apart from growth.
Google Play3. Neverwinter
3. Pokemon Go
The idea of Pokemon Go was to make people go out, get some exercise and meet people while trying to catch Pokemon. But the virus has changed that, so Niantic tweaked some elements for players playing at home. The Adventure Sync, for instance, is a feature, which logs your steps even when the app is running in the background or closed, and social features to stay better in-touch with your friends.
Google Play
Dungeons and Dragons thematically, this game will induce both nostalgia and a sense of surprise. It takes the places, classes, spells and abilities of the tabletop game, to create one of the best massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). There is an earnest love for the original game, and each quest feels like it did while sitting around a table with friends.
YouTube/Arc4. Perfect World International
4. Words with Friends
Perfect World is one of the games named to explain itself, and has been around since 2005. The MMO is based on Chinese mythology, its fabulous visuals supporting refined gameplay that immerses players in its huge, mystical game world. The character creation interface is one of the most intricate ever in a free game of its kind, and this is a great game to play with friends whether you're more into questing or farming. In fact, you cannot grow without them!
Screengrab
Rally together your mother, aunt, distant cousin, co-worker, boss or neighbour in a frustrating spelling game that will want to make you want to end friendships and cry foul. You have to create words out of the letters that you are issued, and let’s face it, there are only so many words that you can fit the letter Z into. Either way, it’s a nice way to feel more connected with friends and get some smack talk going, using new words!
Google Play5. FIFA Soccer
5. Call of Duty: Warzone
Paired with official licenses, great visuals and a slew of modes, there’s fluidity in the gameplay that gives us some wonderful football that few sports games can match. Build your team to participate in a real-time 11v11 multiplayer mode, and you’ll miss the matches you were looking forward to much lesser.
Google Play
This free-to-play Call of Duty doesn’t include the co-op, campaign or standard multiplayer, but Warzone’s 150-player battle royale is an addition that brings this game to our list. It’s a simpler take on the CoD formula with plenty of respawn mechanics, but it means you ultimately need to focus on one thing- winning gunfights, which is great if you love shooter games.
YouTube/jackfrags
