The best games for ruining our social lives

23 days ago, by Enzo

Let's start by saying that here, the phrase "ruining our social life" should not be taken literally, but in a rather lighthearted way. We’re talking about games that can absorb our attention, making time fly by, or even create a kind of addiction. These three elements can sometimes cause our social life to take a backseat. While MMOs can check all of these boxes due to their huge, frequently updated online content, we're going to put the focus here on other types of experiences, each one more unique than the next.

Let’s start our selection with titles that feature limitless creativity and are relatively endless. Indeed, these two aspects allow players to enjoy content with no real objective other than to have fun and pass the time. The best-selling game of all time, Minecraft, is a perfect example, offering nearly infinite hours of gameplay. In a similar vein, Satisfactory offers fans of optimization and creation countless possibilities. Combined with the desire to continuously improve factories and transport systems, our social life could quickly be sucked in—especially if we have a gaming partner.

Next, let’s look at a particular aspect of video games: roleplaying, which has been widely popularized and appreciated in GTA V. This type of gameplay allows participants to embody a character, much like in real life, with their own backstory, personality, and goals. Players interact with each other while adhering to rules that encourage immersion: you can become a police officer, criminal, doctor, entrepreneur… The main appeal is to recreate realistic scenarios, improvise, and experience unique adventures in this world, which becomes a fully realized virtual universe.

Warframe and Destiny 2 are multiplayer looter-shooter titles each that can easily absorb our social life. Between the low chances of finding what we’re looking for, the constant influx of new content, and regular gameplay changes that force us to adapt our gear… It’s very easy to lose ourselves in these adventures for hundreds, or even thousands, of hours for the most dedicated players. Additionally, there's a strong community aspect here, allowing players to form clans or guilds. This feature may seem subtle, but in reality, it adds a whole layer of management and organization to the game for players.

Now, let’s shift focus to solo experiences. While all of the previously mentioned games can be played cooperatively, that component isn’t at all necessary to ruin our social life. Stunning titles like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 offer players a chance to embark on a deep adventure. Whether it’s due to the successful atmosphere, satisfying gameplay, or the sheer depth of quest storytelling, there are countless hours of gameplay to be enjoyed here.

Finally, for those still not convinced, we got some very different games to mention. Baldur’s Gate 3 is an absolute must in its genre, offering nearly infinite replayability thanks to the number of narrative choices available. In the survival genre, Enshrouded and Valheim offer long, yet interesting content. Elden Ring, a highly regarded souls-like, will test your patience, especially if you’re aiming for 100% completion. The Sims 4, on the other hand, offers players infinite creativity in this life sim and building experience.

That concludes our selection of titles that have the potential to ruin our social life. By that, we mean that some games are so well-designed that they make players want to hit pause on their real lives and spend quality time within them. No matter the reason, we’ve all been completely absorbed by a game at some point. So, which one was it for you?