The expansive nature of Minecraft ’s world is also what contributes to this fully realized sandbox vision. The worlds are virtually infinite (on PC) and provide ample opportunity to adapt and explore multiple biomes and topography. There’s no real reason to go to one area over the other, but players are frequently compelled to do so. It’s an embrace of wanderlust, one that has influenced many other games like the upcoming No Man’s Sky . You have no objective beyond the horizon and there might be seriously dangerous monsters out there. You might not be well-equipped or even supposed to go there at the current equipped state. But you keep going, just to see. Just to explore.

We’ve stumbled into some uncertain times, dear readers. I can’t say I’ve ever experienced anything as intense as the Social Distancing Era. As we watch doctors of all kinds on the news recommend that we stay home as much as possible, we’re faced with new challenges to overcome. Those of us who self-isolate may find this to be a troubling time — especially if it affects our income, work, childcare or health. Yet “social distancing” doesn’t have to mean completely cutting yourselves off from your support network! Path of Exile is a beautifully robust ARPG that will help bridge the gap. It’s like if Developer Grinding Gear Games basically wanted Diablo 2 back, so they created their own Grecian-inspired version. It’s all there: awesome loot, a unique ability-gem loadout system, a massive skill tree that allows you to create inspired builds. It features online co-op so you and your buddies can play through the story together. The best part is that it’s free-to-play, so it’s an ease on both your mind and your wallet during these trying times. Path of Exile can be found on Xbox One, PS4 and PC which means a wide audience will be able to enjoy playing.

Now Minecraft has no overarching objective, so it instantly challenges McGonigal’s claim that a goal is required in a game. But actually, Minecraft ’s main goal is composed of multiple smaller goals. It doesn’t have a “grand” objective, but it has smaller objectives, little bite-size incentives that replace each other over time and take the role of a larger objective. First you collect resources, then you build a house, then you survive the night, then you wake up and continue, but each with steadier and steadier increases in scope and scale. Even better, there’s no one direction to go. Being able to explore in multiple regions and build whatever you feel is satisfactory is open-ended. You are given tools and no direction, yet you are still creating. You’re making the direction. This is a massive undertaking, one that changes everything that anyone knew about videogames before, and it’s a bigger embodiment of the “sandbox” mentality than Grand Theft Auto has even been.

The age of system mascots and Triple A exclusives may be a fading memory, but it’s really no matter, because the one we are about to enter where innovative new ideas and bold risks are rewarded, encouraged, and prized above all may just be the most exciting time ever to be a gamer. All the hype on which system you should buy may be focused on what a system costs, or what it can and can’t do in its multimedia capabilities, but trust me when I say that in the end, you’ll be keeping an eye on who’s got what indie titles all to themselves when deciding which console is right for you.

While there are those who will gravitate towards single player or competitive games, I would personally recommend something with a friendly and helpful community that will help scratch your socializing itch. Of course one of those games is Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO where you can hop on with friends or find completely new players to traverse the vast world with. It’s a daunting task as there’s thousands of hours worth of content that can be dipped into, but that just ensures you’ll never be bored. We’re talking raiding, treasure hunting, PVP, decorating houses or apartments, fishing, mount farming and so much more. Of course there’s the terrific storyline that (especially in Shadowbringers) touches upon strong themes, but it’s the communal aspect that Final Fantasy XIV excels at, making this one of the best games to play whilst social distancing. You can even go to this site onto servers that have an active role-playing community, if that’s your thing. The number of linkshells and discord servers I’ve become a part of over the last year alone has only helped me enjoy the game even more, showing me how much the community has grown. You’ll always run into someone who’s a bit toxic, but it’s such a rare occurrence. With Square Enix pumping out a steady amount of content — with the last major update only a month old — there’s plenty to dig through, be it for new or returning players.

Minecraft has been around so long that it’s easy to take it for granted. The decade of its existence has seen it explode from an indie project to financial juggernaut, but at the heart of all the licensing has been a game that’s never stopped growing its list of features. One of the biggest parts of Minecraft’s longevity has been its multiplayer options with endless servers available almost since the beginning. The reason for this is simple — it’s fun to build things with friends. Whether or not that means everyone works together on a massive project or people go off and do their own thing in a communal area doesn’t matter, so long as there’s something new to see. Working with a group where everyone’s online, working alone or just tooling around the world sightseeing, it’s all better when doing it in a shared world. The thing about Minecraft, though, is that it’s become so generic it’s easy to forget how entertaining it is. Over the years I’ve obsessed over Minecraft, walked away for extended periods of time, come back, then left again. I’ve explored single-player worlds and gotten involved in multiplayer servers, and the one constant is that each time I play there’s something new to do. There are endless worlds stretching on forever made of giant blocks that, despite their size, are still enough to suggest the shape of almost anything you want to create, and the nice thing about Minecraft’s ubiquitous nature is just about everyone is already familiar with it. Now may be the best time to dig out an old log-in and see what huge, inspiring, strange, ridiculous, epic creations you and a group of friends can come up with.