As star streamer Ninja said when revealing the winner of 2019’s best multiplayer title at the 2019 Game Awards, the greatest way to enhance the experience of playing a game is to do it together with other people. 2019 was a great year for singleplayer games, but it also saw the release of some very heavy-hitting multiplayer titles, alongside several unexpected gems.
For the purposes of this list, the best co-op games of 2019 have been excluded, so all the games here have a competitive or community aspect. From shooters to fighting games to strategy games and more, these titles all offer hours of challenge and entertainment through competition with others.
Apex Legends
Apex legends won best multiplayer game at the 2019 game awards, and it’s easy to see why. The battle royale genre has been one of the most defining trends in gaming for the past few years, with multiple BR games like PUBG or Fortnite reaching high levels of success. Meanwhile, many other popular shooters have rushed to include battle royale game modes in their lineup of options. Modern Warfare's exclusion of a battle royale is already getting flak for not having one available yet.
Apex Legends offers perhaps the most polished battle royale experience outside of Fortnite, but has a much more competitive tone. With extraneous mechanics like fort building stripped away, Apex Legends is focused on skill-based shooting, balanced squad composition, and good strategy. Apex Legends feels like a battle royale game that brings out the intensity and team play of the genre, in an accessible engine that runs smoothly on a wide variety of platforms.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare is simply a great first person shooter. Years of defining the multiplayer FPS genre has given its developers the experience they need to create some of the most satisfying shooting and well-balanced gun progression in any game, period. For those who like realism, Modern Warfare also won a 2019 game award for sound design because of its incredibly accurate game sound and overall attention to detail. Modern Warfare has its share of balancing issues and controversies, but a vocal player base is just a sign that the game has a massive number of active, passionate players devoted to battling it out day after day.
Balancing changes also serve to exhibit that Modern Warfare’s developer is dedicated to adding new game-changing content over time. With a huge array of great guns to unlock and countless cosmetics, Modern Warfare gives players plenty of reason to come back day after day. The fact that the game will continue to get more content through free updates and a battle pass is just a bonus added onto an already solid experience.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
It is hard to avoid comparing Crash Team Racing to its aging competitor Mario Kart, but CTR stands on its own as a fun, fresh, and content-rich option for couch competition and online play. With a huge number of tracks, a wide variety of colorful characters, and driving mechanics with a depth that defies its wacky aesthetic, Crash Team Racing surprised many with how rich its gameplay is. Online or in person, CTR is an exciting way to kick back and enjoy some arcade-y action.
Gears 5
Gears 5’s multiplayer stands out from the slew of fast-paced FPS games on the market with its cover-based combat and large number of interesting game modes. The unique cover-based shooting is fun and refreshing, but it still maintains the brutal and intense style that defines Gears of War. Gears 5 also offers many solid maps and a huge number of competitive game modes that add a lot of variety to the multiplayer experience, while several co-operative options let friends work together in PvE too.
Mario Maker 2
Mario Maker 2 stretches the bounds of what can be considered a multiplayer game, perhaps better described as a community game. Mario Maker is all the fun of 2D Mario platforming combined with nearly endless content generated by an active community. This is only made better by the additional option to contribute to the community oneself.
Whether the player decides to try out some of the beautifully-crafted original masterpieces made by passionate community members, romps through remakes of classic Mario zones, tests their willpower in soul-crushing challenge levels, or goofs around with joke creations, Mario Maker 2 provides a wealth of options for platforming, fun, and creativity.
Mordhau
Mordhau came out of nowhere as one of the most interesting and unique multiplayer games this year. It follows in the footsteps of similar medieval melee games like Chivalry and For Honor, but puts its own flair on this somewhat niche formula.
However, unlike For Honor, Mordhau’s combat is a bit lighter and more chaotic. It still has enough depth to reward skill, and its class building system allows for very diverse gameplay. It has all the chaos of a big-team objective based shooter, but with the added intensity and visceral action of melee combat. Good balancing, fun game modes, and satisfying hack-em-up combat makes Mordhau a great choice for brutal, often goofy fun. There is also a playable lute, a must-have for any game in a medieval setting.
Mortal Kombat 11
Fighting games occupy a special space in the landscape of video games. They are always relevant, and it’s good to have at least one on hand to pull out when friends are over. With the potential for highly technical competition, a good fighting game offers fun at any skill level, from button-mashing to professional level play.
Mortal Kombat has an amazing pedigree in the fighting game genre, and Mortal Kombat 11 lives up to the reputation. Super Smash Bros Ultimate won best fighting game at the 2019 Game Awards, but it technically came out in late 2018, excluding it from this list. That does nothing to diminish the accomplishments of Mortal Kombat 11, however, with its polished fighting mechanics, huge roster of recognizable characters, and intense online competition.
Tetris 99
Tetris 99 is likely the most innovative battle royale game to come out since the genre’s conception. It is not a shooter, but takes massive competition between a huge number of players and applies it to one of the most engaging, addicting game formulas ever created. Tetris is one of the best puzzle games ever, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call it one of the best games, full stop. Combining that tried and true puzzle formula with the fun and scale of a battle royale creates something that feels entirely new while still scratching a nostalgic itch.
Total War 3K
Total War: Three Kingdoms has a beautiful aesthetic and an amazing single-player campaign with a ton of playable factions. The newest Total War game combines the exciting heroes and magical elements of Total War: Warhammer with the realism and historical accuracy of more classic Total War titles. This results in a setting that is part myth, part history, and entirely fascinating.
Also new to Three Kingdoms is the best diplomacy system in any Total War game. Trade deals, alliances, betrayals, and diplomatic events all contribute to long-term victory. This combined with the game’s top-notch real time strategy elements means that when players go head to head they are engaged in a true battle of wits and long-term strategy, rather than just reaction timing or combat skills.
WoW Classic
Word of Warcraft Classic may have been such a hit in large part due to its nostalgia factor. Even without the nostalgia, there is a reason that the original WoW was so popular to begin with. After fifteen years of updates, many players yearned to go back to the stripped-down core experience that made World of Warcraft one of the most successful games of its era.
As more games strive to keep their player bases active by offering constant content and updates, nostalgia for older versions of people’s favorite games may become more common. When observing the success of WoW Classic, it’s not hard to imagine that many more “classic” titles may begin popping up alongside the growing trend of remakes and remasters.
WoW Classic isn’t necessarily a lesser experience than the modern game, either. It is far more difficult, and in some places far more complex. MMOs aren’t necessarily for everyone, but as something to sit down with and grind out with friends, WoW can still compete with the newest and shiniest looter shooters on the market. WoW is much more than just co-op though. As the game that most defined the “massively multiplayer” genre, a huge part of the joy of WoW is in interacting with total strangers online.