Obviously, multiplayer games have been popular since the beginning of the industry's history, with most games being built on arcade and local multiplayer. Of course, with the continuous spread of high-speed internet, multiplayer gaming in the last decade has been predominantly online. Since the COVID-19 era, online multiplayer games have become more popular than ever. Especially in the wake of 2020, when a lot of new and existing players were spending more time working from home and sheltering in place, friends and family were getting together over a couple of rounds of Among Us, Call of Duty: Warzone, Fall Guys, and the like.
2021 was similarly no exception with the amount of great new multiplayer games released; there was a healthy spread of long-running franchises, new IPs, and various other unique titles. Fans of first-person shooters, brawler/hack and slash action games, racing games, strategy games, and more received plenty of exciting new games to link up with friends on. Even if 2021 was a bit of a strange year for games as a whole, there were still plenty of unique multiplayer experiences that came out and impressed fans.
Age of Empires 4
Those looking for a complex and tactical multiplayer experience are likely well aware of the Age of Empires real-time strategy franchise. 15 years later, the long-awaited Age of Empires 4 builds upon the foundation of the series by making a rock-solid return to form. Focusing on eight unique civilizations throughout an enticing story campaign was enjoyable at first, but the real challenge was facing enemy players' factions online. Offering that same traditional and tactical experience in private matches or public matchmaking made Age of Empires 4 a compelling RTS experience that always presented a different challenge between new civilizations and players.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
As evergreen as the seasons, this year's Call of Duty entry brought the franchise back to WW2, and along with it the addicting multiplayer formula that's continued to captivate fans. Even if this year's entry is not nearly as popular Warzone has become, Call of Duty: Vanguard still offers a more typical Call of Duty experience over the immensely popular battle royale. Those looking for the familiar setup of tight and fast-paced gunplay, Create-A-Class, Gunsmith, and more, Call of Duty: Vanguard's got all of that wrapped into its historical fiction setting. Plus, the new Champion Hill competitive mode is an interesting spin on the Gunfight game mode that's quickly become one of Vanguard's best multiplayer options.
Chivalry 2
Speaking of historical fiction, for those that prefer a medieval and melee-oriented multiplayer experience, Chivalry 2 is an excellently chaotic option. Clashing swords, giant impaling ballistae, and plenty of blood spread across the battlefield permeate the Chivalry 2 experience. The strangely zany multiplayer experience makes for some silly fun for those looking to engage in some mindless and entertaining violence. A variety of different weapons, interactive objects, and some physics shenanigans are what make Chivalry 2 a mildly skill-based but ultimately entertaining hack and slash romp that's likely to instill hilarity and hype for friends charging castles together.
Deathloop
Adding a degree of competitive Dark Souls-style multiplayer to its signature gameplay style, Deathloop is like an Arkane-developed shooter with player invasions. While the story, world, and style of Deathloop are reason enough to hop into the game through singleplayer, players being able to invade gameplay sessions as charismatic antagonist Julianna makes for unlimited unique encounters.
Players can find a variety of different supernatural abilities to wreck and get wrecked in Blackreef, as players attempt to stop the Groundhog Day scenario and break free from the loop. Deathloop provides a fascinating iteration on the Dishonored-style gameplay fans are used to, but with a competitive multiplayer twist.
Forza Horizon 5
The Forza series has been treating racing fans for years now, especially with the Horizon games. Forza Horizon 5 builds off its established foundation of success by heading to Mexico. The majority of Forza Horizon 5 is played in a shared open world, meaning friends can drop in and out of players' sessions and can freely explore the condensed South American region at will. Players can set up convoys freely to start racing together casually. Additionally, PvP racing has been refocused to be less about ranked play and more about freedom in play. The excellence of Forza Horizon 5's open-world freedom is great, but experiencing it with a friend is a lot better.
Halo Infinite
While some fans may be disappointed that co-op isn't available at launch, there's plenty of Halo to be played with the surprise release of the multiplayer. Fans and newcomers have flocked to the free-to-play multiplayer beta for Halo Infinite, which has largely seen positive reception. While Infinite is serving as a return-to-form for the Halo franchise as a whole, the multiplayer plays out just like classic Halo: it's scrappy and mechanically tight, and filled with a variety of weapons and abilities to consistently shake up the core gameplay. Progression gripes aside, Halo is arguably the best FPS multiplayer experienced released throughout 2021.
Knockout City
Resembling an eccentric version of dodgeball in video game form, Knockout City was a surprise hit in 2021. After a great showing with the game's multiplayer beta in April, the EA-published game saw a ton of success on release thanks to its release on EA Play and Xbox Game Pass. Players vie for domination in elimination-style matches of 3v3/4v4, and there's a surprising amount of competitive depth capable in the action game's tactics. Tons of acrobatic movement mechanics, different dodgeballs with various abilities like rapid-fire and sniper balls, as well as frenetic game speed all make Knockout City a laidback but exciting affair worth the free-to-start entry price.
Lemnis Gate
One of the more unique shooters to release in the last few years, few FPS titles offer the experience that Lemnis Gate does. Incorporating yet another time loop into the core gameplay, Lemnis Gate is a turn-based competitive shooter that involves elements of strategy injected into short, 25-second rounds. Players choose their operative and enter the battlefield, tackling objectives in whatever order of their choosing. Each round's actions will then persist throughout the rest of the game, as players adapt to opponents' sabotage and attempt to complete the objectives. Lemnis Gate is a unique spin on competitive FPS that's a degree of strategy not seen in other shooters around it.
Riders Republic
For those looking for an extreme sports-style game a la SSX, Ubisoft's Riders Republic provides an all-season version of that high-octane experience. Riders Republic packs in a ton of different activities for players to engage with: zooming around in a wingsuit (that's occasionally rocket-powered), traversing dangerous terrain on mountain bikes, and descending down the slopes on skiis/snowboard. The game follows a very similar design to Forza Horizon 5, allowing players to largely tackle whatever events they want, exploring a surprisingly varied open world area that's begging players to explore and shred to their heart's content.
Splitgate
While Halo Infinite provided a much-needed return-to-form for the franchise, Splitgate offers something wholly different for Halo and FPS fans. While Halo games were foundational for Splitgate's development, the game's main gimmick sets it apart from other competitive FPS games in a big way: Portals.
With the console release this year, Splitgate has seen a significant rise in popularity thanks to its unique mechanics setting it apart. Players can get some pretty nasty shots and maintain some insane movement momentum as they zoom across different portals and fight their opponents. Splitgate offers a strange twist on the FPS genre that seems natural given Portal's popularity but feels right at home among other popular competitive shooters in the genre.
Multiplayer games saw a ton of unique releases throughout 2021, offering a variety of different experiences for all sorts of players. In many cases, various genres saw several innovative and groundbreaking new games, while others honed in on refining ever-popular gameplay loops that were revitalized in 2021. Whether it's Knockout City, Halo Infinite, Lemnis Gate, or Forza Horizon 5, multiplayer gaming with friends and adversaries had an excellent year in 2021.