One of the joys of playing video games in the modern age is the sheer variety of titles that are on offer. From AAA games to amazing indie titles, it seems the video games industry has never been better. However, as time has progressed and technology has developed, we’ve seen multiplayer games steadily grow to the detriment of single-player. EA infamously declared that single-player video games were finished (i.e. dead), something which would later prove to be quite ironic. However, I truly love single-player video games and I thought it worth discussing why I like them so much, why they are not dead and their place in the modern video games industry.
To begin, let’s discuss what a single-player video game is. As the name suggests, a single-player video game is an experience designed for a single player and has, historically, been the primary way that games have been designed. Admittedly, there are a few games that seem a little less obviously single-player than others. For instance, Dark Souls is, for most intents and purposes, a single-player game where the player explores the world by themselves, interacting with NPCs and progressing the story. However, there is an asynchronous multiplayer aspect where players can leave messages, either helpful or deceptive, for others to find. Additionally, other gamers can invade the player’s world and attempt to kill them or be summoned as allies to help fight the bosses. I still consider the Dark Souls series to be inherently single-player but I do confess that games like Dark Souls blur the line between single-player and multiplayer.
When I began playing video games, I was pretty much restricted to single-player games, only experiencing online multiplayer once I transitioned to the PC as my gaming platform of choice. After a period of time when I became obsessed with MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online), I ultimately returned to playing single-player games, finding their storytelling, gameplay and experience more pleasant.
To elaborate, I love storytelling and single-player video games are better positioned to deliver on that, giving the player a more tightly developed storyline that is more focused due to not having to focus on multiple players. Additionally, I quite often find the gameplay more satisfying, due to the fact that players are allowed to develop in ways that would be unthinkable in multiplayer. A good example of this would be in RPGs where part of the fun is developing a strategy that allows your characters to become overpowered, taking advantage of equipment combination, items, spells etc. to wipe out your enemies. While a similar concept exists in MMORPGs, there is a balancing act to prevent players from becoming too powerful, quite often leading to nerfing. I also find the experience of completing a game to be incredibly satisfying, something you don’t often see in multiplayer games which tend to be designed to provide a replayable, near indefinite experience. Therefore, the vast majority of games that I play these days are single-player games or single-player games with multiplayer elements with the only multiplayer game I play these days being Overwatch.
Still, it seemed that the games industry was moving towards multiplayer games in general. With the cost of developing games continually increasing due to higher-quality graphics, more complicated AI, larger environments etc., many game developers and publishers are looking to multiplayer games to run as “Games as a service“, seeing incremental updates to continually draw players back and charge them for microtransactions and DLC.
However, the myth that single-player games are dying is exactly that, a myth. Sony released the results of a survey they ran that stated that “Gamers prefer single-player games” and, if you are sceptical due to the fact that Sony predominantly releases single-player games, then I would point you to a recent development in another company. Remember how EA said a while ago that single-player games were finished? After the failure of Anthem, a live-service game they developed, as well as the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a single-player game they released, EA has seemingly begun to change their mind about single-player games in general. They’re now allowing Bioware to release the next Dragon Age game, Dragon Age 4, without any multiplayer components, have released a remaster of the Mass Effect trilogy with the multiplayer content stripped out and are making a remake of Dead Space, a franchise they have previously left to languish due to the fact that it was not appropriate for multiplayer. This turnaround was quite a surprise but proves that single-player still has a place in the modern video games industry.
I truly love the experience that single-player video games provide and I’m glad to see that the myth that they were dead has been dispelled. Let me know your thoughts on why single-player video games are not dead, whether you prefer single-player games or multiplayer games, single-player video games’ place in the modern game industry and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.