What to play while social distancing
If there's one thing the Covid-19 lockdown has given us, it's plenty of time to catch up on the latest video game releases. Luckily, the last couple of months have seen the arrival of some truly excellent games, which should help greatly during this difficult time.
On top of that, our time indoors has also afforded us the opportunity to conquer that growing pile of shame that every gamer has amassed.
You know exactly what we're talking about – that large collection of games that have for one reason or another been pushed to the side and neglected in favour of the next big blockbuster release that came out right after it.
Here's a list of recent game releases to play during this period of social distancing and self isolation.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is finally here, 23 years after the release of the original version on the original PS1. If you're an OG fan who's been waiting for this release with baited breath, you're in luck – it's absolutely fantastic.
This isn't your average remaster job, either – Final Fantasy VII Remake is completely new from top to bottom, hewing closely to the classic game's original story but taking advantage of modern-day graphics and gameplay. Apart from being a faithful re-imagining of the original game, Final Fantasy VII Remake expands upon everything that made this story great in the first place, offering full voice acting and cinematic cut scenes to rival the biggest Hollywood blockbusters in terms of quality and scope.
Out now for PS4, you can pick up a copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake from the deals listed below.
- Read our Final Fantasy 7 Remake review
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Following on from 2018's truly fantastic remake of Resident Evil 2, Capcom has returned to the well once again with a remake of Resident Evil 3, which was originally released 21 years ago.
As you might expect, Resident Evil 3 is very different experience in 2020, dropping the original game's fixed camera and opting instead for the same 3rd person camera view that helped make the Resident Evil 2 remake feel like a brand new game.
On PC. we played it in 8K at over 60fps (though there are some big sacrifices), and tested its performance with today's biggest graphics cards. However, if you aren't a big PC gamer you can still pick the game up for PS4 and Xbox One.
Here are the best Resident Evil 3 Remake deals currently available.
Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal is a beautiful, but brutal reinvention of the first-person shooter series that actually makes life at the moment look... not so bad. This ride through Hell is one of the best experiences you'll have in 2020.
Our full Doom Eternal review agrees, with a five-star rating and an Editor's Choice award. It's fast-paced at 60fps and has surpassed our expectations even when it played it in 8K with a high end graphics card.
Get ready to rip and tear through a never-ending swarm of aggressive demons to an incredible soundtrack of fellow Aussie Mick Gordon's crushing industrial guitars. You can find the best Doom Eternal deals in Australia below.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is on the other end of the spectrum – it's a ready to lull you into a sense that nothing is wrong whatsoever like a good ASMR. This is fine. Everything is fine, says main character Tim Nook. Nintendo's cute social life sim is ideal for today's self-isolation situation. Read our Animal Crossing: New Horizons review and think happy thoughts.
One thing to note: while the new Animal Crossing is a must-have Nintendo Switch-exclusive, Doom Eternal is available on a wider set of platforms: PCs, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and even Google Stadia.
Sign up to Apple Arcade
Our best Apple Arcade games list now includes Crossy Road Castle, a platform title that thrives on its four-player local multiplayer gameplay (fear not, single-player is a choice, just in case confined at home alone). The frantic action reminds us of all the New Super Mario Bros. games and the old Castle Crashers game that never made its way to iOS somehow. Developer Hipster Whale provides the next best thing.
What's great about a game like Crossy Road Castle is that it's easy to get the entire family in on the multiplayer action thanks to Apple's family share feature. You're able to share this game with anyone in your iCloud family, and we just re-upped out Apple Arcade subscription (AU$7.99 a month) to do just that.
