Virtual Isolation
During the quarantine session that we’re currently in due to the invasion of the Coronavirus, it can be difficult for some folks to find something to do while being stuck at home. Reading books. Binge-watching a show that you’re finally catching up on. Cleaning that dirty part in your shower. Eventually, we can be stuck at a crossroads when we need something to occupy ourselves. And as gamers, it’s more of a giddy activity than an enduring one.
For this post, we compiled a small list of video games that consist of an extensive single-player experience guaranteed to rack up copious hours of gameplay. They’re all titles that can be played on console and PC, so we don’t exclude anyone, and each entry provides a different type of adventure for those seeking to explore a big virtual world. These were chosen due to their lengthy campaigns and availability of gameplay aspects that gives the players more bang for their buck.
Here are three single-player games we recommend checking out for this quarantine time.
Quarantine Buddies
1.) Fallout 3 (2008)
The post-apocalyptic tale from Bethesda Game Studios re-introduces the player audience to a nuclear wasteland where character choice can impact the rest of society and the narrative of the game. With Fallout 3 and an updated adventurous experience in role-playing gaming, the journey of The Lone Wanderer can bring about so many possibilities for the endgame of the tale. With downloadable content available and deep lore to further explore into, Fallout 3 includes a vast world where the life-long missions never seem to end, even when you’re finished scavenging an area.
The tale of Fallout 3 follows you, the protagonist, on a journey across the Capital Wasteland in search of your father after escaping from a fallout shelter that was built amid nuclear war. Along your journey, you come across a variety of strange enemies and creatures that you either interact with or kill or walk on by as if it’s nobody’s business that you’re carrying a nuke launcher along an abandoned road.
But that’s where the magic of Fallout 3 comes in: the experience of walking and encountering whatever comes your way. With the radio aspect of your Pip-Boy to the outlandish perks you can unlock, each adventure can occur in different yet satisfactory results. The warm tunes from Billie Holiday and The Ink Spots playing over the gory violence create an aesthetic like no other, where it’s more therapeutic than it is insane.
It’s truly a favorite game of mine not only because of the story and music, but also how rewarding it was to build weapons, go on random quests, and explore Washington D.C. through so many hours. I recall when a save game was close to 500 hours, so I’m certain Fallout 3 will be an excellent title to delve into during this quarantine season.
2.) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
With the Netflix series and the video game itself is hailed as one of the greatest ever developed, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an awesome experience due to its various side quests and ever-evolving RPG elements. It’s loaded with side quests upon side quests that exploring the main quest of the game’s narrative is often ignored. Amongst the many encounters with savage beasts, troubled folks, and mysterious within the deep woods and the bodies of water, it’s easy to get lost and swap between objectives in the spur of a journey.
The third installment from CD Projekt Red’s adaptation of the fantasy books brings an abundance of content. Geralt, the game’s primary protagonist, can wield an array of swords and armor to aid him in the bloody battles against the wretched and evil creatures that stir panic and chaos in the world. Some have stories behind their reasonings, some tread the land in the wake of murder and bloodlust, and somewhere in-between lies a tale of how it’s affecting the people.
Mods can also be initiated to boost up the insanity of the player’s experience. In essence, from graphical upgrades to character changes, just to add more to the many hours that’ll be spent before Geralt and his mates reach the endgame.
I highly recommend this game due to its fascinating storytelling methods, expansive world, the many enemies you learn about and fight against, and Geralt’s badass presence as he aims to fight evil – for some coin, of course.
3.) Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
The story of Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of revolvers, betrayal, love, and just about 60+ hours of quests and exploration that it’s almost perfect for a quarantine period.
Ride the horse into the west as Arthur Morgan, our hero for the majority of the narrative who undergoes a batch of polarizing circumstances that finds him in trouble most of the way. With fishing, bounty hunting, animal hunting, and shopping for the latest thing in western fashion, there’s a lot to do in-between running chores for his friends and killing baddies.
Although the multiplayer aspect is on another level of addiction, the single-player campaign just feels rewarding the more you grow with Arthur and what happens before the events of Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar Games have been known to compose lengthy narratives for their open-world titles, with the Grand Theft Auto series and Bully, the story elements of being a righteous criminal are all present.
Yet in Red Dead Redemption 2’s case, the player’s choices are reflected upon the world, and their morality is further tested to the bones. Dialogue can shift, and side characters can cause their demise. In essence, the possibilities aren’t endless, but the many hours that’ll be spent wondering what could happen could decimate that thought like a bad guy during a Mexican standoff.
The writing and music have won multiple awards, with praise being directed toward the direction and acting and possible outcomes with encounters in the world. It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry, furious yet satisfied, and ultimately like a true gunslinger with a big iron on his hip.
