Multiplayer games are designed to bring players together to work as a team. Many players will gather their friends in order to party up. From there, they will go online to work together and defeat the enemy team. However, there are times when playing with friends is not as fun as playing solo.
There is a slew of multiplayer games that are better with friends but there are also plenty that are better solo. Players who seek out the latter more often than not need only check out the following list to figure out the best multiplayer games that they can try out without needing the presence of other people to enjoy the same.
Updated on October 23, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Multiplayer games have become all the rage in modern times, with many people absolutely loving the idea of exploring vast and rich worlds with their friends and meeting new people along the way as well. That being said, there are times when players might find certain multiplayer games to be either too overbearing, annoying or a mix of both when too many people join their play session. In these moments, some players would prefer to just play a single-player session even if the game is supposed to be played with other people. Here are some great games that players can solo through despite their multiplayer roots.
14 Diablo 3
- Playable on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Diablo 3 had a pretty rough launch, but the game slowly fixed its issues before becoming one of the better dungeon crawlers around. The game is full to the brim with content that players can experience with their friends.
That being said, Diablo 3 is such a versatile game that fans won't really miss anything if they decide to play on their own. After all, the game will still be an absolute blast, with the exploration and combat serving as two of its finest pillars.
13 Minecraft
- Playable on: PC, Mobile, Xbox 360 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft is a game that needs no introduction. This sandbox title is one of the most popular video games around, with Minecraft creations and custom game modes being wildly populated and enjoyable to this day.
In fact, the game is so great that players don't even need to play it with other players. Gamers can create amazing things in their own sandboxes on their own, showing them to the rest of the community if they wish for it.
12 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Playable on: Nintendo Switch
The Super Smash Bros. Series has gone through various evolutions over the course of its run. The latest game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, features the widest roster of characters ever seen in the series.
Unfortunately, Nintendo Online is pretty unreliable, leading to both matchmaking and online fights suffering as a result. Thankfully, the single-player campaign of the game is so great that most people will get a ton of mileage from this mode itself.
11 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
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- Playable on: Nintendo Switch
Speaking of Nintendo games, another great multiplayer title that comes to mind is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This upgraded version of the Wii U release is a blast to play, featuring everything from imaginative tracks to exciting powerups that make this arcade racer feel like the best of its kind.
Again, the majority of problems from playing online stem from the poor quality of Nintendo Online. Thankfully, playing single-player against the enemy AI is still a ton of fun and is pretty challenging to boot.
10 FIFA 23
- Playable on: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
FIFA 23 is the latest game in this long-running series to come out, with fans lauding it as one of the better entries in the series. Players actually need to be quite tactical in their approach instead of just sprinting their hearts out.
While many people consider playing online in FIFA 23 to be downright mandatory to enjoy the experience, this couldn't be further from the truth. The fleshed-out Career Mode and the addition of the World Cup make a player's single-player experience quite engaging indeed.
9 Final Fantasy 14
- Playable on: PS3, PS4, PS5, PC
The initial release of Final Fantasy 14 was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. This was already a worrying prospect after the worrying trajectory that the Final Fantasy franchise had taken in modern times, so Square Enix decided to scrap everything about the game and re-release it after putting way more effort into this series.
This led to the creation of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, which sparked a new birth for the series that has remained constant ever since. Sure, there are raids that players need to complete with other players, but the game is perfectly playable alone otherwise — a boon for people who only want to check out the story and nothing else.
8 The Elder Scrolls Online
- Playable on: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, PC
The Elder Scrolls Online is one of the better MMORPGs out there. The idea of combing through the beloved world of the Elder Scrolls series is a prospect that titillates most fans of the series to no end.
So, it's only a given that most players would want to explore the lands of The Elder Scrolls Online on their own without being held back by others and should ideally play this game solo. Roaming around the world and tackling the various threats that lie within can get somewhat overbearing alone... But with enough grinding and the right skills, this can be made possible.
7 World Of Warcraft
- Playable on: PC
It would be impossible to talk about MMORPGs without mentioning the phenomenon that is World of Warcraft. This title put Blizzard on the map and showcased the power of a multiplayer game that functioned at such a massive scale.
Its player base might've dwindled significantly since its glory days, but there's no denying that World of Warcraft is still a great game that fans can try out. Some of its raids are downright impossible solo, but the rest of the title can be played at a steady pace without having to worry about other players.
6 Stardew Valley
- Playable on: PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, PC
In what may be a pleasant surprise to some, Stardew Valley is a multiplayer title on nearly every platform now. The Harvest Moon- inspired farm/life simulator is a favorite among a lot of different players and is wildly addictive. There are so many different ways to play the game and make money that players will all find their little slice of gameplay (and bachelor) to fall in love with.
However, it's both easier and harder to do one's own thing in Stardew Valley multiplayer. It is possible to optimize the farm by splitting work between two people, but the lack of ability to pause the game and think about making decisions affects the flow of the game significantly. Plus, cooperating with another person to build one complete farm isn't as easy as it sounds. It is fun to do certain parts of the game with friends, but the whole experience is more satisfying solo.
5 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Playable on: Nintendo Switch
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is not a perfect game, but it was the perfect game for the moment in time it was released. There's something so simple and satisfying about playing the game and sharing creations with a community. Although it can feel a little bad to be outpaced by those with a time machine, that's just another option to let people play at their own pace.
However, despite their best efforts, the game is awful to play multiplayer. Needlessly long text conversations and flight cutscenes aside, there's very little that two players can do simultaneously. It would be a change of pace to work with someone else on a big island project, but visitors are incredibly limited on what they can even do on another person's island. Hanging out with people is fun, but that's about all the multiplayer in New Horizons is good at doing.