Best online games: top browser titles you can play right now

Best online games: top browser titles you can play right now!

The best online games come with a few benefits over their offline brothers. Namely, in contrast to the best PC games, online games require less investment, not only in money since they’re cheaper, but in the amount of time needed to enjoy them and finish them. Basically, you can have a good time playing these games without dropping a huge chunk of change, which is probably why they have such a large following.

While they may not have the same emotional pull of something like Red Dead Redemption 2, the best online games are perfect for a quick virtual vacation during a school or work break. They’re ideal, in fact, for a little distraction. And, no matter what your taste in games is, there’s something for you, whether you like puzzle-based games like Samorost, something ridiculous like Robot Unicorn Attack, or a sprawling MMO like Runescape.

We’ve used our gaming knowledge to help find and pick the best online games of 2021. No matter if you’re looking for something to end the day with or to distract yourself for a few hours, you’ll find something on this list that will keep you entertained for some time. While you're at it, do yourself a favor and invest in one of the best routers for the smoothest gaming experience.

Game of Bombs

Bomberman on the original PlayStation was one of the best crafted and most addictive multiplayer games ever to be created. Game of Bombs seeks to emulate this virtual drug. As an added bonus, to get the multiplayer experience, you'll no longer need to fish around a drawer of knotted cables for a MultiTap – just go to the website and play a gigantic version of Bomberman online with players from around the globe. Oh, the joys of the digital world!

AdventureQuest

If playing all by your lonesome is more your speed, then the single-player RPG game, AdventureQuest, is worth checking out. Almost 20 years later, and this turn-based monster fighting game still holds up. Although keep in mind that you do have to make sure you’ve got Adobe Flash installed on your computer, and you have to pay to play as a Guardian.

Choosing between Good and Evil through your actions, your task is to defeat monsters in order to gain points, Z-Tokens, and gold, as well as special items called Mastercrafts. Of course, the more skill points you gain or have, the more high-level monsters you can fight. Those points are also used for such things as armor skills, upkeep of miscellaneous items, and potion usage.

Powerline.io

Powerline.io’s concept is simple. In this strategy game, you need only boost and grow your line to become number one. But, as easy as that sounds, the gameplay is hardly effortless. First of all, you’re also going against other players, some of whom can sense a newbie from a mile away and are ruthless. In order to survive, you must be quick, smart, and ruthless yourself.

Growing and boosting your line is done in a couple of ways. Get close to other lines and generate electricity to boost. Cross or corner them and eat their neon bits to grow. And, neither is as easy as it sounds. You have to be fast and limber with your fingers, and be able to think on your feet. You’ll catch on pretty quickly, but it’ll take quite a bit of time to get to the top of the leaderboards in this game.

Die 2 Nite

This text-based online multiplayer zombie game is filled with little in-jokes. Upon starting the game you're greeted with the cheerful message "Be positive! You're going to die. Every time." 

In the top right is actual server time and, when that hits 23:00, the zombies will come out to play. During the daylight hours, you and the other players must work together to build defenses for the following night, a tactic reminiscent of Fortnite. This game is surprisingly involving and you'll constantly have to remind yourself that it's not really impacting your life, but you'll definitely become invested in the online community.

Samorost

If you haven't played any of Czech developer Amanita Design's games, then you are missing out on some of the quirkiest, funny and elaborate point-and-click puzzlers of recent memory. 

The third game in this space-aged series is was released back on March 24 on Steam, but you can play the one that started it all back in 2003 for free. Chapter One of Samorost 2 is also online. And, be sure to check out their other

Polycraft

This isn’t a game you’re going to be able to put down – this is more than your average tower defense game. Polycraft is kind of like if you took Zelda and crossed it with Crash Bandicoot. Collect supplies, build bases and explore dungeons, you get the idea. It can be installed as an app from the Chrome Web Store or played online in any browser using HTML5.

Superhot

A lot of popular Steam games and console titles owe their popularity to sites like Miniclip and Newgrounds, hosts to countless free-to-play titles from small studios with marginal publishing budgets. 

Few of these success stories ring as true as Superhot, a first-person shooter developed in Unity where time comes to a standstill when you do, giving you plenty of time to form coherent strategies. In a sense, Superhot blends elements of both popular FPS games with turn-based strategy mechanics, for a genuinely unique and fun browser-based experience.

Of course, you can always buy it as a full game, too – three, in fact, counting Superhot, its VR version, and Superhot: Mind Control Delete.

Slither.io

It’s eating or be eaten in Slither.io, the HTML5 game where your cursor controls a reptilian long boy (also known as a snake) to eat dots in order to become an even longer boy. It’s much like Pac-Man, in that the goal is to eat as many dots as possible with the ultimate goal of winding up on a leaderboard. The challenge lies in the way of avoiding other snakes because if you touch one it's game over.

Your score is measured by the length of your snake, the longest of which, at the time of writing, is about 20,000 points. If your snake makes its way into the top 10, it will then be featured prominently on the leaderboard. There isn’t much nuance beyond that, aside from the fact that you can change the skin outfitting your snake to one of several different colors and styles. It’s a simple game, but one that’s perfect for the workplace due to the lack of clicking required.

Runescape

Runescape is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and while it may not seem that important on the surface, it's actually a huge deal. Documented by the Guinness World Records, Runescape is known as the world's most popular free MMORPG, with over 200 million registered players. It also has the title of the most frequently updated game too.

Like many MMOs, the latest version of Runescape – namely Runescape 3 – takes place in a medieval setting, filled with queens, goblins, and, perhaps most importantly, dragons (and we can’t forget to mention the chickens). It's not exactly an example of fine art in terms of its visuals, but for a game that's been around for over 15 years how could it be?

As long as your browser is rocking some recent version of Java, you’ll be good to start fighting, trading and even playing mini-games with other players in the world of Gielinor. Be careful, though, as Runescape is kind of known for being addictive. And, hey, it’s on mobile devices too, now, so you can take it on the go.

Wolfenstein 3D

If you recently played Doom, or are excited by the likes of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, you may be wondering how developer id Software got its start. Well, look no further than Wolfenstein 3D. Though it wasn't the first title to come from superstar duo John Carmack and John Romero, Wolfenstein 3D was essentially the basis of the entire first-person shooter (FPS) genre.

And, even if it’s vastly different than the shooters of today, Wolfenstein 3D is often considered the first true FPS by purists. Kill Nazis and see how gaming has improved since 1994 in this important snippet of history. Experience Wolfenstein 3D for yourself entirely for free, thanks to the Internet Archive.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are few games as close to their source material as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Created by the writer of the original novel, Douglas Adams, in conjunction with Infocom's Steve Meretsky, the game is more of a historical relic than a piece of software that stands the test

t of time. 

A text-based adventure, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was originally released in 1984 for Apple II, MS-DOS and Commodore 64, among other platforms. Since it's only vaguely based on parts of the book, you're sure to have a unique experience that Douglas Adams so lovingly tailored to us so many years ago.