Today, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most played MMO RPGs. It managed to exceed even the long-time champion of MMOs – World of Warcraft. After releasing the Endwalker expansion back in 2021, Square Enix had to withhold selling the game because the game’s servers were overloaded with players who wanted to experience the next chapter of the Realm Reborn. It quite literally broke the internet.
But Final Fantasy XIV wasn’t the only game that made gamers lose their minds. Many did so in one way or another. Here we’re looking at games that broke the internet. For many, the hype may have receded by now but each and every one of these games turned out to be a must-play.
Elden Ring
What was it about Elden Ring that excited gamers the most? Was it the announcement that the Soulsborne genre for the first time was moving into an open world? Or maybe because it was going to be a collaboration with the bestselling dark fantasy author George R. R. Martin, who, instead of finishing The Winds of Winter (we’re still waiting, George!), wrote the story for Elden Ring? It just might have been both because Elden Ring is already considered a one-of-its-kind masterpiece and a game that shook up the stale go-there-do-that open-world formula.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
To be honest, there wasn’t that much hype for Geralt’s final adventure. The game looked good but reminded gamers of any other typical open-world action RPG. And we’ve seen plenty of those, right? But when The Witcher 3 hit the store shelves, gamers were blown away by the engrossing narratives told in the game’s side quests. Some even managed to rival the main game’s story missions. To this day, many consider The Witcher 3 to be the game of the generation. Many tried to mimic the side quest design, but they all are yet to succeed. Witcher 3 is an exemplary game.
Cyberpunk 2077
The next game by the CD Projekt Red has broken the internet on many occasions. Each time the game was showcased at various expos, gamers all around the globe lost their minds. On the day it was finally released, it broke the internet once more, though not the way everyone was expecting. But most of the bugs and game crashes have been fixed, and CDPR is still improving and trying to deliver a breathtaking Cyberpunk experience. You should give it a shot.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Any Rockstar game could be on this list, and, at this point, even a glimpse of the Rockstar Games logo at the beginning of a trailer will make gamers go crazy. But we chose Red Dead Redemption for two reasons:
1) It’s the biggest and most detailed Rockstar Games world to date;
2) It’s a friggin’ western, boah!
Gamers couldn’t wait to hop back on a horse and conduct shenanigans in the Wild West. RDR2 went far and beyond any of our expectations with its gorgeous and huge open-world, gut-punching climax, and is considered a masterpiece by anyone who’s played it. You can bet that the first trailer of GTA 6 will also break the internet but until any promotional material drops, we can always ride into the sunset in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Fallout 4
The Fallout series was always popular among gamers, but when the long-awaited Fallout 4 finally came out, it quite literally stopped gamers from doing anything else. Well, except for helping another settlement. Even Bethesda themselves offered a fake doctor’s note so everyone could continue exploring the wasteland. Did you use the note?
Maybe it’s too late to call in sick for work or school with Bethesda’s note, but it sure is never late to explore the nuclear Wasteland and experience the game that stopped gamers from doing everything else except playing Fallout 4 at least for one day.
God of War
How long were you calling everyone “boy” after playing the new God of War? That word was on everyone’s lips and has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. But that’s not the only thing that made God of War huge. Among the new combat system with a throwable Leviathan ax, father and son drama, and the next chapter in the Ghost of Sparta’s life, God of War did something, no one else dared to.
We’re talking about the unbroken one-take continuous camera shot, which according to the game’s director Cory Barlog, was a challenge to achieve but turned the game into a brutal, close, and personal cinematic experience. If you’re a game developer and looking for ways to reboot your franchise, look no further than God of War.
Fortnite
Like it or not, Fortnite is THE king of Battle Royale. The cartoony-looking game attracts over 3 million players daily and still is the most streamed game on Twitch. If we had to guess why Fortnite is so popular with gamers, we’d say it’s because the game offers an enormous library of cosmetic items, spanning the original and licensed content from Marvel and DC superheroes to real-life celebrities. It even had a live concert during the peak of the pandemic, and no one else has topped that!
Fortnite also changes its island map with in-game events that lead one into another. Keeping things fresh with new ways of mobility, cross-over skins, and ever-changing landscapes has broken the internet on more than one occasion.
A global phenomenon called Minecraft could easily be on top of the list. So could Among Us, which exploded on Twitch and became an overnight sensation. Terraria, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 5 and many more games deserve a spot on this list for various reasons, and to acknowledge their place in our beloved hobby, we’re celebrating these games with a special collection.
Have you played the games that the gaming community was obsessed with? If not, there’s always time to do it. Get them cheaper at Eneba!
