Quarantine has been rough for all of us. Many are forced to stay at home since their workplaces are shutdown.  Others need to go to work and hold down the fort in solitude until vaccination is rolled out. Either way, we have all been feeling like a candle burning from both ends.

Many people have their own ways of winding down and distracting themselves from the hardships of the world, and for me, that is gaming. And to help keep yourself sane while we ride this out, perhaps the following three games may help you too, as they have for me.

3. Among Us

While I know, it’s not the most relaxing game, Among Us has become quite a staple amongst my group of friends. Among Us, for those who aren’t familiar, situates each player in one of a few maps, with the ultimate goal of finding and swiftly ejecting the imposters from the ship before the real crew meets a swift end. 

The game has been out for a while now but seems to be coming back into the limelight as of last year. In general, the game is supposed to be played by staying silent until a meeting is called. At this point, players can point the finger at any one person they decide is guilty, regardless of whether they’re innocent or not (I’ve been that innocent victim many times).

My regular group has taken to just talking through the game because in the end during this pandemic it’s easier just to be social and accuse each other of lying, rather than just being silent and accusing each other of lying.

2. Dungeons and Dragons [I know it’s not a video game, give me a break] 

I’ve been playing tabletop games for many years now, and as experienced as I am with them, it was a real struggle to convert to working online and playing online. With as much free time as I have now, I can play multiple campaigns and multiple games during a single week.

There is, however, a more comfortable way that I found to play D&D through Divinity Original Sin 2. On the PC version, they have a dungeon master mode in which you can create a story and a campaign in the game for your players. That way, you can kind of play it remotely without dealing with trying to imagine what can happen when you don’t have a map in front of you.

I have a lot more to explore in Divinity Original Sin 2 as I haven’t played it a lot, but it is a handy tool from what I’ve seen.

1. Rocket League

Surprisingly, the last game that I’ve been playing a lot lately has been Rocket League. While I had initially purchased it right on release, I never had anyone to play with. Now with quarantine and everyone at home, we’ve all started to play a lot more car soccer, and though I’m biased, I like to think that I’m starting to get a little better.

For those not familiar with Rocket League, It is a relatively simple game in which you play soccer with a rocket-powered vehicle. So far, they have a few different game modes and different calibres of team matches from 2v2s to 4v4s and different game types, including most recently a football mode for the Super Bowl and even a basketball mode.

My general friend group contains enough people that we can play with each other in private matches. However, on the days my hometown friends can’t play, I can always count on my colleagues from NXL, James and Brandon. 

I’m sure that as COVID persists and the stay-at-home order here in Toronto lengthens, this list will change a little. In the meantime, however, these games have been fantastic at keeping me from losing my mind. 

What kind of games are you playing during this pandemic to remedy the boredom? Let us know in the comments below!

For more NXL content, check out Crash Bandicoot is Back and He’s Coming to Nintendo Switch