The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has created a global pandemic. We have all been tasked with social distancing to help flatten the curve and combat this virus. Social distancing can be hard for some as they deal with and we want to help you get through. Here are some games under $20 that we recommend to keep you busy (and inside).
1. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is an open-ended country-life RPG! You’ve inherited your grandfather’s old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won’t be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town’s most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!
LEVEL UP’S TAKE
Fans of Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing will find this game to be a great joy and an extreme addiction. The game is a farm-sim with some dungeon (mining) elements mixed it. You are free to play the game as you choose but making money is always the end goal.
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
- Price: $14.99
- Website: https://www.stardewvalley.net/
2. AfterParty
In AFTERPARTY, you play Milo and Lola, recently deceased best buds who suddenly find themselves staring down an eternity in Hell. But there’s a loophole: outdrink Satan and he’ll grant you re-entry to Earth.
Milo and Lola are now dead, thirsty, and roaming the streets of Nowhere, the outermost island of Hell.
LEVEL UP’S TAKE
The artwork from this game is amazing and blends the dark ambience with some hints of neon and bright colors. The gameplay is unique and interesting as you play as Milo and Lola as they try to find their out of hell in the best way possible (at the bar!)
This game comes with a lot of humor with some hilarious lines. Each decision you make in the game helps you down the line on whether you make it out of hell or not…
- Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Price: $19.99
- Website: http://nightschoolstudio.com/afterparty/
3. Journey
In Journey the player controls a robed figure in a vast desert, traveling towards a mountain in the distance. Other players on the same journey can be discovered, and two players can meet and assist each other, but they cannot communicate via speech or text and cannot see each other’s names. The only form of communication between the two is a musical chime. This chime also transforms dull, stiff pieces of cloth found throughout the levels into vibrant red, affecting the game world and allowing the player to progress through the levels. The robed figure wears a trailing scarf, which when charged by approaching floating pieces of cloth, briefly allows the player to float through the air.
LEVEL UP’S TAKE
Journey is truly magical. From the moment you start the game till the very end, you will find yourself in awe. Along your journey you will meet others who can aid you along your journey which just adds to that magic.
- Platform(s): PC, PS4, Mobile
- Price: $14.99
- Website: http://smgstudio.com/movingout/
4. Untitled Goose Game
It’s a lovely morning in the village and you are a horrible goose.
Untitled Goose Game is a slapstick-stealth-sandbox, where you are a goose let loose on an unsuspecting village. Make your way around town, from peoples’ back gardens to the high street shops to the village green, setting up pranks, stealing hats, honking a lot, and generally ruining everyone’s day.
LEVEL UP’S TAKE
First, I’ll like to say “HONK!” This was a game that surprised me. I wasn’t sure how much I would love it but found myself having a blast as I tormented the townspeople.
- Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Price: $19.99
- Website: https://goose.game/
5. Persona 5
Persona 5, a turn-based JRPG with visual novel elements, follows a high school student with a criminal record for a crime he didn’t commit. Soon he meets several characters who share similar fates to him, and discovers a metaphysical realm which allows him and his friends to channel their pent-up frustrations into becoming a group of vigilantes reveling in aesthetics and rebellion while fighting corruption.
LEVEL UP’S TAKE
This game truly has my heart. I have spent hours and I mean hours (300+ to be exact) on this game and enjoyed every minute of it. It is a turn-based RPG with a social element to it which makes this game even more of a must-have.
- Platform(s): PS4
- Price: $18.36
- Website: https://atlus.com/persona5/
What games would you recommend to get people through social distancing?
