There’s never been a greater moment in history to be a gaming fan! With countless developers, services and platforms serving up top-shelf game content, often for free and across a range of devices, the choice and diversity at gamers’ fingertips in 2022 can be somewhat overwhelming.
In light of this, we’re taking a quick rundown here of our top platforms for gamers of all persuasions to explore today. With everything from blockbuster franchises to casual minigames well represented here, you’re sure to find something to fit every mood.
Browser-based Gaming Services
Browser-based gaming is severely underrated nowadays, especially when compared to the often-similar offerings you’ll find in the app stores. But to think of this format as anything less than a captivating platform in its own right is to overlook many of the priceless titles you can find on websites.
Take Newgrounds as a glowing example – in the early 00s, Newgrounds was the unquestioned king of online minigames, serving both as a community hub and indie game library for the internet’s Macromedia Flash gaming faithful.
Yet few realize that Newgrounds is still flying the flag, having survived the death of the Flash plugin in 2020 through the use of emulators and an eager adoption of the new web-standard, HTML5.
Elsewhere among the gameplay experiences primarily accessible through a web browser you will find the diverse and compelling field of iGaming. This is especially true if you’re looking to get your game on through a mobile device, as these types of titles are historically underrepresented by the officially sanctioned app stores on both iOS and Android devices.
This is a shame, given that leading names in this space have been excelling in serving up digital variants of brick-and-mortar mainstays for over two decades with everything from roulette and blackjack, to a huge range of slots titles on offer.
Do keep in mind however that this sector is large, and accordingly it can often be a challenge to identify the best providers available in your region. Fortunately there are a number of leading comparison platforms out there, such as VegasSlotsOnline, that are committed to connecting their patrons with the very best legit UK online casinos out there.
What’s more, this site not only collates the game platforms worth your time into a single directory, but delivers competitive welcome bonuses, sign-up offers and other promotions to users taking up their recommendations. This makes it one of the most cost-effective ways to have a flutter to boot.
Cloud Gaming
Back in the day, the relative costs associated with purchasing a PlayStation 2 or Xbox were much more manageable for the average person. However, thanks to both inflation, and the increasing sophistication of games consoles, the value of new consoles represents a significant investment and one that will likely put off the more casual gamer.
Fortunately, there is an emerging alternative to sinking £500+ on a PlayStation 5 and the like. Called cloud gaming, this is a new take on a technology we’re all familiar with from the likes of Netflix and Spotify. That’s right, cloud game platforms let you stream games over the internet.
Following the recent closure of Google’s doomed Stadia platform, the current best-in-class example of cloud gaming is Xbox’s own version, called Xbox Cloud Gaming. This service, part of their wider Game Pass subscription model, features a rotating selection of some 300+ leading Xbox games, with everything from current flagship title Halo: Infinite, to classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games available to pick up and play.
The fact that cloud gaming does not require local hardware means you can feasibly access it through any device with an internet connection. This means that you can just as easily boot into a new game on your PC, as you can your ageing smartphone.
While you probably want a bluetooth-enabled game controller to get the most out of the experience, there’s nothing stopping you firing up Battlefield V on the bus and taking your chances with touch-inputs.
Many point to this technology as the future of the wider games industry, with Amazon, Sony and Nvidia all energetically developing their own examples of this tech. Even Netflix is exploring cloud gaming in a recent push to hire developers to back its entry into the gaming market.