Sometimes you can’t beat whiling away some time on an online game. Not sure where to start? Here’s a few ideas in the key categories.
Shooter
Remember Doom? The classic frenetic shooter game of your childhood is also available in a browser-based online version. Yep, the first episode of Doom is free to play with no download at all.
For those who missed out on Doom in their youth, it’s a simple shooter placed inside a not so simple maze of corridors, keycards, switches, doors oh and a lot of intense monsters trying to kill you all the time. And it’s on Mars.The only tricky bit is the controls are pretty cumbersome, with no mouse look – but at least it adds to the retro vibe.
If this sounds like your bag you can start playing here
Thriller/ horror
For those who get their kicks from crime or horror games, one of the best free games comes in the form of Silhouette. The two-player game allows you to play as the victim or the killer in a dark, suitably creepy house. Nervy players might find the tightly-paced game a bit too much for a casual afternoon game, but fans of the genre will love skulking around as the knife-wielding killer or using all their wits to escape as the unarmed victim to be.
Adventure
Other popular types are adventure games, where you pass obstacles and baddies to get to each level or crime solving games where you play detective to a heinous crime. If you’re into betting, something like an online casino game might be more up your street. Phone Casino is another particularly popular form of online gaming to enjoy.
Just a bit of fun
Hard to categorise, there’s plenty of creative games out there that don’t involve classic ‘plot’ or ‘characters’, but still offer an engrossing way to spend some spare time online. Take Pale Machine, billed as a ‘playable music video’ from Ben Esposito of Arcane Kids the game involves tilting various brightly coloured objects with the arrow keys or keyboard.
Music games
Those with an ear for rhythm will enjoy testing their skills in music-based games like Soundodger. Each note of the fantastic sounding soundtrack sends a wave of little spikes at your cursor, get hit and the music distorts by skipping forwards a few seconds, which is not only annoying but makes you lose points. Try the free game first and if you like it there’s an expanded version available on Steam too.
