The gaming industry has changed quite a bit in the last few years. While in 2010, browser games dominated the free-to-play online gaming world, the industry has shifted towards mobile games and download games in more recent years. However, we are named browsergamez.com after all, and new releases have not escaped our radar, despite there being a lot less. That does not mean that the quality of browser games has diminished – maybe even the contrary. Here are our highlights of 2015!
Agar.io
Agar.io has certainly been the browser game of the year. Who would’ve thought that such a simple game would become such a big hit? It certainly demonstrated the power of addicting gameplay and the impressive influence of “let’s players”. Agar.io has a pretty simple concept: Players control a cell in the shape of a colorful circle that moves across a mostly blank map – aside from some green viruses here and there and some food in the shape of even smaller circles. Players’ goal is to get as large as possible by eating as much mass as they can – be it food or other players. The game automatically turns into a survival of the fittest, as the bigger circles can swallow the smaller ones. Moving into a virus will split players’ cells into many smaller circles, adding some tactical variety to the game. Additionally, purposefully splitting a cell by hitting the space bar results in shooting forward half of your cell, which also provides for some tactical moves. We have to admit that we spent many hours eating cells and being eaten by other players in Agar.io!
EndWar Online
Having EndWar Online and Agar.io in the same list certainly shows how diverse browser games can be! One is simple with straightforward graphics and basically only three moves that players can perform, while the other is complex, visually detailed, and strategically profound. EndWar Online is set in a near-future, post-World War 3 setting, where the leaders of three factions are trying to claim resources and territories. Naturally, you are in the midst of all of this.
More than 80 commanders with unique skills allow for tactical variety. The browser game not only features thrilling PvP battles, but also fun single player missions.
Travian Kingdoms
The browser game Travian is certainly one of the classics amongst strategic browser based games. The newest installment called Travian Kingdoms is based on Travian 4 and brings a lot of new content and features to the universe. The title brings the tactical and fun gameplay to current gaming standards, which is also reflected in the fact that Travian Kingdoms can be played on the go. Players can download a respective app for their Android and iOS devices.
Elvenar
Publisher InnoGames is known for high quality strategy games such as Forge of Empires or Grepolis. It has proven longevity with formerly released titles. Elvenar was the latest fantasy RTS released by the German studio. Players can choose whether they want to build an elven or human kingdom in the browser game. Many features presented in Elvenar might seem somewhat familiar to players of Forge of Empires. However, a beautifully presented combat system as well as a well-rounded gaming experience have easily pushed Elvenar onto our top browser games of 2015 list.
Drakensang Online
You might be confused as to why we chose Drakensang Online for this list. The RPG has been around for quite a while already after all. However, as we have pointed out in the past, launching a game only means so much in the online gaming world. It is equally as important to constantly add new content and make sure that a game lives on. 2015 has certainly been a big year for Drakensang Online, as its biggest expansion to date was released. The community got to experience 150 new quests, explore a new continent called Lor’Tac, and meet two new tribes. There was so much new content that it could’ve easily counted as a brand new game! Kudos to Bigpoint!