We have all been residing in a fast-pacing always-online life where we have little or no time for ourselves. But the world-wide pandemic has put a halt to that concept of life. For a year or more we have been in our houses maintain all the pandemic protocols and stepping out of our houses only when needed. This routine of life was bearable in the beginning but have become monotonous.
The daily news of deaths and losing near and dear ones have made a heavy impact on our mental health. Here we can give credit to the quantum leap in digitalization around the time of pandemic where we are spending most of the time on internet attending online meetings, courses, classes etc. But also, our different modes of entertainment like social gathering, eating out, watching a movie has been seized due to the ongoing pandemic. The one and only escape from our monotonous life is online gaming and watching Netflix which adds up a little bit of thrill in out mundane routine.
Being a 90’s kid one misses the time when going out and playing outdoor games was a regular activity even the manual retro handheld video games were the centre of attraction among the kids. The classic games of building blocks, maze and space shooters can be described as a Pandora’s Box of Nostalgia for 90’s kids who are in their adulthood now. Having said that, I would like to add that I am a 90’s kid whose life used to revolve around catching up with friends, going out and grabbing a bite, or sipping hot tea at a local tea shop but the pandemic has got everything stand still. Online game is the only tranquil way for me to cope with the distress and escape into the world of action and thrill.
While browsing the internet and searching for games online I came across a site named Plays.Org that provides free games. They have games that are easy to play but engaging at the same time. There are games like Neon Invaders, PAC-Rat and Tetra Blocks that will take you down to the memory lane like. These games are alike the games we used to play in our handheld video games which used to be a treasure for most of the 90’s kids.
Among these three games PAC-Rat will give you a dose of your childhood. In this game there is a maze-like setup where there are three cats chasing a cute little mouse whose aim is to eat cheese and save itself from the cats. Each level will be completed with the mouse consuming all the cheese. There are also big cheese pieces or the Power Pellets in the corners which will make the mouse strong and will scare the cats away but if the rat comes in front of any of the cats without having the power pellet it then it will be eaten up by the cat.
Math Boy
It’s a math solving game. The four operations are very straightforward. It is a simple game that sharpens the children’s mental ability. The design, speed, and background music are in sync. This game can help children to make a habit to give a specific answer at a specific time. But it is only suitable for junior-level children. It becomes monotonous after sometime.
Donuts
The game is suitable for all ages. A colorful and entertaining match-puzzle game. The game gets more difficult with each level and time is a very important factor as every moves must be on time.
This reminds of the game “Homescapes” which I still play on my Vivo phone. Homescapes is like the advanced full-tech version of the Donuts and city building, kind of a cocktail game.
Plays.Org have categorized the games in such a way that it becomes easy for the players to choose the sort of games they want to play. Plays.Org has a very innovative approach when it comes to converting our favourite Cartoon Network Cartoons into fun games. “Break The Worm” is the game that has the favorite characters from Adventure Time namely Finn the Human who is helped by Jake the Dog in his mission of attacking the worms and fighting with group of penguins. Jump Attack is the best way to progress in the game by using the keys X and Z. Moreover, before playing any game the instructions are so well explained under different indicators that it becomes easy for the player to understand the game and progress according to it.
In this pandemic Online gaming is the only stress buster one can rely on. When one steps into the world of online gaming, one tends to forget the grief and the tension of the outside world and puts the focus on the game and feel a sense of relief.
Penguin Café-
Plays.Org have a very engaging, yet challenging genre of game known as the “Stimulations Games” and under this category Penguin Café is a Restaurant Stimulation Game which is target based game. The penguin will have to complete the order of its customers after which each customer will tip the Penguin. Though this game looks easy at first but as the game progresses from one level to another the number of customers increases and the speed of taking order and completing it also increases. Don’t make the customers wait too long as the tip won’t be good if you do so. There will be a timer at a corner of your screen and if the time runs out and you fail to reach the target of collecting maximum tip you must start the level again. Tough! isn’t it?
Zombie Typing
Oh God! this one is the most innovate and fun zombie game. At first you might think it’s easy, but I bet it will get tough as the waves or the levels increases. One has to be very mindful while playing this game. You will be the zombie hunter in the game and while each zombie advances towards you have to write the correct word and the correct word will be the bullet to kill the zombies. As the waves increases the speed of the zombie coming towards you and attacking you will also increase. Be very careful and type the correct words as anytime you might get killed by them and start it from wave 1.
I would give this site a rating of 6.5 out of 10. The reasons are quite simple. Some games get a little monotonous after a significant amount of time. If you lose your internet connection, which I do frequently at my place, you have to start from the beginning. I mean there is no “Save” option!
But yes, Plays.Org have grabbed my attention and made me feel a sense of relief in this house arrest situation. I would look forward to the site to incorporate cocktail games like ‘Homescapes’ by ‘Playrix’ with more story line attached to it just like “Break the Worm’ that has a story attached to it before Finn starts his mission accompanied by Jake. They can also include a few mystery games to attract attention of players like ‘Mystery Manor’ by ‘Game Insight’. Overall, it’s a fun online gaming site, and a good stress buster. So, what are you waiting for? Go check out Plays.Org for some mind boggling games this summer.
Heads up for my next blog which will be about Xbox games which I have bought recently from my friend.