Battlegrounds:  8/10

Inspired by Team Fight Tactics and Dota Underlords, Hearthstone released a new mode called Battlegrounds in November 2019, but the game peaked when Hearthstone hosted an official tournament in the summer. The game involves building a board with minions and sending them into battle against seven other players. This continues until you win or your health diminishes to zero.

Battlegrounds is extremely detailed; each minion is comprehensively drawn with shading and outlining, bringing an air of reality to the fantasy world. Some minions also have their own voice line, layering on the joyful music looping in the background. This is both visually and aurally pleasing.

The best parts of the game are the variety of builds that can be made. There are six total tribes: pirates, dragons, demons, murlocs, mechs and beasts, my favorite being pirates due to their need for a high APM (actions per minute). Each tribe has synergy and a specific build for the endgame that players strive for. I enjoy completing these complex builds and dominating other players who haven’t finished theirs, as well as watching streamers do the same to their opponents.

One element that I dislike is the inconsistency of the game, or as players call it, “high-rolling” and “low-rolling.” During some games, I could be offered the minions I need to satisfy my board and get first, but in other games, I could be offered nothing useful and get last. This means that games are mostly based on luck, yet since Battlegrounds is a game that needs logical thinking to win, skill should play a bigger factor.

Fall Guys: 7.5/10

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has sold 7 million copies within a single month of its release in August. This Battle Royale game sets itself apart by replacing guns and stealth with bright avatars and running, a new environment for gamers.

Fall Guys provides a whimsical game-show environment. The contestants run through neon obstacles while bubbly music is playing in the background. The environment is nostalgic, reminding players of the cartoons and game-shows they watched as a kid. The neon colors all point to “children,” yet, it’s appealing to most ages as it was intended to be

Although it is fun to play, Fall Guys is not as fun to watch. I prefer watching video games that are more engaging and informative to the viewer. In Fall Guys, most of the mini-games don’t require a solid strategy as they mimic Wipeout and American Ninja Warriors by providing obstacle courses. But there are a few m

ini-games that I enjoy watching such as Octa-Gone, in which tiles disappear as players step on them. This requires a strategy because in team events, players need to know where to run in order to increase the survivability of their teammates.

A game of Fall Guys only lasts between 5-10 minutes, which is a considerably short time in comparison to its counterparts, convincing the players to press play again. The simplicity of this game also caters to their audience. The only controls are movement, jump, dive and grab. There are no combos or APM skills needed to do well in this game, expanding their following by appealing to less experienced gamers.

Among us: 8.5/10

Claiming the title of the second most watched video game on Twitch (Twitch Metrics), Among Us has gained an enormous following with around 78 million hours watched in the last thirty days. Resembling Mafia, Among Us splits players into crewmates and imposters, the crewmates being the “town” and the imposters being the “mafia.” This game requires players to use both logical deduction and strategy in order to win.

During the active phase, cremates set off to complete their tasks which are scattered throughout the base. The base contains many different rooms, but players keep track of them with a provided map. On the other hand, the impostors have no tasks other than sabotaging and killing crewmates. After they kill someone, a body is left and whoever sees it reports it, calling everyone into an emergency meeting.

The most suspenseful time is during the emergency meetings. In this time, players have to discuss and vote for who they think the imposter is. Imposters have to find a way to clear themselves while the crewmates analyze everyone’s stories and choose who to vote against. This is exciting for players who get a thrill when they lie their way out of or debunk someone else’s story. This process goes on until one side wins. Both parties have two ways to win. For the crewmates, they either have to finish their tasks or vote off the imposters. The imposters win when they either tie or exceed the number of surviving crewmates.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Lobby screen before the game begins. | Photo by Melody Cui | El Estoque; Content by Among Us

What makes Among Us fun to watch is that I feel like I’m playing the game too. On Twitch, the viewers get to see the streamer’s screen and are given the same amount of information as streamers are during the emergency meetings. This allows viewers to try to deduce who the imposter is, making it more entertaining to watch.

Like most murder-mystery games, the ghost has the least amount of fun, and Among Us is not an exception. The only thing the ghost can do is complete their tasks. They get no say in the discussion because they can see who the imposters are. I find this aspect necessary but still boring because a game usually takes 10-20 minutes, and the first few people who are killed don’t get to enjoy it.

Battlegrounds, Fall Guys and Among Us are exceedingly good games. Although they have flaws, their positive elements greatly outweigh them. All three have their own unique characteristics that allowed them to peak over summer and I’m excited to see how these games will improve and advance in the gaming industry.