I genuinely miss tacked on multiplayer modes in the year 2024

[M. Wallace]

I always found enjoyment out of them, and it was a good way to take a break from the single player portion and get some good MP action in the same universe.

Some of the games I remember:

-Uncharted 2
-The Last of Us
-GoW: Ascension
-Dead Space 2
-Max Payne 3
-Gears 1
-FEAR
-Bioshock 2
-Spec Ops: The Line
-Mass Effect 3
-Tomb Raider 2013
-Wolfenstein 2009
-AC Brotherhood
-RDR
-GTA4

I'm sure there are others, but damn I kind of wish this trend would come back.

 

[Fat4all]

-AC Brotherhood

Click to shrink...

🤤

 

[Niklel]

Loved MP in Mass Effect 3 and tLoU.
So I kinda miss those "tacked on" MP modes too.
On the other hand, games take ages to develop already these days, adding those MP modes surely wouldn't help.

 

[antitrop]

I don't, it was one of my favorite things to complain about a decade ago. I'd much rather spend my time with a dedicated service multiplayer game.

Even if the modes were good, it was just rarely something I engaged in. Like the only game on your list I even played the multiplayer for was Gears of War. At every point in my life, I've always had another multiplayer game on the side I would rather play than the extra modes of games I bought for the singleplayer campaign.

 

[Unicorn]

Bionic Commando
Cybertron games


Really, any game with unique movement/mobility and having that carry over into MP.

 

[CrewShadow]

Gears 1 is my favorite gears MP, played the Bioshock 2 MP a lot more then I thought I would, and Max Payne 3 MP was pretty fun overall.

Random ass tangent, but I miss Gotham Imposters.

 

[Palmersaurusrex]

There was one in Metroid Prime 2 that got a lot of play in our house when we were growing up.

 

[Dyashen]

I loved both Crackdown 3s campaign and also the additional multiplayer. I cant think of another game that had the same vertical level design like the levels in mp were.

Havent played TLOU's mp mode but would have loved to do so. Shame its not part of the remake (or 2).

Brotherhood and Black Flag though were really good modes. Could have easily been standalone stuff.

 

[Makoto Yuki]

Yeah, Uncharted 2, The Last of Us, and Mass Effect 3 were amazing multiplayer experiences for single player games.

 

[Marz]

Star Fox Assault was so bad it was good

 

[Drachen]

I do miss multiplayer modes because I feel some of them were much more unique than most GAAS offerings today. And obviously it was nice being able to play multiplayer games without needing to worry about FOMO or monetization shoved in your face at every turn.

 

[Bede-x]

Can't say that I agree. I much prefer the roguelite, randomizers or new game+ modes we get today and then leaving the multiplayer to titles focusing on it.

I do miss multiplayer games ending or not getting endless updates. The one and done model holds much appeal to me, so that part of throwaway modes could be nice, but I'd still rather dedicated multiplayer titles did it, so single player focused titles only focus on that mode specifically.

 

[rpm]

These were extremely my jam like a decade+ ago. I feel like I spent most of the late 360/PS3 era playing these, to be honest. For me, I feel like the transition between 360/PS3 and PS4/XB1 was marked more by the death of these and the rise of GaaS MP games than anything else.

Some of my favorites not listed in the OP:
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- Aliens: Colonial Marines (yes, actually.)
- Splinter Cell: Double Agent
- Anarchy Reigns (listen, I know multiplayer is the main part of the game and the single player was the more "tacked on" bit, but it still had this energy, IMO. Both sides of the game kinda felt "tacked on"/a bit undercooked, it's MSRP was only $29.99)
- Crysis 2/3
- The High Moon Transformers games
- Batman: Arkham Origins

 

[LossAversion]

If nothing else, this trend gave us Factions and Brotherhood's multiplayer. Two of the most fun multiplayer experiences I've ever had. I still miss Brotherhood's multiplayer. And Factions came at just the right time to put a salve on the wound of SOCOM's demise.

 

[aerie]

I'm not sure i'd say I miss them, but I certainly had some fun with Uncharted 2, Bioshock 2, and Tomb Raider's multiplayer modes. I just feel I can get my multiplayer fix with more in depth products that focus on it these days.

I was going to include Assassin's Creed too, but I think that went a little beyond "tacked on" and was a very unique and interesting attempt at multiplayer, it just didn't seem to catch on.

 

[Jonathan Lanza]

I genuinely think we may see a return of these with how much people are willing to invest into multiplayer games nowadays

 

[Vareon]

I never touch them, and I basically think it's a waste of dev time, but it is kinda sad that most games now need to ultra focus on what they do best in order just to be able to be shipped in a reasonable state and time. With people being so unforgiving with a single frame drop no wonder devs just don't bother anymore.

I think Ghost of Tsushima's approach is best of both worlds.

 

[Patapuf]

I do miss multiplayer modes because I feel some of them were much more unique than most GAAS offerings today. And obviously it was nice being able to play multiplayer games without needing to worry about FOMO or monetization shoved in your face at every turn.

Click to shrink...

the FOMO was that most where completely dead a short time after release.

 

[GamerJM]

I liked the local multiplayer ones a lot because it was a fun way to show off random games in your collection to friends who were over. Basically never bothered with the online ones but I've basically never heard a bad thing about AC Brotherhood or ME3 mutliplayer so they had to have done something right at least some of the time.

 

[CheapJi]

I was literally about to say this in the unpopular opinion thread. These were awesome, specially the local multoplayer ones. I think uncharted 3 had one and it was a blast.
Splinter cell convictions co op was even better than the main game.

 

[inkblot]

Eh, it's a trend I'm glad that's not really in fashion anymore. Better to fully commit to establishing what type of gameplay you want to focus on.

 

[Laserbeam]

Man, I haven't had occasion to use "tacked on" for a very, very long time. Haha. Maybe this is why.

I miss them sometimes. There was usually at least a bit of fun to be had, for sure. Some of them feeling extra charming/weird in a way.

 

[Solid Shake]

Uncharted, Metal Gear Online 2, Assassins Creed, Spies vs Mercs, & Last of Us held my attention for far longer than these games dedicated to strictly multiplayer ever have.

All games as a service/MP focused games with incredibly few exceptions have been much less fun for me, funny how that works.

 

[SweetBellic]

Came into the thread incredulous, but seeing that list took me back. I did play my fair share of GTA IV and RDR1 MP back in the day. ME3 too. GTA IV's free mode was especially casual and "cozy" for me.

 

[Paquete_PT]

TLOU factions is by far mu favourite one out of those, one of my favourite multiplayer experiences ever. I liked the slower approach, the crafting and the survival aspect of it.
Another one I really liked was Watch Dogs specially since it was something original, I liked the cat and mouse game on an open world.

 

[Fat4all]

I still miss Brotherhood's multiplayer

Click to shrink...

nothing better than being hunted, hiding in a group with two other copies of yourself, then proccing one of them to run so a hunter tries to kill it, only to sucker punch them and run to hide again

 

[Fat4all]

nothing better than being hunted, hiding in a group with two other copies of yourself, then proccing one of them to run so a hunter tries to kill it, only to sucker punch them and run to hide again

Click to shrink...

and POISONING

poisoning was worth SO MANY POINTS

it was hard as fuck to pull off but so satisfying!

 

[Kotetsu534]

I spent 100s of hours in UC2's and TLoU's multiplayer. I basically don't play any multiplayer games now outside of LoL and Gran Turismo (and chess...). Yep I miss them.

 

[Hasney]

I loved the Assassins Creed ones, mostly in concept. In execution, people found ways to cheese and exploit, but man, they were so fun when everyone was playing the way it was designed.

 

[Spacejaws]

Loved it. Felt like sometimes you got some really unique stuff from the idea you just had to include multiplayer of some sort and I almost wish that, not quite mandated, but was encouraged? With proper budgets and stuff of course.

I struggle to think of what is considered tacked on though, I think of it as games, series or styles that were considered primarly single player which ended up having a multiplayer mode kinda against the grain.

Favourites I can think about are
Donkey Kong 64
Mass Effect
Prey
Metal Gear Solid 4
Red Dead Redemption
Metroid Prime 2
Half Life Deathmatch

Baldur's Gate and really all Infinity Engine games except Planescape Torment. Before these don't know of any fully coop online RPGs.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Turok 2 Seeds of Evil

Goldeneye! Common knowledge that the multiplayer was cooked up in their spare time and the higher ups actually didn't give a shit about it/thought it was a waste of resources until they got their hands on it.

Call of Juarez and Call of Juarez Bound in Blood
Uncharted 2
The Last of Us
Far Cry 2
Unironically really enjoyed Haze online.
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - So good there's not really been a deception esque game that tops this and mad that Ubisoft have never revisited it even as a GaaS multiplayer only title. Even Unity had a great multiplayer mode which it's big issue was the stability but coop assassin missions was a great concept.

I'm sure there are alot more just not coming to mind now.

 

[Spook & Spell]

Haha I forgot that TR 2013 had a multiplayer mode.

My friends and I used to play a lot of these during the PS2 era. It seemed like every primarily single player focused game had some kind of split screen arena battle or half-baked co-op mode.

 

[LossAversion]

nothing better than being hunted, hiding in a group with two other copies of yourself, then proccing one of them to run so a hunter tries to kill it, only to sucker punch them and run to hide again

Click to shrink...

 

[turbobrick]

Some of the old local multiplayer stuff was fun. But when it comes to online I never bothered with it, as I'd rather play a dedicated online game.

 

[DrScruffleton]

my group dumped dozens of hours into Max Payne 3, loved it. And we played a ton of uncharted 2, until they ruined it with balancing patches.

 

[Trisc]

I wouldn't call the multiplayer modes of games like Uncharted 2, The Last of Us, or Max Payne 3 "tacked-on", though. Those were genuinely fleshed-out and fun multiplayer modes with lots of consideration put into maps, modes, and sandbox balancing.

When I think "tacked-on", my mind goes to games like Spec Ops: The Line, Dead Space 2, or Batman: Arkham Origins. Just because a game wasn't Call of Duty doesn't mean its multiplayer was an afterthought. Modes like that were a waste of dev time and resources. They were hardly touched mere months post-launch. Sometimes they were novel, but even then they didn't have staying power.

 

[beebop]

If nothing else, this trend gave us Factions and Brotherhood's multiplayer. Two of the most fun multiplayer experiences I've ever had. I still miss Brotherhood's multiplayer. And Factions came at just the right time to put a salve on the wound of SOCOM's demise.

Click to shrink...

AC Brotherhood's MP was amazingly unique (sorta, The Ship HL mod did something very similar on PC). I miss it to this day, despite it making me so suspicious of anyone out in public after a big session haha.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Metal Gear Online and Mass Effect 3 had me in a vice. Mass Effect 3 is still playable, but I wish the mods were better incorporated. And Metal Gear Online has been revived, but I wish the player base was larger. Can we get a Twitch streamer in on that shit?

 

[Anjin M]

I never played anything multiplayer, so these modes were always a waste of space to me. My brother, on the other hand, would kill for another Mass Effect multiplayer mode.

 

[Vic20]

It's messed up ain't it, we lost shitty tacked on multiplayer modes for crappy full multiplayer games.

 

[chipperrip]

This is one of those monkey paw wishes where you never knew what you would get or how badly it affected the main game.

 

[Jay Shadow]

Didn't play Max Payne 3 multiplayer much, but I thought bullet time only effecting people in your line of sight was a pretty genius solution.

 

[Cup O' Tea?]

I played a lot of the MP mode in Conkers Bad Fur Day.

 

[KillerBEA]

Got some quality time in on Bioshock 2 and the Assassin's Creed multiplayer (across quite a few of them). Some fond memories.

 

[BlackManLovesKUF]

That gen gave us so many fun MP games; I played the hell out of God of War Ascension, Ninja Gaiden 3, Anarchy Reigns and Devil's Third multiplayer among others. It also meant that devs could craft a tight single player campaign and didn't have to worry as much about padding the game out since MP could serve as the player retention component.

 

[Mogg]

I enjoyed so many of these. Never understood the default hostility towards them when they were at their height.

I dunno if it's quite what you'd call "tacked on" given how great it is, but the Kid Icarus: Uprising MP is some of the most fun I've had in a PvP game.

RE:VERSE is a pretty fun tacked on type MP. More people should give it a chance. No, it's not balanced like a GaaS, despite kind of being one. And that's why it's fun. Screw around until you can cheese your way to a build that works.

 

[Spinluck]

Yup, now everything is so money and attention hungry.

 

[Glio]

Most of them were a waste of time, but if you ask me, a lot of multiplayer games right now waste their time with single player modes.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I like I can ignore entire games and genres instead of worrying they'll be tacked on to something I enjoy.

 

[toadkarter]

Yeah I'm gonna be honest I never enjoyed these, and always felt bad for devs that had to bash these into their games given that (at least in my experience) not a lot of people played them.

I will also say as someone that was heavy into trophies back in the day I really hated all the multiplayer achievements needed to get a platinum trophy, particularly if the noone was playing the MP by the time you got the game.

 

[Spacejaws]

I enjoyed so many of these. Never understood the default hostility towards them when they were at their height.

Click to shrink...

I guess it was maybe the impression that maybe these modes were being forced, not really what the developers had in their hearts and potentially took something away from the main game like resources or budget etc and without them the single player game could have been even better?

kinda remember that being part of the convo back in the day at least.