Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders takes our number six spot. It's a multiplayer experience that, against all odds, managed to capture the imagination of players with a riveting and immersive take on the extraction shooter genre.
Switching somewhere in the middle of development from a PvE co-op shooter to the PvPvE extraction shooter we know it as today, Embark Studios managed to hone in on the cinematic immersion that makes the game so special.
You'll struggle to find a multiplayer game that's this fun to simply exist in. The game's somewhat subtle approach to a post-apocalypse wouldn't look too out of place in The Last of Us, with brutalist architecture sprinkled with nature.
But it's the sound design that really impresses, calling back to the studio's history, with many of the team having formerly worked on the Battlefield series.
The sound design conveys so much information to the player, whether it's a nearby raider trying to call in an extract or the bleeps and bloops of an alerted ARC machine.
Together with its visuals, you have a game that defies the need for overbearing UI. Everything you need to know is in the game world, allowing the player to truly immerse themselves in its setting.
And all of that is before you get to the central gameplay loop of looting up and getting out. The risk and reward factor synonymous with the extraction shooter genre is still here, but ARC Raiders manages to walk that fine line between hardcore and accessible.
It leads to an experience that can feel incredibly tense, but also a lot of fun. There's this brilliant sense of emergent gameplay that makes every raid different. Some matches are slow-paced stealth missions, and others are white-knuckle action spectacles.
Throwing in the PvP elements just amplifies it all the more, with one of the most interesting gaming communities in the multiplayer space. Make alliances, break them, or just ruthlessly hunt other players down.
It all works together to make for a showcase of true multiplayer immersion.