5 Best Metaverse Games to Play in 2022

Metaverse games are earning a lot of attention from crypto as well as gaming enthusiasts. But, which one should you play?

In recent years, the term "metaverse" has become more and more popular along with the growth of games powered by blockchain technology. Different from online games, a lot of things happen in real-time in metaverse games. You won't find any lags, pauses, game-overs, or resets. Furthermore, fast internet connection and powerful virtual reality technology provide an exciting experience when playing metaverse games.

On the other hand, metaverse game developers are busy adding advanced systems and features in order to attract more attention from gamers, such as the insertion of NFT elements and tokens into the game ecosystem. This makes metaverse games sought as one of the play-to-earn (P2E) methods for obtaining crypto.

Although the demand for metaverse games has exploded, there are still many people who are confused about which game to play. If you are one of them, don't worry, because it's not too late to join the party. Here are some picks for the best metaverse games to consider.

1. Decentraland

Argentinian duo Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano opened Decentraland to the public in 2020. Decentraland is a play-to-earn (P2E) game built on a virtual world in the metaverse based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.

You can buy many things in the game such as a virtual plot of 'LAND'. When you buy it, you receive an ERC-721 token called LAND or commonly referred to as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). LAND is not interchangeable, so no one else can make a copy of it including the creators of Decentraland, making you the sole owner. In order to be able to buy LAND, you must use an official cryptocurrency (MANA).

The price of the MANA coin earlier this year broke records at a new all-time high. At the time of writing, Decentraland's MANA has a market cap of $1,492,561,745.

As long as you have MANA, you can create avatars, buy wearables, and acquire real estate in a virtual space of over 90,000 plots of land. As a landowner, you can rent out anything you own: houses, hotels, parks, cinemas, casinos, etc. You can also earn money by hosting concerts and selling tickets, setting up exhibitions to auction digital art, and more.

Interested in playing at Decentraland? You just need a digital wallet like Metamask and a web browser to get started.

2. Sandbox

Apart from Decentraland, another well-known metaverse game based on the Ethereum blockchain is Sandbox. Its popularity is supported by several celebrities such as Snoop Dogg.

Sandbox was first launched in 2012 as a mobile game by Pixelowl co-founders, Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget. What distinguishes it from other metaverse games is that Sandbox partners with well-known brands such as Atari, TIME, Care Bears, The Smurfs, The Walking Dead, and Adidas.

Sandbox provides a virtual blockchain-powered world where players can buy virtual real estate and other items, as well as sell or rent them for profit. In Sandbox, you can buy space, host events, and trade NFTs. The game's native token is known as SAND.

Although the metaverse concept is still not fully completed, SAND has been able to show its existence with a total market cap of $1,440,261,466. Furthermore, Sandbox has an impressive 7% share in the metaverse as a whole. The game is available on iOS, Android, and Windows if you are interested in playing.

3. Axie Infinity

What is the most favored metaverse game right now? The answer is Axie Infinity. In 2018, Vietnamese start-up Sky Mavis released Axie Infinity after being inspired by Pokemon. The game features fantasy creatures called Axies that can be bred, raised, collected, and traded.

Built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, Axie Infinity involves gathering many types of Axies, having them fight against other Axies, and even building an empire for them to live in. Axies can hunt for treasures or battle other Axies for rewards.

The game is based on the SLP and AXS crypto metaverses, which are in-game tokens that can be converted to other cryptocurrencies. These tokens allow you to trade and earn in-game cash every time you buy new Axies, take part in battles or adventures, and many more. To play the game, you need to have at least 3 AXS.

Despite losing hype due to increasing competition, Axie Infinity has solidified its name a solid name in the metaverse gaming industry. Besides, the developers are still planning some fantastic enhancements to make Axie Infinity the number one game. Axie Infinity (AXS) has a market cap of $1,182,380,116.

4. Illuvium

Illuvium is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) built on the Ethereum blockchain. Illuvium has been widely discussed in the gaming community as a "true triple-A, 3D blockchain" game. The visuals of Illuvium's gameplay have been widely praised by metaverse fans as one of the best they've ever seen. So don't be surprised if, at this time, Illuvium (ILV) has a market capitalization of $48,482,276 even though it was just released in 2022.

In this game, you hunt god-like creatures called illuvials that can be captured or nursed back to health. Each Illuvial has its own strengths and weaknesses, and they are divided into four classes: Fighter, Rogue, Psion, and Empath. These creatures will later help you against other players and monsters, of which there are more than a hundred. Illuvial is also a tradable NFT — the more powerful and rare it is, the higher its value.

If you have three of the same illuvial, you can combine them into a new creature and expand their value on the condition that each has reached the highest level after winning a battle. Players can get rewards in the form of Illuvium crypto or ILV and exchange them on IlluviDEX.

5. My Neighbor Alice

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if your favorite game from childhood, Harvest Moon, was in the metaverse? You can find it in My Neighbor Alice which is a farming simulator game suitable for beginners.

Just released this spring, My Neighbor Alice is a blockchain-based metaverse farming game inspired by Animal Crossing. In the game, you are allowed to own and cultivate a virtual farm plot or even an island managed by Alice. Thus, the gameplay is similar to Farmville where you can choose crops to grow and livestock to breed while interacting with other people. You also have other job options such as running a bee farm and trading honey.

Players, in the form of a customizable avatar, use in-game tokens (ALICE) to purchase NFTs attached to virtual plots of land. Using in-game assets (such as houses, livestock, crops, and decorations), they can grow food and other products on the farm and then trade them on the market.

Besides relaxing to play, My Neighbor Alice promises a DAO-managed economy run by community members who own ALICE tokens. Its blockchain ecosystem also enables DeFi features such as NFT betting as well as collateral and asset leasing via smart contracts. My Neighbor Alice now has a market cap of $64,823,841.

EndNote

The recognition that the metaverse get in recent months has made them the center of attention for gamers, investors, and celebrities. On top of that, the promising prospects in the metaverse game can open up new opportunities for players. Some experts say that playing metaverse games could transform the labor market, providing new income streams for gamers in developing countries.

As the metaverse game continues to be upgraded to a higher level of complexity, it is possible that this industry will become more accepted in the years to come. Some of their tokens even manage to emerge as the most promising metaverse cryptocurrencies to compete with other coins in general.