In the world of video games, minigames come in all shapes and sizes. Some set the standard for minigames around the world or are so well-liked they spawn their own standalone game, while others mimic real-life scenarios like hitting the blackjack table at a casino. Even many of the newest games on the market are packed with minigames, solidifying the fact that minigames are loved by gamers all over the globe. Let’s jump into our list of some of the best minigames that have ever existed.
Setting the standard for minigames
Super Mario 64, which launched all the way back in 1996, was one of the most influential and all-around best video games of its time due to the way it revolutionized how 3D gaming looked and felt, made simple graphics seem extraordinary, and, of course, brought to life a huge world of minigames.
Additionally, it revived the Mario franchise and spawned many epic games in its wake, including the superb, all minigame extravaganza, Mario Party, which went on to make more than 11 sequels and brought about countless spinoffs as well.
Minigame-spawned standalone game
Some video games are so well put together that even their minigames can spawn complete, standalone games themselves. Such is the case with The Witcher III, and it’s ever-popular minigame Gwent. This card-collecting minigame runs throughout the entire playable world where unique cards can be found in many of the different villages. At first, it seems like a side-quest but quickly becomes so addictive that it takes over as the primary reason for searching out new areas.
The standalone game, Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, is just as addicting, although a bit more complicated than it needed to be. Even still, this minigame-spawned standalone game shouldn’t be left out of your game deck and has been revered by many gaming fanatics as one of the top minigames out there today.
Casino minigames
A real-life casino can be thought of as a venue full of minigames everywhere you look, so it’s no wonder they’ve made their way into the gaming scene as well. Albeit, there are online casinos that host a plethora of casino games on the internet, putting that same feeling into a video game is quite an accomplishment.
When discussing casino minigames, nobody would argue the greatness of the “Diamond Casino” in Grand Theft Auto V. This full-blown casino world allows you to play all sorts of standard casino games, similar to what one could expect from an actual online casino.
2018’s massively popular game Red Dead Redemption fashions its own take on the standard casino-style table games with minigames such as blackjack, poker, and dice. However, being a wild wild west themed game with a lot of bandits and scoundrels around the table, you’re sure to run into your fair share of alternative competitive scenarios like five finger fillet and arm wrestling as well.
New-age minigames
Even as advanced as video games are today, there seems to always be a niche for minigames. One of the newest and highly regarded all-minigame games to enter the scene is Astro’s Playroom. This game comes free with the new Playstation 5 and for a free game, it has been expressed by critics as one of the best.
Then there is Minecraft – perhaps the most versatile video game of all time – that allows players to design their own minigames. This makes for an untapped world of opportunity out there and some creative, and very talented, gamers have built truly amazing minigames with all kinds of scenarios ranging from literally running from death in Death Run to racking up points by completing parkour challenges.
No matter how action-packed, realistic or just plain silly the minigames are, we still want to play them. They can come as a welcomed distraction from the larger missions at hand, or be the sole purpose of the game itself, but one thing remains – minigames are here to stay.
