Not Just Story – The Best Mini-Games
What do The Witcher 3, GTA and Mortal Kombat have in common? Perhaps curiously, playing big games usually implies playing smaller ones, and some of the mini-games are truly exquisite. Here's our selection of the best ones.
Table of Contents
- Not Just Story – The Best Mini-Games
- The Witcher 3 - Gwent
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - Motor Kombat
- Yakuza series – too many to choose one
- Project Gotham Racing 2 – Geometry Wars
- Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake vs. Monkey
- Final Fantasy 8 - Triple Triad
- GTA 3 (and some later installments) - Ambulance
The Witcher 3 - Gwent
INFORMATION
- What game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Type of additional entertainment: a minigame built into the main campaign
Implementing card games inside the main story is nothing new - even in this text you will find another very successful and much older example of this formula. However, CD Projekt RED has earned a place among the best minigames, not only because this card mini0game is great (which is no doubt true). It is also an example of the perfect connection between the main game and the minigame. Even though it is optional throughout the majority of the game, Gwent is an organic part of the in-game world. Subsequent Gwent matches do not pull players away from the illusion of traversing fantasy lands - they are a part of it.
When traveling around Velen or Skellige Islands, trading and engaging in plot interactions, players can offer independent characters to play a quite elaborate card game, in which one has to arrange cards in three rows and try to earn more points than the opponent. The problem is that you have to win two rounds to win the game, and you only have one deck for all rounds. Instead of playing the most powerful cards from the start, it is often more profitable to play the weaker ones and encourage the opponent to use their strong units prematurely. As in the art of war, in Gwent, a lost "battle" can be turned into the victory of the entire "war".
This game also has an important collectible meaning to it. The first cards one owns do not count for much, but winning subsequent skirmishes, completing story tasks, and trading allows players to gradually develop their collection and create invincible decks.
The very good reception of Gwent is evidenced by two factors. The first is that its physical version, included in The Witcher 3 add-ons remains a treat for collectors to this day (even several tournaments have taken place). The second proof is Gwent: The Witcher Card Game - a separate production developed by CD Projekt RED, which managed to take over quite a fair share of the card games market. It may not be a serious threat to Hearthstone, but a stand-alone, commercial project with its own fan community.
