Introduction 

We’re nearing the end of 2022, a bittersweet year for the web3 gaming space. On one hand, we saw superstar games fade away in the bear market, while a series of exciting new titles rose in the ranks to take their place. It’s undeniable that the industry is still shell shocked by the market downturn, but we believe that web3 gaming has matured for the better. The games that are being developed right now are better than their predecessors on every metric. Here are some of the games that we’re excited about and will be keeping a close eye on in the coming month.

Criteria

You know the drill tigers. We judge a game based on five metrics:

1. Gameplay: It's not necessary for a game to come up with extensive gameplay that a player can explore forever. The rules are simple: the gameplay should be engaging and entertaining. 
2. Lore: Story is the anchor that keeps players hooked. Many games in this space are coming up with grand universal narratives and we love them, but the plot should also be well thought out and coherent to make sense to the players.
3. Tokenomics: One of the key elements that make up a web3 game is its tokenomic structure. We’ve seen a number of novel models throughout this year. The principle is that the hooks and sinks of a game should be balanced.
4. Cost to Enter: In this article we’re featuring games that can be a little heavy on the pocket for many players. So buckle up. However, don't be discouraged. The general trend that we have seen is that games launch with expensive NFTs to raise funds and gradually decrease the price of access.
5. Community: The strength of its community keeps a web3 game alive. We look at the number of followers, community members, and engagement that these games have.

Games 

Mines of Dalarnia(MoD)

Mines of Dalarnia is an old school dungeon crawler with a Web3.0 twist. A 2D side-scroller

In which players can pursue two distinct game modes: 

Miners: Dig deep into the mining plots of Dalarnia to find useful resources in this exciting sidescroller. However, these dungeons are full of monsters, so be on your guard.

LandOwner: Grab a hold of a couple of plots in the game and collect rewards from other players that mine on your land.

Every level in the game is procedurally generated(similar to the infinite content generator we saw in Big Time). This means that players encounter novel types of monsters, traps, and dungeons as they trudge through the game. 

Players can craft mining equipment and weapons by digging up resources from the mines of Dalarnia, or buy them in the game’s marketplace. These in-game items can be sold to other players to earn some extra cash. Meanwhile, landowners can earn rent by leasing out their plots to other players for mining.

Mines of Dalarnia makes it to our list because of its simple yet enjoyable gameplay. The game offers an already popular trope (dungeon crawler) that can be played for hours for its entertainment value, with the added bonus of earning tokens. 

The game also has a decent user base, with more than 48000 players.

Phantom Galaxies  

While MoD came up with a vintage-styled dungeon crawler to satisfy our nostalgic urges, the next entry on the list is a truly modern game that takes us to space. Phantom Galaxies is a sci-fi mecha RPG where players take the form of mechanized robots(called starfighters) and wage wars against other players in deep space

Hurling through the star system in this high-graphic third person shooter will make you forget many established Web2 titles.

The game has released four chapters for its alpha test so far, and according to the reviews we read around the internet, it already looks and feels like a fully fledged out AAA-game. Phantom Galaxies will steadily release more chapters to give more depth to its lore and characters. There are some striking similarities that Phantom Galaxy shares with another favorite web3 title of ours, Star Atlas.

Much like Star Atlas, Phantom Galaxies also offers players the option to explore deep space, go on side quests, or defend their home territory in an intergalactic battle. However, the difference is that Phatom Galaxies is much farther ahead in terms of its development cycle. As we said, you can already play 4 chapters of the game, while Star Atlas only has an exhibition chapter in which you explore the galactic space station.

You’ll need to buy a Genesis NFT to access the game. Don’t worry, you can get one on OpenSea for as low as $3.

Guild of Guardians(GoG)

Next up is a mobile-centric web3 RPG that aims to dominate the mobile gaming space. 

According to the official website, GoG will be a high-paced action RPG set in a fantasy world. In the game, players will build out their dream teams and compete in guilds to earn epic tradable rewards. 

This is an upcoming title that has generated a lot of hype in the Web3 space with its promotional material. We’re anxiously waiting for the release of this game. Furthermore, the Web3 mobile gaming space could really use a superstar title as there are only a handful of games worth your attention in that segment.

Since the game hasn't released an alpha playtest, there isn't much information about it. Here are a couple of details that we learned from its whitepaper, though:

1. It will be a free-to-play title. Yep, no need to buy a Genesis NFT in GoG. 
2. Skills and strategy will be a core element of the gameplay, so there’s no pay-to-win gimmicks. 
3. The in-game items will be tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-721 NFTs. This’ll allow players to have true ownership over these items. 
4. Lastly, GoG is backed by some heavy hitters, including Ubisoft, ImmutableX, Blockchain Game Alliance, and Yield Guild Games. 

DomiOnline

Now a treat for the hardcore gamers among us.

Domi Online is a medieval-styled MMORPG based on old-school gameplay mechanics. In other words, the game does not place a limit on the level of skill a player can achieve within its ecosystem.

 Which means players can spend an eternity trying to DOMI-nate each other in the game. The game really requires a player to invest time and effort to make progress against others—leveraging the competitive instinct of players.

Players set out in the expansive medieval landscape of Domi-Online as members of one of the four classes. They head on missions to gather more resources, meet mythical creatures while venturing across different biomes, and fight off in-game bosses. 

Domi aims to differentiate itself from existing MMO titles by placing no cap on the skill and level a player can achieve in the game. In most MMO games players end up hitting a hard cap of skills and levels, making it redundant for them to pursue the game any further. That’ll not be the case with Domi Online. The harder you grind in the game, the more dominant and more profitable you’ll be.

In Closing

These are some of the games that we’ll be keeping a close eye on in the near future. Let us know your top picks in the comments or on our awesome Discord channel. We’ll be covering each of these games in more detail in our asset review, so keep an eye out to learn more. 

Ciao.