Anusha Ganapathi By Express News Service CHENNAI: Gaming as a service’ manifests through games like PUBG. The constant updates (there’s an in-game Godzilla now?) and hopes of future improvements keep players hooked on to it — which is the aim of the developers. When I come across news on updates and feel tempted to play PUBG again, I turn to host of games available on the free internet, and I immediately install one. Here are some great options to replace your preferred Battle Royale game, occupying much less of your phone’s internal memory. Flappy Royale Flappy Royale: Reminiscent of the viral hit ‘Flappy Bird’ which was almost impossible to win, Flappy Royale is a battle royale take on the game — making it competitive and a little more addictive. The game starts with a hundred birds (your competitors’ birds are translucent in the background) flapping out of a bus and heading towards the pipes which are to be avoided. 50% of the players are eliminated in the first two pipes, and the game is over before you blink a second time. Flappy gives you immediate gratification, unlike the half hour wait in most typical battle royale games. Writing about it makes me want to play another 10 rounds right now. Cube Escape: If puzzle games are your thing, Cube Escape has released ‘Paradox’ — their latest in a series of escape the room puzzles. The clues are sometimes confusing, and the game is eerie. Puzzle solving is slow and filled with painful failures, and the game tricks you into playing it three hours at a stretch by giving you the motivation to know more — with its slow but satisfying small puzzle wins. Viridi: Viridi has no goals, there are no wins, and no power-ups. It encourages patience, and maybe agronomy. The only task is water plants (without overwatering it) and wait in silence (do something else) as the plants grow in the background. The point of the game is rebelling against the idea of videogames itself by ‘playing’ something that is utterly useless. The uselessness of the game drove a lot more players to use it. The reviews are surprisingly wholesome, with low ratings owing to only the lack of plant varieties. Perhaps we all need Viridi in our gaming lives, rebelling against the need to level up and conquer the never-ending Battle Royale updates. Instead, demand some peace and variety.

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