Video Games That Unleash Your Competitive Side

Video games can do wonderful things for our bodies and our minds. In addition to improving our social and communicative skills, reaction times, and cognitive functions and stimulating our desire to learn, video games have also been shown to release endorphins and serotonin in our brains. One of the biggest factors behind this is the healthy pursuit of goals and the sense of achievement that comes with every completed level or win in the server.

Today, we’re paying homage to this phenomenon with some of the best Esports titles for those looking to unleash their competitive side!

Counter-Strike

Whether it’s the OG 1.6, contemporary Global Offensive, or the upcoming CS2, the Counter-Strike series is infamous for being among the most competitive in the first-person shooter genre. The game sees two teams of five split between the Terrorist (T) and Counter-Terrorist (CT) sides playing on any one of seven competitive maps. A competitive map is played with a best-of-30 format, with rounds lasting for 1 minute 30 seconds.

Terrorist forces win rounds by either killing all of the CT players or by planting a bomb and defending it until it detonates at one of two bomb sites on the map. Alternatively, Counter-Terrorists can win rounds by defusing the bomb once it is planted, killing all the Terrorists before they plant the bomb, or by waiting until the round-timer runs down without the bomb being planted.

Counter-Strike is a game with a much higher skill ceiling and far greater strategy than traditional ‘shoot ‘em ups’ such as Call of Duty. Requiring strong communication, good economy management, and near-instantaneous reflexes, it is an extremely competitive game with one of the biggest followings in the Esports world.

FIFA

Is there anything more rage-inducing than an undeserved loss in FIFA? Ever since its inception in 1996, EA’s FIFA franchise has become the de facto face of the sports simulator genre of gaming. Possessing the likenesses of the world’s biggest stars, clubs, stadiums, and tournaments, it is still the most authentic experience for those looking to capture the thrills and spills the beautiful game has to offer.

That said, as the series has continued to grow and expand, so have the ways in which players can lose their marbles. For starters, FIFA is one of the best examples of how dynamic difficulty is used by developers to artificially generate a more grueling experience; depending on how players perform, the AI on the pitch will fluctuate their performances. This can lead to some frustrating and often undeserved losses.

Moreover, every year, there are new mechanics and glitches that you just know the community is more than happy to abuse. From kick-off glitches to unstoppable corners, these mechanics can be incredibly rage-inducing due to how game-breakingly overpowered they are.

DOTA 2

Dota 2 or League of Legends? It’s a question that has divided the Massive Online Multiplayer Battle Arena (MOBA) genre for over a decade, and we’re still not prepared to throw our hat behind one even in 2023. Both games have continued to innovate and remain fresh, and one look at a world-renowned Esportsbook will showcase just how stacked their competitive calendars are even today. However, there are a couple of features behind it that see Dota 2 just edge things as the superior title when it comes to competitiveness.

For starters, the game houses the largest professional competition in the video game industry. Thanks to Valve’s battle pass crowdfunding, The International holds the record for the biggest prize pool in the Esports industry, with the 2021 edition setting new records with its prize purse of $40 million. That’s gaming with some stakes behind it.

The Dota 2 community is one of the most competitively passionate because of the game’s legendary difficulty. It’s often seen as the key distinguishing feature between it and League of Legends, requiring some serious grinding commitments before it can be mastered.

Rocket League

Rocket League was a relatively smaller title than the others on this list following its launch by Psyonix in 2015. However, that all changed following two major shake-ups: its move to a free-to-play model and Psyonix’s acquisition by Fortnite developers Epic Games in 2019.

Not only did these moves widen the net to make the game more accessible to more players, but Epic's support allowed Psyonix to focus on Rocket League as a genuine Esports title. In Rocket League, matches varying between 1v1s and 4v4s are played featuring rocket-powered vehicles in a game of soccer. It’s as wild as it sounds but comes with a decent array of strategies and skills, making it an incredibly fun game to play but an intensely difficult one to master.

Since being acquired by Epic, Rocket League’s competitive scene has blossomed into one of the most active in the Esports world. The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) has global divisions, and its LAN finals have produced some of the most jaw-dropping moments that have become the face of professional gaming.