Best Video Games for social features

social features Decision Dashboard

Best for social features

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition

5.0 feature score

Highest scored product for this feature based on supporting review evidence.

Safest pick

Arc Raiders

4.7 feature score

Balances feature score, supporting reviews, and overall product strength.

Most evidence

NBA 2K27

28 supporting reviews

Has the broadest review evidence for this feature.

See ranked products
#1 Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition
5.0

Asynchronous messages and easy matchmaking helped make the original shared-world experience feel unusually lively and communal.

Pros: gameplay mechanics, core gameplay loop

Cons: platforming precision, tutorial quality

#2 Halloween: The Game
5.0

Proximity chat is a standout social feature, turning scares, role-playing, and accidental comedy into a major part of the multiplayer appeal.

Pros: world interactivity, world-building

Cons: dialogue quality, aiming precision

#3 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
4.8

Social features are praised where likes and player feedback create a warm, positive network of encouragement.

Pros: animation quality, facial animations

Cons: quest design, AI behavior

#4 Arc Raiders
4.7

Proximity chat, emotes, and spontaneous cooperation were among the most praised parts of the game’s identity.

Pros: frame rate stability, platform-specific feature support

Cons: voice acting, writing quality

#5 Kirby Air Riders
4.7

The Paddock, marketplace, lobbies, and shared custom creations were praised as fun social layers.

Pros: flying mechanics, exploration quality

Cons: AI behavior, boss design

#6 Tom Clancy’s The Division Resurgence
4.7

Shared-world encounters, spontaneous squads, and clans make it easy to cooperate and build longer-term groups.

Pros: exploration quality, sandbox freedom

Cons: mission variety, companion AI

#7 Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
4.6

Rooms, spectating, replay feeds, and tournament spaces help recreate some of the communal arcade feeling and give players useful ways to watch and learn.

Pros: onboarding experience, faithfulness to franchise

Cons: character development, achievement list quality

#8 Forza Horizon 6
4.6

Social features are consistently praised, especially car meets, friend hangouts, seamless meetups, and lobby potential.

Pros: open-world design, replay value

Cons: dialogue quality, writing quality

#9 Diablo IV
4.5

Social features were praised through increased trading and clan prominence.

Pros: lore depth, art direction

Cons: mission variety, protagonist appeal

#10 Forza Horizon 5
4.5

Social features receive positive evidence through convoys and group driving, especially the ability to roam with many friends.

Pros: controls responsiveness, movement feel

Cons: tutorial quality, animation quality

#11 NHL 27
4.5

Connected Franchise gives friend groups a welcome new way to share a league, trade, and compete together.

Pros: aiming precision, accessibility options

Cons: pacing, loot system

#12 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4
4.5

Social features had limited but positive evidence around relaxed public free skate and skating with others.

Pros: core gameplay loop, controls responsiveness

Cons: crash stability, cross-save support

#13 Mario Kart World Review
4.3

Social features were praised where GameChat, hangout play, and online social spaces made the game feel like a strong social racing experience.

Pros: animation quality, sound design

Cons: difficulty balance, AI behavior

#14 Street Fighter 6
4.3

Social features were one of the game's identity points, from avatars and chat to spectating and lobby interactions.

Pros: movement feel, art direction

Cons: platforming precision, writing quality

#15 Battlefield 6
4.2

social features were praised for quick revive-thanks interactions.

Pros: haptic feedback integration, performance optimization

Cons: pacing, microtransaction impact

#16 Monster Hunter Wilds
4.2

Social features were praised where Link Parties created a more intimate grouping layer than standard lobbies.

Pros: art direction, cross-play support

Cons: dialogue quality, monetization fairness

#17 Directive 8020
4.2

Social features drew positive interest around messaging and conversation systems that may support impostor suspicion.

Pros: user interface design, graphics quality

Cons: combat system, animation quality

#18 Aniimo
4.1

Astra, homestead visits, shared RV spaces, and group play create appealing ways to interact, even if the open world itself often remains mostly solo.

Pros: level design, replay value

Cons: competitive balance, battle pass value

#19 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
4.0

Playing with friends is repeatedly described as a major part of the fun, and persistent or more social multiplayer structures help restore some of the communal feel associated with older...

Pros: soundtrack quality, load times

Cons: character development, monetization fairness

#20 Borderlands 4
4.0

Social features have limited positive evidence around sharing desirable loot with friends.

Pros: sandbox freedom, art direction

Cons: polish, save system reliability

#21 Mario Tennis Fever
4.0

The huge selection of characters and options can make group play feel socially lively even when the choices are not all competitively distinct. The feature is more about party variety...

Pros: facial animations, load times

Cons: exploration quality, puzzle design

#22 Marathon
3.9

Friends, proximity chat, and coordinated squads can produce some of the game’s best moments. Solo-focused players also point out that finding a dependable group is harder than it should be.

Pros: world interactivity, voice acting

Cons: menu usability, HUD clarity

#23 Battlefield REDSEC
3.8

Social play is both essential and uneven. Teamwork is richly rewarded, but early ping and communication tools frustrate some players; proximity chat is viewed as a welcome later addition.

Pros: controls responsiveness, sandbox freedom

Cons: frame rate stability, user interface design

#25 NBA 2K27
3.6

Co-ed City play, Crew HQ, casual spaces, and friend-focused modes make the social side broader, though platform barriers and competitive toxicity can still get in the way.

Pros: crash stability, sandbox freedom

Cons: battle pass value, monetization fairness

#26 WWE 2K26
3.5

Seeing other players' creations can make The Island feel more communal, but the surrounding social hub does not appeal to everyone. Its value depends on whether shared-space play is part...

Pros: lore depth, co-op experience

Cons: economy and resource balance, tutorial quality

#27 Dragon Ball FighterZ
3.4

Social features are mixed: chibi avatars, emotes, stickers, and lobbies add charm, but several reviewers find them limited or not functional enough.

Pros: movement feel, world-building

Cons: save system reliability, mission variety

#28 Welcome to Elderfield
3.4

Relationships can become engaging once players invest in gifts and conversations, but the system is inconsistent. One critic finds the social links unrewarding and disconnected from related tasks.

Pros: world interactivity, sandbox freedom

Cons: character diversity, character development

#30 Pokemon LeafGreen and FireRed Versions
2.7

Pokémon’s trading culture remains integral to the experience, but local-only communication on Switch sharply limits that social loop for players without nearby friends.

Pros: boss design, side character depth

Cons: monetization fairness, originality

#31 Highguard
2.3

Communication is crucial, but the absence of text chat in solo queue is a serious drawback despite strong coordinated-team play.

Pros: controls responsiveness, level design

Cons: world interactivity, dialogue quality

#32 Elden Ring Nightreign
2.2

Social features were widely criticized because ping-only communication could not replace voice or text chat in a coordination-heavy game.

Pros: emotional impact, visual effects quality

Cons: crash stability, cross-play support

#33 Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
2.2

Social features are criticized through awkward friend/invite systems in online play.

Pros: emotional impact, animation quality

Cons: enemy variety, server reliability

#34 Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
1.9

The lack of online sharing, QR-style exchange, and broader social tools is one of the most repeated complaints.

Pros: grind level, originality

Cons: social features, accessibility options

#35 Serious Sam: Shatterverse
1.0

Public voice chat is poorly handled, with an open mic by default creating noisy matchmaking sessions.

Pros: skill tree depth, learning curve

Cons: aiming precision, pacing