Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game to rule them all, much like bitcoin to the larger crypto ecosystem. Like bitcoin, it is the biggest name in its market, a powerhouse that has the eyes of the mainstream public and the crosshairs of most competitors.
Also like bitcoin, it is no stranger to controversy, from the plight of its inflation to the recent hack of its ronin chain.
As worrying as that may be, Axi’s current struggles are unlikely to undo the P2E game, which helped put food on the table during the worst of the COVID era in many emerging economies. However, they do open the door for some introspection for the industry, giving it more leeway to move beyond Axi’s model, experimenting with new approaches, tokenomics and design philosophies.
Driving these debates will be a new generation of blockchain games propelling the industry – here are some of the titles that stand out in their ranks.
Cryptomon: Ready, Steady, Hatch!
Cryptomon, a live NFT-powered game on the BNB chain, picks up on topics close to the heart of any ’90s kid, accelerating Tamagotchi- and Pokemon-style gameplay with the blockchain era. It puts players in the shoes of Cryptomon trainers and care for their creatures before setting out to explore the game world in player-versus-environment and player-versus-player challenges.
The game is set in its own metaverse and places great emphasis on its lore and narrative, which players can explore through its webcomic. Those longing for more can find character logs and diary entries published on its medium, along with community news and new feature releases. The project aims to eventually build a 3D world that players can explore from both desktop and mobile devices.
In the current stage, Cryptomon offers players a Tamagotchi-style experience where they hatch their monsters from eggs and take care of their needs, feeding and training them. They can even cause their NFT creatures to become new, stronger ones. The game pushes into a “living NFT” design, in which each monster is based on a unique set of genes that they can pass on to their offspring. Gamers completed the project with a widespread enthusiasm, buying up all the initial NFTs in a second.
Levana: Education, Crypto-Style
While most games offer users nothing but entertainment, Terra-based Levana Finance takes things further by using gamified apps and services to educate users about DeFi basics. It provides a platform for users to trade with up to 2X leverage – and a full range of games and products behind its sci-fi setting.
In the Lavanavars, the year is around 2,500 AD, and humans have managed to expand to Mars while colonizing the Red Planet. But the process didn’t go as planned, and now, as Homecoming cuts its way, the colonists have to build their nascent civilization in a world inhospitable. Four different factions vie for power, as they usually do in sci-fi, from the Planning Council to the rebellious Free Martians. Oh, and there are dragons too!
Levana works to introduce more users to crypto and Web3 by expanding its universe through new gaming projects and other mediums, from comic books to novels. In doing so, it bets on the entertainment factor, giving its viewers not only a dry dashboard, but a complete experience full of lore and character.
Spielworks: Deep in the Dungeons and the Caves to Old
If Levana works to introduce users to crypto and leveraged trading, Spielworks, a German developer of blockchain apps and services for gaming and finance, aimed to do something different in the edutainment sector in its own venture. Its recent multi-chain Wombat Dungeon Master NFT game introduces users to the concept of NFT staking, allowing them to earn on the non-fungible tokens they hold.
The game lets users stake their NFTs in a cosmic dungeon and send their wombats on a treasure hunt. Deep in the greats below, Wombats mine useful resources and gain experience points, which allow them to level up and bring in more rewards. In addition to introducing users to staking, the game also serves as a showcase for NFT collections from dozens of partner projects.
The Wombat Dungeon Master game is part of a larger network of P2E services being built by Spielworks. Its other solutions include Wombat Wallet, a multi-chain crypto wallet built for gamers, and Vomplay, a platform that allows users to earn crypto and NFTs simply by playing dozens of supported mobile and web games. The company works to promote blockchain adoption in the larger gaming industry, with actual gamer ownership over in-game assets as its prime goal.
Monoverse: Dinosaurs and Fruits
Monoverse, a leading Korean blockchain game developer, is offering users its own take on the Reptilian theme we touched on earlier with Dragons. Its very own NFT game, Fruity Dino, enables anyone to become a master of cartoony NFT dinosaur quests for—you guessed it—Dinoverse. Users can train their digital reptiles, craft various items for them, breed them to acquire new ones, and send them to participate in various challenges ranging from battles to races.
Frooti will be one of the blockchain gaming projects and services being created by Dino Monoverse. The company is also working on a marketplace that will allow users to trade their NFTs. Its other blockchain project is Pieta, a social platform for digital art connoisseurs that also uses NFT technology.
Monoverse is also expanding its gaming portfolio, entering the casual strategy genre with mobile titles Hero Fighters and Kingdom of Warfare.
The Six Musketeers: Blades and Bullets Do the Trick
“All for one and one for all,” famously declared the Three Musketeers of Dumas. Now, their battle bells may be ringing through the crypto space, which, as always, ups the ante by doubling it. And of course, The Six Musketeers, a new P&E title, throws in a dog into the equation as well, because anything is better when a dog is involved.
In fact, Shoki, the pup of the Six Musketeers, is at the center of the game’s lore as he pulls off an accidental shuttle launch. This sets off a chain of events that pits the Children against an ominous AI to take over the human race. To prevent this, the heroes march with their muscogear from swords to rifles and heavy armor, and head to the arena.
The game draws inspiration from classical multiplayer titles such as League of Legends to offer players tactical single and multiplayer gameplay. It uses procedural generation for its levels, resulting in endless replayability, and features a wide variety of characters divided into three roles: striker, midfielder and defender. Developers are adapting their products to cybersport, laying the groundwork for the competitive scene in the future.
XMANNA: Adding more games to your game
While e-sports is long past its obscurity phase, now attracting millions-strong viewers and the attention of top advertisers and sponsors, their popularity in traditional sports is declining—especially among younger audiences. XMANNA, a company working to get the games industry on the blockchain and metaverse rails, tackles the problem with a multi-pronged approach, where simplification is one of the main pillars.
The company recently entered into a partnership with the Inter Miami CF Major League Soccer team, owned by none other than David Beckham. In addition to putting the logo on players’ jerseys, XMANNA will work to help the club engage with fans in new ways, accelerating engagement and entertainment efforts.
XMANNA’s solution gives game developers and sports clubs a toolset for easy integration, enabling clubs to deliver fun gamified experiences during ad breaks of in-game broadcasts. It also provides clubs with a white-label loyalty platform that can be tailored to their needs, as well as Metaverse Stadiums, which serve as an NFT ticketing solution and a platform for digital concerts and other virtual events .
Time Raiders: Shoot ‘Em and Smash
While most video games only last one historical period in their setting, this is not enough for Time Raiders. Instead, the P&E title sends players on an epic treasure hunt spanning a plethora of eras and locations, from China to a steampunk version of Victorian London from the Three Kingdoms period. In all of this, time-traveling gamers will be racing and making their way through hordes of enemies to collect valuable loot and make it back to the original base.
Created by experienced developers, the game runs on the Unity engine, ensuring a quality user experience and great visuals. It offers players riveting and fast-paced gameplay, including player-vs-player and player-vs-environment modes. In addition to regular weapons, such as handguns and sniper rifles, it will allow players to call in heavy cavalry ranging from mobile artillery to fighters and bombers.
The game’s economy will rely heavily on NFTs to handle ownership over most in-game assets, from firearms and war machines throughout levels, which players will be able to lease for exclusive access. While many NFT titles come with an upfront cost of entry, Time Raiders will be free for anyone to join and start playing. And it’s already released a dinosaur as one of the in-game boss monsters, so for those counting on reptiles, here’s another.
Battlefly: Flutter like a butterfly, Sting like a fighter jet
As cool as dinosaurs are, Battlefly, an NFT strategy game, instead turns to creatures that are smaller and more docile than primitive predators. You won’t want to disturb butterflies from your cosmos, however, as these are not your regular peaceful insects. They are the most advanced weapon systems out there, and they are ready to fight.
After removing their battleflies from their cocoons, players send them to the Garden, where they look for weapons to equip and improve their fighting skills. They can also send their armed insects to hyperdomes, battlefields where battleflies face off against each other to bring rewards to their bosses.
Battleflies is part of the larger TreasureDAO metaverse, a hub world that links multiple metaverse, gaming and crypto projects. BattleFly aims to expand its inclusive integration with Trezor over time, adding support to its NFTs, and connecting with other platforms in the region.
Over: Virtual Experience, Real World
Whereas with most video games, whether blockchain is there or not, players can usually sit back and enjoy with a controller or keyboard in front of them, which serves as the backbone for more active experiences. Its platform serves as the infrastructure for Pokémon Go-style adventures, tapping into augmented reality (AR) technology to bring digital experiences to users in the real world.
OVER uses blockchain and NFTs to handle ownership over spatial locations, real-world hexagons. Whoever holds the NFT for a specific real-world location will be in control of the AR experiences available there. Thanks to the location scanning data the company collects, its AR applications are very accurate in terms of virtual object location, enabling complex and detailed designs.
Over’s products include a robust SDK for developers to build and integrate their AR experiences with their platform. In addition to the most basic projects, such as virtual objects placed in a specific location, it supports more complex applications, including interactive experiences and full P2E games.