With so many great games coming out, it’s often difficult to maintain a healthy social life. Unfortunately, 2014 is a gaming year that will likely see you shut your curtains and hide yourself away from your friends, as there are many titles already out there, and some on the horizon, that look to ensure that you never socialize again.
Here are the video games that will ruin your social life in 2014.
These Video Games Will Completely Ruin Your Social Life
WildStar
WildStar is the biggest MMO release of 2014. Developer Carbine Studios has spent a lot of time giving its new IP a ton of personality. The result? A game that grips you into its sci-fi world.
In a lot of ways it's reminiscent of vanilla World of Warcraft , except with action-based combat with double jumping, sprinting, and even telegraphed attacks. You better get good at dodging.
Why it'll ruin your social life: The combat is engaging, and the endgame environment will have tons of content at launch, including 40 man raiding. You can practically live in WildStar , although we don't recommend it.
WildStar Releases on June 3rd
Diablo: Reaper of Souls
The Diablo 3 expansion Reaper of Souls ' story mode is lengthy in and of itself, but that's only where the fun begins. Once you've completed the main game you unlock Adventure Mode, wherein you can teleport to each of the game's waypoints on the search for bounties, extra XP and Legendary loot drops.
Why it'll ruin your social life: There's hours upon hours of content in Reaper of Souls , and rarely a dull moment. If you're a Diablo fan, prepare to surrender your social life in order to get the most out of this expansion.
Read CraveOnline's Reaper of Souls Review
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn surprised many by being not just a decent MMO, or even a good one, but a truly great one. A Realm Reborn is coming to the PS4 this week, and as such those who didn't get to experience the MMO on PC in 2013 will now have the opportunity to lose themselves in its world on Sony's new console.
Why it'll ruin your social life: A Realm Reborn will be launching on the PS4 equipped with all of the updates currently available on the PC version, meaning that there's a whole heap of content for players to embrace. Oh, and you can even Remote Play on your PS Vita. Yes, you can play FFXIV: A Realm Reborn while waiting in line at the DMV.
Read about why FFXIV: A Realm Reborn is the PS4's first great MMO/RPG
Hearthstone
Blizzard's virtual trading card game managed to suck in a whole heap of players in its beta stages, and its full release has only served to tighten its grip on them. As with most great trading card games, Hearthstone is simple to play, but difficult to master. That's what makes it so addictive.
Why it'll ruin your social life: Playing the game is one thing, but building decks is the real hook of Hearthstone . Crafting a powerful deck requires you to unlock the best cards, or pay for booster packs with cold, hard cash. Not only will Hearthstone consume your social life, but it may also put a dent in your bank balance if you find yourself becoming too hooked on this great trading card game.
Check out Hearthstone's first content pack Curse of Naxxramas
The Sims 4
The Sims has always been one of those series that can hook you for hours upon hours at a time, and The Sims 4 will likely be no different. The Sims 3 was disappointing in that it injected the game with an unwelcome dose of boredom, as you spent the majority of the time waiting for your Sims to return home from work, after which they'd retire to the bedroom for some well-earned sleep. Hopefully The Sims 4 fixes this problem, and we'll yet again lose ourselves in its bizarro version of our own world.
Why it'll ruin your social life: Who needs friends when you have Sims? Sims are infinitely better than your real friends, anyway, because you can set them on fire and not get into trouble for it.
Dark Souls 2
Dark Souls 2 is the perfect balance between challenging and maddeningly difficult, and as such it requires a great deal of time and effort on behalf of the player in order to crack it. While Dark Souls 2 has made the series more welcoming for newcomers to the series, it hasn't in any way dampened that level of challenge, thus ensuring you'll be piling hours into the game in order to beat it.
Why it'll ruin your social life: The quest to complete Dark Souls 2 is an arduous and lengthy one. If you haven't already picked it up on the Xbox 360 and PS3, then it is coming soon to the PC with prettier graphics.
Read These Weird Dark Souls Facts You Probably Didn't Know
Tomodachi Life
This upcoming 3DS game is an oddball hybrid of Animal Crossing and The Sims , bolstered by some suitably off-the-wall humour. Tomodachi Life allows you to move your created Miis into a village, as you observe and interact with them as they go about their ridiculous daily lives.
Why it'll ruin your social life: The most alluring factor of Tomodachi Life is that it looks a lot more fun than real life. Allowing you to swap taxes and electricity bills for dressing up in a dinosaur outfit and forming a ludicrous pop band with your friends, you'll want to live in the world of Tomodachi Life , and come its release date on June 6th, you'll get the chance to do so.
Watch the Tomodachi Life Nintendo Direct
Titanfall
Call of Duty suckered many a player in with its fast-paced charms, but Titanfall kicks that freneticism up a notch. Titanfall 's one of those rare FPS's that simply refuses to get boring, thanks to action flying at players with such frequency that even Michael Bay would say "Damn, that's a lot action".
Why it'll ruin your social life: That neverending quest to reach the next Generation will make addicts of us all.
Read Crave Online's Guide on How to Level Up Faster in Titanfall