Epic Adventures: Unveiling the Best 2D MMO and 3D Games Ever Made!

Electronic games have kept up with technological developments and have changed significantly over the past three decades. Microchips have become smaller, computers faster and more powerful, and games more realistic and with better graphics — but evolution is not always the best choice.

The gaming world has countless different genres, just like movies and books, each characterized by its own distinct mechanics and functions. The universe of MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online) and MMORPG games (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) continues to develop and attract players worldwide. In 2024, the options are much more varied and immersive, offering expansive worlds and vibrant communities.

The difference between 2D and 3D games goes far beyond their graphical presentation in the vast array of games. Each dimension offers a unique set of experiences, from the simplicity and precision of 2D platform games to the immersive worlds and dynamic gameplay of adventures. 

In this article, we will explore the best gaming options in both dimensions so you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

Best 2D MMO Games

2D games have always been a part of the gaming industry, pioneering all genres and paving the way for what the industry is today. Below, you will find a list of 2D games that will surely captivate you!

Football Team

If you like sports, you need to check out this game. FootballTeam is definitely one of the best mobile games, standing out for its combination of sports management and MMORPG elements.

The game is completely free to play. It allows players to create, manage, and develop their own football players, as well as form teams and compete in leagues and tournaments against other players around the world.

In FootballTeam, you start by creating your own football player and customizing his appearance, name, and position on the field. Throughout the game, you develop your player’s skills, such as shooting, passing, speed, and stamina, through training, matches, and special events.

A central feature of the game is the creation and management of clubs. Players can team up to form teams, choose tactics, and compete in leagues and tournaments. Management involves not only choosing formations and strategies for matches but also negotiating contracts, character progression, buying and selling items on the market, and improving the club’s facilities.

In addition to all of this, there’s a high emphasis on the community. Players can interact through chats, forums, and internal social networks. Social interaction is encouraged, especially when it comes to forming teams, trading with other players, or simply sharing strategies and tips. FootballTeam is known for its seasonal events and high-level competitions, where teams from all over the world compete to become the best. These events often come with valuable rewards and prestige within the game’s community.

Adventure Quest Worlds

• Developer: Artix Entertainment
• Release Date: June 2, 2008
• Platforms:  Available for Windows and Mac

AdventureQuest World is a 2D MMORPG that is based on the popular Adventure Quest franchise. The game is set in the mystical world of L.O.R.E. (Land of Rising Evil), where your hero experiences a series of curious events culminating in the main campaign, the hunt for the 13 Lords of Chaos.

The game has weekly events and new content available every Friday. Some events are unique and grant rare items and badges for your participation, while others are seasonal, appearing once a year. Every year, on October 10th, there are anniversary celebrations of the game, where players participate in special events and have access to unique places in the game world.

The game is very rich in details and has a huge variety of accessories that can be given to the characters. In addition, the gameplay is friendly and very light. The story of AdventureQuest Worlds is always changing, thanks to the constant release of new content. AdventureQuest Worlds is easy to get into (no downloads or updates required), exciting to play, but hard to put down. Well worth checking out!

Ultima Online

• Developer: Origin Systems
• Release Date: September, 2007
• Platform:  Windows

This game had to be on this list. It is an icon in the history of MMOs. At the time of its release, this type of game was still gaining popularity, allowing many people to discover more about the online universe based on its countless possibilities in the digital environment.

The game takes place in the fictional world of Britannia, a medieval fantasy land created by Richard. The initial plot of the game involves the emergence of “mirror worlds” of Britannia, known as “shards.” These shards result from a cataclysm that shattered the gem of immortality, creating parallel versions of Britannia. Each shard is a separate server with its own version of the world, allowing thousands of players to interact simultaneously. 

Players can explore, fight, trade, and form alliances or rivalries. There is a rich backstory involving ancient kings, mythical creatures, and evil forces that threaten the peace of Britannia. Still, the game’s main focus is building a community and personal stories within this universe.

Over the years, the game has attracted a devoted and passionate fan base that has actively engaged in creating events, stories, and even custom servers. The Ultima Online community is known for its hospitality and sense of harmony, making the game a uniquely social experience.

Realm of the Mad God

• Developer: DECA Games, Wild Shadow Studios, Spry Fox, Kabam
• Release Date: June 20, 2011
• Platforms:  Available for Windows and Mac PC

Realm of the Mad God is an MMORPG that brings back the nostalgic look of classic Action RPG games from old video games. It combines simple gameplay and fast matches with 8-bit graphics and sounds reminiscent of the retro style, giving players great freedom of action. 

The game’s plot revolves around Oryx, the Mad God, a powerful entity who created a dark realm full of monsters and dangers to capture and imprison heroes. Oryx attracted warriors from various parts of the world to his domain to devour their souls and thus increase his power. In the game, players fire projectiles and face enemies to gain experience, fame, and better equipment. 

The character moves with the WASD keys and uses the mouse to aim and shoot. Unlike other MMOs, the experience gained by defeating monsters is not divided among the players present but rather granted in full to each of them, thus encouraging teamwork.

It’s a game you don’t need to download—it runs directly in your browser, which is already a big advantage. The most exciting thing is that it’s an endless game; there’s always a reason to keep playing and become even more powerful. It attracts casual and hardcore players and works well for those who want to invest money and those who prefer to play without spending since the cash shop is quite balanced.

LaTale

• Developer: Actoz Soft
• Release Date: 2006
• Platform: Windows

This game is for those who like anime themes. La Tale is a 2D fantasy sidescrolling MMORPG with graphics inspired by anime. The game is addictive for players who enjoy a game focused more on the PvE style than on PvP (although it does have the PvP fighting option), the quests and stories of the game are well done and are not boring. 

It’s the art style that delights players; however, LaTale is not a simple MMORPG. The plot of La Tale revolves around a young woman named Iris Livier, who mysteriously disappeared. Players take on the role of adventurers in search of Iris, exploring the vast world of La Tale to discover her whereabouts and unravel the mysteries surrounding her story.

The world of La Tale is full of magical creatures, vast cities, and dungeons full of enemies. Players’ journey takes them through different kingdoms, where they meet NPCs who provide quests, equipment, and valuable information about the plot while interacting with other players. It adopts a side-scrolling gameplay style, where players move sideways through the world. Battle in real-time, and the game offers a wide variety of classes and subclasses, allowing players to customize their abilities and fighting styles.

Best 3D MMO Games

3D games naturally employ three-dimensional geometry, applying materials and textures to the surfaces of GameObjects to create the illusion of environments, characters, and solid objects within the game world. Currently, most MMO games that are released are 3D or have been re-released in this dimension, so we put together a list of what, in our opinion, are the best of recent times.

World of Warcraft

• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Release Date: November 23, 2004
• Platforms: Available for Windows and Mac

It’s impossible to start a list of the best MMORPGs without mentioning the game that most helped popularize other MMOs! Released in 2004, WoW set a new standard for the genre, offering a vast open world of Azeroth and friendly mechanics for any type of player. In addition, its graphics allow it to run on any more modest machine without much difficulty, even if with reduced quality. 

The game is set in the same universe as the Warcraft series of real-time strategy games. It has a similar art direction, with fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction elements, including griffins, dragons, elves, steam-powered automatons, zombies, werewolves, other horror monsters, time travel, spaceships, and alien worlds.

The game allows players to create a character avatar (with a fantastic customization options experience, being able to customize your character in more than 1300 different ways) and explore an open game world in the third or first person. Players explore the landscape, fight various monsters, complete quests, and interact with NPCs or other players. Another vital addition is that despite not being a game focused entirely on player-vs.-player (pvp) matches, the game features an exciting system of arenas, battlegrounds, and duels with good rewards.    

The name “World of Warcraft” is no accident. It reflects the vastness of the universe that Blizzard has created. What initially consisted of two continents of Azeroth has since received four separate expansions. These narrative pillars have not only attracted Blizzard’s most devoted fans but have also created an immersive and richly detailed environment where every location, character, and quest has a story that resonates with the epic adventures of previous games.  

Final Fantasy XIV

• Developer: Square Enix Holdings Co
• Release Date: August, 2013
• Platforms: Available for PlayStation 3, 4 and 5; Windows, PlayStation 4, Mac OS, Xbox Series X/S

It’s worth remembering that we’re talking about the version released in 2013 (and not the 2010 version, which was a complete failure).

Final Fantasy XIV is set in the fantasy region of Eorzea, five years after the devastating Seventh Umbral Calamity, which marked the end of the game’s original version. During this calamity, the primal elder Bahamut escaped from his prison, an ancient space station called Dalamud, causing an apocalypse in Eorzea. Thanks to a temporal spell, the player character from the original version managed to escape and reappear at the beginning of A Realm Reborn. With Eorzea recovering, the player must now face a new threat: a renewed invasion by the Garlean Empire.

The activities within the game are as varied as possible. In addition to combat professions, there are resource-gathering/crafting professions, which are useful for generating in-game money. You can participate in minigames in the Gold Saucer, buy a house and decorate it however you want, and customize your character’s clothes however you see fit (the designs are incredible and very rich). There is even a marriage mechanic between characters.

With various challenges, tasks, and character development, you will never get bored with this game!

The Elder Scrolls Online

• Developer: ZeniMax Online Studios
• Release Date: 2014
• Platforms: Available for Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S

The game is set on the vast continent of Tamriel, a thousand years before the events of Skyrim. It immerses players in an era of conflict, where multiple factions fight for control of the Ruby Throne in Cyrodiil while facing the shadowy threat of Molag Bal, one of the Daedric Princes.

The game offers a great deal of freedom of customization and exploration, allowing players to choose from a variety of races and classes, each with unique abilities. Combat is action-based, requiring players to use real-time aiming, blocking, and dodging. TESO stands out for its “Megaserver” system, which unifies players on a single server per region, facilitating social interaction and offering a massive world filled with quests, dungeons, and PvP activities.

Since its release, the game has received several announced expansions, such as Morrowind, Summerset, and Elsweyr, adding new zones, stories, and content to keep the experience fresh and fun. The developers are always on the go, responding to community feedback and improving the game, ensuring that players remain excited and have no doubts about what’s next. The Elder Scrolls Online continues to be a platform for fun and progress, with tons of content to explore and master, maintaining its position as one of the top MMORPGs available.

Eve Online

• Developer: CCP Games
• Release Date: 2003
• Platforms: Windows , Linux , Mac OS X

EVE Online is set in the distant future, where humanity has colonized a remote region of space known as New Eden after discovering a mysterious wormhole connecting it to the rest of the universe. However, when the wormhole collapsed, the colonies were left isolated, facing eras of war, decay, and rebirth. New Eden is made up of thousands of star systems, dominated by four major factions—Amarr, Caldari, Gallente, and Minmatar—each with their own distinct cultures, politics, and histories. 

Players take on the role of Capsuleers, humans who have been modified to control spaceships with their minds, granting them a kind of immortality. The freedom in “EVE Online” is unparalleled: players can explore, mine, craft, trade, create corporations, engage in massive battles, and even engage in complex political intrigue. The game is a futuristic-themed MMORPG where you must explore vast territories and build an empire capable of facing all the enemies that stand in your way. 

Now, here is a personal opinion about the game: overall, it is pretty positive, but it is important to keep a few things in mind before diving into this universe. I have been playing for a while and I can say that the game is highly complex and requires patience to master its mechanics. Contrary to what the cinematics might suggest, controlling the ships is more technical and strategic, with commands to approach, orbit, and align with points in space, which may differ from what many expect.

Each achievement in the game is gratifying, and you will gain more autonomy over time. One of the game’s great attractions is its progression, which is carefully structured around a system of skills that improve over time, whether you are online or not. 

Rift

• Developer: Gamigo
• Release Date: 2011
• Platform: Windows

In Rift, Telara is a world that lies at the center of many different dimensions, making it a constant target for outside forces. The game revolves around the battle between two main factions: the Guardians and the Defiants. The Guardians are devotees of the gods and believe in salvation through faith, while the Defiants are technologists and mages who believe in saving Telara through science and technology. 

Players choose their side and embark on a journey to protect Telara, whether by following the faith of the Guardians or the innovation of the Defiants. Rift invasions create a dynamic and unpredictable experience where players must join forces to defeat the hordes of enemies that emerge from these rifts. The game offers a highly customizable class system called the “Soul System.” Each player can choose a main class but can also select up to three “souls” (subclasses) that offer additional abilities, allowing for a huge variety of combinations and game modes. This allows players to adapt their characters to different roles, such as tank, healer, or damage dealer.

RIFT is an MMORPG that stands out for its flexibility and innovative class systems. With stunning visuals and an immersive soundtrack, it creates a vast fantasy world. The game’s unique feature is dynamic “Rifts,” world events that emerge unexpectedly, constantly changing the world. The class customization is deep and encourages players to experiment with different combinations. However, the narrative can feel a bit generic. The frequent updates and active community show the developers’ continued commitment. In short, RIFT offers a solid experience for MMO fans, combining innovative gameplay with an expansive and ever-evolving world.

Thanks For Coming This Far, And See You Later!

And that’s it. These are just some of the best 2D and 3D MMOs you can find today. Now it’s time to hit play and decide which mode is your favorite! So what are you waiting for? Go there and give one of these games a try! You won’t be disappointed.