Games like Slither.io [2022 Edition]
Everyone of us knows that Slither.io is the very apex of addictive game development. It is simple yet so engrossing! It is virtually impossible to be bored of this game, especially since the MMO concept of the game makes sure you’re constantly facing a new challenge, no matter how long you’ve been playing it or how much you level up. Someone could always surprise you by their strategy or sheer luck.
What joy than to learn that slither.io isn’t the only game of its type. A lot of such games like slither.io can be played either on your browser or on your smartphones. And there’s enough variety to completely eliminate any chance that you’ll be bored of the genre. Let’s get started listing the best titles of this genre.
1. Nokia Snake Online Game
For many of us, the first video game we played on a mobile phone was the Snake game that was all the hit in Nokia handsets over a decade ago. The game is straightforward, and one can say it is the spiritual predecessor of slither.io and all the other snake games. Not many know, however, that the game actually premiered in gaming machines and not on Nokia handsets. They’re known by Nokia’s name because the two came together into this wonderful symbiosis, which leads us to find them inseparable in our minds.
Anyway, Nokia Snake Online has three modes of speed. The controls come off badly done, thanks to delayed responses that can sometimes make you walk into a wall despite having pressed a button to turn. The game is unsurpassed if you value nostalgia though.
Download: Online
2. Rusher.io
Rusher.io is imaginative, exciting and always keeps you on the edge of your seat. You eat food to have your sword grow bigger and kill enemies easily, but unlike other games of the genre where you are virtually invincible once you attain a critical size, there is always a possibility on being defeated by someone attacking from the back or the side. You need to always be on guard and be adept at handling your sword with the mouse which increases the engaging quality of the game.
The simplicity of the graphics lies at the core of the game’s appeal, though the game can still lag, probably because the extra information about tens of swimming dots with only one active attack angle can be tough to stream without a buffer break.
Download: Android
3. Splix.io
Another pretty unique game is splix, where you capture as much of the screen area, only the area is more stationary. The objective is to move your dot to capture the grey unclaimed area as well as the area captured by other players. It is really a test of risk taking and strategizing ability. How long do you think you can afford to pull a line without having a competing player cut you and kick you out of the game? The stakes are high (your entire progress through the game), and with enough strategizing, you can score big and grand. It’s also equally fun to just watch others play online.
4. Supersnake.io
Snake games don’t have to be so cut and dry, right? What if you could shoot poison at your competitors and digest them? What if there were more than just a couple of kinds of power ups? All of that becomes a reality with Supersnake.io. This is among the best games similar to slither.io, and has been attracting quite a lot of audiences. The reason seems to be how hard it is to form a strategy that ensures survival. You have to adapt to the tricks with which your co-players spring upon you. The rewards are not just restricted to an enjoyable time. You get new skins and learn how to beat the crowd. Supersnake is like the usual snake game on psychoactives; the colors certainly make it feel like a hippy commune rave.
Download: Android, iOS
5. Mitos.is
Remember how cells used to break up into two in biology class? The process was called mitosis, from which the game derives its name. The game is different from stock .io games in that it allows you to arm your bubble with power ups and put a new twist into the game. Whenever you find yourself cornered, one of these powerups could help you turn the game around.
The graphics and color scheme is a little bit brighter and livelier than other apps, which seems to attract people. There is hardly a time you can find the game servers sparsely populated. It is fairly addictive though in the initial phases, it can be a bit tough and thus discouraging. I think someone who doesn’t shy away from a challenge will love this game.
6. Worm.is
It takes a lot of mental effort to climb the ladder in Worm.is. But once you do, you can enjoy a sense on power over the victims that join your room by chasing them and taking them out one by one. I really enjoy Worm.is for this very reason. It keeps things fun and the supremacy you gain over the room with your effort is the perfect reward. The game does feel a flat afterwards though, but it remains the easiest mode of entertainment for kids. It’s also fun to practice with your non-dominant hand, and if you feel there is not sufficient challenge in the game after you reach the top of the leaderboards, you can always play it with your other hand and see how well you can score. In fact, that’s not a bad idea for most of these games. What do you think?
7. Agar.io
Agar.io is perhaps the most well known game of the genre. Having made it to the internet in 2015, many argue it is the one game that ripped open the curtains of this gaming genre from in front of the masses. Whatever the truth may be, Agar.io is the perfect sampling of this niche of gaming, and in a lot of ways, this stripped down, basic-color, no-frill game is superior to the more tackily decorated iterations. There are a few bugs that players frequently exploit to rule over the server, but I’m not going to reveal them because that’ll make the game no fun. A big part of the appeal of the game is the white grid background that keeps the game in perspective and makes scaling easy. Agar.io is pretty amazing an option as a strategy game, but you can just as well play it to kill spare time.
8. Orn.io
One game that breaks the mould and goes three dimensional, quite literally, is Orn.io. You control camera angles with your mouse, as you direct your spherical ball on the screen, trying to gather other spheres that are idle as well as ones controlled by your competitors. It gives a completely new spin to the genre. Orn.io is an example I like to relate when I want to tell people that ostentatious design or lame power ups are not necessary to make a game iconic.
It’s not all sunshine and roses either. It doesn’t take long to figure out that the logos are pretty ugly when superimposed on a spherical image. Doge, for example, just looks plain wrong. The camera angle is definitely new and puts players in uncharted (unchartable?) territory, which might not be taken to very willingly or happily by every player. Not that I support that kind of thought processes; I personally believe that gaming should constantly be redefined. It’s what has given us bigger and better games, and taken us from MK4 to MKX.
9. Sharkz.io
Sharkz.io is thoroughly enjoyable. You play a shark who must eat other sharks. The bigger the other shark,the more bites you’ll have to inflict on them. It is a lot fairer concept than agar.io for example, where you’re done for if you walk into a bigger bubble. You cannot just crawl over another shark and absorb it like a big oil bubble swallowing a smaller one. You must bite, let go and then turn back to bite again. It is like battle of the titans. And you might even see a tiny fish take out the player on the very top of the leaderboard. The background is a lot more animated, the food fish can move about so it’s not just about walking into them, and you can be assured things get challenging. There is little to hate about the game. If you decide to try only one game from this entire list, I highly recommend this one.
10. Strike.is
Want a shooting game like slither.io similar to Counter Strike? I don’t think Strike.is is a poor option. The game has quite a variety of weapons, and the interface is familiar with WASD controls and the mouse to guide your aim. The bright colors with hints of neon make the visuals catchy. It certainly takes you a while to figure out the controls if you’re a noob, but in barely 10 minutes you can manage to work around the map and kill enemies. The learning curve is daunting only for the first few moments.
11. Diep.io
Diep.io gives you a tank to shoot enemies with, and upgrades to take on bigger challenges as things grow tougher. It takes genuine skill and quite a bit of practice to get better at Diep.io, which is why people seem to enjoy it so much. This is one game that enjoys a comparable status and popularity as slither.io. The objective of the game is to stay alive for as long as you can, earn points and maintain your position on the leaderboard. The upgrades are pretty fun and interesting, with multiple directions you can take your tank in in terms of design and ability.
12. Wings.io
Fly planes, kill enemies and climb the leaderboard using the amazing and innovative power ups that keep showing up on the screen. The servers are always populated and it seems to be frequented by seasoned players which means there is always a challenge to enjoy in the game. The power ups make sure there is always chaos and reason for the players to keep doing their best to climb or stay on top, unlike games like agar.io where the top player may stop any scope of competition by mere virtue of having captured most of the screen, enough to prevent any other players from having a chance. It is like Sharkz.io but with range missiles, bombs and lazers.
Download: Android, iOS
13. Nebulous
If the neon colors in io games bother you, this blob eating game sure has some relief packed in it. The virus in Agar.io is replaced by what seems to be a nebula or maybe a black hole, and the game is also less occupied by people due to less popularity, which makes it easier to score top position on the leaderboard. Another thing that stands out in Nebulous is the lack of grid and marked boundary, which makes the graphics much more enjoyable.
14. Hexar.io
While splix.io allows you to move at right angles, hexar.io is more hexagonally inclined, as the name suggests. This makes things more complicated, as there’s more cells in the ambit of your enemies when you get too close to their territory, as well as more distance for them to cover to capture more area, making the greedy more susceptible to being caught. Hexar.io is perfect if splix doesn’t challenge you anymore, but as an independent game, the hexagonal layout does happen to be different from the usual rectangular scheme of things in most games, making it somewhat peculiar to learn and get used to.
15. Goons.io
Rusher.io was very neon. Goons.io is more animated, personalised and exciting. The game has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment, and you can team up, play solo or just kill time swinging swords and cudgels to kill opponents. The grin interface is intact, but it doesn’t look like graph paper anymore, thankfully. Goons.io is one game I’d especially recommend to try; if there’s one game you choose to try because you want better graphics than stock io games, make it this one.
16. Hide.io
Playing hide and seek is so much fun! Hide.io brings it to your smartphone as an MMO. You can either choose to hide and last for a set time interval following which you win, or choose to seek and pick out all the players before the timer goes off. The interface is very SIMS meets Minecraft, which certainly adds to its appeal. It’s really fun because you get to hide as an object in the map, which is hilarious on many an occasion. It’s a game that certainly stands out from the crowd of io games that populate the internet.
17. Paper.io
Paper.io is like splix.io, only better looking. It is simple like slither.io, and the transluscent color scheme is a welcome relief from the block-esque appearance that most games of the genre come with. Paper is fun to play but somehow lacks that addictive quality. Perhaps the artsy paper-like interface makes it a little weird. Contrary to some complaints on forums, paper.io doesn’t seem to lack. Perhaps it might for a PC with lower specifications.
There are other options as well. Insatia, for example, is a pretty engrossing game that many might enjoy due to its better graphics and art. Osmos HD is a fun game that works along the same lines as Agar.io, but built for Android smartphones. The fun quotient lies in the game’s simplicity. That is the USP on the .io gaming genre, and it should remain the same for other fun games like slither.io.
