If you're reading this, you've likely already experienced some of the seismic activity caused by the internet-wide explosion occurring earlier this morning when Blizzard announced it had taken a contractually permitted, albeit really crappy stance against one of the world's top Hearthstone players. If you haven't yet learned up on details, go take a look at Casey's article outlining the events thus far.
Although the dust has far from settled on the greater issue at hand, many players are wondering "what now?". The question on their minds: how do I continue playing the games I enjoy without supporting a company that has just publicly demonstrated a severe lack of human empathy? Fortunately, there are several games out there that have been existing, and even flourishing, under the monolithic shadow of Blizzard Entertainment that are more deserving of your attention.
For fans of: Diablo 3
Of all the games on this list, Torchlight II is easily the most "Blizzard-esque". The folks over at Runic Games would likely be the first to admit that Torchlight was created as a love letter to the Diablo games of old, but they likely would not have guessed that its second iteration would be considered by many to be far superior to its foremost competitor - Diablo 3. Not only does Torchlight II feature gameplay that hearkens back to classic dungeon-crawlers, an inescapably charming and vibrant art-style, and modding support - it also doesn't support fascism.
For fans of: Overwatch
Team Fortress is easily one of the most celebrated team-based first person shooters of all time. The original Team Fortress was released way back in 1996 as a mod for then king-of-the-hill FPS, Quake, before being spun off into its own hugely successful franchise by Valve. With 2007's Team Fortress 2, the sequel has been an unstoppable force within the PC community that still remains one of the most-played games on the Steam platform. Not only does Team Fortress 2 never attempt to put profits ahead of free speech, it's Free-to-Play.
For Fans of: World of Warcraft
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has been hot on the heels of World of Warcraft in terms of quality and player-base ever since it stumbled out of the gate back in 2013. I won't delve into the MMO-sized catastrophe that was FFXIV proper, because let's face it - nobody wants to remember that an exceedingly good MMORPG was at one point so bad that it had to be cancelled and then re-released. That said, even in its many, many failings, the original FFXIV never once banned a player for voicing out against an oppressive government regime.
For Fans of: Hearthstone
Gods Unchained is the newest contender to enter the digital card game arena, and it's going toe-to-toe, or would it be card-to-card, against Blizzard's Hearthstone. What makes Gods Unchained stand out? It's block-chain foundation aims to create a "truly community-focused game" that allows players to buy, sell, and trade cards as flexibly as if they were handling actual, tangible cards rather than digital representations. Also, it isn't being developed by a company that places profits above human rights.
