I'm drawing up a list of the 10 games anyone who's new to gaming should play, and I'm looking for your suggestions. Here are the three key criteria:
The games must be good, obviously.
The games must be accessible to new gamers. They should be easy to understand, and not rely on existing knowledge of other games in the genre.
The list must span genres, giving new gamers a taste of everything gaming has to offer.
Any thoughts? I'm at very early stages, and honestly, I haven't put a single game on the list. I'm thinking I want a battle royale on there, but I'm not sure which one. And maybe one of The Sims games, too.
Write your suggestions in the comments, and I'll start building the list, to publish in the next few weeks.
I think Journey would be a good choice. It's simple enough to grasp the mechanics and controls, it's pretty short, and it demonstrates an experience of emotion and sensation that can only really be fully achieved through the medium of gaming.
A Short Hike, maybe? It's pretty forgiving, positive, and easy to keep up with. I enjoyed it as a bite-sized, well-told story, but I think it's got a nice 3D platforming learning curve for someone just getting started.
Stardew Valley / Animal Crossing have certainly earned their stripes as games for everyone. They're very much their own genre, so maybe they don't work as well as an introduction to the larger canon, but it's hard to ignore their impact.
Celeste and Thomas Was Alone are good intros to 2D platforming, I might think. Both keep a steady drip of new mechanics that reward planning over learned reflex response. Celeste in particular has a lot of built-in flexibility to accommodate different ability levels.
Machinarium and Botanicula are both pretty straightforward old-style adventure games that avoid a lot of the head-scratching "how do these things fit together" obstacles the old LucasArts games fell victim to. Most of the puzzles are self-contained within a single screen, if memory serves.
Portal invests a lot of time into teaching you how to play it in an engaging way. The jump to the second act can be a bit tough for someone really green, though.
These are all great suggestions. Puzzlers, it might be these Vs The Witness, which I think works because it's puzzles are very non-gamey (pattern recognition, basically). Think Stardew Valley is a great shout too.
I think an easy battle royale pick could be Fall Guys? It does deviate from the typical battle royale format of being an FPS, but I think it would more or less introduce new players to the setup of a match. I personally found it more accessible than FPS royales like Fortnite and PUBG as someone who isn't very skilled at gun combat in games.
I think Super Mario 64 is a good pick for the list, to introduce new gamers to 3D platformers. It's not too difficult, and its age means it includes no extra gimmicks for players to learn. It's also a good starting point when considering what you want to play more of next; ex. someone who liked the collecting aspect might go on to play Banjo-Kazooie, someone who liked the more crazy platforming might go onto play Super Mario Sunshine, etc.
That's a good idea on Fall Guys - you're right, probably the easiest BR to pick up. Less sure on Super Mario 64, I feel like I'd be doing gaming a dis-service putting that forward! Not because it's not good, but just because platformers have come a long way since then. Something like Super Mario Odyssey on Easy mode, maybe?
Oh yeah, I agree with that second one! That's probably the better way around, having them playing Odyssey first and then introducing them to that new 3D collection or the like if they enjoy it.
I'd say one of the Lego games. I'm only really familiar with the Star Wars ones, but they're a pretty consistent quality. Not too complex mechanically, usually with constrained cameras which can help people new to 3D.
I think Journey would be a good choice. It's simple enough to grasp the mechanics and controls, it's pretty short, and it demonstrates an experience of emotion and sensation that can only really be fully achieved through the medium of gaming.
Straight on the list! Great suggestion
A Short Hike, maybe? It's pretty forgiving, positive, and easy to keep up with. I enjoyed it as a bite-sized, well-told story, but I think it's got a nice 3D platforming learning curve for someone just getting started.
Stardew Valley / Animal Crossing have certainly earned their stripes as games for everyone. They're very much their own genre, so maybe they don't work as well as an introduction to the larger canon, but it's hard to ignore their impact.
For my sins, I still haven't played it. Might be time to put that right this weekend
Celeste and Thomas Was Alone are good intros to 2D platforming, I might think. Both keep a steady drip of new mechanics that reward planning over learned reflex response. Celeste in particular has a lot of built-in flexibility to accommodate different ability levels.
Machinarium and Botanicula are both pretty straightforward old-style adventure games that avoid a lot of the head-scratching "how do these things fit together" obstacles the old LucasArts games fell victim to. Most of the puzzles are self-contained within a single screen, if memory serves.
Portal invests a lot of time into teaching you how to play it in an engaging way. The jump to the second act can be a bit tough for someone really green, though.
These are all great suggestions. Puzzlers, it might be these Vs The Witness, which I think works because it's puzzles are very non-gamey (pattern recognition, basically). Think Stardew Valley is a great shout too.
So far, from these suggestions (+ my own thoughts), I'm probably taking:
Journey
Fall Guys
Super Mario Odyssey
The Witness
Whaddya reckon?
I think an easy battle royale pick could be Fall Guys? It does deviate from the typical battle royale format of being an FPS, but I think it would more or less introduce new players to the setup of a match. I personally found it more accessible than FPS royales like Fortnite and PUBG as someone who isn't very skilled at gun combat in games.
I think Super Mario 64 is a good pick for the list, to introduce new gamers to 3D platformers. It's not too difficult, and its age means it includes no extra gimmicks for players to learn. It's also a good starting point when considering what you want to play more of next; ex. someone who liked the collecting aspect might go on to play Banjo-Kazooie, someone who liked the more crazy platforming might go onto play Super Mario Sunshine, etc.
That's a good idea on Fall Guys - you're right, probably the easiest BR to pick up. Less sure on Super Mario 64, I feel like I'd be doing gaming a dis-service putting that forward! Not because it's not good, but just because platformers have come a long way since then. Something like Super Mario Odyssey on Easy mode, maybe?
Oh yeah, I agree with that second one! That's probably the better way around, having them playing Odyssey first and then introducing them to that new 3D collection or the like if they enjoy it.
I'd say one of the Lego games. I'm only really familiar with the Star Wars ones, but they're a pretty consistent quality. Not too complex mechanically, usually with constrained cameras which can help people new to 3D.
Not a bad shout, that. You're right, they're always pretty fun. Not sure what the best one is - anyone know?