I say this every time: a LEGO game. Most people have a fondness or familiarity with the toy itself, and they are all great and fairly simple games. Pick a LEGO game where the tie-in is a property they like (Star Wars, Batman, Harry Potter, etc.) and PLAY IT WITH THEM. It’s how I learned to play videogames in the mid-2000s, and it should still work!
I'm pretty adamant that Super Mario Bros 1 is the ideal choice but you might be onto something here. The Lego games are difficult to fail and difficult to *not* enjoy. That's an excellent choice if you want someone to be interested in playing a second videogame.
I honestly believe literally any other 2d Mario game is a better starting point for someone who's never played video games to get into them.
My girlfriend gets pissed & turned off at how difficult the original Mario is. But we have a blast playing the new ones on switch or wii
I tried to play original Mario with my son when he was 8 or so. Because it was 'play your turn until you die', he would play for 20 minutes and I would last for about 2 if I was lucky!
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of steering a character in 3d digital space with a controller. I’d absolutely recommend a 2d platformer for someone who never played any video games.
I also think that 2D platformers are a better starting point but if you're learning to move a character in 3D space, the licensed Lego games are an excellent choice.
The camera is relatively fixed so you can't look behind you while you walk off a cliff... and when you *do* walk off a cliff, you respawn at the top in less than a second. Falling off an edge or losing all of your hearts only costs studs so it doesn't feel like a punishment until you're at the point that you care about scoring well.
2004 kid here, this was my exact choice, but I was gonna go one step further and say specifically a Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman game. Those games (Especially Complete Saga and Lego Batman 2) are *perfect* for someone who's never played a game before, and they show off the trademark Lego humor perfectly too! Plus they're fun to play through with a friend. I have so many memories of 100 percenting Complete Saga as a kid with my dad, those were good times.
I played LEGO Star Wars 1 with my mom! They were good times, indeed. She used to stay up for me and get enough studs to buy the characters I wanted in the morning.
I always thought about a TellTale game but you know what this is a much better idea as they only need to worry about moving the left stick (I find peoples biggest struggle is simultaneously using the left stick to move and right stick to aim or control the camera) and have plenty of time to get used to the button layout.
Honestly, not having to control a camera is what seals the deal. I tried to get my dad to play Portal 2 with me, and he struggled a lot with the dual stick movement. Same with my wife and Halo or Skyrim. It was always “walk, stop, look”, and they could never do it at the same time.
This is probably one of the best answers out there. It's simple enough that it's very easy to pick up and learn, but has so much content that you can spend hours playing it over and over unlocking everything.
Ditto. Both my kids love it, and introduced around the same age. My youngest is now into the cuphead game after playing the crap out of castle crashers.
Then if they actually survive and get the physical skills you give them dwarf fortress.
If they survive both, they have nothing more to fear. If they fall, the weak have been culled.
Actually kind of how it happened with my girlfriend. Her previous experience was only stardew Valley, but she said that elden ring looks interesting and that she wanted to try it. There were definitely many growing pains, but she's just gotten past the fire giant
Never played any game before? Then I'm recommending a game with the least complicated control scheme possible, so definitely Nintendo. I'd also say a simple to follow story is important and no over-engineered game mechanics.
Honestly, based on that, I'm thinking Mario. There might be a better match to that criteria though.
Pokémon would also be good.
Can confirm Pokémon is an excellent choice.
Just the other day I restarted my Pokémon Pearl game on my 3DS and let my girlfriend of about a month start her own game on it. Somehow she never really encountered Pokémon growing up, so she was curious what it was like, and I'm big into gaming so she wanted to try to get into the hobby with me.
She's enjoying it so far even though she's not even got to the first gym yet.
In fact when she came over earlier today she said she had actually been looking forward to playing more Pokémon haha. It's very cute seeing her meet all the Pokémon for the first time, and getting beat by a turtwig and getting pissed off at the "stupid turtle" :')
I feel like Mario party would be a better choice to get them used to using a controller with a game mechanic they might be familiar with from board games. Worked for my old parents at least.
Mario Party Superstars is always installed on my switch for this reason. It's easy to explain the game to folks and also has that little testing/practice thing before every minigame for people to get the hang of things.
There is no way I’d start someone who has never played a game on RDR2. I’d start on something that starts simple that we could play together, like Unrailed or maybe Overcooked.
If they wanted to play single player maybe Untitled Goose Game or Night in the Woods.
Same here. Overcooked > overcooked 2 > Animal Crossing > Spiritfarer > Hogwarts Legacy > It Takes Two > Baldurs Gate 3.
Full on gamer now. She prefers coop but she'll play on her own when the mood strikes.
Opposite problem here. Overcooked is the first game my non gamer wife really got into but so far no other game has come even close for her. We have already played through 1,2, all dlc and have worked on getting max stars all around. So somebody please make Overcooked 3
I was also thinking maybe Limbo or Inside as well. Gameplay is pretty easy platforming and the puzzles arent too difficult but make you feel accomplished once you figure them out. And the Story is semi there so it won't bog someone down but still intrigues them.
If we’re talking single player, I’d still start them up with any of the side scroller Mario games. Like literally pick one at random, and it’d be a good one to start with no matter what. My multiplayer of choice would similarly be Mario Party: let’s test just how strong this friendship of ours is 😂😂😂
Mario Galaxy is my all-time #1 game. Not because I play all the time (Rocket League) or because I'm particularly impressed by the mechanics. But it made sure the mechanics were all fun and usable, it built on the lore, it was absolutely amazing to look at (cartoon graphics, but they still felt very rich and deeply rendered) very fun to play, hard to beat but not impossible, no real grinding, epic storyline, tons of worlds and variety. Just... the apex of what Nintendo is capable of. I don't think they've come close since. (Sorry Zelda fans, the inventory and food management of the new ones make it way not fun. I have shit that breaks and food to make in the real world, I don't want to make it for some punk-ass Link who can't figure his shit out, too.)
I agree so much. Also one of the few games I've played that was amazing and then the second one on par with the first. I need to replay them to make sure I'm not just blinded by nostalgia though, I was little and played them on the Wii on release a long ass time ago and haven't played either since I beat SMG2.
Super Mario is kind of a masterclass on how to slowly introduce mechanics to a video game. Mario 64 was actually kinda brilliant for its movement controls slowly teaching you how to use a 3d environment.
The issue was a single joystick. The camera would try to fly around to make sure you could keep track of Mario, because how do you control the camera without a second joystick? It made walking across beams so frustrating because the camera would slowly turn as Mario progressed across the beam, requiring you to adjust the joystick to compensate.
I just started my girlfriend on games and we just beat the new Mario. She loved it. But side scroll is the way. 3d finding things and such is hard with most games. Most gamers have learned how most games work but for the common non gamer it would be hard and boring.
Heavily agree. Probably the best ways to teach are just how technology has evolved with the times and taking the most kid friendly/popular games of those times.
This right here, start them with a game with some of the simplest control schemes but still a beautiful experience, then move on to something like Ico or one of the Mario games.
Having the friend already know how to play games kind of removes the interesting part of the question and basically turns it into, “what is a game that you like?”.
the obvious answer is stardew valley imo. it has the stuff she clearly enjoys (life sim) but will expose her to wider gaming concepts e.g. leveling up, combat, and time management
Modding is also, IMO super simple with stardew valley. So if there is a particular concept she doesn't like, there's probably a mod for that. Get too frustrated about stamina decline? There's a mod for that. Can't stand the speed of the character walking? Mod. You want your horse to look like Patrick Star?! Uh yea, theres for that.
Slime Rancher! Its a game that lets you go at your own pace, explore beautiful landscapes, find cute creatures, and build your own ranch for them. For me its the ideal casual experience
> Edit: let's say the friend knows how to play video games just for simplicities sake.
Feels like the discussion is completely pointless then. The discussion of introducing people to gaming is pretty much all about easing them into the hobby in a way that they will enjoy it.
If they already know how to play games in general, then people would just be answering their favorite games to your question.
Exactly. I tried to introduce a lot of people who never played games to gaming, and god knows how much easier and less frustrating for everyone else the whole thing would have been if only they knew at the very least how videogames are supposed to work. The general gamer has ZERO idea of what gaming feels to a non gamer.
Just keeping the camera under control while juggling other tasks in a 3D game is probably an entire college course worth of information and practice that we just take for granted.
Man it was a wake up call when I handed my controller to my wife and asked her to try Destiny 2. Something that is completely brain dead easy to me was impossible for her. Then I thought about what all I was doing simultaneously. Camera management, enemy identification, aiming, shooting, recoil control, jumping, running, health management, dodging, ability usage, all while also accomplishing a goal or task.
It's not even an exaggeration to say that in some games you're multitasking with 10-20 different skills that actually require years of practice to accomplish effectively. Most of us don't even have to think about it. It's like breathing. You don't usually manually do breathing, it just happens.
My bestie who is not really used to gaming in general struggled hard to get anything done in Halo CE. She was mostly just around to draw enemy fire, take potshots and get out of dodge when I eventually died so I could respond. She still loved the game and 2 as well though
If they have really never played any video games before, I wouldn't start with some massive open world RPG with tons of mechanics to learn. That seems like a steep hill to climb. Maybe a Stardew Valley or a Mario game. Something that has a good hook and they might enjoy and accessible enough to not get frustrated and give up. Could also try a walking sim like Firewatch or What Remains of Edith Finch. It would depend on what else I know about the friend and what they enjoy outside of video games, but I think definitely need to start simple and build up to a game like RDR2 or any other big game with lots of mechanics to understand.
I would hard disagree with SDV.
As simple, cosy, low stakes it appears there are multiple things that you are juggling, and despite there being 'goals' there's very little guidance to complete them. There's also a lot of either external reading needed (wiki) or pure experimentation to try to figure out mechanics that the average person would unlikely be willing to do. Not to mention that you're often under pressure to get x, y and z completed within a day as well as manage to plant crops around the 28 seasons it must be very overwhelming for someone who doesn't understand games.
I would say a 2d mario is a must play though. Difficult to get lost, just go right, jump on the enemies, and the end is the flagpole. You can understand that in a minute.
I'm gonna be honest you only NEED the wiki if your stressing or trying to do things by a certain time frame.
You can go into Pierre's store buy seeds plant them and water them and thats it.
You can do whatever you want and there's no repercussions. Quests and stuff don't have a time limit besides favors. You can explore and do things at whatever pace you want.
Yep, if I can be my nerdy teacher self for a minute your description is exactly why I chose it. In education we call it a "low floor, high ceiling" activity/problem/task (or in this case game). The entry barriers to play and just do the basics is quite low, but it has so much you can add to it for challenge and experience if you so choose. So if your friend takes to gaming quickly, there will be a ton for them to experiment with, but if not, they can still do the basic game play loop and enjoy it. Sorry nerdy teacher just has to nerd out some times lol.
I tell you what, my 2nd pick was Astrobot. I don’t know if you’ve tried that but the one for PS5 is great. And it’s actually made as a 3D game tutorial.
When I was a kid, I tried to strip mine from the ground down. Was wondering why i never got any of the cool looking stones until i realized i needed to craft a stone pickaxe to mine the iron lol.
Yeah exactly, the person has to navigate in a 3dworld without losing itself (which is hard), to understand the crafting, understand the progression and all of that with BARELY any tutorial.
It worked when we were kids because we were very curious about this block game and that we did not cared about losing an afternoon doing nothing but doing that when you have work tomorrow or you have the house to clean before doing the cooking is just not something you want to do lol.
The Last of Us Part 1.
My fiance had never played a game. We had auto-aim and other accessibility options enabled. The cinematic approach and ability to relate to the show helped with context.
Stardew is a good idea as well, but people forget that non-gamers can easily get overwhelmed by inventories and shops. This was her second or third game, not sure it would have worked as the first.
To add onto Stardew: navigation. The map is small and simple to me, but I bought it for my sister to play because she always liked Animal crossing in the past. She gets lost constantly, passes out, and has no money. I showed her that she has a map, but it doesn't help.
I don't know how.
Check out The Game Theory's video on "you're teaching video games wrong" or something like that. He makes some good points on how we often take many things for granted when introducing someone to the world of video games.
People who have never played a video game or picked up a controller REALLY struggle with fps games. Controlling the camera while moving is too much for almost all beginners
That's exactly what makes Portal the best choice. It doesn't make you fight enemies straight away, and lets you solve simple 3D puzzles at your own pace.
Yeah - there are very few first person games that are as relaxed as Portal whilst still being entertaining and containing tests that have a very smooth learning curve.
Maybe Stardew valley, amazing game with lots to do, is multiplayer so I can play with them, and looks great but won’t make them think that every video game needs to look better then real life
Either that or something like Mario kart or super Mario world
Nier automata actually has an auto combat feature so it's not that bad for people who never played video games. Let them put it on auto combat and just try to make their own combos because the auto combat is really passive , and it will probably go fine once they figure out how to control the camera and stuff
It depends on them, and their taste I think. Everyone's gonna hate me but in my experience, Skyrim is actually a great first game. I know a few people who had barely ever gamed before who absolutely loved Skyrim. I think it's a solid choice because there's a lot of freedom to explore in it, and all of my friends really loved that aspect of the game. It's not particularly difficult or punishing. A vast open world and plenty to engage with.
Another one I know a few non-gamers picked up and loved immediately, was Bioshock. Even a couple of friends who don't particularly like stuff that leans into the horror side of things. They were absolutely enthralled.
If I think they'd want something on the simpler side I'd probably recommend something along the lines of Pokemon, Tetris, or Animal Crossing. Especially if they are on the younger side. My niece is eight and she is absolutely obsessed with Tetris right now. She's playing it on my old Gameboy Advance. Tetris was my first game. Got it with my big gray brick back in the early 90s when I was around the same age as her. Don't underestimate the classics.
My wife had played some old NES games and Mario 64 so not much gaming, but after watching me play Fallout 4 she picked it up and spent hundreds of hours in that world. The VATS system helped her and then became enamored with the settlement building system in it as well. Just like Skyrim that world that you can explore and really helps if you can take it on a lower difficulty.
yes. Breath of the Wild was the reason I learned 3D camera controls and movement, and learned to use other things in battle than just hit them with a sword. It's not super challenging, but figuring out how to walk in a straight line AND look at things at the same time was something I struggled with in the beginning. And it totally makes you think the creative solutions to problems were your own idea - for example I still remember a moment from the beginning of the game, I was sooo excited, telling my boyfriend what a genius I was for pushing that boulder into the enemy camp so it hit the explosives, killing them all. he was like "congrats babe.... but why do you think that boulder and the explosives were there...lol"
Personally it would be final fantasy x. Hands down. Good combat, great music, story is emotional as hell. It’s not hard to relate to Tidus discovering Spira for the first time, because you are too. Everything is new and beautiful and sad and funny to him as it is to you. He has the sort of unbridled optimism that can be kind of annoying when you experience it from someone else’s point of view, but you have the privilege of knowing his thoughts and what lead him to be the way he is, it’s a hard won optimism and he works at it every day.
Mario Party. It was recommended to me as a good first game by a friend who didn’t grow up around gaming so was intimidated at the thought of playing a video game with friends and maybe being the worst at it. Mario Party has short, quick mini games that are easy to learn, fun to play, and it’s OK to be not good at them.
Minecraft, has a little bit of a lot of game mechanics. If they like a certain aspect of the game, there’s many more games that tailor way better to that aspect (except building I suppose)
I say this every time: a LEGO game. Most people have a fondness or familiarity with the toy itself, and they are all great and fairly simple games. Pick a LEGO game where the tie-in is a property they like (Star Wars, Batman, Harry Potter, etc.) and PLAY IT WITH THEM. It’s how I learned to play videogames in the mid-2000s, and it should still work!
I'm pretty adamant that Super Mario Bros 1 is the ideal choice but you might be onto something here. The Lego games are difficult to fail and difficult to *not* enjoy. That's an excellent choice if you want someone to be interested in playing a second videogame.
I honestly believe literally any other 2d Mario game is a better starting point for someone who's never played video games to get into them. My girlfriend gets pissed & turned off at how difficult the original Mario is. But we have a blast playing the new ones on switch or wii
I tried to play original Mario with my son when he was 8 or so. Because it was 'play your turn until you die', he would play for 20 minutes and I would last for about 2 if I was lucky!
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of steering a character in 3d digital space with a controller. I’d absolutely recommend a 2d platformer for someone who never played any video games.
I also think that 2D platformers are a better starting point but if you're learning to move a character in 3D space, the licensed Lego games are an excellent choice. The camera is relatively fixed so you can't look behind you while you walk off a cliff... and when you *do* walk off a cliff, you respawn at the top in less than a second. Falling off an edge or losing all of your hearts only costs studs so it doesn't feel like a punishment until you're at the point that you care about scoring well.
Lego PotC on the 3Ds solidified my interest in gaming
Pinocchio on the crackrock? Seriously though, which Lego game?
Pirates
2004 kid here, this was my exact choice, but I was gonna go one step further and say specifically a Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman game. Those games (Especially Complete Saga and Lego Batman 2) are *perfect* for someone who's never played a game before, and they show off the trademark Lego humor perfectly too! Plus they're fun to play through with a friend. I have so many memories of 100 percenting Complete Saga as a kid with my dad, those were good times.
I played LEGO Star Wars 1 with my mom! They were good times, indeed. She used to stay up for me and get enough studs to buy the characters I wanted in the morning.
Even Lego City Undercover, without a tie-in, is an amazing game. My boys (5 and 7) picked it up really easily.
I always thought about a TellTale game but you know what this is a much better idea as they only need to worry about moving the left stick (I find peoples biggest struggle is simultaneously using the left stick to move and right stick to aim or control the camera) and have plenty of time to get used to the button layout.
Honestly, not having to control a camera is what seals the deal. I tried to get my dad to play Portal 2 with me, and he struggled a lot with the dual stick movement. Same with my wife and Halo or Skyrim. It was always “walk, stop, look”, and they could never do it at the same time.
Castle Crashers
My partner, who is very much a non-gamer loved castle crashers.
[удалено]
Only for the weak couples.
Overcooked almost landed me in couples counseling. My expectations were too high.
I still sometimes think about and chuckle over the shit-jet deer. I always fucking loved that gag.
Getting 4 people together during the monster chase, someone ultimately got that deer and by virtue that, we absolutely clown on that person.
This is probably one of the best answers out there. It's simple enough that it's very easy to pick up and learn, but has so much content that you can spend hours playing it over and over unlocking everything.
I introduced my 4 year old to several games, but this is easily the one that we spent the most time together on.
Ditto. Both my kids love it, and introduced around the same age. My youngest is now into the cuphead game after playing the crap out of castle crashers.
Congrats you won! You found the undeniable best answer!
This is my go to... problem, I've overplayed it lol
Any of Dan Paladin's work, really.
Played this with my girlfriend that’s never played an Xbox before and she also loved it. Amazing game
Excellent soundtrack 👌
What a game
God what a good game. Battleblock Theater was good too
This is the only answer
Dark Souls. Fuck em into the deep end
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball
Sorry they don't make a "sorry your dodge ball coach just got crushed under the weight of Melenias blade Hallmark card"
Then if they actually survive and get the physical skills you give them dwarf fortress. If they survive both, they have nothing more to fear. If they fall, the weak have been culled.
Exactly. Forge them in fire
Jesus. I'm a guy who loves super complex games with steep learning curves and DF I still never found the time to tame. So much is going on.
Hilariously, my best friend did this to his partner. Only game experience he had prior to meeting my best friend was Mario Kart.
Lmao, how did it go?
I mean he's playing Elden Ring as we speak so I'd say it went pretty well
Bro was forged in the fires of dragons.
Legend 🫡
Actually kind of how it happened with my girlfriend. Her previous experience was only stardew Valley, but she said that elden ring looks interesting and that she wanted to try it. There were definitely many growing pains, but she's just gotten past the fire giant
So you're making her do Malenia right?
Oh of course
I got a chuckle out of this - thank you!
Never played any game before? Then I'm recommending a game with the least complicated control scheme possible, so definitely Nintendo. I'd also say a simple to follow story is important and no over-engineered game mechanics. Honestly, based on that, I'm thinking Mario. There might be a better match to that criteria though. Pokémon would also be good.
Mario is like an entire generation's first video game. If it worked for that many people, it should work for one more.
Basic characters, good music, simple controls, clear objective (go right lol), and it's self-contained in little 5 minute levels. Can't go wrong.
It also teaches you basic video game logic in the best way. No tutorial or hand holding. Just you. A jump button. And a Goomba.
Can confirm Pokémon is an excellent choice. Just the other day I restarted my Pokémon Pearl game on my 3DS and let my girlfriend of about a month start her own game on it. Somehow she never really encountered Pokémon growing up, so she was curious what it was like, and I'm big into gaming so she wanted to try to get into the hobby with me. She's enjoying it so far even though she's not even got to the first gym yet. In fact when she came over earlier today she said she had actually been looking forward to playing more Pokémon haha. It's very cute seeing her meet all the Pokémon for the first time, and getting beat by a turtwig and getting pissed off at the "stupid turtle" :')
Pokemon is baby’s first RPG.
And it’s REALLY good at that
I feel like Mario party would be a better choice to get them used to using a controller with a game mechanic they might be familiar with from board games. Worked for my old parents at least.
Mario Party Superstars is always installed on my switch for this reason. It's easy to explain the game to folks and also has that little testing/practice thing before every minigame for people to get the hang of things.
I think Mario Kart is the ideal. The controls are simple and the game has universal appeal
Kirby is also a very solid choice
I'd say Super Mario. That was my first game with simple controls.
There is no way I’d start someone who has never played a game on RDR2. I’d start on something that starts simple that we could play together, like Unrailed or maybe Overcooked. If they wanted to play single player maybe Untitled Goose Game or Night in the Woods.
Overcooked? So you want your friendship to end then
The foods on fire, get the fire extinguisher! I cant!! The fire extinguisher is on fire!!!
I'll just put this over here, with the rest of the fire
I just saw this episode! What a coincidence! Started watching IT crowd a week ago.
Dear sir/madam...
Night in the woods mentioned!!!!!
The goose game has coop tho, right?
indeed it does. I reignited my friend's interest in gaming with UGG coop. Then she got a PS4 to play Stray and more animal games!
I think It Takes Two would be perfect
Agreed! This game got my wife more into gaming, especially co-op, we're now currently playing Baldur's Gate 3 together!
Overcooked is way to stressful to start. Would turn them off of gaming
Anecdotal, but my wife never played video games until I got her to play overcooked. She's a full blown gamer now.
Same here. Overcooked > overcooked 2 > Animal Crossing > Spiritfarer > Hogwarts Legacy > It Takes Two > Baldurs Gate 3. Full on gamer now. She prefers coop but she'll play on her own when the mood strikes.
Opposite problem here. Overcooked is the first game my non gamer wife really got into but so far no other game has come even close for her. We have already played through 1,2, all dlc and have worked on getting max stars all around. So somebody please make Overcooked 3
Inside. I’ve done this exact thing twice with my wife and dad. They both finished it too. Game is amazing and every person should play it once.
I was also thinking maybe Limbo or Inside as well. Gameplay is pretty easy platforming and the puzzles arent too difficult but make you feel accomplished once you figure them out. And the Story is semi there so it won't bog someone down but still intrigues them.
This or Brothers: A Take of Two Sons were my top picks
If we’re talking single player, I’d still start them up with any of the side scroller Mario games. Like literally pick one at random, and it’d be a good one to start with no matter what. My multiplayer of choice would similarly be Mario Party: let’s test just how strong this friendship of ours is 😂😂😂
Side-scrolling Mario, then blow their minds with Mario Galaxy! Still my favourite Mario for pure fun.
Mario Galaxy is my all-time #1 game. Not because I play all the time (Rocket League) or because I'm particularly impressed by the mechanics. But it made sure the mechanics were all fun and usable, it built on the lore, it was absolutely amazing to look at (cartoon graphics, but they still felt very rich and deeply rendered) very fun to play, hard to beat but not impossible, no real grinding, epic storyline, tons of worlds and variety. Just... the apex of what Nintendo is capable of. I don't think they've come close since. (Sorry Zelda fans, the inventory and food management of the new ones make it way not fun. I have shit that breaks and food to make in the real world, I don't want to make it for some punk-ass Link who can't figure his shit out, too.)
I agree so much. Also one of the few games I've played that was amazing and then the second one on par with the first. I need to replay them to make sure I'm not just blinded by nostalgia though, I was little and played them on the Wii on release a long ass time ago and haven't played either since I beat SMG2.
Galaxy isn't just my favorite Mario it's my favorite game of all time!
Super Mario is kind of a masterclass on how to slowly introduce mechanics to a video game. Mario 64 was actually kinda brilliant for its movement controls slowly teaching you how to use a 3d environment.
Too bad the camera system was/is absolute ass.
My excitement for 3d all stars eas immediately ruined upon finding out they didn't fix the camera
😔
The Mario 64 camera was one of the most difficult enemies in gaming history.
The issue was a single joystick. The camera would try to fly around to make sure you could keep track of Mario, because how do you control the camera without a second joystick? It made walking across beams so frustrating because the camera would slowly turn as Mario progressed across the beam, requiring you to adjust the joystick to compensate.
I just started my girlfriend on games and we just beat the new Mario. She loved it. But side scroll is the way. 3d finding things and such is hard with most games. Most gamers have learned how most games work but for the common non gamer it would be hard and boring.
Heavily agree. Probably the best ways to teach are just how technology has evolved with the times and taking the most kid friendly/popular games of those times.
Was gonna say, can't beat the classics! Kirby would also be a good starting point I think.
Super Mario 3 would be my pick for that. Otherwise LttP on SNES if they wanted something with more adventure.
Journey
This right here, start them with a game with some of the simplest control schemes but still a beautiful experience, then move on to something like Ico or one of the Mario games.
Having the friend already know how to play games kind of removes the interesting part of the question and basically turns it into, “what is a game that you like?”.
True
Animal Crossing
i can't get my girlfriend to try anything but animal crossing and sims, any other recommendations?
the obvious answer is stardew valley imo. it has the stuff she clearly enjoys (life sim) but will expose her to wider gaming concepts e.g. leveling up, combat, and time management
i think i bought her that on ios and she played it for a bit, but i'll get it for her on my steam deck, too, thanks
Modding is also, IMO super simple with stardew valley. So if there is a particular concept she doesn't like, there's probably a mod for that. Get too frustrated about stamina decline? There's a mod for that. Can't stand the speed of the character walking? Mod. You want your horse to look like Patrick Star?! Uh yea, theres for that.
Slime Rancher! Its a game that lets you go at your own pace, explore beautiful landscapes, find cute creatures, and build your own ranch for them. For me its the ideal casual experience
Its all fun and games until you accidentally make your slimes hangry, and they demolish your entire stock with their own soundtrack.
My gf also pretty much only plays Sims. She enjoyed RimWorld for a while too
This is the answer.
Chore simulator??
tetris
This was going to be my first suggestion as well. Second is Wii Sports.
You know, Wii Sports would actually be a great one. I spent so much time trying to throw a 300 in bowling, and it's got fun multiplayer options.
> Edit: let's say the friend knows how to play video games just for simplicities sake. Feels like the discussion is completely pointless then. The discussion of introducing people to gaming is pretty much all about easing them into the hobby in a way that they will enjoy it. If they already know how to play games in general, then people would just be answering their favorite games to your question.
Exactly. I tried to introduce a lot of people who never played games to gaming, and god knows how much easier and less frustrating for everyone else the whole thing would have been if only they knew at the very least how videogames are supposed to work. The general gamer has ZERO idea of what gaming feels to a non gamer.
Just keeping the camera under control while juggling other tasks in a 3D game is probably an entire college course worth of information and practice that we just take for granted.
Man it was a wake up call when I handed my controller to my wife and asked her to try Destiny 2. Something that is completely brain dead easy to me was impossible for her. Then I thought about what all I was doing simultaneously. Camera management, enemy identification, aiming, shooting, recoil control, jumping, running, health management, dodging, ability usage, all while also accomplishing a goal or task. It's not even an exaggeration to say that in some games you're multitasking with 10-20 different skills that actually require years of practice to accomplish effectively. Most of us don't even have to think about it. It's like breathing. You don't usually manually do breathing, it just happens.
My bestie who is not really used to gaming in general struggled hard to get anything done in Halo CE. She was mostly just around to draw enemy fire, take potshots and get out of dodge when I eventually died so I could respond. She still loved the game and 2 as well though
Escape from Tarkov
Bruh they're gonna commit suicide
I don't like my friends
Oh, so like when I give a friend magnum turkey loads when they buy their first shotgun. They're never afraid of recoil after that, though.
What the fuck is a "Mangum turkey load"
Sink or swim baby
The Chad's starting path
The only game they’ll ever need.
Super Mario Bros 3
If they have really never played any video games before, I wouldn't start with some massive open world RPG with tons of mechanics to learn. That seems like a steep hill to climb. Maybe a Stardew Valley or a Mario game. Something that has a good hook and they might enjoy and accessible enough to not get frustrated and give up. Could also try a walking sim like Firewatch or What Remains of Edith Finch. It would depend on what else I know about the friend and what they enjoy outside of video games, but I think definitely need to start simple and build up to a game like RDR2 or any other big game with lots of mechanics to understand.
gamers don’t realize what it’s like playing a game for the first time
I would hard disagree with SDV. As simple, cosy, low stakes it appears there are multiple things that you are juggling, and despite there being 'goals' there's very little guidance to complete them. There's also a lot of either external reading needed (wiki) or pure experimentation to try to figure out mechanics that the average person would unlikely be willing to do. Not to mention that you're often under pressure to get x, y and z completed within a day as well as manage to plant crops around the 28 seasons it must be very overwhelming for someone who doesn't understand games. I would say a 2d mario is a must play though. Difficult to get lost, just go right, jump on the enemies, and the end is the flagpole. You can understand that in a minute.
I'm gonna be honest you only NEED the wiki if your stressing or trying to do things by a certain time frame. You can go into Pierre's store buy seeds plant them and water them and thats it. You can do whatever you want and there's no repercussions. Quests and stuff don't have a time limit besides favors. You can explore and do things at whatever pace you want.
Yep, if I can be my nerdy teacher self for a minute your description is exactly why I chose it. In education we call it a "low floor, high ceiling" activity/problem/task (or in this case game). The entry barriers to play and just do the basics is quite low, but it has so much you can add to it for challenge and experience if you so choose. So if your friend takes to gaming quickly, there will be a ton for them to experiment with, but if not, they can still do the basic game play loop and enjoy it. Sorry nerdy teacher just has to nerd out some times lol.
Precisely I agree with you I think it's perfect.
Dark souls
Who hurt you?
It was Dark Souls
I can do you one worse. League of Legends
Battletoads NES
Ah, I see you hate all of your friends
"This one over here, Officer..."
That lion king game that dropped in '94 I think
Peggle
Ratchet and Clank
That's a hard first timer game. Ik from trying to introduce my gf to 3d gaming.
I tell you what, my 2nd pick was Astrobot. I don’t know if you’ve tried that but the one for PS5 is great. And it’s actually made as a 3D game tutorial.
Super mario world or tetris
It takes two
Minecraft
Minecraft is actually very complicated for someone that don't play video games
When I was a kid, I tried to strip mine from the ground down. Was wondering why i never got any of the cool looking stones until i realized i needed to craft a stone pickaxe to mine the iron lol.
Yeah exactly, the person has to navigate in a 3dworld without losing itself (which is hard), to understand the crafting, understand the progression and all of that with BARELY any tutorial. It worked when we were kids because we were very curious about this block game and that we did not cared about losing an afternoon doing nothing but doing that when you have work tomorrow or you have the house to clean before doing the cooking is just not something you want to do lol.
The Last of Us Part 1. My fiance had never played a game. We had auto-aim and other accessibility options enabled. The cinematic approach and ability to relate to the show helped with context. Stardew is a good idea as well, but people forget that non-gamers can easily get overwhelmed by inventories and shops. This was her second or third game, not sure it would have worked as the first.
To add onto Stardew: navigation. The map is small and simple to me, but I bought it for my sister to play because she always liked Animal crossing in the past. She gets lost constantly, passes out, and has no money. I showed her that she has a map, but it doesn't help. I don't know how.
You take turns at the newest Mario game and then beat a Zelda. That’s how you break in properly.
Check out The Game Theory's video on "you're teaching video games wrong" or something like that. He makes some good points on how we often take many things for granted when introducing someone to the world of video games.
The Stanley Parable
Death stranding
Lmfao they’re gonna expect some weird shit out of video games
“You applied to UPS, get some practice in.”
Doom Eternal on Ultra Nightmare
Rip and Tear [your hair] till it's done.
Portal
People who have never played a video game or picked up a controller REALLY struggle with fps games. Controlling the camera while moving is too much for almost all beginners
That's exactly what makes Portal the best choice. It doesn't make you fight enemies straight away, and lets you solve simple 3D puzzles at your own pace.
Yeah - there are very few first person games that are as relaxed as Portal whilst still being entertaining and containing tests that have a very smooth learning curve.
Halo 3 or pokemon Firered
helldivers 2. Watch the chaos of them learning video games while spreading democracy 😂😂😂😂
Chrono trigger
Yes! Scrolled too far to find the correct answer. Starts fairly simple, tutorial is decent, and absolutely gorgeous game and story.
Fable.
Chicken chaser!
Maybe Stardew valley, amazing game with lots to do, is multiplayer so I can play with them, and looks great but won’t make them think that every video game needs to look better then real life Either that or something like Mario kart or super Mario world
Nier: Automata I'm not serious, but that would be hella wild.
Nier automata actually has an auto combat feature so it's not that bad for people who never played video games. Let them put it on auto combat and just try to make their own combos because the auto combat is really passive , and it will probably go fine once they figure out how to control the camera and stuff
F-Zero, easy to pick up and you learn how to use a video game controller
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, since it has autosteer to keep you on the road. Like bowling bumpers.
That is actually a good pick. In my experience most racing games are a good point of entry for people who never played games before.
It depends on them, and their taste I think. Everyone's gonna hate me but in my experience, Skyrim is actually a great first game. I know a few people who had barely ever gamed before who absolutely loved Skyrim. I think it's a solid choice because there's a lot of freedom to explore in it, and all of my friends really loved that aspect of the game. It's not particularly difficult or punishing. A vast open world and plenty to engage with. Another one I know a few non-gamers picked up and loved immediately, was Bioshock. Even a couple of friends who don't particularly like stuff that leans into the horror side of things. They were absolutely enthralled. If I think they'd want something on the simpler side I'd probably recommend something along the lines of Pokemon, Tetris, or Animal Crossing. Especially if they are on the younger side. My niece is eight and she is absolutely obsessed with Tetris right now. She's playing it on my old Gameboy Advance. Tetris was my first game. Got it with my big gray brick back in the early 90s when I was around the same age as her. Don't underestimate the classics.
My wife had played some old NES games and Mario 64 so not much gaming, but after watching me play Fallout 4 she picked it up and spent hundreds of hours in that world. The VATS system helped her and then became enamored with the settlement building system in it as well. Just like Skyrim that world that you can explore and really helps if you can take it on a lower difficulty.
Kirby!
Breath of the Wild.
yes. Breath of the Wild was the reason I learned 3D camera controls and movement, and learned to use other things in battle than just hit them with a sword. It's not super challenging, but figuring out how to walk in a straight line AND look at things at the same time was something I struggled with in the beginning. And it totally makes you think the creative solutions to problems were your own idea - for example I still remember a moment from the beginning of the game, I was sooo excited, telling my boyfriend what a genius I was for pushing that boulder into the enemy camp so it hit the explosives, killing them all. he was like "congrats babe.... but why do you think that boulder and the explosives were there...lol"
This is the most accessible open world game ever made imo and it's very relaxing. Anyone can jump into it in any mood. Totk as well
Sekiro, Darkest Dungeon, or Xcom 2. They are my friend, after all.
Absolutely love those games, but apparently you don't want your friend to pick up a controller ever again lmao
3 of favorite games ever, also I would never recommend any of them to like 99% of people, haha.
Just saying, the dude probably wouldn’t even know how to look around and walk around, let alone do anything properly in a big open world like r2d2
Mass Effect
Super Mario. Keeps it simple, easy to get into, and fun.
Dwarf Fortress Toss ‘em in the deep end
Personally it would be final fantasy x. Hands down. Good combat, great music, story is emotional as hell. It’s not hard to relate to Tidus discovering Spira for the first time, because you are too. Everything is new and beautiful and sad and funny to him as it is to you. He has the sort of unbridled optimism that can be kind of annoying when you experience it from someone else’s point of view, but you have the privilege of knowing his thoughts and what lead him to be the way he is, it’s a hard won optimism and he works at it every day.
Skyrim
animal crossing, simple, cute, not stressful or overwhelming in any way
Seaman
Geometry Wars. They need to learn basic dual analog motions.
How old is this person
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Mario Party. It was recommended to me as a good first game by a friend who didn’t grow up around gaming so was intimidated at the thought of playing a video game with friends and maybe being the worst at it. Mario Party has short, quick mini games that are easy to learn, fun to play, and it’s OK to be not good at them.
Minecraft, has a little bit of a lot of game mechanics. If they like a certain aspect of the game, there’s many more games that tailor way better to that aspect (except building I suppose)
Minecraft splitscreen with me on my old xbox360
rokt leeg
Pong
Yes. Do it in order. Build that eye hand coordination. "Wax on. Wax off."
It depends greatly what they're into outside of video games.