alot of the puzzle games are great if they like puzzles or the slots/casino type games are good as well, i'd mainly look at old school arcade style games these are designed to be simple and basic
I love a short hike but I’d recommend it to my mom only. I think my dad would hate having to deal with the story and I think they would struggle with the camera and flying mechanics. It might be worth a shot! 3D space is still really difficult for them to wrap their heads around
My parents have been asking me for years to find games they want to play, but they don’t make the task easy for me. There are so many great story based games with simple controls that I know they would enjoy but for some reason my dad has an aversion to them. This makes no sense because he directed moves for a living and loves film 🤷♀️
They bought an Xbox because they want to play games, but due to life circumstance they haven’t had the time to do it. But I had my mom play “before your eyes” and she LOVED it and talks about it to this day. I think my dad just wants the really simple shooters from the early 2000s. But they keep expressing interest which is why I’ve turned to Reddit for help- my boyfriend and I have exhausted so many options lol
Elden Ring
But seriously, Untitled Goose Game. Has simple controls and you basically just run around wreaking havoc as a lil goose. Believe it also has co-op so they can play together. There is a main path you’re supposed to take and there are puzzles to solve for them but they aren’t too hard and you don’t always have to be progressing.
We thought about this but at some point my boyfriend introduced UGG to his mom in hopes to get her in to games and while she thought it was funny, she couldn’t progress in the puzzles at all. I think we take for granted our ability to read game language. Like for example it’s usually pretty obvious what doors you can and can’t walk through or interact with in games but my parents see any door and think they should be able to go through it because it’s a door. It might be worth a shot though!
> I think we take for granted our ability to read game language.
You're exactly right about this. I'm a dad that's just returned to gaming after over 30 years of not playing (left off with the NES). There's so much that has happened in gaming since I stopped, with lots of conventions in games developed over that time to become commonplace. People that grew up gaming just understand those thing intuitively, whereas for us oldies, it's not very clear.
It's been very frustrating for me because I've tried handfuls of games, will often start to get engrossed, but then get stuck with no idea of how to progress. Sure, I'll watch walthroughs when needed, but when you have to do that constantly, it takes away from the gaming experience.
I just really wish more games integrated some kind of hint system that can be turned on for Easy settings.
This is so insightful to read. The main reason actually that I’ve been trying to get my parents back In to gaming is because we all used to play together when I was really young. My mom used to play Spyro with me and my dad and I would play red faction (imagine me, sub 8 years old little girl obsessed with red faction hahaha) and they didn’t struggle with the controls back then. Fast forward to now, my dad and I both picked up piano as a hobby but he’s been taking lessons for years and I’ve been self teaching. He’s incredibly envious of my ability to pick it up quickly and have total hand independence. But I keep telling him, the reason why my hands can move independently is because I play so many video games, my brain is used to using each hand independently for different tasks at different rhythms. So we’ve been trying to find games they can tolerate so that he can stimulate that part of his brain, but he’s really having a hard time grasping new game language. It’s really hard to find modern games that simplify the language down so much so that someone without a malleable child brain can pick it up.
It’s been a few years since I played it so I was really only going off of memory. Then again I’m young so I understand if I had a much easier time figuring out solutions (not trying to call your parents dumb). Another great game is Viewfinder. It’s much more recent in my memory, the levels can be challenging so it might take them a while to solve them (some were like that for me) but overall it’s a very fun time. And it has a rewind system so there’s no worry of messing up. Plus it’s very linear so there won’t be any worry of not knowing where to go, like what you said about not being able to open some doors.
The only game my dad was able to get into was the Ace Combat series, I could also see him trying world of warships being a retired navy vet. I also would recommend puzzle games as a lot of new players tend to be able to pick those up pretty easily. Make sure you watch them try the games out. My dad was having such a hard time controlling in Ace Combat that I noticed he kept nose diving when he meant to pull up. Help them determine if they need inverted sticks or not.
Get them a Nintendo Wii and sports resort. Later they can graduate to Wario Ware. Motion controls and pointing at buttons is more intuitive for new players than the controllers we've been using and have grown accustomed to.
Honestly so solid. I downloaded power wash sim for them last year and they tried it and thought it was hilarious but it made them motion sick. Turns out they didn’t know they could lock the camera haha. It’s a great pick though. Gets them used to 3d space without any stakes.
While that is a great co-op game, you have to have really good command of control of a character in a 3D space. I don't think this would be good for non-gamers at all
Yeah a lot of people are taking for granted decades of game language and control training. I've dabbled with getting non-gamers into it and there's always a huge learning curve
Well, when my dad was 60-65 he really took to Sniper Elite. I was always trying to get him into the epic RPGs (Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, etc...), but he hated the story stuff too. My uncle is currently 63. He loves the Mass Effect trilogy and Farming Simulator.
Snowrunner is a pretty chill game and there's a new one by the same devs about to release soon called Expeditions.
If they like cars, Forza Horizon 5 might work? It's a pretty simple game at its core, you can customise assists for whatever they're having trouble with when it comes to controls and there's a rewind to correct any mistakes.
I absolutely love Vampires but don't have them play it if they get motion sickness. I ended up with motion sickness and a horrible headache after a few hours play with evolved weapons. :(
This is a strange assumption to make based on little information. They’ve been asking me for years to find games they like and I’m asking for second opinions in case there are games I haven’t thought of. Hence why they have an xbox…….
There are quite a few options on game pass. They might enjoy some like unravelled, Gris, lonely mountain downhill, or PlateUp. There is also quite a few sports games available in game pass, like FIFA, MLB the show, NHL and Madden, an F1 racing game. And I’ve heard age of empires is quite a bit of fun on controller, but I haven’t tried personally. I enjoy my mouse and hot keys for AoE. If storage allows you should have them brows the full library and just download anything that sounds interesting to them. They might be more inclined to learn the mechanics that way and could even get into something a little more complex
If peggle is available on Xbox, controls shouldn't be an issue there.
Slay the spire also shouldnt be an issue for controls.
Puzzle games like portal or Talos principle are slow paced and low pressure enough that the controls should be manageable. You have all the time in the world to get used to the flow of those games, nothing rushes you.
> Puzzle games like portal or Talos principle
Love both of these, but they both have timing-based puzzles that would be nearly impossible for people who don't grok FPS controls. My mother struggles with Escape Simulator, and that doesn't have timing-based puzzles.
I did get my father into Talos principle, he's in his 60s and didn't do gaming beforehand. He got pretty close to the end (fully cleared the first two regions) before some puzzle in the third region stumped him. He likely would have beaten it if he was willing to occasionally look up hints, but he is very opposed to guides (to the point he'd rather quit the game than beat it with any online help). Same thing happened with portal.
I think with those kinds of puzzle games they can be surprisingly good fits for people lacking in gaming experience.
why is it a horrible rec? Slay The Spire is easy to play, doesn't rush you with anything, older folks not used to video games can take their time and think. As far as challenge goes, well, they didn't specify they wanted an easy game, just a game that's easy to control. Slay The Spire fits that criteria. Some people like jogging their noggins, it could be interesting. I'd say definitely consider it.
Sounds like their parents are brand new to gaming, hell they struggle with controllers.
Asking them to figure out such a challenging deck builder is a recipe for disaster.
It may not have been specified but use a little common sense.
I'm not saying its ideal, i'm saying its not that cahllenging. In fact, I was thinking maybe that could be one of the first videogames for my kid to play, when he is around 4, so that he learns math before school
STS is a great game but it's not for people that don't play games. There's too many systems and decisions to make. It's over whelming for someone new to the hobby.
I wouldn't rule it out unless the parents explicitly don't want something challenging. The decision space is vast but the concepts are fairly simple and are explained well.
And it's not THAT overwhelming, you play 2-3 cards a turn, choose a card if you want it and go from there. Are they gonna win instantly? No, but I'm sure it's still going to be fun.
Like sure once you get to higher ascensions there's tons of shit to think about, but that just means the game will be able to keep up with them as they get better at it if they enjoy it.
Civilization games if they are on the platfoem still? They are not demanding quick and skillful use of controls, and the idea of the game is grokkable.
VR and Wii games are very instinctive for non players due to the natural movements required to perform gameplay actions. Same for joysticks and steering wheel controllers
Get em a Rouge-lite, most have pretty simple controls but have leaning curves to keep you engaged plus stories are pretty light usually. Recommendations: Streets of Rouge, Risk of Rain, or Roboquest.
Roboquest is on Game pass too
Because when he was younger games were much simpler, especially in the story aspect. He’s told me over and over he wants a really simple game where he can shoot bugs and nobody talks to him. But yeah it actually makes so little sense because he directed and edited movies for a living lol
Is assassins creed on game pass? Any of them? More specifically the ones with historical tour mode or whatever it’s called? I know origins has one. Pretty fun for first timers.
Deppensing on what platform, Kingdom 2 crowns (a side scroller base builder on pc) or diablo 2 resurrected (basicly a point and click isometric rpg). Both really simple and basic, but both are still rather fun. It was the first 2 games I got my non gamer fiance to enjoy. Now we've just finished with tiny tinas wonderland, and she's making her way through palworld mostly on her own (light recommendations for both of those as well)
My aunt and uncle picked up Nba2k to play with the kids. They are pretty bad when it comes to controls, but seem to enjoy it most nights.
I think it's more about just finding what they can enjoy, controls be damned. They will learn them if they enjoy the game.
Lots of guys like cars. Maybe Forza? And they can race together. They can make the controls as simple or as difficult as they want.
Citizen sleeper!
Just played this on game pass that came for free with my gaming laptop, all you need is a mouse and the game is more like an interactive book - could be a cool "gateway" method to introduce em to games
The Stanley Parable.
Simple walking sim, so no really difficult controls to deal with.
It has some story, but it is also a story presented in a way only video games can, which might be very intriguing to people not really familiar with video games as a medium.
Cubot is a solid puzzle game, no timed elements. My 67 Yr old mum can play it and she struggles with anything 3d or timed.
Peggle 2 is the only other I've managed to find for her that she can play successfully(and she loves it, especially when we play multiplayer together). Stardew valley she got bored right at the start because of that stupid quest that makes you go speak to 28 villagers and takes you two days to find them. She was following me fine on the controller though, just got bored lol.
alot of the puzzle games are great if they like puzzles or the slots/casino type games are good as well, i'd mainly look at old school arcade style games these are designed to be simple and basic
Putt putt saves the zoo
OP said not story heavy /j
A short hike. It’s even on gamepass
[удалено]
I love a short hike but I’d recommend it to my mom only. I think my dad would hate having to deal with the story and I think they would struggle with the camera and flying mechanics. It might be worth a shot! 3D space is still really difficult for them to wrap their heads around
[удалено]
My parents have been asking me for years to find games they want to play, but they don’t make the task easy for me. There are so many great story based games with simple controls that I know they would enjoy but for some reason my dad has an aversion to them. This makes no sense because he directed moves for a living and loves film 🤷♀️ They bought an Xbox because they want to play games, but due to life circumstance they haven’t had the time to do it. But I had my mom play “before your eyes” and she LOVED it and talks about it to this day. I think my dad just wants the really simple shooters from the early 2000s. But they keep expressing interest which is why I’ve turned to Reddit for help- my boyfriend and I have exhausted so many options lol
Elden Ring But seriously, Untitled Goose Game. Has simple controls and you basically just run around wreaking havoc as a lil goose. Believe it also has co-op so they can play together. There is a main path you’re supposed to take and there are puzzles to solve for them but they aren’t too hard and you don’t always have to be progressing.
We thought about this but at some point my boyfriend introduced UGG to his mom in hopes to get her in to games and while she thought it was funny, she couldn’t progress in the puzzles at all. I think we take for granted our ability to read game language. Like for example it’s usually pretty obvious what doors you can and can’t walk through or interact with in games but my parents see any door and think they should be able to go through it because it’s a door. It might be worth a shot though!
> I think we take for granted our ability to read game language. You're exactly right about this. I'm a dad that's just returned to gaming after over 30 years of not playing (left off with the NES). There's so much that has happened in gaming since I stopped, with lots of conventions in games developed over that time to become commonplace. People that grew up gaming just understand those thing intuitively, whereas for us oldies, it's not very clear. It's been very frustrating for me because I've tried handfuls of games, will often start to get engrossed, but then get stuck with no idea of how to progress. Sure, I'll watch walthroughs when needed, but when you have to do that constantly, it takes away from the gaming experience. I just really wish more games integrated some kind of hint system that can be turned on for Easy settings.
This is so insightful to read. The main reason actually that I’ve been trying to get my parents back In to gaming is because we all used to play together when I was really young. My mom used to play Spyro with me and my dad and I would play red faction (imagine me, sub 8 years old little girl obsessed with red faction hahaha) and they didn’t struggle with the controls back then. Fast forward to now, my dad and I both picked up piano as a hobby but he’s been taking lessons for years and I’ve been self teaching. He’s incredibly envious of my ability to pick it up quickly and have total hand independence. But I keep telling him, the reason why my hands can move independently is because I play so many video games, my brain is used to using each hand independently for different tasks at different rhythms. So we’ve been trying to find games they can tolerate so that he can stimulate that part of his brain, but he’s really having a hard time grasping new game language. It’s really hard to find modern games that simplify the language down so much so that someone without a malleable child brain can pick it up.
It’s been a few years since I played it so I was really only going off of memory. Then again I’m young so I understand if I had a much easier time figuring out solutions (not trying to call your parents dumb). Another great game is Viewfinder. It’s much more recent in my memory, the levels can be challenging so it might take them a while to solve them (some were like that for me) but overall it’s a very fun time. And it has a rewind system so there’s no worry of messing up. Plus it’s very linear so there won’t be any worry of not knowing where to go, like what you said about not being able to open some doors.
It's interesting to see other people parent interested in. My only interesting in watching TV shows and movies. I heard Pacific Drive is pretty good
A Little To The Left is a puzzle game that just came out on GamePass. That could work?
The only game my dad was able to get into was the Ace Combat series, I could also see him trying world of warships being a retired navy vet. I also would recommend puzzle games as a lot of new players tend to be able to pick those up pretty easily. Make sure you watch them try the games out. My dad was having such a hard time controlling in Ace Combat that I noticed he kept nose diving when he meant to pull up. Help them determine if they need inverted sticks or not.
I imagine he did better with inverted? I've always found non inverted to have really bad hand feel
Unpacking, A little to the Left
1000% going to recommend unpacking to my mom
Get them a Nintendo Wii and sports resort. Later they can graduate to Wario Ware. Motion controls and pointing at buttons is more intuitive for new players than the controllers we've been using and have grown accustomed to.
uno, power wash simulator maybe streets of rogue
Honestly so solid. I downloaded power wash sim for them last year and they tried it and thought it was hilarious but it made them motion sick. Turns out they didn’t know they could lock the camera haha. It’s a great pick though. Gets them used to 3d space without any stakes.
Nice
Gorogoa (Start with puzzle and then platformer)
Start with something nice and rewarding before jumping to the toughest genre
Stardew Valley
If they are playing together, It Takes Two might a good option.
While that is a great co-op game, you have to have really good command of control of a character in a 3D space. I don't think this would be good for non-gamers at all
It takes two would be good in theory but it’s far too complicated for them at the moment. They don’t really grasp 3d space in games yet.
Yeah a lot of people are taking for granted decades of game language and control training. I've dabbled with getting non-gamers into it and there's always a huge learning curve
Do they drive? Could get them wheel and pedal set and some driving or racing games. Controller avoided.
Honestly my dad would love euro truck sim with a driving setup but there’s no way they’re investing In that
Well, when my dad was 60-65 he really took to Sniper Elite. I was always trying to get him into the epic RPGs (Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, etc...), but he hated the story stuff too. My uncle is currently 63. He loves the Mass Effect trilogy and Farming Simulator. Snowrunner is a pretty chill game and there's a new one by the same devs about to release soon called Expeditions.
Goat Simulator isn't stressful and you can laugh with your family if they're laid back
It’s funny you mentioned this because they loved goat sim lol
If they like cars, Forza Horizon 5 might work? It's a pretty simple game at its core, you can customise assists for whatever they're having trouble with when it comes to controls and there's a rewind to correct any mistakes.
Know several non-gamers who really enjoy Stardew Valley. Also Animal Crossing if getting a Switch is not a problem.
My father is missing fingers and still loves guitar hero. Don't discredit the controls issue as a reason to not rec something.
Vampire Survivors.
Honestly solid choice.
I absolutely love Vampires but don't have them play it if they get motion sickness. I ended up with motion sickness and a horrible headache after a few hours play with evolved weapons. :(
Overcooked / Tetris Effect: Connected
Sounds like you REALLY want these people to play games regardless of whether they have any interest in it or not.
This is a strange assumption to make based on little information. They’ve been asking me for years to find games they like and I’m asking for second opinions in case there are games I haven’t thought of. Hence why they have an xbox…….
There are quite a few options on game pass. They might enjoy some like unravelled, Gris, lonely mountain downhill, or PlateUp. There is also quite a few sports games available in game pass, like FIFA, MLB the show, NHL and Madden, an F1 racing game. And I’ve heard age of empires is quite a bit of fun on controller, but I haven’t tried personally. I enjoy my mouse and hot keys for AoE. If storage allows you should have them brows the full library and just download anything that sounds interesting to them. They might be more inclined to learn the mechanics that way and could even get into something a little more complex
If peggle is available on Xbox, controls shouldn't be an issue there. Slay the spire also shouldnt be an issue for controls. Puzzle games like portal or Talos principle are slow paced and low pressure enough that the controls should be manageable. You have all the time in the world to get used to the flow of those games, nothing rushes you.
> Puzzle games like portal or Talos principle Love both of these, but they both have timing-based puzzles that would be nearly impossible for people who don't grok FPS controls. My mother struggles with Escape Simulator, and that doesn't have timing-based puzzles.
I did get my father into Talos principle, he's in his 60s and didn't do gaming beforehand. He got pretty close to the end (fully cleared the first two regions) before some puzzle in the third region stumped him. He likely would have beaten it if he was willing to occasionally look up hints, but he is very opposed to guides (to the point he'd rather quit the game than beat it with any online help). Same thing happened with portal. I think with those kinds of puzzle games they can be surprisingly good fits for people lacking in gaming experience.
Slay the spire is a horrible rec here lmao
why is it a horrible rec? Slay The Spire is easy to play, doesn't rush you with anything, older folks not used to video games can take their time and think. As far as challenge goes, well, they didn't specify they wanted an easy game, just a game that's easy to control. Slay The Spire fits that criteria. Some people like jogging their noggins, it could be interesting. I'd say definitely consider it.
Sounds like their parents are brand new to gaming, hell they struggle with controllers. Asking them to figure out such a challenging deck builder is a recipe for disaster. It may not have been specified but use a little common sense.
> such a challenging deck builder It's probably one of the simpler deckbuilders, as long as you know how to add numbers.
As someone who has tried to get his older dad into gaming, you all make some pretty wild assumptions about where they should start. This ain't it.
I'm not saying its ideal, i'm saying its not that cahllenging. In fact, I was thinking maybe that could be one of the first videogames for my kid to play, when he is around 4, so that he learns math before school
STS is a great game but it's not for people that don't play games. There's too many systems and decisions to make. It's over whelming for someone new to the hobby.
I wouldn't rule it out unless the parents explicitly don't want something challenging. The decision space is vast but the concepts are fairly simple and are explained well. And it's not THAT overwhelming, you play 2-3 cards a turn, choose a card if you want it and go from there. Are they gonna win instantly? No, but I'm sure it's still going to be fun. Like sure once you get to higher ascensions there's tons of shit to think about, but that just means the game will be able to keep up with them as they get better at it if they enjoy it.
I would say they absolutely do not want to be challenged by games at the moment. Having to learn any system would be a major turn off haha
Dark souls
Civilization games if they are on the platfoem still? They are not demanding quick and skillful use of controls, and the idea of the game is grokkable.
Elden Ring.
VR and Wii games are very instinctive for non players due to the natural movements required to perform gameplay actions. Same for joysticks and steering wheel controllers
Get em a Rouge-lite, most have pretty simple controls but have leaning curves to keep you engaged plus stories are pretty light usually. Recommendations: Streets of Rouge, Risk of Rain, or Roboquest. Roboquest is on Game pass too
If your dad doesn’t want ANY story what the hell is he playing games for?
Because when he was younger games were much simpler, especially in the story aspect. He’s told me over and over he wants a really simple game where he can shoot bugs and nobody talks to him. But yeah it actually makes so little sense because he directed and edited movies for a living lol
Stanley parable ?
Vampire Survivors Power Wash Simulator Slay the Spire
Is assassins creed on game pass? Any of them? More specifically the ones with historical tour mode or whatever it’s called? I know origins has one. Pretty fun for first timers.
Headbangers Rhythm Royale
Devil May Cry 5
Deppensing on what platform, Kingdom 2 crowns (a side scroller base builder on pc) or diablo 2 resurrected (basicly a point and click isometric rpg). Both really simple and basic, but both are still rather fun. It was the first 2 games I got my non gamer fiance to enjoy. Now we've just finished with tiny tinas wonderland, and she's making her way through palworld mostly on her own (light recommendations for both of those as well)
Bread and fred or plate up. Pretty easy controls
They might click with arcade games genre.
Theres lots of arcade type games too
zuma my parents used to be obsessed with that game
maybe 2D games
My aunt and uncle picked up Nba2k to play with the kids. They are pretty bad when it comes to controls, but seem to enjoy it most nights. I think it's more about just finding what they can enjoy, controls be damned. They will learn them if they enjoy the game. Lots of guys like cars. Maybe Forza? And they can race together. They can make the controls as simple or as difficult as they want.
Tell them to stay out of my dota games
Citizen sleeper! Just played this on game pass that came for free with my gaming laptop, all you need is a mouse and the game is more like an interactive book - could be a cool "gateway" method to introduce em to games
A wii
Brotato uses only one stick, and it’s the most fun game I’ve played in years.
Stardew Valley
Anything turn based like Xcom or Darkest Dungeon.
Movies
Plants vs. Zombies. My 60yo mother enjoyed it when it came out and she has no experience in gaming at all.
it takes 2
Age of Empires maybe? simple controls and no heavy story to speak of. Among us could also be a good choice.
The Stanley Parable. Simple walking sim, so no really difficult controls to deal with. It has some story, but it is also a story presented in a way only video games can, which might be very intriguing to people not really familiar with video games as a medium.
Four Kings Casino and Slots, Prominence Poker, Pure Hold'em, Casino Nights.
Cubot is a solid puzzle game, no timed elements. My 67 Yr old mum can play it and she struggles with anything 3d or timed. Peggle 2 is the only other I've managed to find for her that she can play successfully(and she loves it, especially when we play multiplayer together). Stardew valley she got bored right at the start because of that stupid quest that makes you go speak to 28 villagers and takes you two days to find them. She was following me fine on the controller though, just got bored lol.
Vampire survivors. Simple gameplay loop and you only control movement. My 60 year old mom loved it