My girlfriend has never really gamed. But she’s now forced to move less than she would like to (health problem) and she’s getting bored. I was thinking of introducing her to a game or two that we could play together. She’s not the real action game type, and seeing as she has no experience with controller/mouse and keyboard I was thinking starting simple.
I can’t think of anything else than Factorio, as she likes organizing/keeping track of stuff.
Would you recommend against that or have anything better in mind? Let me know!
Stardew valley is 2D so fewer controls to learn than a 3D game. It also has a cute art style.
And lots of additional content in mods (you can do that for her, it’s pretty simple).
Another one, Universim. Oh, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, maybe Sims 3/4.
It’s funny how people overestimate what a person that never gamed can do. OP, Factorio is constant precise clicking with an unintuitive UI if you haven’t played any games. So is Satisfactory and similar others.
Start with things casual gamers play. There is a reason Sims is so popular. If you want to later (muuuch later) introduce her into the FPS genre - Portal 2. It has very little controls to remember, and very rarely is there any action that needs to require dexterity in aiming. Also, Valve invisible tutorials are awesome for new gamers.
Yeah, I played It Takes Two with my gf last week and she had trouble with the most basic jumps because she couldn’t use the keyboard and mouse at the same time. It might be easier with the controller, but moving a character and the camera at the same time is surprisingly hard to learn for beginners.
The best recommendations here are the games with extremely simple controls. I think Vampire Survivors was a good pick since you only need to use the keyboard for most of the time. Adventure games was another good recommendation since it should only require the mouse.
Yeah, I’d also recommend more casual games.
Good that she likes organizing, but Factorio is way over the head of any non-gamer. Doubt it would keep her entertained for long. Its only great if you like micromanaging and meticulously playing around with game mechanics. Which usually only happens after being exposed to gaming long enough.
It Takes Two is much better for a beginner since it isn’t a punishing game.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is an other great couple game.
We were Here if both of you like puzzles.
Yeah, I played It Takes Two with my gf last week and she had trouble with the most basic jumps because she couldn’t use the keyboard and mouse at the same time.
This is probably a stupid question … but it was an actual mouse right? Like she wasn’t using a touchpad?
So many OSes default to the touchpad being disabled while typing and that causes big issues for WASD keyboard and mouse games.
Yes, she was using a mouse
Okay, totally fair just checking for my own curiosity 🙂
Any “cozy” game. Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, others like those.
One that I personally really like, that sort of blends different aspects of AC and SV, is Paleo Pines. You have a ranch that you little by little clear out, fix up, and decorate; all with the help of adorable dinosaur friends. There’s actually a surprising number of species and map space in the game, and the vibe and aesthetic are ridiculously cute. I will say it’s slightly more laid back than SV as there are no real timers for the different quests and such, and there are fewer characters to keep track of/befriend.
Stardew Valley
My wife is still playing this, going on 4 years.
Also Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Ok so the answer is Stardew Valley. There are some other decent answers in here but trust me on this, it’s Stardew Valley for her first one.
My partner used to be a teacher. There was a period of like a year when she would get home from work looking insanely stressed. Then she’d boot up Stardew Valley on her laptop from the couch and I could see her mood change immediately. She’d play for hours too.
At one point it was like Stardew Valley was her real life while the actual outside world was some horrible nightmare she had to wake up from.
Start her on Dark Souls so that nothing she plays after will seem difficult.
I got a girlfriend a long time ago to give the game a shot. She had played stuff before- she was playing BioShock on Xbox when we met. The rats by the big drake on the bridge literally made her cry. Felt pretty bad.
(We did eventually finish the game together in co-op, but we’re long since broken up for largely unrelated reasons)
One of my coworkers at some point told my girlfriend she should go in completely blind when she tried DS1, and I agree with that, but she took it to mean she should under no circumstances allow me to explain the mechanics of the game or the UI. She spent nearly two hours in the Asylum without ever getting to the boss’s fog wall because she wouldn’t let me explain that picking her weapon up didn’t mean she had it equipped. Finally I told her there was a big problem she could easily fix and move on with the game if she’d hear me out, but she still wouldn’t hear any of it, and then 30 seconds later I see her on her phone googling “do you need to use a shield in DS1” 🤦♀️
It was really frustrating because DS1 is hands down my favorite game, and I fully expected her to give up at some point but she gave up before she actually got to play the game.
It takes two is a fantastic experience to have with a loved one, even if inexperienced with games, it is very forgiving
The gameplay of ‘It takes two’ is very fun, but the characters and the story can be infuriating. If they annoy you in the trailers or in a gameplay video, be aware that their dynamic stays like that a long time - we gave up on it after a while because of it
Exactly this. It’s a terrible, outdated story that essentially sells “staying together for the kids.” The whole way through we were both like “ye these two need to get divorced.” The book is a villain.
Eta: game play was fun though
Yep, my girlfriend and I thought the same.
“Oh, I know how to solve our problem! We make our daughter cry!”
“But how?”
“Let’s brutally murder her toy elephant!”A+ parenting right there
Oh, I assumed it was kid friendly. My soon to be 7 year old is just started Minecraft. He struggles with games so far as too complex for him, like lego Harry Potter or even hot wheels (all the ps+ kids games). I was hoping to try it takes two with him at some point. If the story is not nice, maybe that’s not a great idea. Playing Rayman together was fun and forgiving as he just keeps reappearing when he dies.
It is mostly kid friendly.
Just the scene with the elephant is thrown in as a bit of a joke. But can be quite brutal if the child is too young to understand. But it is just about ripping up a toy. So not really all that brutal.
The rest of the game is completely fine though, would recommend.
It’s about ripping up a living, crying toy while it begs for its life, after chasing it through the area. It made me squirm and I’m a grown-ass adult.
If she likes organizing, let her take a peek at “unpacking”. Cute artstyle, really cozy and lots of stuff to unpack and organize. Hope your girlfriend gets better soon!
A Little to the Left is a nice pick for organizing puzzle style game. It’s on gamepass if you have it.
Stardew Valley, therapy the game.
SIMS 3 and/or 4, Stardew Valley, Unpacking, Furnish Master, How To Bathe Your Cat
Co-Op: It Takes Two, A Way Out, Unravel Two, Vampire Survivors (also solo)
Mario Kart and Mario Party.
Animal Crossing.
Portal and Portal 2 are excellent “introduction to gaming,” games. Memorable, fun, funny, and most importantly the entire game teaches you the skills needed for a large percentage of other games.
Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program are all good factory building games.
Terraria and Minecraft can be surprisingly engaging with multiplayer.
Portal 2 multiplayer is really nice as wella
Unfortunately I missed out there. I only managed to pick up P2 last year, and no one that I live near is a gamer.
Games that I played with my wife that wr thoroughly enjoyed
--------COOP-------- -Unravel two. Great cute platformer where it doesn’t matter if one player isn’t that great at platformers. A mpving stoey with beautiful graphics and fun coop.
It Takes Two A platforming game with a great story. Good feels all around
-Stardew Valley Many people already suggested this. It’s amazing. Super addictive, great coop, but can be played singleplayer as well if you’re not around
- Trine series Another great platformer series. Difficulty can easily be adjusted (by allowing lifting boxes with people on it with wizard). And can also be played solo.
Escape Simulator Great escape room game with many small escaperooms that take about 10 to 15 minutes each to solve. Solo and coop.
-Overcooked Great hectic coop game. I find this game quite hectic and exhausting to play for a long time, but my wife couldn’t get enough of it. Even when she was tired. Best to play coop, can be played solo.
-------SINGLEPLAYER------- My wife enjoyed management style games a lot, where you had no time pressure of any sorts.
- Strange Horticulture Puzzle game where you try to find the right plants by deductions. No time pressure, very relaxing. Only single player, although you could play it together.
Planet Zoo Probably the best zoo management game out there. Wife was addicted to it for months
Planet Coaster Same as above, but with theme parks
Cities Skylines (first one) Great city planner
Hope this helps!
Stardew Valley is a fantastic couples game
Yes. Very much worth trying. My wife and myself have about a hundred hours in our coop save.
Stardew valley can be super annoying due to the sleeping mechanic and having to be on time with the planting of things.
I’ve found terraria to be less stressful and had more success with it
Yeah, totally no stress fighting the moonlord or any of the bosses…
Terraria is fun, but doubt a non-gamer will be able to jump right in and understand the fiddly build, mine and jump mechanics. They’ll get overwhelmed.
So I am a baby gamer. My husband is a big gamer and has been trying to get me into it for years but his games are intimidating on a level he doesn’t understand because a lot of the interfaces are hard if you didn’t grow up with them. And I don’t like a lot of scary battles or waves of enemies. I just wanna explore and at the beginning platforming was freaking hard as I just wasn’t precise enough with jumps.
If it’s in budget, I would recommend the switch as I’ve found a ton of games I’ve gelled with and have grown with me a bit. Get a pro controller and that was super easy to get used to, WADS controller have a learning curve I’ve never personally mastered. Hubby also has a steam deck I’ve stolen on occasion but I like the cute and cozy games in switch. The steam store is great but overwhelming too…
Current games I’m playing, unpacking, Stardew and Disney dream light valley (I’m not even a huge Disney fan but I am over 200 hours in on this sucker). I have played animal crossing, Gris, costume quest, monkey island, and Luigi mansion (that one was a challenge for me). I have Veneba, coral island, short hike, little to the left and ooblets on my want to play list.
I would also say that YouTube has helped me find games. If you look up cozy games, I find a ton of reviews and let’s plays that kinda help me get a better idea on if I’d be interested or if it’s kinda in my play style before I waste my money. I do have a limited gaming budget so, I like to be sure before I spend… Nothing is more discouraging then dropping money on a stinker game that you can’t get the hang of. Granted watching reviews and playthroughs is kinda becoming it’s own hobby.
This is the best advice in here imo. Stardew valley or animal crossing is a decent start imo.
I’d recommend story-based games like The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, Life is Strange, etc. You don’t need to know anything about gaming to enjoy them, and you can both play it like a series.
