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What current gen game would you introduce a first time gamer to?

Royce McCutcheon

Junior Member
From the mom beats FF15 thread someone said that 15 was quite the game to start someone on, and that statement was odd to me. Are games more complex now that a new gamer could not adjust to new games as well as old school titles? I don't think so, gamers get their hands held to inifity now and there are plenty of titles that could be used to get someone into gaming without it being too difficult. While a technicality, I would have my mom play Bioshock remastered. My 9 year old cousin made it through that game almost completely melee, so I don't think my mom would have any difficulties.
 

Greddleok

Member
My girlfriend fell in love with DA:Inquisition.

Easy mechanics.
Simple, if not particularly good story.
Decent looking.

It built up her chops with using a controller, and now she can play pretty much anything, she even finished Bayonetta.
 
My girlfriend fell in love with DA:Inquisition.

Easy mechanics.
Simple, if not particularly good story.
Decent looking.

It built up her chops with using a controller, and now she can play pretty much anything, she even finished Bayonetta.

DA:I was your GF's first ever video game?

Edit: OP, I'd recommend Diablo III
 

Auctopus

Member
Probably The Witness, depending on the person.

- Looks very pretty.
- Introduces the player to twin stick controls but the game is a slow enough pace that they can adapt in their own time.
- Makes the player feel increasingly smart as they progress.
 
Probably The Witness, depending on the person.

- Looks very pretty.
- Introduces the player to twin stick controls but the game is a slow enough pace that they can adapt in their own time.
- Makes the player feel increasingly smart as they progress.
This is what I came to post. I have friends who bounce off of nearly every modern AAA game that I rave about, but everyone I've recommended The Witness to has stuck with it all the way to the end.
 

Toni

Member
Horizon, my friend.

The initial impression will be overly positive. And everything will seem like a downgrade after that.
 

Ravelle

Member
Games nowadays are pretty complex both in controls and gameplay mechanics and are all new concepts that are super confusing and overwhelming to the 50+ demographic or at least my parents that grew up with Point and Click Adventures. It's all too fast for them.

They can't handle the ASDW controls plus move movement, my dad played Call of Duty a couple of years and he had trouble moving around since strafing was not something he is known to when it comes naturally to us.

I introduced my mom to The Witness but she hates she hates to use the keyboard for it since her hands aren't what they used to be.
 

Caayn

Member
Outside of browser and Wii (sports) party games my girlfriend never played games before I introduced her to Mario Kart and Minecraft. It was hard at first as she had trouble using both analog sticks and buttons at the same time, it also took her a while before she could use a controller without needing to look at each button. (Although she still looks at the buttons and their placement before she plays)
 

Mifec

Member
BOTW deffo, I'd say Witcher 3 but that might be too much for someone starting out.

Deffo not FF15, too medicore.
 

Aurongel

Member
Inside or the Witness. I think a lot of us underestimate the steep learning curve required to master modern controls and open world systems that we take for granted. Even games like Horizon rely on players having a lot of external knowledge about game systems and how they feed into one another. I find that's what people struggle with the most.
 

xrnzaaas

Gold Member
Ha, came to say this. (well, without the gender part)

Life is Strange is not a "gender exclusive" game, but from my experience I can say that women love it. One of my friends has this as the only platinum in her collection (and it's not "automatic" one like the Telltale games, requires some effort to get all the photos).
 

bjork

Member
Everything

then when they were like "why are these animals rolling at 90 degree angles what is this" I would just go "shhh" and quietly leave.
 
Pretty envious of those with SOs who're willing to try new AAA games.

My spouse can't do open-world stuff, or adventure games really. She loves puzzles. If a challenge isn't presented in front of her to solve right then and there, she gets bored. Item management, walking around, dialogue and the such turn her off immediately.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Horizon ZD. Great new IP so no previous baggage. Game has a very good self-contained story so you don't need to rely on external sources to fill you in. Adjustable difficulties for newbies and game play mechanics easy enough that anyone can get a hold of them after a little trial and error.

And the fact that it's easily the best looking console game out there right now helps establish the visual cred to a first time player.

If the person you're introducing gaming to isn't into open world mechanics..

Until dawn. Practically a teenage slasher movie turned into a video game. Some really good performances and character models that can often be mistaken for real actors under the right lighting circumstances.
 

peppers

Member
I've always thought the opening scene (the first 45 minutes) of Bioshock Infinite was something great to show people that aren't into videogames.
 

Disgraced

Member
The games I started my fourteen year-old sister with are Halo 3 co-op, MGS3, and Portal. She dug those.

Although to an adult, I might start with your good Telltale series like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us or something like Until Dawn. Those I always hear are good choices for this kind of thing.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Mario Kart
Minecraft
Puyo Puyo Tetris

Basically a shit ton of Nintendo stuff or games on Nintendo platforms.
 

*Splinter

Member
I think the nice thing about the FF15 thread was that she was thrown in at the deep end and persevered long enough to get into the game (and eventually beat it).

I'd want to do the same, but OTOH most of the time that probably wouldn't work out so well.

So I dunno, maybe something like Uncharted (4)? Standard gaming elements, but with a cinematic bent to keep the player engaged long enough to get a feel for gameplay.

An RPG is another step up in terms of complexity and assumed outside knowledge, but maybe the Witcher 3 could work (combat is simple enough).

I don't think I'd choose the Witness. It's a great game and I love it, but I think you would need prior experience of "gaming" to appreciate what the Witness does differently. Otherwise it's a bunch of grid-based puzzles with some tedious walking in between.

Edit: The Last of Us. Better story than U4 and not a sequel. Adds crafting but still less complex than RPGs.
 

Rien

Jelly Belly
Dark Souls or Bloodborne

Yeah this. Let them feel the struggle

Let them fight OoK and laugh everytime they die and tell them they are wack and this is the most easiest boss in all games. Once they beat it they got balls of steel and prepared to get in any game.
 

shandy706

Member
Horizon

Amazing graphics, great gameplay, and robot dinosaur-ish things. What's not to love?

You expect a first time gamer to grasp Horizon?!

That's hilarious.

Lets start with something like Minecraft, or some multiplayer offline Call of Duty to at least get them use to moving and using a controller.

Are people paying attention to the title?

Also, Bishock seems like an awful way to start out...lol.
 
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