I need a girlfriend game

[MrHide-Patten]

My sisters don't play games at all and yet they found Limbo playable and entertaining, also LittleBigPlanet but that's on PS3. Generally simple to control games, less inputs a person has to remember the better, just look at how Flappy Bird took off (no pun intended).

They also liked watching me play the Last of Us as they found the story engaging, however the game is a bit too complex for them to wrap their heads around. It's almost second nature to most of us long time gamers, but controlling a characters movement and a camera at the same time can really boggle the uninitiated.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Super Mario 3D World is an excellent adorable starter game and completely co operative. I'd also recommend Rayman Legends on that system as well and Mario Kart 7. However, the game that really got my wife into games was actually Jak and Daxter on the PS3. She also seemed to like the first Sly Cooper. They just don't make enough really good 3d platformers for beginners anymore.

 

[rgrekejin]

Start with something you can play together. Speaking from experience, I can heartily recommend Resident Evil 5's co-op mode. Sit down and play it together. 3 out of 4 girlfriends have loved it. When you're done, Mercenaries mode is pretty great too. Portal 2 co-op is good as well.

For the love of God, whatever you do, do NOT start with RE6.

 

[Malevolentcafe]

Mario Party. *laughs maniacally*

 

[Beliyal]

I support suggestions for Trine (1 and 2) and Portal 2. It's great because you can play with her and get her into it by helping her out instead of just leaving her to deal with it on her own or just standing behind her in frustration. Generally, anything with a co-op option would be great. I'll throw in a suggestion for Battleblock Theater; insanely funny and fun to play through in co-op mode. Fairly easy in the beginning, starts to get harder as you play more so it's good to see the progress you're making.

I'd also say that Assassin's Creed would be good as well. Maybe a bit complex, but nothing she won't be able to handle with a little training. Unless she doesn't like stabbing. Though she might start liking it after AC. Just start with AC2. As much as I love AC1, it's frustrating at a lot of points and much more difficult than others.

But most importantly, I think you should just give her the ability to choose. If she expressed interest in trying it out on her own, then just explain a game to her, without judgment, and see if she is interested. Like, maybe she wants to start with killing dragons in Skyrim instead of decorating houses in The Sims. The first might be difficult for a beginner, but if that's what tickles her fancy, she'll probably try harder. I don't think there are many games that would be impossible to play for a newcomer. Pretty much all start with tutorials and explanations and many are not harsh to the player if the player fails. It's probable that she'll get more into gaming if she gets to play something that is well-made and cool, instead of playing something just because we perceive it as "easy".

 

[babinro]

Without really knowing anything about either of your personalities or tastes...

-> The Walking Dead: Season 1&2 - An excellent experience with multiple people regardless of whose at the controls. If you've played before then let her make the decisions.

-> Hearthstone - Simple to pick up and play allowing for plenty of creativity and co-operation.

-> Portal - A great introduction to FPS style games and their controls with a very friendly 'tutorial'. Obviously Portal 2 is a great follow up for the co-op experience.

Basically any game that doesn't require twitch based reflexes and really eases you into the experience. There are plenty of games out there that offer insanely forgiving difficulties as well. Games like Mass Effect 2 or Diablo 3 might seem overwhelming but mechanically they build up slowly. This isn't like teaching your parent how to use new technology they've never seen. Your girlfriend is likely to pick up these things quickly if it interests her.

 

[FuzzyRaccoon]

Honestly I'd say Skyrim. All my nongaming friends loved the heck out of it. So much so that I couldn't even play it, one of them was always playing it.

 

[Ticklefist]

I think Borderlands 2 is a good choice. She has two female playable characters to pick from and it's a pretty simple game to wrap your head around. You laugh at jokes, hate Jack's guts, laugh at more jokes.

 

[templar1138a]

Fable 3 is an excellent co-op game. I was in a relationship with someone who also wasn't a gamer, but was interested. We had a lot of fun playing that together.

Just let her be the central hero and let her fight the battles on her own unless she asks for help. And you can enjoy watching your heroes make out and dance with each other.

 

[blazearmoru]

Recently, my girlfriend started inquire a bit more about my gaming hobby. In fact to the point where she is starting to want to play some games. However, most of what I have are some pretty complex and dark games. Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Deus Ex: Human revolution, Skyrim. That kind of thing. Now, of course, these games are not particularly dark or complex by our standards, but to my girlfriend I am fairly certain it would be different. I mean, an Xbox controller is deeply foreign to her.

So, I know that this is a horrible stereo type, but I need a girlfriend game. Something simple and fun to introduce her to the hobby. I have an xbox and a pretty boss PC, so some games that can run on those, please.

Thanks in advance.

Here's a few off the top of my head... Try the one with the genre that matches her interest.

Terraria : Very basic Minecraft-type exploration RPG building discovering peaceful multiplayer fun.
Starbound is like a better terraria that is only like 10% complete...

Castle Crashers : Very basic silly beat-emup fighting game for up to 4 players. Cartoony and cute.

Final Fantasy 9/10 : Very basic simple single player story based tear jerker game. It's basically like watching a film together but having her play.
To the Moon : 110% story based game. Pretty good tear jerker too.


Dungeon Defenders Original : Cute hero (and/or) tower defense game. Short but fun. Power creeping is dumb so it's short.
Sanctum 2 : Basic(?) Hero + Tower defense game.

Hammerwatch, Unepic, Splenky : Roguelike exploration growth type silly game. Plenty of dying, and also much silly.

South Park The stick of truth : Self explanitory... It's south park so if that's her thing then it's 10/10, if not then it's 0/10.

Legend of Fae : Puzzle game intended for the female audience(I think), puzzles are not my thing but puzzles IS a thing.

Magical Diary : Imagine harry potter but for girls... yup. Also 120% story based. You "raise" a mage girl at a school and do mage girl things. Definately for the female audience.

Recettear an item shop's tale : Shop management + dungeon diving + rpg + story + very fucking cute, too cute... so cute some people might find it nauseating.

I heard spore was good... Yea... I am completely missing the sims series and genre... good luck \o/


Edit : Battleblock Theatre is... weird but is designed to be silly. A game for 2 players(?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QZjnGIxvmc

Another trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv1ZoHt6poI


Edit2 : If you have +1~2 friends for whatever stupid scenario, there's also DungeonLand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKFGw51hkAA Designed to be cute and silly, it's basically up to 3 players trying to work together and get through a VERY basic dungeon that is controlled by a 4th player if you have a 4th which can be your grilly.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Just give her like whatever and get her to start from the beginning. Most games have tutorials, introductory levels and pretty basic learning curves initially. None of the games you listed are very hard. And I don't care how many controllers she hasn't touched, they're not complex and dark either.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

Can't really go wrong with Bastion. Pretty easy depending on how you play (Just keep her away from the Idols). Also the Portal games could work.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I don't know, my girlfriend gets bored of open worlds pretty quickly. She likes linearity and instant gratification (in games!).

And every girl I know gets instant gratification from mowing down pedestrians

 

[Gray-Philosophy]

I'd say if she's curious about your gaming hobby based on the games she's seeing you playing currently, introduce her to those first. Sure they may be complex and dark, but maye she share an interest in such things.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

The hate train didn't take long to arrive. He's looking for a casual introductory game for someone who doesn't play videogames, no he's not calling his girlfriend an idiot.

I'd suggest Bastion, Dust, I hear Trine is good, Defense Grid for the best Tower Defense game in history (adjustable difficulty levels too), FPSs can be hard for some people, but to choose one I'd go Portal.

I hear The Last of Us is also a pretty good engaging RPG.

If you want to try simple little arcade games, you can always find Diner Dash and it's thousand sequels.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

The hate train didn't take long to arrive. He's looking for a casual introductory game for someone who doesn't play videogames, no he's not calling his girlfriend an idiot.

Then he really, really shouldn't have called this topic "I need a girlfriend game". He should have called it "I need a videogame for someone who doesn't know videogames".

"Girlfriend game" is such a horrible word.

Well it's two words...

And doesn't that mean exactly the same thing? Apart from your example not specifying he's in a relationship with this person and trying to force Dark Souls on them would likely make him single?

 

[PH3NOmenon]

My GF loved the Stanley Parable. After finishing the game once, I encouraged her to play it again and try different choices. She adored it and played it to completion after that and a lot of interesting discussions sprouted from it.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Eh, why is everyone saying Portal? You really look at someone who's not used to holding a controller and think, yup, first person platforming puzzles are the thing she needs!

Anyway, I know a lot of girls who don't really game much but they like Skyrim. Turn the difficulty down and its super easy to just mash everything to death with a sword, and it gives you plenty of freedom to just wander around doing what you want and learning it at your own pace.

 

[Batou667]

In my experience, girls like games that have action but aren't unrelenting adrenaline rushes; have a driving narrative (even if it's self-generated); and require grinding, memorisation and leveling-up more than brute technical skill. I'm positive exceptions exist, but I'm generalising here. So, stuff like:

- The Sims franchise
- Many RPGs, particularly lighter ones like Fable
- Platform games
- Minecraft
- Puzzle and simulations: Bejewelled, Farmville, etc
- The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us

Some co-op games are pretty good to play with your partner too. Lara Croft: Guardian of Light is a good example.