I need a girlfriend game

[KenAri]

Portal and then Portal 2 are what I used to get my girlfriend into gaming. Then I introduced her to my childhood favourites- the things that got me into gaming, like Ocarina of Time. Now she's enjoying Kingdoms of Amalur, Assassins's Creed and experimenting with MMOs; WoW trial, Rift and GW2.

She also liked Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 (1 was a struggle).

Little Big Planet is another go-to for non-gamers. =)

That said, the very first game I bought her was Dark Souls. After many hours and much tuition, she beat the Asylum Demon and said it felt incredibly rewarding.

 

[elvor0]

I'd just go for whatever you enjoy. I tried the same thing with my Mum when she was finding herself in gaming, going for less complex, "casual" games, and she didn't enjoy them(I REALLY tried with Bastion and Portal, just wasn't her thing). If she likes what she likes, she'll pressure through the complexities, there will be fustration (for both of you), her because she's having difficulties with the controls, you because what seems complex for her is pedestrian for you("What do you mean you still haven't picked up that white platforms are the grabable edges in TR by the third game?!". Game pattern recognition actually seems to be harder to absorb than you'd think.

Frankly, the most difficult ones I'd gather for a non/first time gamer are FPS, that first person perspective may come naturally to all of us, but despite my mum adoring and having played the Assassins Creed series, Tomb Raider series GTA5 and Red Dead Redemption to 100% completion plus others, she can still NOT get the hang of first person movement as it really messes with her sense of perspective and direction. She's still a bit naff at them sometimes, but y'know what? She still really enjoys the games BECAUSE of their complexity and depth, complexity won't your girlfriend off, the fact that she doesn't like the game will.

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.

Yeah I came to that realisation after trying to broaden my mums game library. Portal is a terrible choice for a new gamer. The puzzles in those games are hard, let alone when they start relying on very good coordination and speed, which are severly diminished on consoles as it is, let alone for someone whos still trying to understand the concept of FPS.

 

[Random Fella]

[complex and dark games. Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Deus Ex: Human revolution, Skyrim.]

Sorry, what?
Are you scared your girlfriend is too simple for the extensive complexity of Skyrim?
Is she, challenged?

But seriously, I can't speak for Deus Ex as I haven't played it, but the three other titles are extremely simple and easy to play, also in games like Skyrim and Fallout it's such an open world that if you get lost it doesn't really matter due to fast travels and extensive side questing, giving a gaming experience better for people who just want to chill out and fill some random objectives. Also past 'learning the buttons' the difficulty settings make the games extremely easy, my flatmates girlfriend got into playing some video games through playing Skyrim I'm pretty sure.

Just, don't show her any MOBA's, and maybe not any RTS (Then again it's console so I doubt you would)

 

[elvor0]

[complex and dark games. Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Deus Ex: Human revolution, Skyrim.]

Sorry, what?
Are you scared your girlfriend is too simple for the extensive complexity of Skyrim?
Is she, challenged?

But seriously, I can't speak for Deus Ex as I haven't played it, but the three other titles are extremely simple and easy to play,

Lets think about this from the perspective of someone who has never played a video game before, or any form of table top RPG. It wouldn't be about her being "challenged" it's literally that she would've never played that type of game before. Skyrim doesn't exactly do much in the tutorial department, there's a lot to take in for someone who's never played a game before. It's simple for us, but that's because we've got 15 plus of gaming under our belts. Everything in Skyrim is old hat mechanics wise.

Those games are by NO means "extremely simple" even by a gamers standards. Pacman is "extremely simple", Mario is "extremely simple". Skyrim, Assassins Creed and Deus Ex? No, not by a long shot, especially as the OP stated, for someone who DOES NOT GAME. Now that I'm a master, Metal Gear RIsing is "simple" for me even on the hardest difficulty, does that make it a simple game? Of course it doesn't.

 

[viscomica]

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.

As a girlfriend having been introduced just last year to gaming I have to say.... no. I love Borderlands, I really do, and for a while I was obsessed about it! But it's hard to get into it at first. It wasn't the first game I played and I doubt I would / could have played it as my first game ever.

 

[Schadrach]

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.

As a girlfriend having been introduced just last year to gaming I have to say.... no. I love Borderlands, I really do, and for a while I was obsessed about it! But it's hard to get into it at first. It wasn't the first game I played and I doubt I would / could have played it as my first game ever.

Butbutbut...It even has a "girlfriend mode" tree on one of the female characters! =p

To be fair, I play Gaige with my points put primarily in Ordered Chaos, then Best Friends Forever (the aforementioned "girlfriend mode") and just a couple in that middle tree. Honestly, if you wanted to start her out with Borderlands 2, strongly suggest playing Gaige and investing in BFF. As she gets better, respeccing to either of the other trees is a significant power boost, but requires significantly better performance to be viable at all -- Gaige is both the easy mode and the "crazy trick shots with lightning shotguns while at -1000% accuracy" characters at the same time, depending on how she's specced.

More importantly, whatever you pick, make absolutely sure it's something that supports two player co-op. That is by far the most important point.

 

[Phasmal]

More importantly, whatever you pick, make absolutely sure it's something that supports two player co-op. That is by far the most important point.

Really, though? This has been said by a lot of people, but I can't really agree.

Playing with someone much better while you're still trying to figure out the controls must be frustrating.
And dragging along a noob who doesn't know their inventory from their arsehole doesn't sound like much fun either.
Sounds like a recipe for no fun to me.

I agree you should be around, but I don't think playing co-op is a great idea.

 

[happyninja42]

I would suggest Portal and Portal 2. They are fun, relatively simple games, and Portal 2 has the coop aspect with those adorable robots.

Really it depends on what she likes. What are her interests? I mean, if she isn't into things like Jpop or manga and anime, trying some japanese titles and JRPG's might be a bad call you know?

My wife has enjoyed Skyrim a great deal, and has played it almost as much as me. She also enjoys Diablo 2 and 3. Really it depends on her interests

Also, girls love games with a good plot and atmosphere. Chances are she might be drawn to videogaming much more if you show her Deus Ex than if you show her Candy Crush. Then again, she is a sentient human being so I'm sure if you show her some of your videogames and tell them what they're about, SHE will choose what she wants to play....

I would argue that guys love games with good plot and atmosphere too xD That's not a girl exclusive thing.

 

[Colour Scientist]

More importantly, whatever you pick, make absolutely sure it's something that supports two player co-op. That is by far the most important point.

Really, though? This has been said by a lot of people, but I can't really agree.

Playing with someone much better while you're still trying to figure out the controls must be frustrating.
And dragging along a noob who doesn't know their inventory from their arsehole doesn't sound like much fun either.
Sounds like a recipe for no fun to me.

I agree you should be around, but I don't think playing co-op is a great idea.

Yeah, seconded.

Playing directly alongside someone who's been playing games for a while might make a newcomer feel incompetent and that could be off-putting.

It might outright put them off playing because even when you're new, no one likes being made painfully aware of how crap they are. It also might encourage someone to just arse around because they won't want to look like they're doing really badly when they're legitimately trying, as opposed to doing badly because they just aren't taking it seriously in order to save face.

That and you might start doing things for them without realising that you're doing it just because it's second nature to you.

It's like when my ex was playing FFIX (which is my game, it's mine, I know it like the back of my hand) and I had to bite my lip everytime he walked by a treasure chest or didn't do something the way I would because I knew my way was better. If that were a game we were playing together, I would just take over, finding all of the hidden items and using the right moves against the right enemies. Basically, my point is that you don't want a newcomer to be firmly in the passenger seat while you play, going through the motions but not really having any impact on the game itself, it's not going to be very engaging for them.

 

[happyninja42]

More importantly, whatever you pick, make absolutely sure it's something that supports two player co-op. That is by far the most important point.

Really, though? This has been said by a lot of people, but I can't really agree.

Playing with someone much better while you're still trying to figure out the controls must be frustrating.
And dragging along a noob who doesn't know their inventory from their arsehole doesn't sound like much fun either.
Sounds like a recipe for no fun to me.

I agree you should be around, but I don't think playing co-op is a great idea.

It's better than competitive games where the two of you fight each other. Depending on the game, having the two of you work together can be a lot of fun. The trick is like any situation where you are teaching someone something they don't know. Be patient, be helpful, and let them figure it out. Don't get frustrated with them for not understanding it as well as you do, and just have fun with it.

 

[masticina]

Skyrim? Mass Effect?

Don't get me wrong here but at least a few girls I know like reading, stories, reading, writing fan fiction. Not saying that all girls are like that but a good story is worth allot. And it will probably mean you get to enjoy watching her do things her ways. Maybe she even thinks of how her character acts.

Oh yes how easy it is for boys to just enjoy killing a. getting b. selling c. out to slavers. But the girls I know kinda create their own story around things. Hey if it makes them happy right.

Hell one I know is easily suckered into MMO"s.

But yes also shooter fans exist.

So I suggest skyrim, mass effect, let them have their own account and before you know you have to beg for play time for your own games just like you have to beg for... eh. yeah!

 

[Sable Gear]

I really don't know much about introducing new players to games but I'd always recommend Portal because I feel like it's kind of easy to learn how to use a controller with and progresses very naturally. After she has the hang of that then show her the games you have and then let her pick which one sounds most interesting to her.

Overlooking the stereotype- is everything I touch now a `girlfriend game`?

*stares down at hands*

I'm going to touch ALL THE GAMES. None for you guys. All games are for girlfriends.

Portal is my default intro game for Xbox owners. Next on the list would be Portal 2 or Half-Life 2 once a newb is comfortable with the controller and format. If your newb wants some support, maybe something like co-opping L4D/2 could be good. For a non-FPS, I really found the first Assassin's Creed a good start; the sandbox makes it only as complex as you want it to be.

I got my gaming start on the GameCube with Metroid Prime, which I also highly recommend for introducing people to gaming. Even though it's like 12 years old, it's aged well and isn't too aggressive of a shooter overall.

 

[DrOswald]

Kirby's Epic Yarn is a really good one that most people over look. Simple, beautiful, fun.

Don't start her out on any game with a first person perspective, spacial awareness is hard in those games and can easily frustrate a newbie. start 3D games with a 3rd person game. Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Super Mario 3D World (but not galaxy.), Mass Effect.

Fun story games and impressive visuals are good to start with. This is one of the big reasons Uncharted is good. Good pacing, fun story, quick pace. Uncharted is a game about beautiful and interesting people and their beautiful and interesting adventures. Great starting point.

Don't make it a game with tons of dialog, especially not if it is text boxes you have to read. Mass Effect is good, but unless your girlfriend is into science fiction world building it is probably not the place to start.

Any game with significant and essentially required inventory management is a bad idea. A new player has none of the knowledge we all have to successfully manage inventory. Inventory management has one hell of a learning curve.

If it is appropriate for your relationship it is a good idea to snuggle while she plays the game, with her laying on top of you as if you were watching a movie together and you wrapping your arms around her. The positive feeling of physical closeness will help offset any initial frustration as she learns the ropes. Also, you are going to have to be very patient as she learns to play. Intimate physical contact with someone you find physically attractive should provide plenty distraction. And no, I don't mean you should feel her up while she plays (unless she's into that.)

 

[Foolery]

Dynasty Warriors. It's the perfect beginner game. You could even go with Gundam spin-offs if you're not into the classic Three Kingdoms tale.

 

[Aesir23]

Find out what she might like. I'm not talking about something like preferring FPS over RPG but something more along the lines of preferring a movie/novel/game/whatever that's darker in theme over something more positive. It might mean that she could prefer Limbo over something like ilomilo, Dead Space over Fable, etc.

Also, I can't say I would recommend a co-op game, not until later. Just let her have the controller and let her play. Do not be a backseat gamer (a bad habit of mine), do not take the controller from her, and only give help when she asks for it.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Damnit, I was going to suggest Hoatoful Boyfriend. (Yes it's a boyfriend game but shut up.)

Actually I still recommend it.

 

[Flammablezeus]

I highly recommend you stay away from anything where you move in three dimensions. That can put a lot of people off.

Go with the LEGO games. They're simple, cute, fun and co-op. There's no real penalty for death either. My female friend has been playing a couple of them for her first video games and she's loving them.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

an Xbox controller is deeply foreign to her.

If you want to introduce a total newbie to the hobby, you do NOT give them games that involve full manipulation of a dual-stick controller or keyboard/mouse combo. Full-stop. They will become frustrated, they will give up, and they will be far less likely to try video games again at a later date.

You also do NOT play cooperative games where your vastly superior motor memory gives you a noticeable performance advantage. You shouldn't try to "compensate" for their lack of ability by "carrying" the two of you through. Your teammate isn't an idiot. They will perceive what is happening, and they will resent it.

My advice? Diablo 3 for Xbox 360. No 3D navigation, single-stick movement. Starts with literally one straight forward attack/ability button and slowly adds more mechanics (and buttons) as you progress. Introduces the concept of "background mechanics" in the form of stats and gear, but nothing overly complex. Highly scale-able difficulty, very little punishment for failure. Also playable cooperatively, and you can "sandbag it" a little without being patronizing. High production values help, too; great graphics and sound, serviceable story, awesome cinematics. I've personally deployed this game as an introduction to the hobby, and it really worked.

Not that I'm necessarily accusing the O.P of this but there's quite a condescending attitude pervading this thread treating women who haven't played games like they're fucking children and recommending stuff that is the gaming equivalent of Fisher Price (it'd be interesting to see if a male "non-gamer" would get this treatment).

My sister is very intelligent and a non-gamer. She loves batman. She loves puzzles. When her boyfriend bought a PS3 for Madden, I gave her Arkham Asylum and Portal 2. Based on her preferences, those games are no-brainer homeruns. She tried them both, immediately became frustrated by the controls, and never touched either game ever again.

Gamers generally take their motor memory and hand dexterity for granted. This obviously doesn't matter when you're playing a non-real-time strategy game or anything with a point-and-click interface (which is why this poster's gf had no trouble with Dragon Age), but when it comes to navigating a three dimensional space or rapidly pressing different buttons in response to on-screen indicators? Lack of experience with relevant input devices is absolutely a deal-breaker.

Now there is a very logical correlation between basic controls and shallow or simplistic content. If you can find a game that is complex/deep/interesting without frustrating a completely new user with input challenges, that's awesome. Unfortunately, with "basic controls" as your predominant criteria, the vast majority of games will be more simplistic/shallow. Recommending such fare doesn't make you prejudiced or sexist or disrespectful. It means you understand the initial limitations of someone attempting a new hobby for the first time, and you're making responsible recommendations with future growth in mind.

 

[JET1971]

I would go with Skyrim or fallout 3/New Vegas on the PC as well as introduce her to the mod side of gaming. That opens a world of possibilities for fixing what she may not exactly like and there are quite a few female mod authors she can talk to. Fun thing is many of the top mod authors for those games are female Like CBBE is from a female or Vilja is, Willow in FNV.

If you think that those games do not have any appeal to female players then you are seriously mistaken.