What games would you recommend for someone that only recently got into gaming?
I've always been more into competitive games, like FPS and MOBA. But now, I'm starting to like more story-focused games that will add something to my life, or just awesome games that everyone should play at some time.
Do you guys have any to recommend?
So far I've played both Portal games, truly awesome, Hollow Knight and Celeste.
Halo 1 is a bit repetitive and honestly nothing special, but not bad. They do get steadily better in every regard though, and the later ones (by release date) are excellent in terms of both gameplay and story. I picked up the Master Chief collection a while back on sale, and it's one of the few game series I've played back to back all the way through
Skyrim! You’re already used to FPS games, so the first person part of Skyrim should be a breeze (you can toggle to 3rd person too). It’s one of those adventure games that will really stick with you. My wife and I will both come back to it often.
The Mario RPG franchise is very good actually, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga and Super Mario RPG being my favorites. I’ve heard good things about Paper Mario too.
Oh and the Earthbound series is very good too, but the Mario franchise is more beginner friendly.
If they’re on PC, you can always emulate these. If you have steamdeck or something I would happily recommend Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story as the pinnacle of the M&L series IMO.
Ctrl+F found Talos Principle in here, but I'll throw my vote in for that as well. My general quote there is "If you liked Portal, you'll love Talos Principle." Both are first person puzzle games with an underlying story and both tend to work your brain in the same way.
Prior to me discovering Hollow Knight, it's what I told Steam my favorite game was.
I highly recommend Hades! It’s a top-notch game with excellently balanced combat (and I say this as someone who doesn’t really like combat in video games), an awesome story, and outstanding art direction and voice acting. Because of its structure as a roguelite, you’re restarting every time you die but getting a little further every time, so it basically trains you up. It really made other combat games much more accessible to me. Plus you can use God Mode to lower the learning curve a bit while still keeping it moderately challenging.
I'm a diehard firewatch fan if you'd like a slightly spooky, heart full, storytelling masterpiece about the Wyoming forest. Everyone should play this game at some point.
I tend to stick to games with interesting stories, with occasional exceptions if the gameplay is good enough.
Top pick from me before anything else would be The Last of Us Part 1 & 2.
Other than that, some I've enjoyed the most that come to mind are
Bioshock. I haven't played the remaster yet, just the original. Bioshock Infinite was also heaps of fun. I haven't played 2 yet, it's on my backlog - I've read it was made by a different team.
Alien Isolation.
Resident Evil 4 (I've only played the 2005 version, not the recent remake).
The Turing Test.
X-Com Enemy Unknown.
What Remains of Edith Finch.
Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Batman: Arkham Asylum + City + Origins + Knight.
The Talos Principle.
Prey (2017, not the original Prey which has nothing to do with it as far as I know).
Dishonored.
The Uncharted series is also great, but only 4 and The Lost Legacy are on PC. I'm not sure I'd recommend playing it without having played at least 2 and 3, which are only on PlayStation currently. 1 is fun but dated and the story is not as strong as the later games (but I'd still recommend it if you get the chance to play 1-3).
A Plague Tale: innocence is currently part of the steam summer sale and a great game. It's an action adventure with light stealth gameplay and puzzle sections, but what makes it special are the well acted characters. The sequel is just as good and i played both back to back, but innocence costs less than 10 bucks right now.
It's a rather short game (~12 hours for a play through) but that was time well spent.
I cant believe nobody has recommended any of the Fallout games. New Vegas is much loved and I really enjoyed Fallout 3 as well. I havent played either of the new ones, but I think especially 4 was well received.
If you liked Portal, any of the games that run on the source engine would be a good fit for you. Half Life 2 has an amazing single player story in FPS style and is on sale right now for $.99. Left for Dead 2 is another classic - probably the best zombie shooter of all time (and has a world of third party content) - also on sale right now for $.99. Straight military, go for CS:GO, or Team Fortress II if you prefer more of a Fortnite style game. All of these are older games, so run amazingly well on even the most mediocre hardware.
If you want story-focused, and you're good with retro graphics and semi-turn-based role-playing games, consider the Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster. That right there is the gold standard of Japanese RPGs.
Right now is a great time for PC gaming as the Steam summer sale is happening! If you enjoyed Portal, you might enjoy other Valve games like Half Life. At the moment, you can pick the franchise up for a few dollars.
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