this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024
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I’m a 30 year old woman who’s only really played card and puzzle games on my phone. Im considering new hobbies. Is it worth trying to get into video games for the first time. Where would I even start.

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[–] JWayn596@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Absolutely!!

There are video games that work like card games, you'd love Balatro or Magic the Gathering.

If you like puzzles, Tetris is the perfect start, its the greatest puzzle game of all time. Tetris Effect and Tetris 99 are good recent games for that.

If you want to graduate from Puzzles to something more gamey, I'd recommend any Mario or Zelda game, and to develop a game mind, Metroid and metroid-like games are excellent.

Many games work like movies too, so if you like movies those are nice.

If you like books, there is a genre of game called a visual novel, (most of those are from Japan though, but many have an English option for text)

[–] daggermoon@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

If you like puzzle games, Tetris effect is the greatest puzzle game I have ever played. I love horror games but Tetris is still fun as fuck. Never to old to get into gaming. Good luck!

[–] facelessbs@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

https://g.co/kgs/9BWGKjZ This for a game called belatro. I hear it has the rules of poker but it’s a very replayable game that every time you play it is new and different.

There are many games that have great stories and have game modes that make it very easy or hard to die so you can just really enjoy the story.

Switch is the most user friendly PlayStation has some of the best single player story based game X box is mainly for online play These are all just very general statements

Try a little bit of everything.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

There are lots of different kinds of games out there. If you're new to games and like puzzles, here are a few I can recommend.

Portal is humorous and has fun puzzles, pretty easy to get into. Viewfinder is another similar type of game, also The Stanley Parable

Baba Is You is a creative puzzle game.

Planet of Lana, and Limbo, and Somerville are neat puzzle/platformer games.

Torchlight us a good example of an action RPG genre, Children of Morta is another.

FTL is a neat roguelike game.

Faeria is a card deck building game.

Turn based tactics games can be pretty fun, and are easy to get into. Triangle Strategy is a good one to try.

I also find narrative driven games really fun. For example, The Wolf Among Us is really excellent. Afterparty is pretty entertaining.

All of these should be fairly easy to get into if you're just starting gaming.

Get an emulation handheld and play some great retro games

[–] The_the@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago
[–] Ludrol@szmer.info 3 points 6 days ago

There is a concern about accesability and hidden gamer slang.

First person 3d games can make you motion sick.

There you would need to learn to control a camera.

Red is health, Blue is mana, Yellow is for climbing.

There will be countless stuff that are build upon years of gaming culture.

Try to start with co-op so someone can guide you.

Make a post it note on the monitor with button mappings especially if you play on gamepad.

[–] Eiri@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago

Get a Nintendo console. Nintendo Games are absolutely a gateway drug. They're high quality and generally very easy to get into.

[–] SpaceFox@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago
[–] bastion@feddit.nl 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Yes. It's a scalable hobby, and can run from virtually no cost to why-are-you-burning-money. But you can do a lot in gaming with little monetary investment.

There are lots of budget indie games that are lots of fun, and if you find out you like gaming and want to try more fancy titles, you can always upgrade hardware.

Minimal entry: your current pc. Install steam, and buy/try what you like, returning it if it's too slow/doesn't work.

Light entry: get familiar with your pc's ram size, hd/ssd size, cpu speed/type, and graphics card. Use that to ensure your pc can handle the game by looking at the game's minimum requirements.

Medium-heavy entry: Upgrade things.

  • ssd if you don't have one. The difference between that and spinning disks is night and day. If you wished things loaded faster, get this.
  • 8 gb graphics card in the $150 range, amd or nvidia-based. Get this if you want a smoother experience / if you can notice individual frames happening. You don't need the most expensive tech to play most games that are out there.
  • Genuine XBox or PS4/5 controller. These standard controllers are generally pretty solid and durable. $60ish
  • new cpu ($$$, and may not even be an option): most games won't be processor-bound. But some are cpu-heavy. Get this if you really want to upgrade overall, or have a particular title in mind that needs it. Or..
  • Low-mid range gaming computer ($900 ($600-$1500)): wait until you want to do a pc upgrade, and get a low-end gaming computer. I recommend Lenovo LOQ or Legion. Lenovo in general has provided laptops that don't fall apart on me, and that's not something I can say about most computer manufacturers. That said, keep them long enough and you'll have to replace the keyboard - but that's every laptop out there that I've run across.
  • or: go crazy and buy everything all the time at the moment it his the market because it is a game or has "game" written on, near, or associated with it (not recommended)
[–] ramenshaman@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Steam would be a great place to start. Tons of games, many of them free. If you're willing to buy some hardware, getting a Switch would be a good bet. Lots of excellent games, many of them are beginner-friendly.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

As much as I hate Nintendo and how they've changed, their ganes are super approchable for new players.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

There are a lot bad games out there, and not everyone likes every type of game. So try highly rated games from various categories. Just be aware that video gaming consumes a lot of time that you could use for productivity in other areas of your life. I play video games pretty regularly, but I also turn it off when it seems excessive.

[–] geoma@lemmy.ml 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If you are considering a hobby for your general well being and long term happiness, video games probably aren't your best bet. Learning a new language, a nusical instrument, a sport, an art or craft, meditation, etc.; could be much more fulfilling for your life. It is easy to invest too much time on video games without getting a considerable reward in terms of long term happiness.

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[–] besmtt@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago
[–] bokherif@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Video games used to be good, now most games are just quick cash grabs. I highly recommend old classics if you're planning to get into it.

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[–] index@sh.itjust.works -3 points 5 days ago (4 children)

I'm gonna go against the current here and say no. Videogames are not a good hobby and a poor investment of your time. If the alternative is deer hunting or anything shady then playing videogames is one of the less harmful things you can do on earth but among the thousand activities you can do and pick up as a hobby videogames are not free of issues.

First of all by specifically getting into video games you are looking at stare at a screen and sit for hours. Not a big deal if you can manage it but don't limit yourself to just videogames, there are board games, social games, mind sports and many other games you can get into.

Videogames industry has become very rotten and has appropriated the whole community. Many of the titles being suggested here are "products" made by evil companies with mechanics built to mess up with people. Steam which many recommended you to download is a proprietary software launcher that belongs to a company that has no problem pushing loot boxes and abduct kids into gambling. That's the sort of business you are getting your hands into.

[–] kokopelli@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Holy koolaid Batman

you're down voted but honestly, although I slightly disagree with you, you make a fair and reasoned point.

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[–] KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 6 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Well, what is it that you would like? Women usually go for stuff like the Sims, Stardew Valley or Zelda, maybe some of those are for you?

Do you want to play alone, are you looking for a group, ...? The games I mentioned are usually played alone (Stardew can also be played with up to four friends) so they aren't very social, but they are fun nonetheless.

Edit: Also PlateUp and Portal.

[–] hogmomma@lemmy.world 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Imagine my surprise when my gf at the time who barely played video games with more depth than Kingdom Hearts beat Gundyr on her first try

[–] hogmomma@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Holy crap! I think my jaw would've dropped.

[–] thatsTheCatch@lemmy.nz 86 points 1 week ago (5 children)

It's definitely worth trying if you're interested.

I would not recommend buying a console or gaming PC first as that is a money sink that you're not sure is worth it yet. My gaming PC broke when I arrived at university, and I got by playing less graphically intensive games on my standard laptop for a few years.

Good games I'd recommend to start with:

  • Stardew Valley β€” cosy, charming farming game that you can play at your own pace. Has great characters that you get to know, and fun, simple, rewarding gameplay. My girlfriend got really into this game.
  • Minecraft β€” this is where many of us started as kids. It's an excellent game that's fun for all ages. There isn't a clear goal so it's more about making your own fun.
  • Vampire Survivors β€” extremely fun, simple, cheap, and addicting game. Play at your own risk.
  • LIMBO β€” a puzzle game classic with a unique, dark aesthetic. Only takes a couple of hours to complete.
  • INSIDE β€” made by the same people as Limbo. Grabbed me and wouldn't let go for the whole 4 hour experience. I don't play many puzzle games but I couldn't get enough of this one. Probably because of the narrative.

Those can all be played on the average laptop or desktop anyone would have.

Best of luck on your journey! Feel free to reply with any questions or suggestions for specific genres and such. My girlfriend didn't play video games until I introduced them to her, and the most important thing was that I didn't try to force any games on her, just show her what there was and let her interest lead the way. So take a look at all the suggestions people are leaving and go with what interests you most. And if you're not enjoying a game, it's okay to go play a different one.

(Also, Steam provides free, no-questions-asked refunds for any games purchased that both 1) were bought less than 2 weeks ago, and 2) have less than 2 hours of game time. So you can always demo a game to see if you like it and return it easily if not.)

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago

Its such a vast ocean, I would just start with whatever catches your attention. Theres so many different kinds if games for all types of people that you should probably assess what you think is fun, and pick a game sort of involved with that? I tend to like cooperative games, RPGs, and games about exploring more than I like competitive games like First Person Shooters. I also really like racing games.

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