5 Games Even Non-Gamers Will Have Fun With
Even though the video gamer population has increased vastly in the past decade, many still resist the great gamer conversion even engaging in such a harmless and life-enhancing activity. We came up with a list of games for people who think they don't like games. Now, we only ask our readers not to be sad about our snubbing of that PS4 or Switch exclusive that they love. That game would probably fit here just right gameplay-wise but if we are to get our some parents to admit to their kids that games have rocked all along, actually, we can’t expect them to one day play something that would require pre-owning a console. We need to get them to enter the magical world of a game that one can sneak into their personal computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
Journey
The Game: A mystery game so good it doesn't even need words to tell its story.
thatgamecompany
Why Non-Gamers will love it: Gamers may fall under the wrong assumption that the problem non-gamers have with games is the frenetic hand-eye coordination many games require, and will end up recommending stuff like Monkey Island instead. That's a great title, one that's pretty unstressful as well, sure, but having to deal with a bunch of menus and sometimes complex puzzles might not be the best introduction to video games. Journey, on the other hand, gives non-gamers what they'd expect out of an adventure title without any of the more frustrating parts. Instead of menus, Journey invites players to a beautifully realized world where they'll go on a cozy adventure filled with seamlessly integrated puzzles that won't make anyone want to throw the keyboard out of the window (hey, that's a thing that newcomers to games tend to do).
thatgamecompany
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery
The Game: A simple 2d adventure that will make any newcomer feel like a true hero.
Superbrothers
Why Non-Gamers will love it: Because everyone wants to be the hero of at least one 2d world, and because not everyone wants to enter sewers or go over the speed limit to achieve the status. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery is arguably the most beautiful pixel art 2d experience ever made, and it's one PC and Mobile players alike can beat at their own pace.
Superbrothers
Inside
The Game: A simple 2d adventure that will make any newcomer sh*t their pants.
Playdead
Why Non-Gamers will love it: Because a lot of people think games are for kids, and Inside is the best possible kick they can get in the ego. Inside does, indeed, feature a kid as its main protagonist, but the game will very quickly show people that this is anything but a cute kid's tale. On top of puzzles that nail a perfect balance between challenging and fun, Inside also makes perfect use of its eerie and dark environments to tell a story that doesn't even need words to mess players up.
Playdead
Outer Wilds
The Game: Groundhog Day meets 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Annapurna
Why Non-Gamers will love it: Outer Wilds tasks players with exploring a tiny solar system on their ship again and again until they know enough to prevent everyone from getting killed by an exploding star. Yes, the concept of just getting 20 minutes to explore freely until one dies and has to restart it all with just the added knowledge that they messed up might be tough for anyone outside of Dark Souls fandom. That's a peculiar concept, sure, but maybe one that's easier for non-gamers to get into than for gamers who've had so many games telling them that they're all beautiful and unkillable heroes. Also, the space we're about to explore looks like this:
Annapurna
Eastshade
The Game: Eastshade is probably the farthest one can get from traditional modern game design. We're talking about a game that invites players to put down their guns, pick up some painting equipment, and just walk around a nice island painting the coolest-looking stuff they find.
Eastshade Studios
Why Non-Gamers will love it: Because non-gamers are untarnished by the notion that 99% of the fun in games requires a certain degree of violence. In Eastshade we play as a castaway in search not of revenge or of a way back to then get revenge, but one who's in search of a good time. Eastshade's 100% relaxation-based gameplay will allow non-gamers to see that one can enjoy good writing, characters, and even a heartwarming story via this often-bloody medium.
Top Image: Eastshade Studios
