What games should I introduce to my non gamer husband?

[Burritoprime]

Hi everyone, hope y'all are doing well, the community here has always been so helpful so I'd like to ask your opinion once more, I have always played games my entire life since I was a kid and recently I got married after 7 years of dating my then fiancé always respected my hobby and never really complained or anything but since moving in together I'd like for him to start playing but I don't have much of an idea about what games to introduce to him, he likes to watch me play and all that but when I offer him to play he says it looks hard and a lot of work, probably because I mainly play RPGs or similar games, I honestly think it would be beneficial for our relationship to have something else to share, he's more into books, movies and Netflix shows, so to anyone in the same situation or similar how did you introduce your significant other to games without frustrating them? And how did you make it enjoyable? Thanks so very much in advance, stay safe.

[Spacey_Dweeb]

It Takes Two and A Way Out are really good for bringing someone new into gaming. They are high quality games and forced co-op. You will have fun together playing games and your differing  skill levels won't matter much since you have to work in tandem with eachother. This helps it not feel like a competition where they are losing in some way. There are also a lot of titles that are like interactive horror movies that my wife likes, Until Dawn. Man of Medan etc. Those have a few modes and the one that works best is where you pick which characters you are going to play and the game will prompt you to pass the controller around as that character is active in the story. You can even put yourselves on different difficulties so I can play on normal or hard and she can play on easy. TellTale's games are good for new gamers. They mostly select the dialogue and the action in them is pretty light. I personally think Tales from the Borderlands was their best one. Batman, Wolf Among Us, and The Walking Dead series are all good too. I'd start there since they don't have complicated systems to figure out.

[Deceptrox]

Any casual game that is not too difficult. Since he likes books, I can suggest Heavy Rain if he is enjoys thriller books, the story really hooked me. Maybe Detroit Become Human too. If he likes Spider-Man or Batman maybe he can give a try to the PS4 exclusive Spider-Man game and the Batman: Arkham games. 

 

Hitman III, with Hitman 1 & 2 campaigns, would also be a good choice due to be highly story-driven and very replayable. He can just play the game on casual difficulty. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Deceptrox

[NMErickson]

VR, CTR, Tetris Effect, It Takes Two, or something from a genre they enjoy in other media. If you know of a movie they really like, check if there’s a Lego version you could play together. Basically, something simple, casual, and one you can play together at first then branch out.

[diskdocx]

LEGO games would be great coop options, and I just did Overcooked with my daughter and we had an absolute blast. I would suggest the All You Can Eat collection as it’s much more forgiving in terms of difficulty 

Edited January 4, 2022 by diskdocx

[wackt1]

you can never go wrong with minecraft

[Joe Dubz]

I second Overcooked, those games are very fun and one of the few things I've been able to get the Mrs. to play with me as of late! They get challenging in the later levels, but you have to work together and the beginning levels aren't too bad. Also agreed that the Lego games are another solid choice. 

[Burritoprime]

I haven't played It Takes Two mostly because of the co op stuff and it never occurred to me that it's a good game to start with him, that's a very good idea, and I completely forgot about Until Dawn it's an excellent game and we both love horror movies so it's a nice way to get engaged even if the characters end up dying there's an incentive to replay it together, I have most of the Tellltales games but I haven't started them yet I'll give it a go with the Walking Dead, good story and very friendly to newcomers, thank you very much for all the tips.

38 minutes ago, Deceptrox said:

Any casual game that is not too difficult. Since he likes books, I can suggest Heavy Rain if he is enjoys thriller books, the story really hooked me. Maybe Detroit Become Human too. If he likes Spider-Man or Batman maybe he can give a try to the PS4 exclusive Spider-Man game and the Batman: Arkham games. 

 

Hitman III, with Hitman 1 & 2 campaigns, would also be a good choice due to be highly story-driven and very replayable. He can just play the game on casual difficulty. 

Oh I completely forgot about Spider Man, he's a huge fan of the comic and won't shut up about the No Way Home movie, I haven't played them yet but only heard good things about it, is it easy enough for  someone with no experience with games to pick up and play? I can assist him of course but I'd rather have him figure things out since that's way more fun.

[TJ_Solo]

Why not ask him what games he'd like to try playing himself? 
 

[NMErickson]

20 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

I second Overcooked, those games are very fun and one of the few things I've been able to get the Mrs. to play with me as of late! They get challenging in the later levels, but you have to work together and the beginning levels aren't too bad. Also agreed that the Lego games are another solid choice. 

You two must have been together a long time to have that kind of patience, are skilled at Overcooked, or both! Haha. Have seen people get angry at others over that game because it gets stressful. I do enjoy the Overcooked games with others but have to separate getting stuff accomplished from just playing for fun.

 

10 minutes ago, Sunnyburrito said:

I haven't played It Takes Two mostly because of the co op stuff and it never occurred to me that it's a good game to start with him, that's a very good idea, and I completely forgot about Until Dawn it's an excellent game and we both love horror movies so it's a nice way to get engaged even if the characters end up dying there's an incentive to replay it together, I have most of the Tellltales games but I haven't started them yet I'll give it a go with the Walking Dead, good story and very friendly to newcomers, thank you very much for all the tips.

There’s not a lot two player horror games haha. Coming from a horror fan myself. But what you mentioned, Until Dawn, would be a great starter. Also, similar to that, The Dark Pictures Anthology games have a two player pass and play movie night mode and a shared story mode

[Mr_Stkrdknmiblz]

Go straight into the deep end.  Start with Sekiro or Devil May Cry 5.

 

Nah just kidding, maybe try the the Telltale Walking Dead games?

[NkTSharpy]

I always think spyro is a good starting point. Has a good mix of easy and more challenging parts. Also has a lot of meta gamer things that newcomers probably aren’t use to (for example platforming, different enemies, collecting items)

[Squall__x]

Diablo 3

[wackt1]

1 hour ago, Deceptrox said:

 

Hitman III, with Hitman 1 & 2 campaigns, would also be a good choice due to be highly story-driven and very replayable. He can just play the game on casual difficulty. 

IDK about the hitman series, new gamers might get impatient with the slow nature of the game. It might take them a couple hours just to do one level

[MarcusPunisher]

What movies or TV shows does he like? There is a good chance that there have been games made on it like the Witcher. I would try something from there. 

[Lezonidas]

I'd try short, story driven and easy to play games. Maybe Uncharted

[nik_west]

Well, if you want your marriage to go on for a long time, possibly even forever, give him Mega Man X to play.

 

If you secretly want a divorce already, give him Mega Man X6 to play...

 

...no, in all seriousness: My suggestion would be Limbo or Journey.
Small games, not too complicated, no 30 minutes cutscenes just to get into the game.
They're both atmospheric and non-verbal experiences. I think that's a good start.

[wackt1]

4 minutes ago, nik_west said:

Small games, not too complicated, no 30 minutes cutscenes just to get into the game.
 

laughs in metal gear solid 

[Burritoprime]

1 hour ago, NMErickson said:

 

 

There’s not a lot two player horror games haha. Coming from a horror fan myself. But what you mentioned, Until Dawn, would be a great starter. Also, similar to that, The Dark Pictures Anthology games have a two player pass and play movie night mode and a shared story mode

I don't own Little Hope but I actually watched a let's play of it and really enjoyed the story (minus the ending) Dark Pictures allow couch co op or is it just MP?

[Baranov_925]

Spyro trilogy and Crash trilogy would be first games. They look very cartoony, and they are (especially Crash) challenging, so you can show you fiancee that games are not only stuff for kids but very rewarding challenge.

[NMErickson]

9 minutes ago, Sunnyburrito said:

I don't own Little Hope but I actually watched a let's play of it and really enjoyed the story (minus the ending) Dark Pictures allow couch co op or is it just MP?

Couch co-op!

 

I hesitated to share this video because I hate spoilers as much as anyone but since you said you’ve seen some of Little Hope, you can skip to 7:12 of the video and see where the scene changes and they switch players:

Spoiler

 

 

[StewartBros]

Start him off with a small, non-story based game like Journey or Abzu.  They are exploration based adventures with no traditional "story" and can be completed very easily.

 

Then maybe try him out on a Telltale or Lego game.  Or perhaps a Quantic Dream game.  Nothing problematic there, and they should be easy enough for even a non-gamer to finish.

 

As someone mentioned earlier, DO NOT try and heckle him into going for all the trophies to begin with, as he may not care for them.  Just let him play how he wants, and see what happens from there.

[Trumpet_Boi_208]

Currently, I'm seeing everyone recommending AAA titles, so I'll offer a few indies to spice things up.

 

I highly recommend Night in the Woods, a solid story experience with a beautiful art-style, likeable characters, and a grounded atmosphere littered with little things that make it all special when combined together. It elegantly and consistently combines witty banter with mature themes of growing up and moments that are disturbingly relatable to today's modern society. While not all the gameplay beats are perfect in terms of polish, it does little (if anything at all) to detract from your experience with the game. Overall, it is a fantastic game that deserves my highest praises!

 

Another fun casual game I would recommend is Wuppo. It's a relatively short (around 4-5 hours long when not accounting for collectibles), adventure-platformer with a wonderfully unique art-style and world, as well as a charming story, playing as a Wum simply attempting to find a new home. The world and story are easily digestible, being a joy to explore, while having a decent amount of lore if he is interested. The bosses are simple and fun, ranging from small 1 on 1 fights, to a brawl against a massive beast, usually supplementing the story in a neat way. One last game I would recommend is Lonely Mountains: Downhill, a peaceful mountain-biking romp with nothing but the peaceful serenity of the mountains that you bolt down.

 

Sorry if these synopses were very short, but I didn't want to ramble too much. Let me know if you have any questions!

[droppingtherock]

Destiny 2 is free (base game, without expansions). If you/he are interested in online coop, it's the the best one out there in my opinion. I've met a lot of couples during raids. Destiny 2 is also a game I've never left even though I've gotten the 100%. I have lots of friends that play it, and the consistent new content keeps me hooked. it supports cross play now too, if he has friends that play it off Playstation. While it's a FPS, it has lots of RPG/character development/gear development aspects, so might prove a good role playing intro for him. Best of luck!

[DEADLOCKED11]

A co-op game you can carry him might be fun

 

Something like Resident Evil 5 if you've already beat the game, let him do as much as he can without letting him die, or any of the Borderlands games

 

Here is a website with info on Co-op games and to what degree they are co-op (couch, online only, etc)

 

https://www.co-optimus.com/system/22/playstation-4.html