What games would get my wife into gaming?

[dmsleight]

So pretend that your wife/girlfriend hates/resents it when you play games, so you think, "if I got games she enjoyed, maybe we could enjoy gaming together, and maybe she wouldn't mind me playing as much."  What PS4/5 games might get my wife interested in playing?  E.g. if I had a switch, I'd probably get mario party and mario kart.

 

One game I was thinking of is tearway...  Any games that your woman enjoys for playstation?  Two and single player games could work.

[SmileSlice]

My personal recommendation for single player at least, would be any of the Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons games. I think they could be enjoyed greatly by any partner who wasn’t normally a gamer.

[kkulifay]

It Takes Two, Stray, Inside, Little Nightmares I and II, What Remains of Edith Finch and Shady Part of Me. All games that I’ve played with my GF either watching or taking turns playing solo. It Takes Two is good ol classic couch co-op at its finest.  Start with a simple game that has a wonderful story or something with puzzles that you can collaborate on.  

[lurch_9944]

My wife really like the don't starve together game. 

[Pray_4_the_End]

I'd recommend "Stardew Valley" and "It Takes Two." In my experience, the women I've gotten into gaming really enjoy Sim games for whatever reason and co-op puzzle games. Shit even "The Sims" it self could work. Put the Sims in front of her, show her the controls, and tell her to create and furnish her "Dream Home" and you'll likely have to peel her off the controller after a few hours lol. 

[Helyx]

Significant other resents you for having a hobby? No problem, just find a new one!

[jdh0921]

If your wife likes movies like mine does, she got into the Lego games, especially the ones with movie tie ins. Otherwise it takes two was another good option. 

[MonaSaxPayne]

it takes two!

 

best way to get her interested is to play WITH her

[Unlucky_Thir13en]

In the past, I got a non-gamer ex into Theatrhythym Curtain Call, a Final Fantasy music game on the 3DS. So much that I ended up buying her a copy for herself. I feel like rhythym games and cute chibi games both translate well into a non-gamer gateway. All the more if there's some element of co-op or friendly competition. 

 

Also got a non-gamer friend into Dead by Daylight. Unfortunately, she was playing on my account and I ended up getting blasted with a voice clip by the one and only angry Jamaican i've ever heard in my life. 

 

Local co-op games like It Takes Two or Overcooked are a solid bet as well. 

 

Ultimately, the easy answer is "something you can experience together". Make it not too mechanically complex, something you're not too serious about, and something that can allow you to have some fun moments together. Or something that's got a great story that falls in line with her interests/personal tastes. 

[RoastedPeanut]

My wife really enjoys the PSVR. She isn't a gamer at all and would rather do something else, but she definitely enjoys playing Astro Bot, Moss, and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. She also enjoyed playing the first two Trine games with me. She'll never be someone that I'll find sitting down and playing something without me, but something that can be played together is always a good option. 

[Completionist]

Cuckhold Simulator we play this on VR

[mriaborat9]

Cooking mama 

[captainskyhawk]

My wife is not a gamer but loves to participate and loves the stories. Her favourite franchise is Uncharted and Lego games. She loves to sit with a guide on her iPad and direct me to collectables whilst immersing herself in the story.  Maybe you could get her interested like this.

[Rias Gremory]

My Friend Peppa Pig.

[dannyswfc9]

Divorce simulator

[TheDarkKratos]

33 minutes ago, Kyoka Eden said:

My Friend Peppa Pig.

This exactly. Plus My Little Pony

[iXanon]

The Overcooked games are a great shout.

 

My partner couch co-op'd them with me, and we actually got quite good at it. Good enough for the completions, at least! 😁

[Smeraldina-Rima]

Your question should be: how do I make her like the fact that I play games? Whenever I begin a long run -- like Baldur's Gate 3 f.i. (endgame now!) -- I buy her whatever books she needs to get past that period ... She loves the music and visuals in games, but would never play along. A few weeks ago she DID join though, as the eight player in an 8-person couch co-op for The Quarry -- she nearly immediately died, and kinda 'lost' the game for everybody there -- so yeah

Edited December 15, 2023 by Smeraldina-Rima

[Matto_lsi]

I've tried for years to get my wife into gaming.  She has fleeting interest in most games when I play them, but has watched some gameplay from the more story driven games.  For instance, I've platinumed The Last of Us on both PS3 and PS4, and both times she watched me play a little during multiple gaming sessions.  We even binged the tv show when it released, and she was very into it.  However, no matter what I do, I can't get her to pick up a controller.  The irony, is my older daughter loves games, and has played a lot of the Lego games and the kid-focused games I borrow from the library and has promised when she gets older she'll help me play multiplayer games, lol.  But my youngest is like my wife and is completely uninterested in playing games at all.  What I'm getting at, is it might just be a personality thing.  Some people just really aren't into gaming, despite loving movies and tv shows and the whole story-driven, cinematic experience that a lot of the better games employ these days.  As a demographic, women playing games has grown rapidly the last decade or so, but its more so in the smaller footprint mobile scene.  The kind of thing that you pick up for only a few minutes at a time and can put down whenever you want.  So if the kind of games that most of us here enjoy aren't your partner's liking, maybe try to push the mobile side on her.  It didn't work for my wife, but strangely, some of my older aunts and cousins are very much into mobile gaming now.

 

2 hours ago, Helyx said:

Significant other resents you for having a hobby? No problem, just find a new one!

 

Hobby or Significant Other?

[Lenzsotic1]

I would say "Stray", but if she likes Anime i really Recommend "Genshin Impact" or "Honkai: Star Rail" all of those are player friendly Games.

On the switch i would say buy something with Yoshi or Kirby as the main Charakter.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Lenzsotic1

[ZOLANTON]

4 minutes ago, Matto_lsi said:

Hobby or Significant Other?

 

Should be significant other. If your SO cannot accept your hobby (so long that the hobby doesn't affect the relationship in an unhealthy manner, like neglecting someone just to play videogames), then the problem is with her, not the hobby. Huge difference between disliking and resenting as well. I am friends with a couple, where the guy loves videogames, the woman not so much. But she accepts the fact that he likes them a lot and sometimes participates in his gaming sessions to spend more time together. Epitomy of a healthy relationship.

 

It Takes Two is a great game to engage with her OP. Start with story-related games to get her interest. Heavy Rain could be another good option.

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

If she don't want to play, she aint going to play. I met my wife over 10 years ago on a mmo but trying to get her to play anything now is near impossible. Tried Overcooked, Moving Out, Divinity, It Takes Two, Diablo 4. Taking turns on single player games Zelda, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy. Even set everything up so we could play online together with FF XIV, Elder Scrolls Online etc.

 

So good luck trying to turn someone who hates gaming, but they should understand that it's your hobby and as long as you're splitting up your time between spending time with them and gaming I don't see the issue, surely she has things she wants to watch that you don't. 

[PlatinumEngineer]

I started with a switch for my wife, & of course, she loved the first party games. Then, I found games that relates to what she enjoys. For example, she loves Harry Potter so I bought her a ps5 and Hogwarts Legacy (had a feeling the graphics would be horrendous on switch). As others have mentioned, Lego games usually work great, too. I also got my sister in law playing video games recently with the release of the new Avatar game. It’s really just knowing what they like and finding a game that ties into it. 

[proud2bNs]

My SO liked Overcooked and Moving out a lot. In general, co-op games work best.  She absolutely didn't like It Takes Two and Stardew Valley for some reason.

[pinkrobot_pb]

My wife luckily does not mind me playing video games... whenever I have the time nowadays. When I do, she actually encourages it so that I will at least get some rest by sitting down for a while

 

She nowadays only plays games like Sudoku and Solitaire on her mobile phone. My game consoles never seem to interest her at all. The only thing she likes are simulator type games, she used to play those on PC when she was a student. One side note: she did get invested in Farming Simulator for a while when she was largely immobile after the birth of our daughter. But now that she is able to get out and about again, the interest has already faded.

 

Anyhow, it is nigh on impossible to get someone to like something when they do not have an intrinsic interest in it already. Trying too hard usually only increases the already present friction. This borders more on relationship advice than gaming advice though, so I will leave it at that.

Edited December 15, 2023 by pinkrobot_pb