My girlfriend has never really gamed. But she’s now forced to move less than she would like to (health problem) and she’s getting bored. I was thinking of introducing her to a game or two that we could play together. She’s not the real action game type, and seeing as she has no experience with controller/mouse and keyboard I was thinking starting simple.

I can’t think of anything else than Factorio, as she likes organizing/keeping track of stuff.

Would you recommend against that or have anything better in mind? Let me know!

  • kionay@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Stardew valley is 2D so fewer controls to learn than a 3D game. It also has a cute art style.

    • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
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      8 months ago

      And lots of additional content in mods (you can do that for her, it’s pretty simple).

      Another one, Universim. Oh, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, maybe Sims 3/4.

  • Maalus@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It’s funny how people overestimate what a person that never gamed can do. OP, Factorio is constant precise clicking with an unintuitive UI if you haven’t played any games. So is Satisfactory and similar others.

    Start with things casual gamers play. There is a reason Sims is so popular. If you want to later (muuuch later) introduce her into the FPS genre - Portal 2. It has very little controls to remember, and very rarely is there any action that needs to require dexterity in aiming. Also, Valve invisible tutorials are awesome for new gamers.

    • cottonmon@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yeah, I played It Takes Two with my gf last week and she had trouble with the most basic jumps because she couldn’t use the keyboard and mouse at the same time. It might be easier with the controller, but moving a character and the camera at the same time is surprisingly hard to learn for beginners.

      The best recommendations here are the games with extremely simple controls. I think Vampire Survivors was a good pick since you only need to use the keyboard for most of the time. Adventure games was another good recommendation since it should only require the mouse.

      • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, I’d also recommend more casual games.

        Good that she likes organizing, but Factorio is way over the head of any non-gamer. Doubt it would keep her entertained for long. Its only great if you like micromanaging and meticulously playing around with game mechanics. Which usually only happens after being exposed to gaming long enough.

        It Takes Two is much better for a beginner since it isn’t a punishing game.

        Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is an other great couple game.

        We were Here if both of you like puzzles.

      • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, I played It Takes Two with my gf last week and she had trouble with the most basic jumps because she couldn’t use the keyboard and mouse at the same time.

        This is probably a stupid question … but it was an actual mouse right? Like she wasn’t using a touchpad?

        So many OSes default to the touchpad being disabled while typing and that causes big issues for WASD keyboard and mouse games.

  • Zahille7@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Any “cozy” game. Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, others like those.

    One that I personally really like, that sort of blends different aspects of AC and SV, is Paleo Pines. You have a ranch that you little by little clear out, fix up, and decorate; all with the help of adorable dinosaur friends. There’s actually a surprising number of species and map space in the game, and the vibe and aesthetic are ridiculously cute. I will say it’s slightly more laid back than SV as there are no real timers for the different quests and such, and there are fewer characters to keep track of/befriend.

    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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      8 months ago

      I got a girlfriend a long time ago to give the game a shot. She had played stuff before- she was playing BioShock on Xbox when we met. The rats by the big drake on the bridge literally made her cry. Felt pretty bad.

      (We did eventually finish the game together in co-op, but we’re long since broken up for largely unrelated reasons)

    • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      One of my coworkers at some point told my girlfriend she should go in completely blind when she tried DS1, and I agree with that, but she took it to mean she should under no circumstances allow me to explain the mechanics of the game or the UI. She spent nearly two hours in the Asylum without ever getting to the boss’s fog wall because she wouldn’t let me explain that picking her weapon up didn’t mean she had it equipped. Finally I told her there was a big problem she could easily fix and move on with the game if she’d hear me out, but she still wouldn’t hear any of it, and then 30 seconds later I see her on her phone googling “do you need to use a shield in DS1” 🤦‍♀️

      It was really frustrating because DS1 is hands down my favorite game, and I fully expected her to give up at some point but she gave up before she actually got to play the game.

  • Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Ok so the answer is Stardew Valley. There are some other decent answers in here but trust me on this, it’s Stardew Valley for her first one.

    • steeznson@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      My partner used to be a teacher. There was a period of like a year when she would get home from work looking insanely stressed. Then she’d boot up Stardew Valley on her laptop from the couch and I could see her mood change immediately. She’d play for hours too.

      At one point it was like Stardew Valley was her real life while the actual outside world was some horrible nightmare she had to wake up from.

  • NOSin@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It takes two is a fantastic experience to have with a loved one, even if inexperienced with games, it is very forgiving

    • cinnamonTea@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      The gameplay of ‘It takes two’ is very fun, but the characters and the story can be infuriating. If they annoy you in the trailers or in a gameplay video, be aware that their dynamic stays like that a long time - we gave up on it after a while because of it

      • Kraiden@kbin.social
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        8 months ago

        Exactly this. It’s a terrible, outdated story that essentially sells “staying together for the kids.” The whole way through we were both like “ye these two need to get divorced.” The book is a villain.

        Eta: game play was fun though

        • vrojak@kbin.social
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          8 months ago

          Yep, my girlfriend and I thought the same.

          “Oh, I know how to solve our problem! We make our daughter cry!”
          “But how?”
          “Let’s brutally murder her toy elephant!”

          A+ parenting right there

          • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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            8 months ago

            Oh, I assumed it was kid friendly. My soon to be 7 year old is just started Minecraft. He struggles with games so far as too complex for him, like lego Harry Potter or even hot wheels (all the ps+ kids games). I was hoping to try it takes two with him at some point. If the story is not nice, maybe that’s not a great idea. Playing Rayman together was fun and forgiving as he just keeps reappearing when he dies.

            • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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              8 months ago

              It is mostly kid friendly.

              Just the scene with the elephant is thrown in as a bit of a joke. But can be quite brutal if the child is too young to understand. But it is just about ripping up a toy. So not really all that brutal.

              The rest of the game is completely fine though, would recommend.

              • mossy_@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                It’s about ripping up a living, crying toy while it begs for its life, after chasing it through the area. It made me squirm and I’m a grown-ass adult.

  • DeaLikesTrains@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    If she likes organizing, let her take a peek at “unpacking”. Cute artstyle, really cozy and lots of stuff to unpack and organize. Hope your girlfriend gets better soon!

    • Gerudo@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      A Little to the Left is a nice pick for organizing puzzle style game. It’s on gamepass if you have it.

  • Hucklebee@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Games that I played with my wife that wr thoroughly enjoyed

    --------COOP-------- -Unravel two. Great cute platformer where it doesn’t matter if one player isn’t that great at platformers. A mpving stoey with beautiful graphics and fun coop.

    It Takes Two A platforming game with a great story. Good feels all around

    -Stardew Valley Many people already suggested this. It’s amazing. Super addictive, great coop, but can be played singleplayer as well if you’re not around

    - Trine series Another great platformer series. Difficulty can easily be adjusted (by allowing lifting boxes with people on it with wizard). And can also be played solo.

    Escape Simulator Great escape room game with many small escaperooms that take about 10 to 15 minutes each to solve. Solo and coop.

    -Overcooked Great hectic coop game. I find this game quite hectic and exhausting to play for a long time, but my wife couldn’t get enough of it. Even when she was tired. Best to play coop, can be played solo.

    -------SINGLEPLAYER------- My wife enjoyed management style games a lot, where you had no time pressure of any sorts.

    - Strange Horticulture Puzzle game where you try to find the right plants by deductions. No time pressure, very relaxing. Only single player, although you could play it together.

    Planet Zoo Probably the best zoo management game out there. Wife was addicted to it for months

    Planet Coaster Same as above, but with theme parks

    Cities Skylines (first one) Great city planner

    Hope this helps!

  • SkyJuice@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    SIMS 3 and/or 4, Stardew Valley, Unpacking, Furnish Master, How To Bathe Your Cat

    Co-Op: It Takes Two, A Way Out, Unravel Two, Vampire Survivors (also solo)

  • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Portal and Portal 2 are excellent “introduction to gaming,” games. Memorable, fun, funny, and most importantly the entire game teaches you the skills needed for a large percentage of other games.

    Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program are all good factory building games.

    Terraria and Minecraft can be surprisingly engaging with multiplayer.

    • cosmo@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yes. Very much worth trying. My wife and myself have about a hundred hours in our coop save.

    • akaltar@programming.dev
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      8 months ago

      Stardew valley can be super annoying due to the sleeping mechanic and having to be on time with the planting of things.

      I’ve found terraria to be less stressful and had more success with it

      • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, totally no stress fighting the moonlord or any of the bosses…

        Terraria is fun, but doubt a non-gamer will be able to jump right in and understand the fiddly build, mine and jump mechanics. They’ll get overwhelmed.

  • simple@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    I’d recommend story-based games like The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, Life is Strange, etc. You don’t need to know anything about gaming to enjoy them, and you can both play it like a series.

  • Melkath@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    Minecraft, Terreria, Stardew Valley, Overcooked, The Sims, Dark Souls.