Best game for non-gamer girlfriend?

Hey duders!

A pretty straightforward question. I think it would be really fun to get my gf into gaming, she's even suggested it recently. So I would like to hear suggestions from you based on these criteria:

-PC only, with no outrageous hardware requirements, although she has bought a new laptop recently so it doesn't have to be anything ancient
-She'd like something challenging, although accessible. Something simple with no requirements of intricate gaming knowledge, but it's alright if I have to teach her some basics.
-She'll be playing on a touchpad and a laptop keyboard so probably nothing technically demanding.
-I'm thinking an adventure game/light RPG, something with focus on characters and story rather than gameplay and mechanics.Also, she's not a fan of fantasy themes.

I also want 2 types of games - ones to play together and ones for her to play alone. It's not really a problem for me to choose something we could play together but I'm having trouble with the solo play part.

I've been thinking Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes and possibly some Telltale stuff for the 'together' category, but I don't really have a good idea for a game to recommend her to play alone.

Thanks for the suggestions!

It might sound overly complicated at first, but I got an ex of mine way into Civ 5. The game has a lot of systems, but it does a great job of easing new players in, you don't need to know how a controller works to play, and, because it's turn-based, you get to set the pace.

I'd recommend adventure games - Kentucky Route Zero and Broken Age both come to mind as really great non-fantasy adventure games you can play with a trackpad. If you can get a mouse or 360 controller hooked up to that laptop, Gone Home would also be a great fit for this, and it's been a lot of people's first game. Hearthstone's worth a shot, too. It's free.

I would've said Life is Strange before the Playdate, and I'm still sticking with that. Or that new Typing of the Dead. Or maybe she can appreciate something puzzly like Braid?

Or Starcraft II?

Any Amanita Design game. Machinarium, Samorost, and Botanicula are all great. Machinarium is the most challenging of the group, but they're all wonderful adventure games that I've had great success showing to non-gamer friends.

I would second that, and to extend that, any of those types of games, the TellTale stuff as well. They are very easy 'gameplay' wise, no puzzle is really too hard, the controls are pretty simple to grasp, and if she engages with the story of them at all then they can be very fun to play alone or with someone else around, especially some of the more thrilling "THIS IS A CHOICE?!" moments "Let person A die or person B die? WHAT?"! So I bet those could be fun.

Life Is Strange, Telltale stuff, Braid, Her Story, To the Moon, Cannon Brawl (possibly good together), Gone Home, Valiant Hearts, Portal, Cities: Skylines

~~I just quickly browsed through my Steam collection, and those were the ones that jumped out at me for this

I was gonna say Bejeweled 3, but that probably requires a proper mouse. My follow-up suggestion is Botanicula. :D

I actually got my girlfriend who doesn't play that many games into Divekick. Granted, I set up the Donkey Konga controllers so it was really easy to figure out the buttons.

Banner Saga, play it on easy mode. Get cool art and story with relatively simple turn based gameplay.

I'll throw in the usual (and shocked it hasn't been mentioned) suggestion of Portal/Portal2.

I mean it's just gonna end up being a taste thing no matter what. My sister had barely touched a controller, but managed to beat Catherine (not an easy game) just because she was invested in the characters. She is also into Amnesia and Minecraft. Aaaaand pretty much nothing else and only extremely rarely plays games at all.

Basically fuck I dunno it doesn't make any sense. Just let her pick something that looks cool.

@tobbrobb said:

Yeah, it just depends on what looks cool to her. People that don't play games are even pickier than those that do. Some of the best games I've played bored some people, while games that I don't care for were apparently amazing.

My girlfriend will never ever be into games but I do have friends who aren't big gamers but they really found getting into games like Gang Beasts and Lethal League extremely fun. And anyone can get into something like the Jackbox Party Pack.

Plants vs. Zombies would be good, as would half minute hero.

At least from what I know my sister (she also rarely plays) really loves Animal Crossing and the Zelda games especially the DS ones. She did grow up with me, her and my brother playing quite a lot of N64 so maybe it won't really do anything for her but those two series are in my experience really fun for casual gamers (sorry that's still hard to type out)

Mine loves watching me play anything with a captivating story. She hates it when CoD comes out.

yeah Civ 5's a good one

Also in that vein with maybe a little less pressure from the game's AI, I personally think the Sims or Simcity (not the new one) might be more approachable to the first time PC gamer.

As everyone else has said already the telltale style games are a sure hit.

My girlfriend actively hates video games and she was completely enthralled by Until Dawn to the point of actually pursuing a platinum trophy in the game.

If she gets a mouse she could play Diablo III or Torchlight; my mom doesn't play a ton of games but she's really enjoyed Diablo 1/2/3 and Torchlight. She also really liked all the traditional Telltale stuff like Monkey Island, Back to the Future, and Sam & Max, and she even played a ton of Poker Night at the Inventory. She also likes puzzle games like Puzzle Quest and Portal. My mom also used to play some NES/SNES/N64 games, as well as Pokemon games, with me when I was growing up, though, so she might have more experience than your girlfriend.

My girlfriend is regular video game player (even has a GB premium membership, etc.), but when she wants to watch me play something, it's generally something single player with a story mode.

Pixeljunk monsters?

@naoiko said:

Seconding this. One of the few games I could get my wife interested in. The other being Peggle.

My girlfriend loved playing co-op Towerfall. Also Super Mario Maker

My wife plays sims, Sim city, Sim societies. That's it.

Can't go wrong with The Sims 3 Pets, maybe even Minecraft.

My ex fell in love with Binding of Isaac. We could spend some hours just taking turns in that game, it was quite fun. She's far from a gamer, so I would suggest trying that. And now that they added COOP with the new release, you can even play it together.

I honestly can't think of any PC game that would be playable using a touchpad. The only thing I would recommend is The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth since you could play it using WSAD & arrow keys. Also, the Afterbirth expansion is out at the end of this month.

You should really get her at least a cheap wireless mouse if you want her to play some games that require it. If you get her a mouse then I would also recommend Telltale's The Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us.

Grim Fandango's puzzles can be kinda tough but the game is great, especially the remastered version.

In these situations, I think it's always best when they offer to try it out first; you should never foist gaming on someone, so that's good to hear. At the very least let them watch you play and see if they show any interest.

It seems to me that many people who don't like any other games somehow get really into MMOs. System heavy as they are, i guess there's just something more inviting and appealing about them or their presentation; i could be way off base here, though.

e: may be the more social aspect.

Anything Telltale comes to mind, obviously, but I like the idea of some lighter turn-based strategy stuff as well. I imagine something you two could play together, like Heroes of Might and Magic III or something similar, would work out pretty well.

The Sims 3 vanilla

Viva Pinata or Sims

Great suggestions here. So far I've introduced her to Limbo and she loves it and keeps asking me to suggest her more games :p

Plants vs Zombies, Trials Evolution and Portal are my next picks for her, along with some Telltale and possibly Amanita stuff for us to play together.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

My girlfriend ended up being more of a handheld, hella casual gamer when I tried to get her into it (though she enjoys watching me play just about anything), so I've never gone down this route before, but suggestions for you would be:

• Bit Trip Runner
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
• Edge
• Fez
• Grow Home
• Psychonauts (Maybe too advanced?)

ibb and obb is a great co-op puzzle game.

Other than Plants vs. Zombies, anything by Popcap would probly be a good idea. As a girl, I find those are the only games my girl non gamer friends tend to enjoy. Well those and mobile games...but yeah you said PC so..there ya go.

I would also second Bit trip runner, Spelunky, Crypt of the Necrodancer and Grow home. But maybe test the waters with a simpler game first. Don't want her getting burnt out from a game she finds hard right off the bat.

My girlfriend always said she really wasn't into games but she got interested in Diablo 3 when she saw me playing it and got herself hooked, from there she gave more games a shot and came away loving Alien: Isolation, Until Dawn, Hatoful Boyfriend, and The Wolf Among Us, also she didn't exactly love Super Meat Boy but she treated that game like it was trying to break her and she wouldn't let it haha.

Well, my girlfriend isn't not a gamer, but she certainly isn't much of one and can't play hard or complex games, so I'll just try recommending stuff she's really enjoyed since man is it hard to put myself in the shoes of someone who has just not played video games at all.

• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
• Psychonauts
• The Wolf Among Us
• Stacking
• Diablo II and III
• Fallout 3 and New Vegas
• Minecraft
• Portal 2 Co-op
• PixelJunk Monsters
• PixelJunk Eden
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (she loves Pirates of the Caribbean and hasn't played any of the other games in the series)
• The Lego Games (Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings).
• Fez

That's about all I got off the top of my head.

depends if the girl like anime or not. that makes alot more options.