Favorite single player games for multiple "spectators"

Avatar image for polyesterkyle
PolyesterKyle

194

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

So I've recently been trying to curate a list of single player games that are fun for a group of people, not just the player, to enjoy or whatever. Trying to get that concept across is kind of weird. But say, if you're sitting in a room and someone is playing like, baldur's gate or something. That may be fun for you to watch, I don't know, but to me that's a game that provides a pretty solitary style of enjoyment. But if you're sitting in a room watching someone play Scribblenauts or whatever, you can offer ideas as to what you think they should draw or write or "scribble" I guess.

I don't know, I suppose it really could be boiled down to, what's a single player game that you recall having a great old time watching someone else play. Because, we've all been there. And super mega bonus points for features that might actually benefit from having some other brains to fish ideas out of, like that Scribblenauts example, I guess. Please and thank you, fun-friends.

Avatar image for hatking
hatking

7673

Forum Posts

82

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#2  Edited By hatking

@polyesterkyle: My old roommate and I were hosting movie nights every Friday last year. Being that I'm such a massive dork, my time leading up to people coming over was often spent getting a couple hours of gaming in before the night became a drunken blur. On a few occasions there'd be some overlap in me finding a save point/people filing in and making drinks. It's hard to remember everything that I played during those times, but I do specifically recall a positive reaction to both Sleeping Dogs and Tokyo Jungle. I can't help but point out that those were both pretty big hits for the staff to play here on GiantBomb. So, if you're looking for more suggestions, maybe try some of the more popular Quick Looks?

Edit: I reread this and for some reason I'm worried it's coming off with a dickish tone. That's not my intent. That was a genuine attempt at help.

Avatar image for ll_exile_ll
ll_Exile_ll

3382

Forum Posts

25

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

I remember playing Uncharted 2 with two other people, one another gamer and the other someone that doesn't play games at all. The snappy writing and over the top spectacle kept everyone's attention.

Avatar image for somberowl
SomberOwl

925

Forum Posts

100

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

Avatar image for secondpersonshooter
SecondPersonShooter

900

Forum Posts

6

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

I played the entirety of Asura's Wrath in my college dorm where people kept coming in and staying, by the end there were like 12 people really into it.

Avatar image for polyesterkyle
PolyesterKyle

194

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@hatking: Ha wow, no you don't sound like a dick at all, don't worry so much! And thanks for the advice! So, what I'm gathering is, pretty much any game that is pretty stylish or bombastic might be a hit, and as long as it's fun to watch it doesn't have to be that much fun to play, noted. Thanks for the advice guys!

Avatar image for fredchuckdave
Fredchuckdave

10824

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

#7  Edited By Fredchuckdave

Uncharted 2 is pretty much the king of extremely watchable games for people that don't play games. I guess Vanquish is sort of the opposite, in that it feels awesome to play but is very boring to watch (Uncharted is fun to play too but doesn't have the insane skill ceiling that Vanquish does).

I imagine a novelty sort of game like Tokyo Jungle wouldn't be half bad either. Deadly Premonition would work as well.

Avatar image for arbitrarywater
ArbitraryWater

16103

Forum Posts

5585

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 8

User Lists: 66

I'd say that looking at some of the most popular Let's Plays wouldn't be a bad idea (so... Minecraft and horror stuff?). Anything that's flashy and bombastic would probably work.

Avatar image for deadpancakes
DeadpanCakes

1138

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 6

#9  Edited By DeadpanCakes
  • Super Mario World.
  • Dark Souls.
  • Fatal Frame
  • Fallout or Skyrim

I play video games with family a lot, so we tend to gravitate towards games that let each person approach challenges differently...or games where you die a lot, so the controller gets passed around a lot.

Avatar image for afabs515
afabs515

2005

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Blind Dark Souls is always good for a ton of fun. Trust me: that's how I beat the game and cannot wait for Dark Souls 2 for this very reason. Indecipherable JRPGs are also good, especially when your friends have no fucking idea about anything in the series. In my freshman year of college, I played FFXIII-2 in front of all my friends; never have I laughed so hard at a game's conclusion in my life as I did with my friends that time. FFXIII-3 will be the same way, no doubt (just with a choppier framerate from the looks of it). The Arkham games are good, because everyone knows who Batman is, but not everyone understands his ass-kicking potential. People who never play games are amazed by open-world games like Skyrim. The list goes on and on, but those are my favorite experiences I've had playing games in front of people. It's a great time, and motivates you to finish games you might not otherwise.

Avatar image for fredchuckdave
Fredchuckdave

10824

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Avatar image for elwoodan
Elwoodan

1098

Forum Posts

1008

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 2

Asura's Wrath for sure, there is just something about being able to turn to another person after you have been punched through the moon, twice, and yell "did you see that shit?"

Horror games are also great for groups.

Avatar image for arbitrarywater
ArbitraryWater

16103

Forum Posts

5585

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 8

User Lists: 66

Avatar image for joshth
joshth

732

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Every time a new episode came out for Walking Dead, I had a group of people that would come over and we all would play it. I would play the game but we went on a majority rules with all the decisions. It was super fun, and we did it again with The Wolf Among Us Episode 1 to similar effect.

Avatar image for raven10
Raven10

2427

Forum Posts

376

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 27

User Lists: 5

I'm going to third Uncharted 2 and 3. Really the key is a super linear game with a heavy emphasis on a well told story. So Uncharted is one of the best examples of that.

I guess the other question is how into games are the people watching? Like I enjoy watching people play games regardless of the game in question. A lot of more casual gamers might want to watch someone play a Puzzle game that they can help solve. Portal is pretty great for this since it has a lot of humorous elements as well. Then you have people who have no interest in being directly involved in playing the game at all. For those people things like Uncharted are key because they are similar to watching a movie. If you are trying to entertain I'd suggest having played the game through to completion first and then playing it on the easiest setting when non-gamers are watching. Getting stuck on either a puzzle or difficult battle means these people are going to have to watch you doing the same thing over and over. For men modern military shooters sometimes work well. My Dad really enjoyed watching me play the newest Medal of Honor. And I would assume the Black Ops games would go over well.

I also have a good friend who really enjoyed watching her boyfriend play games. Her favorites to watch were Assassin's Creed (those starring Ezio), Bioshock, and Red Dead Redemption. I don't know if I'd recommend open world games if you are a completionist because walking around a world collecting feathers or flowers or what have you can be even more boring to watch than it is to play.

Lastly I want to reiterate how important it is to play on the easiest setting. The people who are watching you aren't getting any enjoyment out of the challenge or the gameplay so watching you overcome some extremely difficult challenge is not going to be nearly as fun for them as it might be for you. And, again, if these people don't want to participate in solving puzzles then make sure you know the solutions going in. It's all a matter of knowing your audience and how involved they want to be. And of course personal tastes matter as well. A lot of teenage girls, for example, are going to have no interest in a modern military shooter. Some will, but knowing if your audience is into a certain subject is another key consideration. Think of movies they like and pick games with similar stories.

Avatar image for esrever
ESREVER

2923

Forum Posts

5

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 18

@fredchuckdave said:

@arbitrarywater: It's not popular that you want to go for but "best" so something like this guy's stuff.

Ohhhhh... You mean quality LPs. Like this?

Man, I don't wanna derail the thread about how awesome Kiko and his LPs are... but MANN, Kiko sure is awesome. Makes me sad I haven't watched any of his stuff recently ever since YouTube destroyed my subscription page. Its just too much of inconvenience now to keep up with any of my favorite channels.

Anyway, back on topic. I've usually had success with this with games like GTA (doing hot pursuit chases) any kind of horror game. I did this recently with Fatal Frame 2 and it went over pretty well.

I think any games that have a somewhat fast pace and can provide a lil bit of a random element to it (like GTA)

Also, any games that behave like a movie would be pretty good too I think. Like Uncharted or Heavy Rain.