Games good for people who are completely new to games

So my parents suddenly started to get a little interest in wanting to try video games. Mainly, I was talking to them about how video games are interesting in a story sense because of their interactivity and by choices, not just the fun aspect of games. They have played old arcade games and enjoy those, but obviously they are very different compared to the story based games of today.

Now, they want to try a modern game to experience the story. However, my dad gets motion sickness very easily (he has a lot of trouble moving the camera). I wanted them to try something like Life is Strange, or even some Telltale games, but wanted some other suggestions about games that are good for new people who are not good with using a controller.

As you mentioned, Telltale and Life is Strange are good if you're looking for easy & story-focused.

What Remains of Edith or Gone Home might also be worth considering. There's also the Stanley Parable, if they want something comedic. They might not get the meta-contextual gaming humor, but they could still like it.

Portal would also be a good introduction, though there are some gameplay elements and less direct storytelling elements. However, it does tell a story in a uniquely video game way, unlike some of the other mentioned above, which pretty much just tell stories by combining narrative and gameplay elements and could theoretically be done in other mediums.

Oh! Journey! Another good game that tells a story with uniquely video game elements.

Kentucky Route Zero, if they are so inclined.

So, if they’re trying it for the story, look for something that might resonate with them, without being too demanding from a mechanics perspective.

Will Life if Strange be too precious and...millennial-y? I enjoyed that game quite a bit, but I felt out of place having agency over a teen girl’s romantic choices.

What about Gone Home? I found that super affecting. It’s also very free. You have the exploration and discovery of games with very little in mechanics. If the tone is right for them, that could be ideal.

If they’d be okay with the violence, Spec Ops: The Line is a fantastic teardown of video games, agency, and violence that goes beyond what Bioshock accomplished.

I saw The Stanley Parable above, and that’s a great one, too. That game is story over mechanics and goes some places based on your choices.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is pretty great.

Virgina is interesting and atmospheric without a spoken word.

Edit: Firewatch is a fantastic option!

The Last of Us on the easiest difficulty setting allows for lots and lots of mistakes, and its story is pretty captivating. They can learn to use a controller.

Sims is a pretty good starter franchise.

Civ: Rev is also starter friendly.

Minecraft.

The LEGO franchise.

Maybe Pyre, but the sportz sections would probably be tough for them. Have to go back but I think there's an Easy mode to experience the story.