Games for a kinda aspiring gamer

So over the past year and a half that me and my girlfriend have been together, I've been slowly getting her into video games. First we started on common ground and beat both the Harry Potter Lego games. Since then we have also played the Lego Movie Video Game, Rayman Legends and she has beaten Counterspy. Currently we are playing through Lara Croft: and the Temple of Osiris.

But now as she is becoming more interested in games that require more technical ability, like Counterspy, she has been running into some frustrating situations. In Counterspy she would sometimes will hit the wrong button, but as she becomes used to the game she slowly would stop making these mistakes. Yet the need to get head-shots in that game prevented her from clearing rooms as cleanly as she intended.

My question to you all is: can you help me in creating a ramp of interesting games that will slowly build up her technical ability so she can enjoy some of the games she has expressed interest in? (like The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4). Basically a workout regime for a beginner-ish gamer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. (Also we have a PS4 and a 360)

@whitlock: It might help to know the exact nature of some of these "frustrating situations". Is it difficulty sorting the controls? General issues with difficulty?

Also, what systems are you guys playing on/have available?

I have not played Counterspy (though it is sitting in my PS4 library thanks to being free on PS+ a while back), so can you elaborate on what her struggles are? Controls? Density of mechanics? Other? That might help get spark some ideas for less-demanding options to work through as practice, so to speak.

@ralphmoustaccio: @lawgamer: Sorry guys about the unclear question. I'll edit the original. But her problems are definitely control based. She sometimes hits the wrong buttons or doesn't have the reaction time needed to do what needs to be done. I am asking for a ramp that will slowly increase her skill so she can eventually be able to play any games that she fancies. And we have a 360 and PS4.

Punch-Out and Super Meat Boy are two great games.

Sorry, what was the question?

@whitlock: No worries! I just didn't want to give unhelpful advice. I'd try to find options that don't really have a fail-state, or high intensity action at first, to help her get used to separate move and look controls. Something like Gone Home (which I know is not on 360 or PS4, but should run fine on even a basic laptop) or Portal, maybe? From there, maybe get into games with more mechanical complexity, but still not a real-time reflex immediacy, like X-Com: Enemy Unknown.

If she's keen on Fallout 4, maybe playing around with Fallout 3 or Skyrim beforehand will help her understand how those types of games tend to function.

Even just running around in patrol mode in Destiny could help out with learning complex control schemes with lower fail and frustration risk, assuming she could play a high-level character on Earth patrol for example.

@whitlock: OK. Since you have a 360, I'll say LA Noire. You get time to contemplate the controls while investigating and there's an option to skip action sequences if you fail too many times.

@ralphmoustaccio: I too thought Gone Home would be a good idea, but she said it was boring within the first 10 minutes, and she actually said the same for Journey (whaaa?). Portal and Portal 2 are strong suggestions, and I'll have to see if she has any interest in them. I have thought of getting her to play Fallout or Skyrim before, but with where she is in her gaming progression, the idea of customizing and leveling up a character might be intimidating. I also asked about a loot-based game like Diablo 3 and she seemed turned off by that idea. She is really enjoying Lara Croft, and when you are in co-op that game doesn't have much of a fail state.

I think it may actually be to her benefit to also start playing more games with a fail-state, but maybe with ones that are less intense than that of the stealth-based Counterspy.

So I don't know if it's the best advice but I'll give my experience with this. Over the years I've gotten my mother into games and she definitely has had some of these issues - mostly with controls, reactions, aiming etc. My brother and I started her on games like Portal, but then had her move onto things like Tomb Raider and Uncharted. The main takeaway for us was less using various games to ramp up as we used various difficulties. She played through Uncharted on easy, Uncharted 2 on easy, Uncharted 3 on normal. Now she can play most games on normal and if something is too technical, she'll drop the difficulty for just the one act. The easy difficulty on most modern games is VERY forgiving and should give her the leniency needed. Playing a lot of simpler games may help her get a feel for the controls overall, but especially if she wants to ever play any shooters or more actiony games, I honestly think after a few basics (which it sounds like you've done) to just jump into games on EASY. It's definitely frustrating at first but I don't think there is a better way to ramp gradually, at least not that I found.

This may not work for you guys but it was what we did and it worked in the end. I honestly can't think of enough interesting games that slowly ramp up in complexity.

Journey, Portal, Beyond Good and Evil, Enslaved, third person shooters.

Is there any chance you have any Nintendo systems lying around? I think this type of learning curve is absolutely where Nintendo shine. Pretty much anything from their library - especially the multiplayer stuff - will really help her out.

Also, I will say that while I haven't played CounterSpy, I've heard its controls can actually get a bit confusing, so it might just be the game and not her... especially if she's okay with stuff like Rayman.

@lawgamer: Damn, I shouldn't have given it back to my friend!

@nime: That somehow hadn't crossed my mind. I am going to be getting Uncharted 4 and the Nathan Drake collection when they come to PS4, but I'm not sure if these games will peak her interest. Worth a shot though.

@jaymii: Unfortunately I left my wii behind when I moved out. And she did end up beating Counterspy, it just took her a pretty long time.

If you're looking for something really gameplay-centric but still easy to execute Diablo stands out to me as an obvious pick. It's also helps that it's a great co-op game. Something like X-Com might be a good choice as well since it's not real-time. If the themes are a tad too "hardcore" you could probably look into something like Torchlight. Borderlands is also a very popular choice by "non-gamers" (and again, works great as co-op), but it might be more of an intermediate step.

@whitlock What about Jamestown? http://store.steampowered.com/app/94200 It isn't TOO hard for a bullet hell game, and the repetition of the stages would help her to learn, while the difficulty ramps up and her reaction times/button familiarity improves (and it basically only uses a few buttons). You could also consider the newest Tomb Raider game. On easy she should be able to defeat most scenarios, and it doesn't focus solely on combat and has very basic RPG mechanics.

I know this sounds counter-intuitive and like a troll suggestion, but I honestly recommend the Dark Souls 2 PS4 re-release. I know I know, but hear me out: Dark Souls is endlessly forgiving, with a wide spectrum of easy to hard enemies, grinding can help get through certain problem areas, and as long as you're patient, you don't need to be some super reflexive badass to get through the game. It's action oriented so it's not a sort of patronizing "Here try this boring indie game with barely any controls" and I think it's a great way to "train" yourself, honestly. Not just your reflexes, but your mind too; with different sets of gear and stats to make work it can be a decent way of "thinking" like a "gamer." If your girlfriend can be super patient and determined to get better at games, Dark Souls 2 on the PS4 runs super well and is a great way to cut your teeth as the most forgiving of the Souls games.

@ares42: I'm with Ares Diablo would be an excellent title. She could make wherever character she likes and just play through normal which is super easy and can get used to loot and cool looking gear. That might be a great stepping stone into bigger games.

@marokai: She has witnessed me play many almost all of the souls games, and I think that may intimidate her/send her up the wall haha. But I think it's definitely a later stepping stone I would love to get her to cross!

@gravytrain: I may not try the new Tomb Raider because I don't have a XBONE, so I may pick up the last one for 360 to get her in some 3D spaces.

@ares42: I'm going to send Borderlands and Diablo by her again, try to convince her.

Two pieces of advice.

1-Difficulty adjustment is your friend.

2-Don't assume every game you like, she will.

So 1-Uh, yah, controler issues can often be gotten around by simply giving someone more time to make, and correct, and learn through mistakes, which is what the easy settings on games are for.

And uh, 2-There are a bunch of differnt kinds of games that are totally not controler-skill based. Adventure, puzzle, story-driven, etc etc. If she is interested in just getting into gaming, in general, and you've not diverged into "Hey, this walking dead game is pretty good I hear"..you might.

Or 2.1-If the point is she wants to get into gaming specifically to spend time with you doing something you like, then yah. Try to stick to co-op games, or games which can be co-op. Story-driven experiences really shine here, like watching a movie you both have some part in and/or discussion choices to make for.

Mostly? Think about the reason's behind what your trying to do, on both sides, and come at the solution from that angle. If it really is just "She wants to be good at all games" then yah, easy mode until she gets used to the controls (or just forever, I never bother playing most action games on anything more then this) . If its to spend time with you, look for games that allow for that, and be aware that there are plenty of non actiony titles that could. If its too just get into gaming, period, you might show her that there are more game types out there then what you yourself might enjoy? And so on.

i think Fallout 3 would be good if she seemed excited for Fallout 4. i think the VATS stuff makes combat really accessible for people who arent yet 100% comfortable with a controller. it gives the person the ability to walk around and get used to first person movement, while not relying on that stuff to engage with the combat.

@whitlock: Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant the last one (xbox 360/PS3/PC one) as the 'newest' since it's still pretty new in my mind. Sorry about that!

Platformers like 3D Mario games, the first Jak and Daxter etc. They let you move at your own pace, while still presenting a challenge with decently complex controls. The only way to get better at using a controller is by using it a lot. And it is less frustrating to do so when the game doesn't add too much time pressure on your decisions. One of the secrets to good reaction times is also that many of us have learned what to expect from the games we are playing which just comes from experience. I think a lot us don't understand how much of our skill is entirely subconcious, retained through repetition, so we put the bar too high for beginners. Just let people learn at the rate and route they prefer. Some people like getting through with trial by fire or just want to crash course into getting better, but there is an undeniable tax of time to learn something as unintuitive as a game controller.

Basically just play a lot of games and shit sorts itself out eventually. Games with lower pressure to make decisions quickly will generally be less frustrating but it will always depend on the person. GOOD LUCK

Ask her what specifically she liked about Counterspy that made her want to finish it. Then go from there, and try to figure out what her gaming interests are exactly. Maybe try more sidescrolling stuff, so that she doesn't have to worry about looking and moving in 3D just yet. Perhaps Shadow Complex, or Castlevania: SOTN?

Braid and Thomas Was Alone are both puzzle platformers without much of a fail-state. If your PC can run it, The Stanley Parable would likely be even better than Portal for learning FPS controls, but Portal is a great game for that as well. If you added the PS Plus games to your account from last May, you should also take a look at this post I made: http://www.giantbomb.com/playstation-plus/3015-5817/forums/ps-in-may-is-great-for-introducing-people-to-video-1771392

I kind of wanted that thread to go in the direction that this one did, but all people did was whine about all the indie games on PS Plus. To read the last paragraph that I wrote when making that thread, and then to see the actual direction that the thread went in is just sad. :(

I want to second people that mentioned games like X-Com (or something similar like The Banner Saga or Massive Chalice), in short, games that don't require fast reaction time and complex controls.

The Portal games are pretty good for getting used to FPS controls, but I would advice you to try Portal 2 instead of 1. The reason for that is that the first game has stages that need a lot more coordination and fast movement than the second one, so it is easier for people that are not used to the controls.