Help me find more games for my wife

[sgtnosboss]

My wife and I frequently have binge gaming days. Side by side tv's and we both have an Xbox and we have one PS4. She plays a ton of different types of games, but unfortunately her favorites generally are 1 play through or a few play through before they become boring. I will list some of her favorite games below and was curious if anyone knows any others I should look into for her to play. I really enjoy our gaming days and while I can find a ton of new games, not so many games fit into the genre's she really loves. You will see from the below she loves games where she has options to change the story, mostly walking/decision games, horror, sim type games. Keep in mind if you suggest horror games it auto means I will be playing too because we are both big scardy cats that enjoy playing those type of games and need breaks between playing. They don't have as much replay value either for us since we are normally one and done on scary, unless showing friends a game. She also loves a good collectathon if its not to crazy on the difficulty.

All time favorite games:
Sims 4 ( while this game is great, the expansions are ridiculously priced and don't give much of a content upgrade for each)
Firewatch
Life is Strange 1 and 2
Stardew Valley
Banjo Kazooie


Other games on Xbox she loved:
Victoria
Limbo
Inside
Outlast 1 & 2
Silent Hill PT
Yooka Laylee
Spyro
Monster Hunter (we really enjoyed this one together)
Lucky Tails (got to hard but she loved it)
Killing floor 2
Overcooked
Zoo Tycoon

PS4
Detroit: Become Human
Beyond Two Souls
Heavy Rain
Until Dawn

Sorry for the long post, I just really want to find her some games she can enjoy again. I feel like there hasn't been many games that have come out in the story driven walking sim type games in a while. We just played Life is Strange 2 (part 3?) and that was fun, but it takes forever between parts to come out.

 

[sredgrin]

Based off LiS and Firewatch:

What Remains of Edith Finch
Oxenfree
Night in the Woods
Telltale games (probably start with Walking Dead).

Bsed off Yooka and Spyro:

A Hat in Time

General feeling:
Brothers a Tale of Two Sons
Undertale (if she can get over that it's a bit fugly at first glance).

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Dragon Quest Builders 2 came out recently and it has farming, crafting, a decent story, and isn't very hard although it does have optional Super Strong monsters to fight. Sounds right up her alley. You don't have to know anything about Dragon Quest or play the first Builders to enjoy it either.

You can't really change the plot with decisions but you can directly influence a lot of smaller things about the day to day lives of the NPCs which change depending on what, how, and where you build things. If she enjoys the building mechanics and has a decent imagination the postgame is potentially infinite. It is the best value for my money game I've purchased in years, even with adding on the (a reasonably priced one time season pass) DLC content.

 

[Todesritter74]

Gone Home

The Order: 1886 - The gameplay drove me crazy but if you really like walking around and picking up stuff to examine, you will like it. Does have some shooting segments. The graphics are nice and the story is pretty good with a horror element that you would not appear to mind.

And don't sleep on Rayman Legends if you like platforming.

 

[Yasai]

I think sredgrin's answer is very good and want to second that.

Also if you buy Rare Replay for Xbox there's Banjo Tooie on there if she hasn't played that yet. It's a collectathlon alright :)

 

[.exe]

It would seem like the Telltale games would be right up your/her alley. The Wolf Among Us is my favorite. Played the first Batman one this week and I liked that a lot as well.

 

[sgtnosboss]

Based off LiS and Firewatch:

What Remains of Edith Finch
Oxenfree
Night in the Woods
Telltale games (probably start with Walking Dead).

Bsed off Yooka and Spyro:

A Hat in Time

General feeling:
Brothers a Tale of Two Sons
Undertale (if she can get over that it's a bit fugly at first glance).

Click to shrink...

I think you are on to something with a lot of these. Ill have to look into the 4 I highlighted more. We just got game pass for Xbox. I am not sure how many if any of these are on it.

 

[sgtnosboss]

Gone Home

The Order: 1886 - The gameplay drove me crazy but if you really like walking around and picking up stuff to examine, you will like it. Does have some shooting segments. The graphics are nice and the story is pretty good with a horror element that you would not appear to mind.

And don't sleep on Rayman Legends if you like platforming.

Click to shrink...

I didn't mention any of these, but we have played all three together!

 

[Mirk]

Dragon Quest Builders 2 came out recently and it has farming, crafting, a decent story, and isn't very hard although it does have optional Super Strong monsters to fight. Sounds right up her alley. You don't have to know anything about Dragon Quest or play the first Builders to enjoy it either.

You can't really change the plot with decisions but you can directly influence a lot of smaller things about the day to day lives of the NPCs which change depending on what, how, and where you build things. If she enjoys the building mechanics and has a decent imagination the postgame is potentially infinite. It is the best value for my money game I've purchased in years, even with adding on the (a reasonably priced one time season pass) DLC content.

Click to shrink...

I am going to echo this. My wife, son and I have been having fun with this title.

 

[sgtnosboss]

I think sredgrin's answer is very good and want to second that.

Also if you buy Rare Replay for Xbox there's Banjo Tooie on there if she hasn't played that yet. It's a collectathlon alright :)

Click to shrink...

most definitely, when in doubt she replays the Banjo games :D

 

[sgtnosboss]

It would seem like the Telltale games would be right up your/her alley. The Wolf Among Us is my favorite. Played the first Batman one this week and I liked that a lot as well.

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I think the only reason she hasn't played those is a lot of them are based on existing shows or things she has never watched or played. Is The Wolf Among Us self contained?

 

[sredgrin]

I think you are on to something with a lot of these. Ill have to look into the 4 I highlighted more. We just got game pass for Xbox. I am not sure how many if any of these are on it.

Click to shrink...

3 of the 4 highlighted are.

She MAY like My Time at Portia too, it's similar to Stardew Valley, but more focused on crafting than farming. I burnt out on it after 15ish hours, but there's a lot of crossover fans.

I think the only reason she hasn't played those is a lot of them are based on existing shows or things she has never watched or played. Is The Wolf Among Us self contained?

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Almost all of them are self contained. Wolf is a prequel to the comics. Walking Dead simply takes place in the comics universe but has no relation plot wise. Batman is it's own universe.

The only two I would recommend maybe being familiar with things are Borderlands (almost a direct sequel to Borderlands 2) and Game of Thrones, which positions itself as within the TV series. Back to the Future is also a semi-sequel.

 

[.exe]

I think the only reason she hasn't played those is a lot of them are based on existing shows or things she has never watched or played. Is The Wolf Among Us self contained?

Click to shrink...

Totally self-contained. Starts and wraps up in the same season. The Walking Dead also doesn't rely on knowledge of the TV show. It's its own thing with original characters. The Batman games are also a separate thing with Telltale's own spin on the franchise. I don't know about the rest because I haven't played them, but I assume they're similarly self-contained stories.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

since she seems to like narrative adventure games, how about some telltale games? the first and last (and imo opinion third but that's more controversial) seasons of walking dead were great. and they have some other games that are good too. though i can see not wanting to support them after the whole fiasco with how they just fired everyone without notice

a bit more indie, but in the same vein are inkle's games. if she doesn't mind reading, then 80 days (pc and mobile), the sorcery! saga (pc and mobile) and heaven's vault (ps4 and pc) are all great. best in the business at interactive storytelling for the last 5+ years. the narratives are even more branching than david cage's stuff, but they also actually contain competent writing as well. highly recommend

 

[MrNewVegas]

The House of Fata Morgana

 

[sgtnosboss]

3 of the 4 highlighted are.

She MAY like My Time at Portia too, it's similar to Stardew Valley, but more focused on crafting than farming. I burnt out on it after 15ish hours, but there's a lot of crossover fans.



Almost all of them are self contained. Wolf is a prequel to the comics. Walking Dead simply takes place in the comics universe but has no relation plot wise. Batman is it's own universe.

The only two I would recommend maybe being familiar with things are Borderlands (almost a direct sequel to Borderlands 2) and Game of Thrones, which positions itself as within the TV series. Back to the Future is also a semi-sequel.

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I think you are reading my mind here on what she may like. That My Time at Portia looks right up her ally. She has played a TON of hours in Stardew and still picks it up here and there.

As for the Telltale games I think I might have to give some of them a try with her. I have honestly never tried any of them myself either, and now that I know most are self contained it interests me more.

Totally self-contained. Starts and wraps up in the same season. The Walking Dead also doesn't rely on knowledge of the TV show. It's its own thing with original characters. The Batman games are also a separate thing with Telltale's own spin on the franchise. I don't know about the rest because I haven't played them, but I assume they're similarly self-contained stories.

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Like I said to sredgrin I think ill have to look into these more now. I honestly have never looked into any of them that hard.

 

[dreamylittledream]

Vampyr

Its not quite a walking sim - more an action RPG with a lot of talking but its by the creators of Life is Strange and given the games you've posted I think she might like it (play on the story mode difficulty mind as normal is a tad unforgiving with the combat).

On Gamepass too

 

[Sonicbug]

Base on walking games:
Heaven's Vault. It's a story-driven game about archaeology, discovering the lost past, decoding language.

Based on building games:
Dragon Quest Builders 2. Requires no knowledge of past dragon quests, or Builders 1. Lot's of building, farming, good story, long game.

 

[boy power]

Because of Banjo Kazooie, Yooka Laylee, Lucky Tails and Spyro, I'd recommend the Jak and Daxter series, as well as Ratchet and Clank series.
Because of Sims 4 and Stardew Valley, I'd recommend My Time at Portia.
Because of Monster Hunter, I'd recommend Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Because of Silent Hill PT, I'd recommend the Fatal Frame series and Parasite Eve

 

[sgtnosboss]

Vampyr

Its not quite a walking sim - more an action RPG with a lot of talking but its by the creators of Life is Strange and given the games you've posted I think she might like it (play on the story mode difficulty mind as normal is a tad unforgiving with the combat).

On Gamepass too

Click to shrink...

I was curious about this one for the reasons you listed, but was worried it would be a bit hard. So you are saying on story mode difficulty its manageable for someone who doesn't play a lot of combat style games? For reference, it took her a while to get the hang of Monster Hunter. Not saying she can't get the hang of it, but its definitely not something she looks for in a game.

Because of Banjo Kazooie, Yooka Laylee, Lucky Tails and Spyro, I'd recommend the Jak and Daxter series, as well as Ratchet and Clank series.
Because of Sims 4 and Stardew Valley, I'd recommend My Time at Portia.
Because of Monster Hunter, I'd recommend Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Because of Silent Hill PT, I'd recommend the Fatal Frame series and Parasite Eve

Click to shrink...

I should mention we have played the highlighted from your list, and I am really thinking My Time at Portia will be something she would enjoy. I will look into the others in a bit.

 

[affeinvasion]

Just on game pass:
The gardens between
Abzu
Oxenfree
Outer Wilds (seriously goty material)

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Based off LiS and Firewatch:

What Remains of Edith Finch
Oxenfree
Night in the Woods
Telltale games (probably start with Walking Dead).

Bsed off Yooka and Spyro:

A Hat in Time

General feeling:
Brothers a Tale of Two Sons
Undertale (if she can get over that it's a bit fugly at first glance).

Click to shrink...

Good suggestions all round. I would probably add Horizon Zero Dawn if she liked Monster Hunter World, and I always think Flower and Journey are really solid suggestions for non-gamers as they're really unique and creative with a strong emotional undertone.

 

[dreamylittledream]

The combat is pretty simple hack and slash but if your unaccustomed to slightly janky RPG combat it could get a bit tricky - I got murderised by some of the random mobs early in the game playing on normal and a couple of the bosses are real difficulty spikes - oddly its one of those games that gets easier as it progresses and you get used to the upgrade system.

The story mode smoothes most of that out and leaves you with the dark plot, lots of dialogue wheels and the ethical dilemma at the heart of the game.

I loved the game and from what you've posted have similar tastes to your wife - just maybe a decade more experience playing this kind of stuff which gies me a bbit more patience.

 

[sgtnosboss]

Just on game pass:
The gardens between
Abzu
Oxenfree
Outer Wilds (seriously goty material)

Click to shrink...

Good suggestions all round. I would probably add Horizon Zero Dawn if she liked Monster Hunter World, and I always think Flower and Journey are really solid suggestions for non-gamers as they're really unique and creative with a strong emotional undertone.

Click to shrink...

I think I should have made my list more complete :D. We/she beat Abzu, Journey, Flower. Horizon Zero Dawn has been on our backburner list for so long... I really need to just get that game already lol

The combat is pretty simple hack and slash but if your unaccustomed to slightly janky RPG combat it could get a bit tricky - I got murderised by some of the random mobs early in the game playing on normal and a couple of the bosses are real difficulty spikes - oddly its one of those games that gets easier as it progresses and you get used to the upgrade system.

The story mode smoothes most of that out and leaves you with the dark plot, lots of dialogue wheels and the ethical dilemma at the heart of the game.

I loved the game and from what you've posted have similar tastes to your wife - just maybe a decade more experience playing this kind of stuff which gies me a bbit more patience.

Click to shrink...

maybe it could be one her and I play together in case she gets stuck. I also love all these games so its not a problem for us to play games together. Honestly most of the time I get side tracked watching or asking questions about story driven or decision games when we play side by side.

Oh and Edith Finch is a must - best walking sim by a country mile (heat breaking ending aside)

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She is all for games that make her cry XD

 

[dreamylittledream]

Oh and Edith Finch is a must - best walking sim by a country mile (heat breaking ending aside)

 

[Harlequin]

Has she played Life is Strange: Before the Storm? It's definitely worth checking out.

Other than that, I think she might enjoy:
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
The Last Guardian
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Grow Home
The Council
A Plague Tale
Vampyr (might be too difficult, though)
The Order: 1886
Ryse: Son of Rome
Mirror's Edge
The Last of Us
Lara Croft GO
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (not sure how easy it will be to get into for someone who's new to the series, though)
Resident Evil 7

 

[ResolutionX]

There is also "Erica", which launched today on PSN

 

[Stiler]

SOMA is a MUST play, it's an excellent narrative driven horror game that seems right up your alley and has an amazing storyline.

It sounds to me like she would really really love some good classic adventure games too,
Syberia I and II
The Longest Journey and it's sequel, Dreamfall.
Obduction (from the creators of Myst)

Also since you mention that you two played Until Dawn, then you definitely should be checking out the developers next game, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, which actually comes out at the end of this month (Aug. 30th). It's a lot like Until Dawn with it's multiple character focus and will make for a great co op game for you two.

 

[Wood Man]

What about Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments? It's a thinking game, light on action. It's about 5 years old, but I remember it looking great too.

 

[jdstorm]

Lots of great recommendations here.

Tales from the Borderlands would definitely fit the description and if she likes it enough then that could lead into potentially playing the main series together

 

[Deleted member 16908]

Minecraft?

 

[dagger]

little nightmares might be worth a try since she likes limbo/inside and horror games.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/424840/Little_Nightmares/


it also has a 75% discount right now (guessing that's thanks to the announcement of the sequel earlier today), so it's pretty cheap.

 

[sgtnosboss]

Has she played Life is Strange: Before the Storm? It's definitely worth checking out.

Other than that, I think she might enjoy:
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
The Last Guardian
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Grow Home
The Council
A Plague Tale
Vampyr (might be too difficult, though)
The Order: 1886
Ryse: Son of Rome
Mirror's Edge
The Last of Us
Lara Croft GO
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (not sure how easy it will be to get into for someone who's new to the series, though)
Resident Evil 7

Click to shrink...

So many options! Yes she played Before the Storm too. We have played a lot of these already together. Hellblade, The vanashing of Ethan Carter, The Order, Ryse: Son Of Rome,Mirrors Edge, Uncharted she owns the whole series but hasn't beat them all yet, and Resident Evil 7 was awesome. I'll look into the others though!

There is also "Erica", which launched today on PSN

Click to shrink...

This looks really interesting

SOMA is a MUST play, it's an excellent narrative driven horror game that seems right up your alley and has an amazing storyline.

It sounds to me like she would really really love some good classic adventure games too,
Syberia I and II
The Longest Journey and it's sequel, Dreamfall.
Obduction (from the creators of Myst)

Also since you mention that you two played Until Dawn, then you definitely should be checking out the developers next game, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, which actually comes out at the end of this month (Aug. 30th). It's a lot like Until Dawn with it's multiple character focus and will make for a great co op game for you two.

Click to shrink...

We actually are already excited for Anthology: Man of Medan! Lol we play all of that studios games normally.

little nightmares might be worth a try since she likes limbo/inside and horror games.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/424840/Little_Nightmares/


it also has a 75% discount right now (guessing that's thanks to the announcement of the sequel earlier today), so it's pretty cheap.

Click to shrink...

Little nightmares was another awesome we played when it came out.

 

[Strings]

I think you are on to something with a lot of these. Ill have to look into the 4 I highlighted more. We just got game pass for Xbox. I am not sure how many if any of these are on it.

Click to shrink...

I'm relatively sure it's still on Game Pass - check out Observer. It's a cyberpunk / horror starring Rutger Hauer as the lead, and is in the vein of Firewatch, etc.

 

[sgtnosboss]

I'm relatively sure it's still on Game Pass - check out Observer. It's a cyberpunk / horror starring Rutger Hauer as the lead, and is in the vein of Firewatch, etc.

Click to shrink...

We actually tried it a few weeks ago and neither of us liked it. :(

 

[Irrotational]

There are a bunch of great "walking SIM" recs already.

For game pass I'd add hue, and manual Samuel...as these are leaving by the end of August. Hue is a puzzle game and quite good fun. It does need some dexterity with a controller later but not tons.

Manual Samuel is...ok. the main gimmick is quite cool, but the humour and story is an acquired taste. There are lots of already recommended games you should play first...butim just mentioning it in case the humour grabs you and your wife.