So, Misery, can you recommend a couple of suitable beginners games that might work for grommet or others starting out int the gaming world?
This might sound like a very odd choice, but: Powerwash Simulator.
Aside from being like the most satisfying thing in the history of ever, it's a really good way to just get comfortable with a controller OR mouse for gaming. You're aiming something like in an FPS, but there's nothing coming after you. Just you VS some grime. So, a lot of the most common control elements come into play, such as getting used to the different buttons, and also accuracy with the analog sticks (particularly important for both FPS and third-person action games). But you arent getting shot at while doing that. Yet as you're doing that, blasting surfaces with that hose thing is just really darned good. The game actually got really popular, and for very good reason.
Another possibly odd choice: Goat Simulator 3. Yes, really. For a lot of very similar reasons. Again, there's no enemy, it's very much a sandbox "just mess around" sort of thing. There are challenges & "missions", but they're mostly just goofy things, and for some that can require a bit of dexterity to pull off, well, you sure dont have to do them if you dont want to (but really they're all very easy). Anytime you do accomplish a mission or whatever, chances are you're unlocking some wonky new equipment. So you're always getting rewarded for stuff, but also, since the different items often have loopy powers, they showcase a LOT of different control elements and concepts all in one game. For instance, the idea of shooting at stuff in a third-person game, or double jumping, gliding by tapping, you name a common control concept, it's in there somewhere, and probably hilarious. And the controls are actually excellent. Played on a controller, specifically, I've not played it on a mouse & keyboard, but I'm very familiar with the studio that made it, I've no doubt whatsoever that it controls just fine on a keyboard/mouse too. It's one of my personal favorite games, actually. When I want to just mess around and relax a bit, chances are, it's this game I go to.
I could also say No Man's Sky as well, if you're after something a bit more advanced, yet still chill enough to not get frustrating. Games with "survival" elements are all the rage these days, and NMS does that (and everything else) really well. It has a "creative mode" if you just want to fly around and build bases (or just use that to learn the controls in a 100% safe environment, both for going around on foot, and in your ship), but for the normal modes, the difficulty is *very* customizable, moreso than in almost any other game. You can set things just how you want them. So, you can make for a very chill, easy experience, yet still be able to interact with all of the game's mechanics. It has a rather good tutorial system as well. However, you have to be patient with NMS, as with all survival-style games, and you gotta be ready to learn. You'll sure never run out of things to do though.
Also, Minecraft. There's a reason why it's marketed at, you know, everyone, heh.
And yes I know two of these suggestions have "simulator" in the name, that's not on purpose.
I could come up with other recommendations for more specific genres, and game types though, if I know just what kind of experience someone might be after. And what they like and dont like. That sort of thing. Recommending stuff without knowing what is wanted aint easy.
What I CANT help with is finding something with like a particularly good story or something. I dont really play a lot of story-heavy games since I have the attention span of a coked-out squirrel and too many cutscenes in a game will make me want to stab something, so I aint the one to ask if a story is what you're after.
