If you’ve ever done any research before purchasing (or intending to) Terraria, you’ll probably have come across some comparisons to Minecraft.
That does not mean that it is a worse game, rather, Minecraft is the best game to compare it for new players as it’s more popular and quite similar.
I’m here to help you with this choice.
This comparison will focus on each game’s storyline, gameplay and visuals. I will also tell you my occlusive thoughts in the Final Thoughts section. Without further ado:
Storyline
The 2 games have very similar storylines, in that neither has any.
Being of the sandbox genre, they prefer to “let you live your own story, your way”.
Minecraft does have some lore tidbits however, but it isn’t really anything.
Terraria’s developers have released some backstory as well.
Neither game has in-game lore however in the forms of quests or NPCs, or even a specific path to follow.
Gameplay
As sandbox games, they inevitably would have similar gameplays. And that’s why we’re comparing them.
I’ll start with the similarities.
The first thing you’ll notice is that at start you start with scarce resources and you’ll have to mine them from your surroundings.
The games are very similar from then on; you build a base while finding better and better materials to craft better and better equipment.
Another similar thing in gameplay is how the night is far more dangerous than the day.
You can also create farms in both games, both for enemies and for resources.
The NPC system relatively similar as well, as each NPC requires a house in both games, and each house has requirements in order to be considered a valid house.
NPCs are used for trading, though trading itself is different between the games.
Even smaller things like the inventory and hotbar are the same.
Crafting works similarly as well, with each item requiring their exact materials from their recipe.
Now to the more important part; their differences.
I said their crafting are similar. That’s because Minecraft requires you to have the materials and also place them in a specific place. Terraria just requires you to have the ingredients and be near the correct crafting station.
That’s another difference by the way. Terraria has many different crafting stations which can get frustrating.
I also mentioned how trading is different.
In Minecraft, in order to trade, you need Emeralds which isn’t common to find. Some of the NPCs though offer emeralds for other resources but at a scarce rate.
In Terraria you trade gold, which is the in-game currency, collected by enemies and by selling to said NPCs.
Another difference is the sheer amount of items. Minecraft has less items with actual functionality but many decorative items.
In fact, combat is actually completely different.
Minecraft has 2 melee weapons, swords and axes. The sword does swiping damage to multiple enemies, and the axe deals more damage to a single enemy.
It also has 2 ranged weapons, the bow and crossbow, which work similarly.
Minecraft also offers some potions as thrown weapons in order to debuff enemies or hurt them directly.
You also have the option of enchanting your weapons granting them more damage, or various effects.
The same goes for your armor.
In terraria there is a huge amount of weapons. They are all split into 4+1 categories: melee, ranged, magic, summoned and thrown. I’m saying +1 for thrown because thrown weapons are worse as the game goes.
Melee weapon doesn’t mean it’s actually just melee, many melee weapons have projectiles, the classifications are for their damage. So, for example, a projectile from a melee weapon is going to deal melee damage.
Damage type is very important as the game goes as you have to choose a class to specialize eventually.
Beside that, armor types help with your specialization later in the game, and they also give you set bonuses (a bonus if you have all the armor pieces of a type).
In terms of content, Terraria has more of it.
Beside the items and armor types, Terraria has a myriad of different enemies, various events you might get every day or night and many, many bosses.
Minecraft doesn’t have as much content, but it gives you lots more freedom to do what you want.
In Terraria there isn’t much to do than follow a walkthrough and go through with it.
In Minecraft, you will certainly get sidetracked from anything you have set as your goal.
Their differences extend to their difficulties. Speaking on their default difficulty level, in Minecraft, if your adequately prepares, few things will give you any real trouble.
In Terraria, being adequately prepared is the basis to give you a fair fighting chance. Their hardest is miles apart, as in Terraria it’s almost impossible not to die in Expert mode, but in Minecraft, you only have to play it safe.
I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s just easier than Terraria, the only thing that can screw you is bad RNG.
A huge difference they have is the map itself.
Minecraft’s map is “limitless”, it’s not infinite, but it has billions of blocks. Terraria’s biggest maps take only about 2-3 minutes to traverse (with mounts).
Not to mention that Terraria is 2D, while Minecraft is 3D.
Finally, another big difference I’d like to point is the hunger system that is utilized by Minecraft, but not from Terraria.
In other words, in Minecraft, you have to be careful not to die from starvation, something that doesn’t exist in Terraria.
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Visuals
Terraria has tons of player customizability, allowing you to set anything you like in your social slots. Social slots won’t grant you the item’s effect, but will be visible. There are also lots of dyes to further enhance it.
Minecraft does have dyes, but they’re mostly used for blocks, flags and carpets. That means that Minecraft leaves more room for construction customization, but on the character end, there’s not much to do. If you really want you can download a free mod that allows your armor to be invisible so your character can be visible.
In terms of graphics, they both have the same pixel-art graphics. Minecraft is more polished though, and can be further enhanced by resource packs, which are supported officially by the main client.
Final Thoughts
The games are very different as you can see, but in their core, they are the same casual, sandbox adventure games.
Of course, fans of the one will try to bash the other if they think they are wronged. But in the end, I think that both games are awesome, and they both deserve a chance to play them. If you can play both, you definitely should.
But for the one who can afford (or want) only 1:
Minecraft is freer, with an emphasis on creating big interesting contraptions. In fact, it even has a material that encourages many weird machinations.
You are freer to do things, and you can have a lot of fun adventuring outside of the “main quest”. You can build a castle, rearrange the landscape to your will, and the possibilities are endless. Even more so on Creative Mode.
Terraria is more of an adventure style game, where you have an ultimate purpose, and almost everything you do leads to that point.
You will be fighting enemies and bosses, finding better and better weapons, improving your class. Sometimes you’ll get sidetracked looking for the perfect hat to match your attire, or a great companion (with no other bonuses whatsoever).
Of course, each game can do the opposite, I’m just stating their main focus.
What’s for sure is that Terraria didn’t take the successful Minecraft engine and tried to replicate the success, instead, it’s a brand new, fresh experience.
Though I’m pretty sure that everyone who likes 1 of these games will like the other.
That’s it for my comparison. Do you agree with me? Do you have anything to add? Which game do you prefer and why? Leave a comment below.
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Minecraft is the kind of game that is the king of its respective genre. A simple game at first look, its massive success forced Microsoft to buy it and take charge. It also spawned many clone games trying to take some of its glamour. Minecraft, however, remains at the top, and it will stay there for a long time.
This review will help you understand why Minecraft is so successful, and why you should play it if you haven’t already. As usual, this review will be split into storyline, gameplay, visuals, and personal thoughts. Without further ado:
Storyline
Minecraft has no storyline, except some random dialog between two beings that pops up when you… finish the game. But I wouldn’t consider that as a story. Other than that, you are a person who spawns in a world and tries to survive.
Then again, there are many lore tidbits lying around the overworld, but that’s just the first of the many fun things in Minecraft. The speculation.
Gameplay
Minecraft is all about its gameplay. The basics are that you can do anything. The only limit is your imagination, life is your creation. Before I dig in deeper unless I state otherwise, I’ll be talking about single-player There are three game modes (four if you have multiplayer): survival, creative, hardcore, and the multiplayer mode of spectator.
Survival is Minecraft’s classic game mode. You spawn in a randomly generated world, with no items. Your purpose is to survive, but even if you die, it doesn’t really matter, as you respawn to your original location. Generally, there are steps that you can follow, but the beauty of survival is the distractions.
The general guideline is that you find materials to build tools, then you build a house as a safe haven for the night. Afterward, you dig deep to find rarer minerals in order to mine obsidian, which is the hardest material. Using it, you build a portal to the Nether (or hell…) where you explore until you find a Nether Fortress.
There you kill the mobs called blazes and collect their rods. Combining them with ender pearls found from Endermen in the Overworld or Nether, and you get Ender Eyes. These will lead you to a stronghold.
You then place 12 Ender Eyes on the portal. Jump in the portal to teleport to the End. There, you will find the main boss, the Ender Dragon. Beating him will give you the ending I mentioned.
Other than that, there are harder bosses and more stuff to do, and you can do them in any order, it doesn’t matter.
While it doesn’t sound like such a “do whatever you want” game, I mentioned distractions. That means that on any of the aforementioned steps you and will be sidetracked. You might want to find a village and start trading, or improve your house and expand it. Or, as I already said, literally anything you want.
Creative mode releases
you of the burden of survival. You are invulnerable to damage, and enemy mobs
don’t chase you. You also have every possible item available, and mining takes
no time at all. Now you might be wondering “why would I play a mode in a
survival sandbox game that dismisses survival completely?” Two reasons
actually.
Firstly, you might just want to build anything out of your imagination. That will require lots of resources, and Creative mode gives you an infinite amount. There are many people who made absolutely amazing things and settings. Some created whole replicas of actual cities and countries. Again, only your imagination is the limit.
The second reason is Minecraft’s special blocks. Minecraft utilizes its own energy-producing ore called Redstone. With it, you can power up various blocks with different uses each. There are pistons that push blocks. Or note blocks that play a specific note. Lots of people have created various contraptions, including a fully functional 64-bit computer. Others have recreated their favorite songs using the note blocks. Limit = Imagination.
Here is one small example of what you can design.
Hardcore, as the name implies, is the harder version of survival. The only practical difference is that you only have one life. Once you die, it’s game over. I don’t see a reason for someone to play hardcore unless they really wanna challenge themselves.
Finally, spectator is a multiplayer-only mode that enables you to watch as other players play. All of the aforementioned game modes can be used for multiplayer servers.
As you can see, Minecraft definitely gives you the freedom to do what you want and the way you do it. Furthermore, you can use mods, which add more things to do, more stuff to mine, more mobs to find, and many other things.
You can create your very own mod as well. Mods are supported by the game. Just be careful when using one, as it can mess your previous save files, so be sure to back them up.
Its SFX is unique and renowned among gamers. Everyone knows the sound Creepers make before they explode. Or the sound of an angry Enderman. And certainly, everyone is spooked when they hear a Ghast.
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Visuals
Minecraft has simple 2D Pixel Art Graphics. They are also based on blocks, which is Minecraft’s unit of measurement. While that may not be fancy, it certainly is a reason for its appeal. Its pixel art graphics serve older gamers with nostalgia.
Of course, if you don’t like it, there are thousands of resource packs created by players and supported by the game that changes the appearance of the game. Some of them make the game look stunningly realistic. All you need is a guide.
Overall, the blocky graphics and whacky sound effects won’t be much of a bother, on the contrary, you might find yourself being used to them.
Final Thoughts
Minecraft absolutely deserves all of its praise. Its simplistic nature, the fact that you can do anything, and really everything about this game make it great. To further add to its bonuses, Minecraft has a working team of developers bringing more updates to keep the game fresh.
Even if you are bored waiting, there are a plethora of mods for you to try. The game doesn’t force you to stay either, you can just stop playing for a year, and when you return even more stuff will be waiting for you!
There are lots of other smaller great stuff about this game that shows how much the developers care about it, like in the language settings, there is an option for “Pirate” language, which replaces every item’s name with its pirate slang counterpart.
Minecraft is one of the best games in the world and it deserves it, you can spend infinite time on Minecraft, and you will still want more.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9.8
Visuals: 5.0
(It should be noted that the visuals can go up to 10 with the right resource packs. 5.0 is the very least.)
General Rating: 7.4
That’s it for my review. Do you have anything to add? Do you have any questions? Did you enjoy it? Either way, just leave me a comment and I will answer as soon as I can.
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Terraria is an action-adventure sandbox game developed by Re-Logic. Released in 2011, Terraria has been updated for several years after that.
Many people go ahead and compare it to another similar game, Minecraft, however, I think it’s undeserving as they are 2 different games.
We’re not here to compare though, but to review, and so we will do.
As usual, this review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
As with many sandbox games, Terraria has no actual storyline.
This is because games like Terraria like to give the player the agency to “choose their own adventure” or “create/live their own story”.
As such, Terraria lets you do whatever you want.
Gameplay
The first thing you should know about Terraria is that it’s 2D. The 4 cardinal directions are all you have.
As soon as you enter the world of Terraria, you can do whatever you want (with the only limitation of your starting gear).
Being a sandbox game, you have no real objective, nor some story or questing system to follow.
The best thing you can do is start mining stuff.
But we’re talking gameplay here, not a guide.
The gameplay is simple; using materials you find or harvest in the world, you build increasingly more complex tools and materials. In order to craft something, some advanced crafting stations are required.
At your spawn, the Guide NPC will also spawn to give you tips and tell you what every material can craft and how. He won’t tell you which crafting station to use, however.
At some point, naturally, you will have a base. In there, you will learn how to create a valid house and move an NPC there.
If you meet certain criteria, when you build an empty house, an NPC whose criteria has been fulfilled will come to live over there.
I have to remark here that you will want to use a guide to progress as it can get overwhelming when you don’t have the slightest idea of what to do.
Anyway, as you progress you will create a mine, and maybe explore the world a little. As you explore, you might run into some events randomly like Rain or Blood Moon.
Events are random, and offer unique enemies to beat. Some of them are very dangerous.
As you dig down, you will end up in the Caverns, where there are many Mineshafts and Abandoned Houses and other generated things.
The most important things you can find are chests (usually inside of the abandoned houses) which contain valuable loot and powerful weapons.
You will also want to find ores in order to step up your crafting game.
After some good gear is acquired (or crafted), you will feel more confident exploring the world.
Terraria has many different biomes to explore, and I don’t need to address every one separately.
However, there is one that requires special notice; the Corruption/Crimson.
Firstly, I will note that every world can have only 1 of the 2 biomes. There can’t be both.
With that out of the way: you can recognize each biome easily.
Corruption is purple-themed with the wasteland/decay theme being prevalent. Crimson is completely red, and easily distinguishable.
These 2 get special attention because firstly, they have special exclusive enemies that keep spawning, making them extremely dangerous to traverse.
Also, their blocks cannot be mined with any early pickaxe, which means that you can’t just go over there and create a mine or hide or whatever.
The most important things are definitely the Shadow Orbs/Crimson Hearts respectively.
They are kinda like chests; they contain loot, but you must break them using a hammer.
The reason why they’re important is simple; the first one you break will open your world to 2 new events.
The first event is a meteor crash. After smashing the first, you have a 50% chance to have a meteor land somewhere in the world the next day. Smashing more won’t affect that chance.
Smashing an Orb/Heart will also give your world a 2% chance of having a meteor every day. However, there is a maximum limit of how many meteors can strike a world to protect from bad RNG (irrelevant: I love controlled RNG).
Meteors give you a new ore; Meteorite. With it you can craft a Meteor armor and one of the best weapons up until that point in the game and for a lot more; Space Gun.
Be careful though, as stepping on Meteorite burns you, making mining an extremely difficult task.
The second event is the Goblin Army where you have to fight about 100+ goblins attacking from all sides.
The Goblin Army doesn’t offer anything too special, it’s more of a hindrance.
Anyway, from there on, every 3 Orbs/Hearts broken will summon the biome’s respective Boss.
As you explore the world, close to the edge you will find a Dungeon, with an NPC guarding it. I highly suggest you do notexplore it before beating its guardian, summoned at night through the NPC.
If and when you defeat him (Skeletron is his name), you can access it.
The Dungeon is huge and filled with monsters. At the start, you will find some biome colored chests that can’t be opened yet, some regular, and some Golden ones that require a Golden Key to open.
The loot in the dungeon is invaluable, and I highly recommend exploring it.
At this point in the game you will want to beat every boss (besides the final one) and explore a huge portion of the map.
At some point, you will want to dig further down and reach the Underworld. There, you can find the most powerful (so far) material and start preparations for the final boss.
The Wall of Flesh is the final and hardest boss. Once you beat it… Congratulations!!! You just finished 50% of the game.
Beating the Wall of Flesh unlocks the Hardmode. In Hardmode, everything becomes harder, new tough enemies spawn, more difficult and annoying bosses and events become available, a new biome called the Hallow is introduced (that is harder than both the Corruption and Crimson) and it also spread, and generally, it’s like a huge start over.
Did I mention that the Corruption/Crimson and Hallow spread, corrupting more and more of your world?
There are lots of preparations needed before you unlock, so again, I suggest a guide.
In Hardmode, you are free to do anything. However, using a guide (again) will lead you to the actual final boss of the game.
Once you finish that, you can actually do whatever, from building the best base ever to PvP.
One fun thing about Terraria is the fact that there classes.
Especially in Hardmode, your armor gives you better bonuses to specific usage of weapons.
The classes are 4 (+1 pre-Hardmode):
Melee: Just as it sounds, melee uses short-ranged weapons that are very powerful. He also has the best defenses.
Ranged: Playing with bows and guns, Ranged has the best DPS output. Get caught and you die.
Mage: User of magic weapons, Mages have great DPS and lots of buffs like Lifesteal.
Summoner: Relying on his summoned units, the summoner uses some other weapons to help him fight, but generally, tries to avoid combat and let his minions do the work.
Thrower: The +1, Thrower relies on limited Thrown weapons. Viable on pre-Hardmode.
Before you fight the final boss, you will go through an event in which most of the world will be split in to 4 different “factions” with 4 celestial Pillars respectively.
Each pillar will correspond to 1 of the 4 classes I mentioned, and you should beat them all, although you should beat the 1 that corresponds to your class first.
As you can see, Terraria has lots to do, and trust me, you can play 100 hours and still not have reached the final boss, even with a guide.
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Visuals
The graphics will probably not impress you as Terraria is pixel art.
However, Terraria has tremendous player customization through numerous dyes and vanity items.
You can even equip a piece of armor you really like (but doesn’t go well with your class) in the social spot which means that it is visible, but you still get the effects of the armor you have actually equipped.
Personal Thoughts
Terraria is a great game.
The amount of stuff to do with or without following the optimal route is staggering.
I definitely recommend this game as its price is far from deterrent. Any fan of sandbox games will enjoy this game.
the game even offers a 4-pack which is awesome as its even better when you play with friends.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9.0
Visuals: 6.0
General Rating: 7.5
That’s it for my review? Have you played Terraria? Do you enjoy it? What’s your favorite class? Leave a comment down below.
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Infinifactory is an interesting puzzle game released in mid-2015, with Early Access being available since the start of that year.
I won’t go into too many details here, and instead cut to the chase; the review will have Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
The storyline is pretty simple. You are a human abducted by a weird alien species.
The aliens use you in order to build assembly lines for various objects for their own purposes.
Throughout the game, you will find others, previously abducted; now dead humans and hear their last log.
The game has various sectors and each sector has various puzzles. When you complete all the puzzles in each sector, you are then brought for evaluation before the aliens, who award you with a random object and some food pellets.
When you finish all the puzzles in the main story, there is also some bonus levels that further advance the story.
Some humans that were previously abducted managed to escape and build a base on that alien planet, and they recruit you.
The final levels are you and the other survivors trying to escape the planet to return home.
Gameplay
The gameplay is what makes this game so interesting.
In every level, your purpose is to have specific types of blocks (or their combination) to reach an endpoint.
The blocks that must reach the endpoint are produced by an assembly line, your purpose is to use other kinds of blocks to bring them to that endpoint.
While this might sound complicated, it really isn’t; the game’s mechanics are very much alike to those of Minecraft.
Movement, for example, is identical to Minecraft’s creative mode. You can even double-tap the jump button in order to fly with the use of a jetpack.
Every level, of course, has some boundaries, both for you and your constructions. Breaking them won’t have any severe punishment, you’ll just return to the start of the level with the construction intact.
PLacing blocks is another thing that this game shares with Minecraft.
At start, the only blocks you can use are conveyor belts. They are as simple as they sound.
You can unlock more blocks as you advance the story, blocks like pistons and sensors, or rotators among others.
You can also start the assembly line to check for any possible errors in your construction. There are no penalties to starting the assembly line so trial and error are key here.
There is also the option to pause production in order to check various production block positions and speed it up.
You can set the input rate before starting the production line to be faster or slower, which might help you or hinder you depending on each puzzle.
Input rate also helps with the total cycles, higher input rate; fewer cycles. More on that later.
One key difference between this game and other building games is the existence of gravity; you cannot place a block on the air without it being attached to anything else.
Some of the puzzles might have relatively complicated solutions, but what makes the game truly challenging is optimization.
Every puzzle has 3 save files. When you complete a puzzle, the save point shows your stats.
In every puzzle, once you are finished, you are then shown your scores in footprint, cycles, and blocks used. In fact, you are compared to other player’s solutions through a histogram.
Footprint is a number that calculates how much of the free floor your assembly line takes. Essentially, the more floor you use the higher this gets.
Cycles is simply the time between the start and finish of the puzzle.
Blocks used are pretty self-explanatory too; it’s the number of blocks you use that do not belong in the production line.
The hardest thing in this game is coming up with solutions that are optimized compared to other people, many of the game’s achievements rely on that.
The game also has a puzzle creator. You can create any puzzle (and present a solution to it) and post it for other players to try it out.
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Visuals
The game’s visuals are decent. They aren’t anything special, but they get by. The positive is that this game plays on most computers, failure to run this will probably be to processor speed instead of graphics problem.
Personal Thoughts
The game is very good. It’s a unique puzzle game that encourages creativity and rethinking a problem from different angles.
No wonder it has so many positive reviews.
The only problem you may find is its difficulty. I’m not saying that this game is extremely hard, but the fact that there is no limit to what you can do may be overwhelming for some.
Other than that, I definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes puzzle games.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 8.8
Visuals: 6.0
General Rating: 7.4
That’s it for my review. I hope I convinced you to try this game out because it really is worth it. If you have any questions or want to add anything feel free to leave a comment below.
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A game that is frequently compared to Minecraft, Don’t Starve is an action-adventure survival game with a mix of roguelike. The game was released in 2013 and received numerous updates since then.
Besides Don’t Starve, this review will cover Don’t Starve Together, i.e. its multiplayer version.
Is the game really worth it, or is it just another Minecraft clone?
This review will be split into storyline, gameplay, visuals, and finally, the personal thoughts section. Without further ado:
Storyline
The storyline is quite enigmatic at best and is fully accessed by finding a specific gate in the overworld.
Through that, you will play the game’s campaign mode, which has 5 stages, each with different requirements to fulfill.
By playing and finishing it, you find out what this world is, who the antagonist is, and why you are there, but not much else.
Gameplay
Being a survival game, your main goal is to survive. But that is harder than it sounds.
I will talk about the Reign of Giants version in this review, not Shipwrecked, as it more closely resembles the original game. I might add the other expansions at some point of course.
Essentially, (almost) everything in this game is hostile. Day or night, autumn or winter or spring or summer, it doesn’t matter.
The most hostile thing is Charlie. Charlie is basically the antagonist’s right hand (and the main antagonist in the multiplayer version).
Her only purpose in-game is to instakill you in the night. If the night comes and you don’t have a valid light source nearby, you will die from Charlie.
Generally, your first goal should be to forage grass tufts and twigs in order to build your first tools.
Then, using an axe, you cut some trees to have wood for a fire at night.
Generally, though, you will want to explore and fill out your map, foraging while you do. Eventually, you will find a good enough position (there aren’t many requirements for a position) to build a base.
In your base, using gold that you must find, as well as some other items, whether base or refined, you will build basic structures that allow you to discover newer, more advanced recipes for newer, more advanced weapons, tools, and miscellaneous things.
These are the extreme basics. The game gets far more complicated. Let’s start with survival.
Having a base helps nothing with surviving (other than being able to have better equipment). Any hostile mob can just waltz in your base and kill you. So you have to be very, very careful.
Besides not getting killed by mobs, you also have to sustain your hunger and sanity.
Hunger is pretty straightforward. With an empty stomach, you lose health. Most basic foods don’t fill you up that much, but you’ll build a crock pot, and through experience (and by experience I mean the Don’t Starve wiki), you’ll find the best recipes.
Food goes rotten after a while of not being eaten, but you can preserve it longer if you store it in a freezer.
You can also create various farms of most edible things in order to have a constant form of food and not need to scavenge the already limited resources.
Sanity is something that you will usually want high. As it lowers, you start hearing and seeing things and shadows, the lower it gets, the more corporeal they become.
After a point, the shadow creatures will be able to hurt you, and you hurt them.
While your goal is to survive, a lot of times you will need to kill them as they give you an item that is essential to start building magic items and weapons.
The sanity is heightened or lowered by various acts within the game. Most of them make sense in the real world.
For example, picking flowers and sleeping well raises sanity while digging graves and staying up at night lowers it. There are many things that you will have to learn.
Every character’s sanity is a bit different, as some characters are scared more or less easy, and others can raise sanity using unconventional ways.
Now about the seasons. The game always starts in autumn, which is by far the easiest season. It then cycles to winter -> spring -> summer -> autumn until you die.
The rule is that seasons last a specific amount of time depending on your expansion.
Each season (besides autumn, I guess) has something for which you must prepare, lest you die in a few days into the season.
Winter is extremely cold and each night lasts way longer. You must have prepared a lot of heat sources for when traveling (except if you want to spend the whole season by your campfire), and warm clothes. Not preparing correctly will result in death by frostbite.
During the winter, food is preserved much longer, but farms never grow anything.
Spring is full of rains and thunders, and, not only you must build a lightning rod, you must also build umbrellas and other clothes to keep you dry.
Becoming wet is mostly just a nuisance, but it could become deadly as you could freeze.
Of course, due to constant rain, sanity drops rapidly during the spring.
Summer is practically hell on earth. The only good thing is how long days are.
In summer, you must do the opposite of winter. You must find a way to stay cool (you even have endothermic fires instead of the usual fire pit). Failing to do so will result in death by overheating.
Not only that, but food spoils much faster. At least farms grow food much faster as well.
Every season has its own seasonal giant too. They are hostile mobs, but super tanky and very hard to beat, and extremely dangerous. Killing one grant you unique items.
The map generally has a lot of different areas, each with its own danger and things to look out for.
The game is definitely not beginner-friendly, and it will take you a lot of attempts to find out what you must do and why.
Each character has very unique strengths and weaknesses that you must take into account while playing.
The most frustrating thing by far is that death is permanent (except in very rare cases). You can be trying for hours and maybe days, only to lose all progress because you died while not paying attention. Then you must repeat the whole process from the start, which becomes tedious fast.
Fortunately, that is not the case for multiplayer, as there is a (relatively easy to build) item that revives your fallen friend at the cost of Max HP (which can also be fixed).
The combat is very weird. If you have a melee weapon, you can left-click something to automatically attack it once. Repeat until one of you dies.
The problem is that, as you cannot move when attacking, and since the mobs try to attack as well, you must do quite a lot of kiting to battle properly.
Combine this with the fact that every mob has a different attack animation and wind-up time, and you have the recipe for hard.
All in all, the game is pretty complicated from the get-go, and permanent death doesn’t make it much more pleasant than it already is.
However, the game counts score based on the number of days you survived, so I can see why they did it.
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Visuals
The game’s graphics are very cartoonish. That’s not bad at all, it actually helps you have lots of fun while exploring and interacting. The game is actually praised for its graphics.
The cartoonish graphics make the game playable on the worst of PCs, without any fps problem, which further adds to the game’s tally.
The SFX are also nothing short of amazing. Besides the SFX for the game and mobs (which are awesome), every character has a witty line related to their personality when you try to right-click something.
The reason I’m saying this is because when they do, the make a sound effect, and each character has his own specific organ from which the sounds come from.
Personal Thoughts
So the game is frequently compared with Minecraft. The game’s creators have stated that Don’t Starve was heavily inspired by Mojang’s colossus.
But the 2 games are nothing alike. Don’t Starve is far more complicated than Minecraft will ever be.
Sure, you can build a lot of unbelievable contraptions in Minecraft, but the basis is building, you use your brain for the rest.
In Don’t Starve, you must memorize tons of things and make lots of mental notes for every phase of the game.
Minecraft gives you the freedom to do what you want, while Don’t Starve expects you to survive.
While it boils down to personal preference, there is a reason why Minecraft is more popular (besides being more kid-friendly).
Final Verdict
Storyline: 6.5
Gameplay: 7.8
Visuals: 6.5
General Rating: 6.9
That’s it for my review. Di you play Don’t Starve? Do you prefer it more than Minecraft. If you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment on the comments section down below.
Hey guys, today I’ll be writing about something that’s been on my mind lately. You see, the gaming industries have as of late been taking a turn to mobile gaming, not that it means that PC and Console gaming is dead, but mobile gaming is certainly more dominant now than it used to be.
So, I’ll analyze the reasons behind this change and my two cents on whether mobile gaming is ultimately worth it, compared to PC and Console gaming at least.
I will list the reasons why mobile games are popular compared to PC and console gaming, so reason like “Competitiveness” won’t make the list as it applies to both types of gaming. But first, some background:
Background
Mobiles are a lot like computers. They used to be owned by wealthy people, but with the establishment of industrialization and capitalism during the 90s, mobile phones became available to the general public.
Like computers, due to becoming so popular, the companies who developed them decided to start making them more and more sophisticated, to keep the advantage over rival companies, which lead us to today’s touch screen phones.
Mobile gaming was extremely crude at its beginning, just like regular gaming. The games on mobile phones were simple 2D pixel games like Snake, and other games similar to Alien Invaders from the arcades. Some even had simplistic car racing games.
None of those games were multiplayer, however.
Those early mobile games became very popular in Japan’s dedicated mobile phone game culture, praising the mobiles’ retro-style gaming. Older arcade games started reappearing on mobile devices.
Many developers tried to create their own games as well, but mobile operators were not very happy with a few developers having to interact with hundreds and thousands of players who would want any given game, so they acted as middle-men, which reduced revenue for the actual developers, thus keeping mobile gaming to a standstill.
It was the introduction of Apple’s App Store that changed the mobile world (and by extension the mobile gaming world) forever.
Through the App Store, customers could download any app that was published through the app store by any developer.
Due to the App Store becoming such a success, rival mobile operating systems started adopting this approach with their own app distributing apps.
Because Apple discarded the keyboards for touch screens, and the game developers used this input method as the dominant one, which forced eventually all other companies to do this as well.
But what are the reasons mobile games are so popular today?
Accessibility
A mobile game’s biggest advantage is arguably its accessibility. Single-player mobile games can be played anywhere, and if at any point you want to unwind and play a game, you can do so. You just pull out your phone and start playing.
Multiplayer games are a little harder, as they require either a good internet connection or a good mobile company reception and data plan to be played outdoors.
It’s certainly much easier than having to be able to play only in one room of your house.
Availability
Mobile games, thanks to Apple originally, are available to download at any time, anywhere, and for everyone (except the age-restricted phones). It’s so easy and fast to do so, that even old stubborn people are trying it out.
This helps by the way, with people seeing gaming more positively. Most games are also free which makes it even easier to have a plethora of games on your phone. Which brings us too…
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Pricing
Due to being easier to develop and maintain, mobile games are either free and completely supported by ads and in-game cosmetics and boosts, or require you to pay a small amount.
This makes them cheaper than their PC counterparts in general, but that means that most mobile games are much smaller in length and features than a PC game can be.
Casual
If you are a dedicated gamer, you know the hustle of looking for the perfect specs for your dream PC or waiting for that sale to get the game/console you always wanted and save some money.
Mobile gamers don’t have to worry about this at all. Mobile games only require you to have what everyone already has; a relatively recent mobile device.
Time Efficient
The process of mobile gaming can take up to 10 minutes, including actually opening and closing the game.
This is perfect for someone who has plans shortly after, or wants a quick 10-minute break from work, or even during the periods in schools.
Whereas playing a computer game would take up more time than that, or at least it isn’t worth it for this 10 minute period compares to mobiles.
Final Thoughts
Times are changing and this always brings changes. We are at a time where mobile gamers are just as much as PC gamers. Many PC gamers consider mobile games a “lesser breed” and a waste of time.
Personally, I welcome this change, as mobile games show a lot of potential, and it would be bad to overlook that.
Plus, mobile games have already started having the lead in some genres like the battle royales, or base building games, and many simple puzzle games.
A lot of multiplayer mobile games have e-sports as well, which is a bonus for the competitive ones.
Unfortunately, mobile games have one big disadvantage. The free competitive ones, due to needing money to sustain themselves, usually offer in-game boosters and items in exchange for real money.
This can put some players in an advantage early on, but it’s not that hard to reach the top by playing for free, it’s just too time-consuming.
Of course, if you are talented in any of these games, it will be obvious, even without the boosts.
My personal opinion for mobile games is just positively neutral; as long as they don’t affect the rest of the gaming world negatively, then I don’t really care.
A lot of the popular companies are balanced between the two gaming types, by having games for both devices.
Other companies chose to release their game on PCs and mobile simultaneously (like Microsoft’s Minecraft and Epic Games’ Fortnite).
In the end, I believe that mobile games are better than PC games on two (plus one) occasions: when you want to game on smaller fractions like before you get to sleep, or when you are between classes (or during for the daring ones!), and if you are a non-gamer wanting to pass the time somehow.
The bonus reason is if you have such a crappy PC that your mobile has much better specs, in which I wouldn’t blame you for preferring mobile games.
What are your thoughts on mobile gaming? Do you prefer mobile or PC gaming? I actually happen to play quite some mobile games to pass the time. If you want to say or add anything, do so in the comments, and I will answer as soon as I can.
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Slay the Spire is one of the newer games that’s been released. Its reviews are overwhelmingly positive on Steam, and it’s only been launched from early access in early 2019.
Loosely following the rest of our reviews, I will refer to its storyline, gameplay, visuals and finally, my personal thoughts. I will also give a personal rating in the end. And without further ado:
Storyline
There’s nothing notable about its storyline, For the most part, there is no storyline, and only if you beat the final secret boss, you will get an “ending”. Other than that, the main premise is that you are a character that tries to scale a tower called the “Spire” and it’s full of enemies and weird creatures.
There exists a sliver of lore through events, mostly, but it’s one of those games with a mystery behind it.
Gameplay
The gameplay is where the game truly shines. Having bought the game since early access, it is easy to see why the game has overwhelmingly positive reviews. The game has elements of deckbuilding, roguelikes, and dungeon-crawling.
The premise is that you have a character with his basic starter deck, and by climbing the Spire and facing various challenges, you improve upon your original deck.
There are three characters, each with a different starting deck, relic (relics are powerful trinkets with passive effects), and card options for your run. That not only makes each character have different gameplay from the other, it also makes each run vastly different.
When you start out, you pick a bonus offered at the start. Afterward, you are presented with a map and different possible paths (some of which cross with each other).
Every path has a different combination of the game’s predetermined floor types; an enemy, an elite enemy, a rest site, a shop, and an event. The game has 3 Acts in total (and a secret fourth Act, if you complete its requirements that is), and every Act has 15 floors.
In the middle of every Act, there is a treasure. At the end of each Act, there is a random boss from the pool of each Act’s specific bosses.
An enemy floor is marked by a monster face and is a simple fight. It rewards you with gold (the game’s currency) and a choice of 1 out of 3 random character-specific cards.
An elite enemy floor is marked by a horned monster, and it’s like a regular enemy floor except it’s much harder, but rewards you with more gold and a free random trinket.
A rest site is marked by a campfire. You have the choice of healing 30% of your Max HP, or upgrading a card from your deck, thus making it stronger.
A shop is marked by a loot bag. Here you can buy a card from the ones offered (there are also two random white cards; cards that can be used by any character), or remove a card from your deck. You can also buy exclusive shop trinkets.
One of the many random events.
Finally, an event floor is marked by a question mark. Here, a random event takes place, and (usually) presents you with options. Some events can be extremely helpful, others can be very hindering, but most just give you options between very good effect for the cost a very bad one versus a decent effect with no cost. The event floors are what make this game truly unique, as they give the game a D&D kind of vibe.
A treasure floor gives you a free trinket. Finally, the boss is a very hard enemy with its own set behavior and rewards you with 100 gold, a choice between 3 rare cards, and a choice between 3 random boss trinkets.
The game utilizes energy. Each character begins with 3 energy. Every card has an energy cost, so hand managing is crucial to success. Every time you lose or finish the game, you have to start over again. That is not bad, however, as mentioned already, every run will be completely different from the last.
The game was being updated with new enemies, acts, trinkets, etc every week while in early access, but since release, the developers reduced the frequency of updates.
Finally, SFX. There are also decent sound effects. To be honest, the developers put in a lot of thought and effort in the VFX and SFX departments, even though they are not the main selling point here.
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Visuals
The graphics are nothing spectacular to look at, but that does not mean they are bad. For starters, the game is 2D, and there is nothing too complicated. Every character is polished, and every enemy is as well. There are also some mini animations for some of the cards. The graphics should suit you unless you only like AAA games.
Personal Thoughts
I really have enjoyed the game, and I even got it at a lower price than its current one, as I bought it during its early access phase. I am very happy with the purchase, I play it to this day.
The game is definitely worth it and will keep you hooked despite not having an actual story, and that’s coming from a guy who prioritizes the story. It’s definitely a game to consider, especially if you have a low budget PC or Laptop.
The developers are planning to add more content to the game soon, so in the end, there really is no reason not to buy this game (unless as stated, you only like AAA games).
Final Verdict
Storyline: 4.0
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 6.5
General Rating: 6.7
That’s it for my review. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have anything to add or any question, feel free to ask me in the comments, and I will answer as soon as I can. Also feel free to disagree, again with a comment. Until next time.
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I’m sure there are many of you that don’t quite have their ideal version if a gaming system, and so, you are stuck with a below-average PC / Laptop. But the gamer inside you is boiling and seeks some decent games to play, even through bad specs. Fortunately, this guide has you covered and will give you the best games to play on a bad gaming system.
1. League of Legends / DotA 2
While I’ve talked about these two MOBAs in my previous article, they can also be a great getaway for anyone with a decent-to-bad gaming system. They also offer competitiveness in its most prime; both games are among the best in terms of their e-sports.
The choice between the two is simple, on its core, League is more casual and popular, and easier to pick up, but DotA 2 better rewards skill and has much better prize pools. They are also both completely free-to-play. A detailed analysis can be seen here.
2. Minecraft
Minecraft can pretty much be played on any… “gaming” system with more than one core. And it’s very amusing too. Essentially, it’s a pixel art sandbox game with a gigantic world you can explore and do pretty much anything you want.
I will not delve to the gameplay details any longer, there’s too much to explain for a list. Minecraft also has a multiplayer mode, but only if you get the paid version. A constantly updated version of the single-player launcher can easily be found online for free.
Minecraft’s original price is about 30€. There is also the Windows 10 Edition (aka The Bedrock Edition) which is just as expensive. It was originally created for mobile devices so some of the features you can find on the original Java Edition can’t be found here, but you can connect and play multiplayer with other Xbox players. Java and Bedrock Edition can’t cross-play with each other.
3. Crusader Kings II
A constantly updated, relatively new grand strategy game usually comes with equally fresh graphics, that is not the case however for Crusader Kings II. The game takes a new spin for the genre by introducing Houses.
You start as the head of your own House, and with a title of varying power (count, duke, emperor, etc.), and along with controlling your military powers, you live your life like a normal person; you age, you get married, etc. Your purpose besides conquering all is to make sure your house survives. That is, you always have a valid family heir to take things when you die.
There are many other things you can do, but again I’m not analyzing every detail. The bad thing is its price, but with features like this, it is to be expected.
4. Portal 1 & 2
The Portal Series are single-player puzzle games, with an amazing story to boot. You try to solve various puzzles by utilizing a portal gun, a gun that lets you shoot two portals which you can go through the one and out the other and vice versa.
You must think creatively for this, as most puzzles require planning and thinking about concepts such as gravity and acceleration. The game has excellent ratings, and is definitely a must, even if you don’t have a bad gaming system.
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5. Undertale
Undertale is really a special
game. One of the best games there are, and a feat quite difficult for a pixel
art game with simple controls. However, the game will captivate you with its
story and branching storyline. Not much more to say, Undertale is a game about
the feelings, and another game you should play regardless of PC.
6. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
A game of the newer generation of Roguelikes, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (TBoI:R) features Isaac, the titular character, trying to escape the basement of his house (and other hazardous places) to avoid being sacrificed by his mother.
The game is not trying to pass a religious message, even though it has a heavy religious tone. As you play, you collect items that help you with your quest by making you stronger. The game has many unlockables and secrets and is worth your time if you’re interested in roguelikes in general.
7. Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire is a dungeon
crawler / card game that also features some randomness ala D&D. You pick a character,
and you try to climb the Spire through your choices on a map. You can fight
enemies to enhance your deck or yourself, go to events, which can be favorable
and unfavorable, and rest or upgrade your cards. What you do depends on the path
you take.
8. CS:GO
CS:GO is another one of those
competitive games that you can play on a low-end PC or laptop. One of the most
popular shooter games, and highly competitive, CS:GO definitely earns its spot on
this list. The game is not too complicated, and I recommend it for all you
shooter fans.
CS:GO is another one of those competitive games that you can play on a low-end PC or laptop. One of the most popular shooter games, and highly competitive, CS:GO definitely earns its spot on this list. The game is not too complicated, and I recommend it for all you shooter fans.
9.Hearthstone
Hearthstone is one of the most popular card games, and its the best online card game. Like most card games, it’s free to play, but you can pay to advance faster.
The gameplay is simple to pick up, but there are many tactics and strategies to utilize.
Another positive is that Hearthstone is based on the Warcraft universe, so you can have fun playing your favorite hero, despite the small selection of heroes.
That was the list guys, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any other recommendations, do say so in the comments.
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(The list might not cover every existing genre, but I will cite the most important ones that I believe cover every game out there. If there is any major change, I will update accordingly)
Have you ever been to a point where you just wanted to try out a new genre of games, instead of playing games of the same genre all the time, but didn’t know which genre should you pick?
This list aims to help you by listing almost all the gaming genres, giving you what you need to know about them, and present you some of its most popular games, so you can have a starting point. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
Disclaimer: There will be some genres that will be left out, not because they are too “casual”, “boring”, or “simple”. It’s just that this list is a bit more in-depth, and there aren’t many things I can write about the ones that are left out.
Of course, there may be other reasons and whatnot, but if you really believe that a game genre should be on this list then just comment below with your reason behind such request, and if it is indeed convincing, I will edit in a new section in this article.
Platformers
Platformers (or platform games) are one of the earliest gaming genres. It’s an action subgenre that usually gives you control of a character, and your goal is to reach an endpoint, by traversing various landscapes and levels of increasing difficulty.
You almost certainly have heard about this genre by games like Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. or SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Platformers are also one of the most popular gaming genres, and usually, any person’s introduction to gaming.
One of the first and most iconic platformers of all time.
Generally, platformers have a variety of some subgenres that mostly dictate what you can use to get to you goal. Some examples include gun platformers, or puzzle platformers.
Platformers are ever so popular even to this day. This is due to their design. It’s very easy to get into a platformer game, but that does not mean that they are easy, because, as noted above, of their increasing difficulty. Their popularity is quite impressive, considering that they are almost always single player games.
If you want to try out platformers, here are some if the more popular ones, as well as some that I think you should try out:
Sonic the Hedgehog Series
Super Mario Bros. Series
Crash Bandicoot Series
Spyro the Dragon Series
(The original) Megaman Series
Shooters
Shooter games are one of those game genres that every gamer has played at least once at one point in their life. Typically, in a shooter game, you control your character, and your goal is to complete various objectives that always require shooting stuff.
Generally, I’m not fond of shooters, but, being another action game subgenre, I can understand why there are so many fans of this genre; its simple yet fast-paced gameplay is quite exciting. There are, however, some more advanced mechanics for you to learn on most of these games, mechanics like gun recoil, or ammo capacity.
Shooters are also one of the most renowned games in the e-sports scene, with some games frequently running various local tournaments and even global championship, with thousands of cash for rewards.
They also have a huge fanbase, as you can see streamers and/or broadcasts having thousands of viewers when live streaming.
Like most genres, shooters also have a small variety of subgenres, that either change the way you view your character when playing (first or third-person shooters), implement a reward system that lets you customize your character and strengthen your weapons, or what kind of guns you use.
Shooters will always have a place in the gaming industry, with new games coming every year, and creating hype doing so. If you want to get into shooter games and try them out, here are my suggestions:
Doom
Half Life 1 & 2
Counter Strike: Global Offensive (abbr. CS: GO)
Call of Duty Series
Overwatch
Fighting
Fighting games are yet another genre with lots of history. The first fighting game dates to 1976, but fighting games were at their peak during their golden age of the 90s. Back then, they were the prominent competitive games.
Fighting games, like platformers, began in arcades, and even to this day, most arcade machines have either a fighting game or a platformer. Their competitiveness in the 90s was solely on arcade machines. Since then, fighting games have gradually moved to consoles and computers.
Every fighting game is pretty much the same on its core design and set of rules. You control a character, and you must defeat the opponent that is either an AI Bot or another player. Usually, you are victorious if you win 2 out of 3 rounds. The fighting is melee combat only, and there are different characters, with different playstyles.
The controls are seemingly very easy, with the press of a button usually corresponding to a simple move (e.g. a punch, or a kick). The catch is that there are an overwhelming number of different combos for each character, that require a very specific sequence of button to execute. These combos take a lot of time, practice, and patience to master. This separates good players from the bad.
The popular fighting games are mostly series, and there are some I won’t mention:
Mortal Kombat Series
Street Fighter Series
Tekken Series
SoulCalibur Series
Stealth
So stealth games are a rather small subgenre, due to its similarities to other action games. Usually, a stealth game has similar objectives to other action games and subgenres. Its main selling point is subterfuge.
Subterfuge is a stealth game’s bread and butter. Your given objectives usually require you to perform them in secret, remaining undetected and resulting in automatic failure, should you be spotted. Some games might offer you an option between going stealthy, or engage in full-fledged combat, but you probably will be punished for it.
Stealth games weren’t always a standalone (sub)genre. In fact, it began as a gameplay element for various other action games. This can be found in today’s games as well; many games might have some stealth missions or objectives. The first mainstream stealth games all came in 1998, where three successful games were released in that same year.
Common elements in stealth games include different services such as espionage, counter-terrorism, and spying. The protagonists are masters of the aforementioned; ninjas, spies, thieves, assassins.
Stealth games might be used as an element in other action games, but they use other common action game elements, such as first-person and third-person shooters, or platformers.
There aren’t as many popular games or series that are categorized under the stealth subgenre, but the ones that are, are well-respected games on their own. These include:
Metal Gear Solid Series
Assassin’s Creed
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Alien: Isolation
Survival
Survival games are a weird kind of action subgenre, in the essence that they don’t give you a certain goal in the traditional sense; your goal is to survive for as long as possible (or for a predetermined amount of time).
Survival games leave you on day one with just basic rules and tools, and you must use them to survive, advance and build more advanced tools, and even weapons. In some cases, though, you just need to survive with what you’re given from the start.
One notable, and lately very popular subgenre of survival games are the battle royale games. Within one, you are pitted against a large amount of other human opponents, within one small arena, with its boundaries diminishing every few minutes. You begin with nothing, and by scavenging areas and buildings, you can find weapons to aid your cause.
Survival games have always been popular within the gaming community, but with the releases of multiple battle royale games, their popularity spiked, especially with younger audiences, as usually, a survival game had some horror elements to it, making them unfit for youngsters.
I will divide the list of popular games with games that are survival games in the traditional sense and battle royales:
Traditional Survival Games
DayZ
Don’t Starve
Subnautica
Battle Royales
Fornite
PUBG
Apex Legends
Horror
Horror games are what the name implies; they want to scare you. While their gameplay is a lot like survival games, and the player’s goal being the same; to survive, there are some key differences which distinguish them from each other.
One small but important difference is that horror games hinge on the unexpected, jumpscares being the most used way. This means that enemy encounters are often random and unexpected.
The tone is usually darker as well, and there are some platforming elements too.
Another difference in survival games is resource management. Horror games give very scarce resources, and you must manage them very well lest you run out. You cannot farm enemies for more, nor can you survive without any.
During recent years, many horror games have moved on to be more action-packed, with some of the fans criticizing the game developers for this change.
Still, horror games are coming out every few years, and while they are not super popular like other genres, their sales certainly don’t reflect that.
Few are the games in the genre, and the most popular are:
Resident Evil Series
Silent Hill Series
Left 4 Dead
Slender: The Eight Pages
The Last of Us
Metroidvania
Metroidvania games got their name from their spiritual predecessors, whom they aim to be similar toMetroid and Castlevania.
What connects these games together is that these games have a large interconnected map, that allows you access to advanced areas, only if you’ve hit some requirement, or if you unlocked some item, or sometimes if you found a secret shortcut/passage.
Said methods require defeating a lot of enemies, and many times going back to revisit areas you’ve completed, just because you can further explore it with the use of your newer powers.
Generally, though, Metroidvania games are a lot like puzzle or adventure games, but what makes them stand out as a genre is their boss fights. Metroidvania games always have boss fights, with one final boss waiting at the end of the game.
Though their popularity was high due to Metroid’s and Castlevania’s success, there aren’t many game releases of this genre. But the few games released are certainly worth the effort:
Metroid Series
Castlevania Series
Hollow Knight
Ori and the Blind Forest
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Adventure
Adventure games are a big genre, and theoretically, I could split it to its subgenres for the purposes of this list, but honestly, the subgenres just change the way in which the adventure is delivered.
While the name doesn’t suggest that, adventure games don’t have much action (if at all). Your adventure is through a graphic or text novel, in which you have a character, and your actions always affect the future of the story.
There are elements of puzzle-solving as well with some subgenres fully relying on it.
Text Adventures where very simplistic in nature, but they still got the story through.
The first of its subgenres is text adventure, used by the first-ever adventure games. The interface and game are simplistic. You just read through the story and use your keyboard for your “reaction” on any given situation.
The second one is graphic adventures. Same as above, only differences being that there is an image of the current location (maybe with some characters in) and your input is the mouse instead of the keyboard.
The aforementioned subgenres were the first kind of adventure games. As technology evolved, so did adventure games, moving on to point-and-click adventure games.
This time, you use your mouse as your guide to the story, for things like answering to NPCs, moving between locations, or interacting with your environment. Usually, in point-and-click adventure games, the main purpose is to find and collect items, for future use.
A different application of point-and-click games is the escape room games, most popular for mobiles. Like the point-and-click, you have to find items within a room (or a predefined space), but you have to figure out how to use them (by combining, dismantling, or just checking them) in order to either escape the room or find the code that lets you escape the room.
Puzzle adventure games are the most renowned adventure games. Generally, you can move and interact with your environment, but the progression relies on puzzle-solving within the environment, instead of inventory puzzles.
Narrative games are another popular adventure game subgenre. These games don’t rely on gameplay; they immerse you in their story instead.
A common theme for these games (which also offers amazing replayability value) is its branching storyline. This means that each choice you make, will affect the final ending of the story. There are also a lot of cutscenes in these games, to help with delivering the story.
Finally, we have some smaller subgenres, the walking simulations, where the story is delivered through walking alone, the visual novels, which is like reading a book, but there are sprites of the characters, which make them more lively.
Finally the (least common) interactive movies, where a movie is played out for you and at some points you input (usually with a joystick, or similar control patterns) a move in order for the movie to continue.
Due to the general lack of action, adventure games aren’t as popular as other genres. They are generally played by gamers who value good storytelling above gameplay. For the few that exist (such as me), the more popular adventure games are:
The Talos Principle (Puzzle Adventure Game)
The Walking Dead Series (Narrative Adventure Game)
Life is Strange Series (Narrative Adventure Game)
Portal 1 & 2 (Puzzle Adventure and Platforming
Hybrid)
Action RPGs
Action RPGs (Role-Playing Games) are a rather unique subgenre, in the essence that it really became popular thanks to its origins and through its own subgenres. You will not see any recent pure action RPGs, most combine elements from other genres.
Action RPGs originated from the Hack and Slash tabletop games. Hack and Slash games started moving from tabletop to platform when game developers started releasing games set in D&D-like worlds.
What contrasted them from regular action games, or regular RPGs is that they combined elements from both, thus the naming Action RPGs.
Releases began in the late 70s, continuing through the rest of the 20th century. The big breakthrough came in 1996, with Blizzard’s Diablo.
This game reinvented the genre, with games previously being considered examples of action RPGs moving on to other categorizations of subgenres, and Diablo setting the scene for future action RPGs.
While Diablo is a point and click action RPG, there are also the shooter action RPGs, that also began during the late 90s. They may not have the success of Diablo and the subgenre it created, but they are still considered staples as popular action RPGs.
Action RPGs are liked because of their hybridity. Their games have elements from action games, RPGs, shooters, puzzle games, platformers, point and click, and some more.
The common element between all action RPGs is its real-time combat, instead of it being turn-based, which is the reason why many action RPGs are also referred to as hack and slash.
If you are new to Action RPGs as a genre, then I recommend to you the following games in order to get introduced with them:
Diablo Series
Deus Ex Series
Mass Effect Series
Final Fantasy XV
MMORPGs
MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) are one of the biggest gaming genres today (even though it has been declining for the past 5 or so years). What keeps MMORPGs so popular among other things, is the fact that in this genre, you create your character.
MMORPGs were created as a variant of the more text-based MUDs. As game developers kept experimenting, MMORPGs weren’t really defined until 1996 and the release of Meridian 58.
Ever since, MMORPGs haven’t seen much change, as there aren’t many things that can be changed in a game that wants to consider itself an MMORPG. During the late 2000s, MMORPGs became one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Their popularity surpassed almost every other genre.
As the name suggests, MMORPGs are combinations of MMOs and RPGs. This means that you will be playing a traditional RPG, where you must progress your character through quests, missions, and enemy slaying.
The difference is that there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of other players trying to do the same. You will be able to interact with them in the virtual world that the game is set.
Usually, you are the one that decides the looks of your character (things such as gender, race, height, hairstyle and many other options). Sometimes though, you are forced within a specific character.
What you always get to choose is your class. Classes determine the role of your character, and every different MMORPG has many different classes (and sometimes subclasses too!), but the main aspects of these classes are (usually) damage, tanking, supporting.
Every MMORPG has at least one PvE mode (Player vs Environment), where players must cooperate in order to kill very hard computer-controlled monsters. MMORPGs also have one (or more) PvP mode(s) (Player vs Player), where teams of players battle other teams of players.
Sometimes, an MMORPG might have some sort of territory contesting mode, where players must contest with players of a different allegiance (through factions, races, clans and other forms of shared identity) for a specific territory.
I’ve already mentioned that MMORPGs are a very profitable business in general. But how do companies earn money from such games? There are several ways which they do:
The first is through a subscription fee. This means that a player must pay a specific amount of money every set amount of time
The second is through the freemium model. That means that the game is generally free, but will require some sort of payment for further advancement or for acquiring strong items and remaining viable during the later stages of the game
The third is by regular payment. Simple enough; you pay once, and you can play indefinitely.
Finally, the fourth method is through cosmetic items. An MMORPG, either free or paid, will give you the option of spending money on cosmetic items that only alter appearance. This method is more commonly used by free-to-play MMORPGs to sustain themselves and the game since there is usually no other form of income
The impact of MMORPGs is evident by thousands of cosplayers on every gaming event.
MMORPGs also have a huge impact on gaming culture and socialization in general, but to further analyze them, I would be required to write a whole article dedicated to them.
For now, I will list some of the most popular and famous MMORPGs that you can play today:
World of Warcraft (Subscription Fee)
Guild Wars 2 (Free-to-Play, but has paid expansions
with more content)
TERA (Free-to-Play)
RuneScape (Free-to-Play)
Roguelikes
Roguelikes are two-dimensional dungeon crawling games. They got their name from the first roguelike named Rogue.
At the beginning of the genre, roguelikes were characterized dungeon crawling through procedurally generated levels, by turn-based gameplay and permanent death.
As graphics improved, roguelikes couldn’t remain to their original tile-based graphics, lest they face extinction, so by today, the shifted to more procedural labyrinth dungeon crawler style of levels, which means that you have to find an exit every level and that the levels would never have the same map layout, no matter how many times it was repeated.
Having borrowed concepts from the popular tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons, roguelikes allow you to choose your character, his strengths/weaknesses, and many times, allow you to customize your starting attributes and skills.
You begin with your basic equipment, and as you move on, you acquire more powerful weapons, equipment, and items. Combat in older roguelikes is done by moving to the same space as an enemy (or casting a ranged attack/spell), and the game runs calculations for the damage done and/or taken.
While older roguelikes were always turn-based, many roguelikes today are real-time, which means you must adjust your attacks and dodges on constantly moving enemies.
Newer roguelikes, with their real-time combat system and their enhanced graphics, are not considered pure roguelikes, with many claiming that the use of roguelike label for these games is wrong, and the term roguelike-like (or rogue-lite) is to be used.
But these games still capture the original feel of the roguelikes, and in a constantly evolving world, some things are bound to change eventually.
The roguelikes’ main selling point is their replayability; you can start a new game, and every time it’s going to be different than the previous. Many of the newer roguelikes (the “rogue–lites”) also hold many secrets. As you finish the levels more or complete specific tasks within a run, you can unlock more characters, items, weapons, and easter eggs.
In the list of the more popular roguelikes, I will not make the split between roguelikes and “rogue–lites”, as I really don’t believe they deserve a separate list:
Rogue
The Binding of Isaac & The Binding of Isaac:
Rebirth
Mystery Dungeon Series (by Chunsoft)
FTL: Faster than Light
Sandbox RPG (or Open World RPG)
Sandbox (or Open World) RPGs are games that give you the freedom to do what you want in a huge explorable world. There is a main objective or plot to follow, but the world has unlimited secondary content, fully unrelated to the main one.
As a subgenre, it made its first appearances in the late 70s to early 80s, with many games trying to deliver a large, new open-world experience.
Though everyone can argue which game was the first “true” open-world game, none can argue that The Legend of Zelda, released in 1986, was what shaped future open-world games.
Following that, many open-world games were created, some of which are popular (as series) today, and the genre hasn’t shifted from its original games, only improved upon its existing strengths.
The open-world concept is used in a lot of the games released today, with games that aren’t even considered open-world RPGs, like Assassin’s Creed offering you to explore the world in which they are set.
As already mentioned, open-world RPGs have the main storyline (or objective) to follow but allow you to explore any of the areas of the map. By exploring, you can find new weapons, more equipment, more experience, or even just learn about the world you explore through its inhabitants.
Many NPCs will give you secondary quests for you to complete. Gameplay-wise, the game is like the other RPGs, with the usual “character progression through experience and skills” system.
Some of the popular Open-World RPGs include:
Minecraft
The Legend of Zelda Series
No Man’s Sky
Grand Theft Auto Series
Construction and Management Simulation
Construction and management simulation games are this list’s first strategy genre. You are tasked with constructing and managing something (depending on the subgenre). You are usually left with a minimal amount of resources at start, and one of your objectives could be to generate a passive income of said resources.
The gameplay doesn’t differ much between the subgenres; essentially, you are the leading figure in a given town, community, city, country, any form of the social management group.
You decide what are the best steps to strengthen your economy by trying to keep the group of people under supervision pleased. The goal is to reach a specific milestone before another group does (controlled by a different person or an AI).
The first of its subgenres is city-building games. Despite the name, you do not always manage a city ironically. What you manage as a leader is a set piece of land, where your goal is to make it grow.
You must decide which building will be built when and where, and what your people’s priorities and salaries are.
Of course, you do not do any of the building, you are the leader after all; why would you bother with handyman work?
The next subgenre is the theme park management. These games put you in charge of a theme park instead of a whole facility/society. You decide which ride will be built, how expensive their tickets are, and sometimes, other details like duration, height or whatever attribute a theme park ride can have…
The third subgenre is technically a subgenre of city-building games. I’m talking about the colony management games. Just like the city-building games, you manage the society and its constructions, these games, however, put an emphasis on construction and management.
As you are the leader of a colony, your main target is not profit. Instead, you must find ways for your colony to evolve technologically or culturally.
As colony management games focus more on construction and less on the economy, we have their opposites, the business games. Your goal is to become as financially strong as possible. This is done through stock buying and investments. There’s not much else to say about them really.
Government simulation games put you in the position of a leader of a country, and instead of deciding on salaries and building constructions, you decide on the laws of the country.
There really is no challenge with these games though; because you play government simulation, and the game must go on, there is nothing you can do to lose the game.
Finally, we have the sports simulation games, but I will go in-depth with them in the sports genre section. The list of popular construction and management games isn’t long at all, but the three that will be mentioned are known by most of the gaming world:
SimCity
Age of Empires
Tycoon Series:
RollerCoaster Tycoon (Theme Park Simulator)
Zoo Tycoon (City-building Simulator)
Transport Tycoon (Business Simulator)
Life Simulation
Life simulation games (aka artificial life games) are games where you control one or more lives. If you are controlling more than one lives, then that means that you control an ecosystem of sorts.
Life simulation games are simplistic by nature. You do not have a set goal other than just controlling the life of one or more creatures. Usually, you manage aspects such as the relationship department, or the social department.
A genre as simple as this originates from something far more complicated. In fact, life games were created from the results of extensive research on actual artificial life (hence the naming artificial life games).
Even though quite simple by nature, life simulator games have some “subgenres”, although they could better be considered types. The first of the types are digital pet games, where you take care of a virtual pet, without having to worry that it might die.
God games are also part of this type of game genre. In god games, you have control over several people as an omnipotent being who they worship, and you can do whatever you want, with action ranging from blessing them to smiting them.
Biological simulations are the bread and butter of the types of life simulation games. You are given control of some form of population (or a singular entity), and you must achieve things through time.
There are other options available in some games, like crossbreeding or mutations, and you can use such methods to your advantage.
Last, social simulators allow you to manage a group of people based on their social interactions and relationships. You don’t have targets and objectives like in biological simulations, you just make choices for your characters and observe how it affects their status quo.
These games are a little like adventure games, but unlike them, they don’t have a story to compel you.
Life simulation games are not to be taken seriously by a gamer looking to have fun, as they neither have action nor do they immerse you with a story. Even as strategic options, there are far better genres for this job.
But if you are a casual gamer looking to burn some time without needing to learn about complicated rules and movesets, and having a game you can easily put up and down any time of the day, then definitely check the following life simulation games out:
The Sims (Social Simulator)
Wolf (Biological Simulator)
Nintendogs (Digital Pet Simulator)
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Vehicle Simulator
Vehicle simulators are games for players that actually bother with vehicles in their real life. Of course, there is the racing simulation subgenre that is actually very fun even if you don’t know about vehicles, but we’ll get to that soon.
Vehicle simulators, like all previous simulator genres, are self-explanatory; they give you the experience of driving a specific vehicle. Oddly enough, this genre is popular even today.
Vehicle Simulators put you in the position of a driver of a vehicle.
The key element here is vehicle control. The challenge these games offer you are mastering the vehicle that the game is based on.
You must manage things like speed, acceleration, steering, handling, fuel, and other attributes.
Some games even have a multiplayer option, allowing you to test your skills against other players. Much like an MMORPG, you can usually customize the looks of your vehicle.
The genre is divided between “purist players” and “casuals”. Purists demand full realism from any given vehicle, while casuals don’t care at all. The purists are the kind of people that I mentioned above; interested in vehicles outside of the virtual world as well.
But most vehicle players are casuals, and that’s where racing shines. Casuals, as well as purists, enjoy the classic multiplayer challenge presented.
There are very few games that don’t include driving the vehicle, rather, you are the mechanic that repairs it or a gunner on one of the weapons. They too are considered vehicle simulators.
With many different vehicles existing, there are many different vehicle simulator subgenres, each tailoring to a specific kind of player.
The most basic are racing games, with boat and naval simulators, farming simulators, flight simulators, spacecraft simulators, tank and mech simulators, train simulators and truck simulators being more minor subgenres. And there is the small subgenre of vehicular combat games.
I will not dwell on the minor subgenres, as they are literally what their name implies, but I will note that flight simulators have two more subtypes, the civilian flight simulator, and the military flight simulator.
The first doesn’t have any objective, and is a simple emulation, the biggest challenge presented being bad weather conditions.
The second is being a pilot for military aircraft with missions like taking down the enemies’ base or aircraft.
Now about the racing games. Again, they have two types, but unlike the flight simulators, it doesn’t just change the purpose of the vehicle. The first subtype of racing games is the racing simulations, the second isthe arcade racing game.
The racing simulations are based on real-world facts and events, such as the Formula races, or NASCAR. These games are heavily based on the real world, with things such as damage to your car when you crash, and prize money when you win to further upgrade your car.
This type of game adheres to the purist type of player I mentioned above, but many casuals enjoy it as well.
The second one is the gamer suited version of vehicles. In the arcade racing games, you race on settings and levels of a fantasy world, with many rules not obeying physics at all.
Many games have weapons to use to hinder your opponents, and I’m not talking about guns and rockets. There is a large variety of weapons in every different game, depending on the title.
In the end, whether you are a purist or a casual, the following list of popular games will have you covered:
Project CARS 2 (Racing Simulator)
GTR 2 – FIA GT Racing Game (Racing Simulator)
Mario Kart Series (Arcade Racing Game)
FlatOut Series (Vehicular Combat Game)
4X
4X games are my personal favorite genre of games. Again, belonging to the strategy grand genre, 4X games are the epitome of strategic thinking and planning.
4X stands for the words eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate. These words show your objectives, as typically, in a 4X game, you control an empire of sorts. That does not mean that any game that puts you in control of an empire (or country) is a 4X game, in fact, they are renowned for their complexity.
4X games were influenced by various board games, much like action RPGs and roguelikes. Unlike them though, 4X games were influenced by strategic games requiring a lot of time and thought, instead of classical role-playing games like D&D.
Though some 4X games were released prior to 1991, they were mostly seen as simple strategy games and didn’t gather enough audience, partly due to marketing reasons. One notable release was Armada 2525, which was the father of 4X games, but due to the financial problems the company that released had, it did not get the deserving attention.
Everything began in 1991, with the man known to every 4X player, and most of the gaming world as well; Sid Meier. His influence on 4X games was crucial, and without him, 4X games might not have even been a thing today.
The game that started it all was Sid Meier’s: Civilization. Having been influenced by a lot of strategy games, Civilization was the first strategy game to put an emphasis on technology and diplomacy, as well as the militaristic power of an empire.
It also introduced another way of winning, rather than simply conquering all; you could win if you were technologically advanced enough to be the first civilization to reach the Alpha Centauri System.
This system of multiple ways to win continued to develop through newer releases of the Civilization series, with today having 5 different ways to win, and therefore to play the game.
4X games developed after the release of Civilization tried to emulate some of its designs, and that is why you will see some similarities between all 4X games. 4X games typically have some form of research and technological advancement.
Though many non 4X games have research and advancement trees, 4X games tend to have much more options, and more diverse paths, as the technological race is intended to last for the entirety of the game session.
Peaceful competition is another of the design commons among 4X games. This is the option to win by never being aggressive with any enemy, and never needing to attack them or hinder the (except maybe with espionage).
Another thing in common in 4X games is the choice between multiple factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Due to the similarities mentioned, and the turn-based nature of the games, a typical game session tends to last for lots of hours.
4X games have a fanatic audience that adores the strategic part of the game, which results in 4X games being released every year or so, or at the very least, new features for existing 4X games. If the thought of 4X games entices you, I suggest the following games to get you started:
Freeciv, a free 4X game, and a very good introduction to the genre.
Sid Meier’s: Civilization Series (Most notably 4 (IV) and 6 (VI))
Master of Orion Series
Freeciv (a free 4X games if you want an introduction without paying)
Galactic Civilizations III
Real-Time Strategy (RTS)
When websites speak generally about strategy games, or if a casual player that does not understand the differences between different genres and subgenres tries to mention strategy games, they almost always refer to the real-time strategy genre of games. Real-time refers to the continuous nature of the games, where, you don’t have a turn to think about your next plan or move.
Real-time strategy games are the most popular of the strategy game genre. The experts will argue about which was the first RTS released, and to further complicate things, RTS themselves were developed separately in North America, United Kingdom and Japan.
The releases did have some common themes that helped define real-time strategy games, but the genre unified with the release of Herzog Zwei by Sega and Genesis in 1989.
Herzog Zwei helped the genre by creating staples for a real-time strategy game to have, such as unit construction and resource management. Alas, Herzog Zwei was an arcade game, and the genre still had way before being compact. Dune II, released in 1992, along with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, are what fully led the RTS genre to what we know today.
Dune II was heavily inspired by Herzog Zwei but had the advantage of utilizing a mouse and a keyboard. Thus, the unit and building control became more solid and allowed the game to have more options. Following the success of Dune II, Blizzard decided to invest in the newly created genre by releasing the first Warcraft game, just two years after Dune II.
The game was a huge success, not just because of the genre in general, but for its story and setting, as well as other things such as the ability to build farms giving the player a feeling of full society, instead of just a military setting.
Ever since, newer releases just expanded on existing elements of the genre, instead of innovating. Through the advancement of technology and the refinement of the genre, we got what we have today.
Real-time strategy games today as regarded as the highest form of competitive strategy games, due to the continuous thinking and micromanagement required.
Gameplay for real-time strategy games is simple at its core, despite the difficulty of the game itself. You have a base and some units, and you must utilize them, along with the limited starting resources you have, in order to expand and grow your town. At the same time, the enemy has a similar start on the other end of the map (usually), thus starting a race of who can be the first to topple the other. Sometimes there are different factions with their own strengths and weaknesses, for example, a faction might have very expensive and strong units or very cheap but weak units. The first must play a slow build-up game to dominate the enemy late, and the second must rely on swarming of its units early to be successful. Micro and macromanagement is also a core element of any RTS.
Micromanaging refers to the control of small scale and easily noticeable things, such as your units, your buildings, your resources.
Macromanagement refers to how you can use those small actions for a grander scheme in the game, for example, how a future building you build will affect the map layout in future battles.
A small, and not nearly as successful subgenre of the RTS games are the real-time tactics games (RTT for short). These games forego the building and economy management of traditional RTS games by instead focusing on a single unit or group of units for you to manage, and on the tactics required for you to win.
Its relatively lower popularity is due to its design; they decided on foregoing elements the made the genre successful, to begin with. Of course, that does not mean they are not fun.
Starcraft II; one of the most competitive games in the world.
If you want to play real-time strategy games competitively, there is only one option for you, if you want to have fun, the second series of games is solely created as single player and should be enjoyed as one:
Starcraft 2 (the competitive choice)
Warcraft Series (bar World of Warcraft, as it is an
MMORPG)
Starcraft: Remastered (the original Starcraft with
updated graphics)
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
One of the most popular game genres and one of the newest ones as well, multiplayer online battle arena games (or MOBAs for short) are the epitomai of competitive gaming. Every PC gamer has heard of the game League of Legends (LoL).
MOBAs could be considered by some as a subgenre of the real-time strategy games, but the truth is, the only thing in common with the two is the real-time combat they are based on. Truth be told though, MOBAs originated thanks to the real-time strategy classic: Starcraft.
Starcraft gave players their own game editing based on the game’s engine. A user named Aeon64 created a custom map called Aeon of Strife (AoS), in which you assumed control of a powerful character, and then on to one of three different lanes in order to battle with opposing players. This is the core design of a MOBA, but it still had room for development, as it didn’t have much to do other than going to a lane and fighting.
A few years later, again through modding in a Blizzard game, more specifically Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, and later its sequel Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, a user named Eul created a map called Defense of the Ancients (DotA). This map was inspired by AoS.
Likewise, you had control of a character that was growing more powerful, and you went to one of three different lanes to do battle with opposing players. But in DotA, you also had help from smaller, weaker, AI-controlled units (called creeps), and each team had a base with powerful buildings called towers to protect it.
DotA became a massive success within the Warcraft 3 community, and through changes (both in modders working on it and gameplay-wise), it reached its peak form: DotA: Allstars. One of the first modders of DotA worked along with other programmers on a new game based on DotA called League of Legends. Valve also hired the creator of DotA: Allstars in order to work on a standalone DotA title that won’t be based on another game engine.
Newly founded Riot Games released League of Legends in 2009, and Valve released DotA 2 in 2013. These two games became the most-watched professional e-sport in the world and the highest cash reward giving e-sport in the world respectively.
Blizzard then decided that enough is enough and that they couldn’t be out of an extremely popular genre that was created thanks to them. So, they released Heroes of the Storm (HotS) in 2015, with characters from all their titles as competing heroes.
In fact, Blizzard completely disregarded gold gain and item acquisition that MOBAs had and relied on for gameplay balance purposes, instead of focusing more on hero brawling and action. The results are left up to debate between players.
Personally, I enjoy both ways, but I like Blizzard’s version a bit more as it is more teamwork-oriented. Oh, and sometime in 2014, Smite was released, which gave MOBAs a fresh third-person perspective.
I already listed the most popular MOBAs through their history (besides Smite which was just an honorable mention), but in case you were too bored to read (tl;dr):
League of Legends (LoL)
DotA 2
Heroes of the Storm (HotS)
Smite
Tower Defense
One of the simpler genres of the list, tower defense games are liked for their simplicity, and the challenge they present you.
One of the first Tower Defense games.
Tower defense as a concept began with the very popular arcade game Space Invaders where you had to protect yourself and your territory from hordes of enemies. Through the years, and with many, many games, the concept further evolved.
At first, instead of controlling the unit that defends and its attacks, you were instead placing it somewhere along the paths. Then you could choose different ways to defend. A precursor game introduced automatic attacking of towers, being able to repair your base, upgrading the defenses, and more importantly, different (and harder) types of enemies.
Gameplay-wise, you begin with a small amount of currency, and you must use it to decide which towers to place and where depending on the map. Each defeated enemy gives you more of the currency to buy more towers, or to upgrade existing ones.
Towers have different effects, further augmented by their upgrades, and you can use a variety of different strategies to win. Enemies become progressively harder and with more powers and/or resistances. There is often a free play mode, where there is no set number of rounds, the game just keeps going.
With the use of Flash Adobe, as well as the mobile gaming bang in the late 2000s, tower defense games became very popular for their easy-to-pick-up nature. Since then, two popular series have been created and maintained to this day (and they’re from the same company!).
These will make up the list because the rest are easy to find and aren’t worth it if you’re looking for a recent game or one that will get more features and updates in the future. The list:
Bloons Tower Defense Series (the latest is Btd6, the
most popular Btd4)
Plants vs Zombies Series
Wargame
Wargames are what they imply; games about war, and the tactics on how to win them.
Wargames are not that popular as a genre, but they gain a spot on the list for their very popular subgenre: grand strategy games. Grand strategy games are much like 4X games; they require a lot of strategic planning and thinking. But unlike them, you only win through warfare.
Every action you take to advance your economy, culture, or technology, is done with the intent of destroying the enemy through sheer domination.
Grand strategy games might have other parts for you to work on (such as prestige and culture) but they are for score purposes only (or for civil order and to avoid rebellions), you cannot survive long without strong military power.
Most are turn-based, but the Total War series is a mixture of turn-based actions and real-time combat; you control your empire and movement of armies taking turns but fight in real-time.
The gameplay is very similar to 4X games. You must manage your economy, your civil order, and your army, to achieve the best possible result, the only difference is, the only option is to destroy or be destroyed.
Generally, grand strategy games are preferred by those who like a good strategy game but don’t want to overcomplicate things more than they should, as grand strategy games only allow you to focus on how to topple your opponent’s forces.
Still, they are very popular, and even though I prefer 4X games myself; I still play grand strategy games just as much. The more popular strategy games you can play are:
Europa Universalis Series
Total War Series (except Total War: Arena)
Crusader Kings II
Sports
Another of the earliest genres known to game, sports games are not just what they imply. For example, did you know that one of the first sports game ever was… Pong (I dare you to find a more fitting genre for Pong if you can! Unless you don’t know what Pong is, in which case, what exactly are you doing in a gaming article anyway?). Besides, who hasn’t seen Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, or some old basketball game with pixel-art graphics.
Sports games are video games that express any real-world sport in some way or in some form. Depending on the rules of each sport of which the game you’re playing, you just gotta do what every person playing a sport wants: win.
Really, there’s not much I can say about history; sports games just developed in graphics and controls. I mean, look at the FIFA series, there’s not much to improve on a game that’s based on an already predetermined set of rules. Some arcade games that are based on athletic events have their own twists, but the main concept is the same.
There are also sports management games, where you focus on the tactical side of things. These games require more strategy and planning, as you must decide which players you want on your team, how to utilize them, how to keep them happy, what to do when they’re injured etc.
Sports games are a somehow closed-off genre, because, despite its popularity, most players playing a sports game, have some exposure to said sport to get into a game about it. Or they just want to kill time. (Pong!)
The list of popular games will have mostly football (soccer for the Americans out there) and basketball games because they are the most popular sports in the real world as well:
FIFA Series / Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) Series
Football Manager Series
NBA Live Series
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Series
Pong
Pong!!!
Idle
Idle games might not have a spot in most game genre lists, but the few that like them aren’t represented enough. And so, as a fan of these games, I will do my best to represent them honorably.
Firstly, I’ll address the gameplay: The game begins with you having nothing and requiring performing 1 simple action. Then you gain something for that action. After performing that action a few more times, you can purchase something, that will help you generate more… of that something, either by rewarding your actions more, or passively. By purchasing enough passive income you just leave the game running on its own, and return literally whenever to make more purchases.
The question I’m usually asked when talking about such games with friends is the classic “But what’s fun about a game where you have to do nothing in the end?”
When a person plays a game, their target is to have fun and to do that, the player must achieve things in any given game. Well, idle games give you this small pleasure with absolutely minimal time investment.
An idle game is played because every person will be at a phase where they can’t invest time in a game of the other genres, but he has about 20 or so minutes to kill. Idle games give you the option.
But also, most gamers, being gamers, have an innate insatiable curiosity, and when they actually begin an idle game, they want to see how far they can get. Realm Grinder in specific has hundreds of achievements and things to unlock, and different factions, with different ways to earn money.
Now I don’t expect anyone who doesn’t play such games agreeing with me on the spot and playing idle games gleefully for the rest of their lives. But, if you really don’t play these games, I plead with you to try them out for just a measly 10-15 minutes.
Trust me, that’s how I began snowballing into checking my idle game every 10 minutes. Just do it for as much as 15 minutes. I will suggest two games in case you decide to hear me out; both games have support today:
Realm Grinder
Clicker Heroes (There is also Clicker Heroes 2 in Early Access)
EDIT: Idle games seem to be more popular on mobiles these days as many idle game/realm management hybrids make their way to our screens. I still suggest you try the original ones I mentioned, and continue with these new games afterwards.
So, this was the list of the genres of games you can play. Again, if you feel that I left any genre out of this list just tell me so in the comments, and I will either explain to you why what you ask isn’t on the list, or you can convince me to put it in the list. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, and I will answer as soon as I see them.
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