Some games are more enjoyable from the get-go, and throughout, due to their easy accessibility. Games that aren’t bogged down by heavy lore or steep learning curves but are no less fun because of it. In fact, to many, they will be a good deal more fun.
Without exhaustive skill trees or complicated game mechanics to commit to memory, games become more widely accessible to gamers and non-gamers alike. Or they may simply appeal to those who want a break from heavy title investments with something lighter. It can be refreshing for anyone to delve into a game that’s naturally absorbing and enjoyable from the start, without the fuss.
10 The Walking Dead
Telltale Games’ episodic, graphic adventure series The Walking Dead follows the stories of zombie apocalypse survivors. As with most Telltale games thereafter, the player engages in a story-driven experience in which the things they say and do affect how the story progresses.
The Walking Dead Series was a critical success, appealing to fans of the genre and beyond with its captivating story and accessible gameplay. Even for less adept gamers, The Walking Dead is easy to dive into, as it guides players through what to press and what options are available at each point. The game’s success lies in its character-driven and action-packed survival story. A story that’s already hard to turn away from and made even more gripping through the player’s interactivity and influence on the narrative.
9 The Sims
Perhaps the most complicated thing about The Sims series is the character creation. However, despite the detail, this aspect is made easy and enjoyable to engage with, and players can simply skip extraneous modification steps, randomize their characters with a click of a button, or choose to play with premade Sims.
From there on out, The Sims games are a simple matter of selecting Sims, seeing what ‘needs’ bars are running low (or seeing them complain loudly about them), and pointing them in the direction of the fridge, bed, easel, etc. Players get the unbridled satisfaction of playing God for a simulated household, which it turns out isn't a hard job for a God.
8 Overcooked! 2
Another simulation game, this time exclusively in the realm of cooking. Overcooked 2 is a very simple but fast-paced game appropriate and enjoyable for children and adult children alike. Players work hard to chop, cook, and put together order-specific dishes within a certain time. Occasionally they have to do the dishes or perhaps put out a fire.
That’s not the game in a nutshell but in its entirety. Nevertheless, sometimes less is more, and the fast-paced fun as players race cutesy little characters around the kitchen is hard to beat. Overcooked 2 is absurdly exhilarating, addictive, and best played cooperatively with other players, either on or offline. It can also be played cross-platform!
7 Limbo & Inside
Most puzzle platformers are easy to get into as they tend to have simpler controls and narratives. Limbo and Inside are no different. They follow nameless characters through dark and imaginative worlds with no dialogue and as simple controls as one could ask for.
The games simply start, with no preamble and no tutorial necessary, as players learn quickly how to move, jump, and grab. From there on out the depth and wonder of the games grows quietly as players run through strange, melancholic worlds solving increasingly interesting puzzles. What makes Limbo and Inside uniquely absorbing is their strong concepts and atmospheric design, both in sound and aesthetic.
6 Crash Bandicoot
The Crash Bandicoot series has decades of beloved titles to choose from, that require no extensive tutorials and have no steep learning curves. Mostly, the player makes their way through the platformers jumping, spinning, and collecting Wumpa Fruit.
However, between Crash’s charmingly whacky character, the great game design, and the never-ending need to try that last bit just one more time, Crash Bandicoot has kept players hooked since the mid-90s. The best-loved, original three titles by Naughty Dog were remade with clean, modern graphics in 2017’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. In 2020, Activision released Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, continuing the legacy.
5 Stardew Valley
Deceptively complicated, Stardew Valley was created by one man and has 90s Gameboy-appropriate graphics. Players are invited to start a new life on their grandfather’s old farm, which entails a lot of hoeing, sowing, watering, and harvesting. The controls aren’t complicated, and the farm work is an immediate delight.
It’s only once players are good and hooked (which doesn’t take long) that they begin to realize the breadth of the game. They can form relationships with townspeople, go looking for lost treasures, go fishing, craft items, plan seasonal crops, design their farm, tend livestock, and even create artisan goods to sell. Stardew Valley is easy enough to get into but rewarding for a long time thereafter.
4 Journey
A breathtaking game that requires no real introduction and no tutorial, Journey will have any player wholly absorbed from the get-go. The controls are easy and intuitive, likewise the gameplay and objective. Upon cresting the first dune, the player’s quest becomes apparent – to reach a glowing, distant mountain.
It’s not only this objective that hooks the player, however. Everything from the thematic score to the way the character’s robe ripples in the breeze makes Journey impossible to turn away from. The music, sounds, and experiences adapt together as the player climbs dunes and slides gracefully down the other side, or glides through the air, with a glowing scarf trailing behind them. Few games offer such spectacle and immersion from the start and throughout.
3 LEGO Licensed Video Games
There are many, many LEGO games out there that offer fun and accessible family-friendly gaming experiences. However, it was with the advent of licensing well-known and much-loved stories and characters that LEGO video games became some of the most popular of all time.
LEGO’s licensed games are reasonably intuitive to play, being appropriate for younger gamers. They guide players through buttons and mechanics as they play, but usually boil down to a lot of single button-jabbing to build or smash with immense satisfaction. The gameplay is smooth and vibrant, familiar stories are fun to play through, and the whacky, tongue-in-cheek humor keeps players grinning throughout.
2 Life Is Strange
Life Is Strange is another game that is easy to get into due to its basic controls and game mechanics. What it lacks in those areas it makes up for in the engrossing, episodic drama of a teenage girl at high school with a supernatural ability.
Life Is Strange is more about the story than any overt superhero antics, however. This soft indie game easily draws players in and guides them through the exploration of its characters and events. What the player does and says can change the course of the story, immersing them more so into an already captivating experience.
1 Mario Kart
The success of kart racing games is partly due to their wider accessibility compared with other racing games. They offer loveable or well-known characters, bawdy colors, and zany antics. Perhaps most importantly of all, kart racers tend to have simpler controls and gameplay to get to grips with.
That’s not to say they’re easy to master, however. Timing turns, jumps, and bombs is what makes these games exceedingly competitive and engaging. The Mario Kart series is by far and away the most successful game franchise of the genre, passing all these genre-defining requirements with flying colors. For players without a Nintendo console or fans of Crash Bandicoot, Crash Team Racing Nitro-fueled is another great option.