What was the easiest game you've ever played? It would be a children's game, platform, adventure or even a walking simulator, the game options with easier challenges are many.
We know it's hard to get into the gaming world, the community is often interpreted as clique at best and downright toxic to outsiders at worst; Also, there's an assumption that you need to have great skill to get past level one.
But there's good news for the curious: with the gaming industry as varied and vast as it is today (it's not just Fortnite!), there are tons of titles that focus entirely on storytelling or stunning visuals that require very little skill from the player. So for those who are looking for new experiences but don't want to stress about passing levels, here are 16 great and easy games that everyone can enjoy.
We've given each game a difficulty rating of one to three stars, with one being the easiest and three being nearly challenging.
So, in no particular order, here are 22 of the world's easiest games ever made. If that's all too much for you, why not unwind with our selection of 22 of the hardest games in the world.
1. Firewatch (2022)
Difficulty: ★★
Firewatch is essentially a first-person walking simulator that subtly guides you every step of the way. You are Henry, a man who took on the role of a fire watchman in a national forest park to prevent his wife's Alzheimer's disease. His only connection to society is the dissociated voice of Delilah, the woman monitoring the area, crackling through Henry's walkie-talkie. As Delilah helps Henry come to terms with his tragic situation through their daily pranks, the aftermath of a murder mystery unfolds, forcing Henry into the thick of it all. As Henry delves deeper into the truth, the heartbreaking revelation perfectly counters his inability to come to terms with his wife's illness. The plot doesn't really vary due to your dialogue choices, but you can certainly influence Henry's outlook on life.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux), PS4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch
2. What Remains of Edith Finch (2022)
Difficulty : ★★
Is tragedy the culmination of an individual's life choices, or is a person trapped by fate? This question is amplified in the beautiful and moving book What Remains of Edith Finch, which tells the story of a family seemingly cursed to a tragic death. You are Edith, the last survivor of a large family. After a long and painful departure from her family home, Edith returns to find out more about her deceased family members to find closure. The Finch home is an extensive mix of architecture and conflicting periods – the family matriarch has isolated the deceased's bedrooms, instead building more bedrooms as new generations are born – creating one of the most unique settings in recent video game history. As Edith navigates this labyrinthine property, she discovers each family member's bedroom and reads their journals, which leads us to minigame flashbacks unique to each character, explaining how they died.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows), PS4 , Xbox One
3. Dear Esther (2008)
Difficulty : ★
One of the most beautifully designed games in recent history, Dear Esther's greatness lies in the perfect combination of her solemn visual style and abstract yet emotionally engaging narrative. You start out as a man visiting an abandoned island. As you walk the path that was designed for you, your narration begins to uncover the history of this desolate place, your connection to it, and why you came back. Interspersed with an enigmatic backstory about you and your wife, we also learn about the island's past and its history filled with dreams that are made and broken. Moving from vast vistas to stunning subterranean caverns, Esther's face organically and patiently comes to a thrilling finale. The game itself is just a game, but more of a story walkthrough that unfolds at your preferred pace. You basically follow the path until you reach the end. That said, it's an experience you probably won't soon forget. Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux), PS4 , Xbox One4. Gone Home (2022)
Difficulty : ★★
The subtle but emotionally impactful Gone Home is the ultimate first-person home exploration alternative to What Remains of Edith Finch. As Katie, you return home in 1995 from a backpacking trip abroad to find that your entire family is gone. That's all you know about yourself and the family as you start your journey through the house, trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to your loved ones. As open-ended as the premise for a horror or thriller game is, what we have is more of a layered drama than a series of creepy jumps. Gone Home contains an impressively contained and grounded story that delves into the characters' motivations, allowing us to really capture their perspective. The gameplay encourages a more open-world narrative, allowing Katie to explore what she wants, where she wants, and how much she wants. If all you want to get out of the story is the surface fundamentals, you can do it in a few hours. However, a true exploration of the game's themes, which deal with high-impact issues such as the lack of LGBTQ acceptance in the 90s, requires some deeper research.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux), PS4 , Xbox One
5. Monument Valley (2022)
Difficulty : ★★★
If MC Escher ever had the chance to create a smartphone game, Monument Valley would be it. An intricately constructed puzzle, stunning in its minimalist visuals and design, Monument Valley plays on your understanding of perspective. There's not a lot of open story here, but the relaxing aesthetic and mind-blowing puzzles in each level more than make up for it. You're a pretty generic princess trying to find a way from point A to point B on the X, Y, and Z axes, and your only way to overcome obstacles is to rotate the level until you find an angle that suddenly matches the sections that previously looked broken. . It's a perfect game for touchscreens, as moving levels with your finger provides a more tactile connection than using a controller's analog stick. There's certainly no shortage of tough puzzle games like nails in smartphone OS games, but with its loose controls and exhilarating experiences, Monument Valley isn't one of them. One of the first ambient puzzle games for the smartphone market, Monument Valley's success resulted in developer ustwo partnering with Apple. The equally immersive sequel, Monument Valley 2, is also available.
Where to buy : iOS, Android , Windows Phone
6. The Stanley Parable (2022)
Difficulty : ★
The hilarious and existentially subversive first-person walking simulator Stanley's Parable throws any expectations you might have from a video game out the window and offers as much fun as you'll have while contemplating the fallacy of your individual free will. In the game, you are an office drone named Stanley who has never made an original choice in his life. Suddenly, everyone in his office has disappeared and Stanley has to figure it out. Or does he want to? Does he take the advice of the sarcastic, monotonous Stephen Fry-type narrator, who simply wants him to follow his instructions, which he swears will lead to the only possible happy ending in the game, or does he find his own way? A typical game of The Stanley Parable ends in about 10 minutes, but the fun is in going back over and over again and discovering the myriad of philosophically sound, patently absurd, and sometimes proudly nihilistic ways the game can end. For fans of Philip K. Dick and Scott Adams, The Stanley Parable is an essential purchase. There are no puzzles to solve, just choices to make. If I had an unpredictability meter, however, this game would have broken it.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux)7. The Beginners Guide (2022)
Difficulty : ★
After the unexpected and groundbreaking originality of The Stanley Parable, fans were hoping that designer Davey Wreden would offer another different game as a sequel. What they got instead was an honest and deeply moving exploration of how the loneliness and uncertainty of the game design process – or any artistic process in general – can bring the brunt of existential depression. Through a series of incomplete first-person game levels belonging to disparate genres – one level is a modern shooter, another is a dungeon crawler – Wreden chronicles his complex relationship with a talented but introverted game designer, which gradually closed down. to the outside world. As the levels become increasingly abstract and deliberately cryptic, it becomes difficult to figure out if this designer, who could very well be Wreden himself, is using his work as a cry for help or if he really needs to be left alone. What makes The Beginners Guide so special is that it might be the only documentary you can consume through the video game.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux)
8. The Walking Dead (2022)
Difficulty : ★★
For most of this decade, Telltale Games has been at the forefront of episode-based interactive movie-style games that follow a narrative based on the decisions the player makes. Like a TV show, each game is split into a series of episodes that can be purchased separately as they are released, or in a bundle once everything is complete. Depending on the intellectual property you prefer, Telltale lets you play in the Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman, Minecraft, Game of Thrones, and Back to the Future universes, but The Walking Dead game is the best written and original so far. You play as Lee, who is tasked with protecting a little girl named Clementine during the relentless walker apocalypse. In the name of survival, you're asked to make some horrible choices along the way, the last one of which has certainly traumatized many players. It's also one of the rare games that's better than the intellectual property it's based on, as the writing, acting, design, and everything else certainly has a leg in the annoyingly corny, languidly paced TV show. In addition to simply making choices that shape the narrative, there are some classic adventure game-style puzzles. However, they're pretty easy, and even if you get stuck, the other characters pretty much give you step-by-step instructions on what to do.
Where to buy : Steam(Windows, Mac, Linux), PS3 , PS4 / PS Vita , Xbox 360 / Xbox One , Android , iOS , Kindle Fire
9. Late Shift (2022)
Difficulty : ★
Late Shift is a real movie, with all the actors and live-action sets, about a gas station attendant who is caught in a deadly heist and must use his wits to get out of it alive. The only interactivity expected from the player is choosing between two, sometimes three options that will take the story in different paths until reaching one of seven endings, some tragic, some triumphant, some in between. The writing can get a little cheesy and the acting a little harsh at times, but the story offers some genuine twists and emotions depending on the choices you make.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows), PS4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch, iOS / Apple TV
10. Heavy Rain (2010)
Difficulty : ★★
Heavy Rain, a third-person adventure game, is perhaps the closest you'll come to playing a video game version of Se7en. Sure, the writing isn't all that sophisticated, especially considering some unintentionally funny sections where the French developers are trying to make sense of American slang, but it makes up for it by being relentlessly dark. You play as four different characters who are trying to solve a series of child murders. Any of the four protagonists can die at any time, but instead of encountering a Game Over screen and being prompted to try again, the story continues until you reach one of 20 distinct endings. You can have all the characters killed and the killer go free, or you can end up giving each of them a happy ending. You can also choose to ignore or fail all clues and puzzles to the end, but don't get mad when your characters are dragged into a series of preventable tragedies.
Where to buy: PS3 , PS4
11. Journey (2022)
Difficulty : ★
Journey is the video game equivalent of those calming meditation videos or audio streams that you put in the background to let your body and mind relax. The game starts without any exposure; You are a faceless cloaked figure skating through a mesmerizing, otherworldly desert of sand dunes and ruins, and a magical scarf tied to your cloak allows you to fly across distances and float through high gates. Along the way, you'll come across some images that suggest an ancient war wiped out any civilization your world was a part of. Even though it involves a few obstacles, the engine behind Journey changes its challenges depending on each player's aptitude, gradually finding out if you're more interested in exploring rather than solving problems, allowing you to slide through the levels faster and without too much hassle. That's why, for some players, Journey is a three-hour experience, and for others, it barely lasts an hour, even though they all have to cross the same plains.
Where to buy : PS3 , PS4
12. Frog Fractions (2022)
Difficulty : ★★
Fans of mischievous, uncut surrealism will dig into Frog Fractions. It's best to get into this game with as little knowledge of it as possible, but stick with it, even if for the first five to 10 minutes it just appears to be a math teaching Flash game for kids where a cartoon frog catches flies representing fractions. Slowly, you will realize that fractions are completely absurd. This is just the beginning of how much free-flowing insanity Frog Fractions has in store for you. Soon, the colorful and benign setting is a thing of the past, and an equally fun and maddening journey begins, one that parodies multiple genres to the point of knocking them completely out of their self-seriousness. Eventually, you'll get into some adventure-style puzzle solving, but other than that, everything else is completely challenging. Of course, that doesn't mean any of this is any less charmingly bizarre. If you don't get your head fried after playing it, you can check out the sequel, which is tucked away on Steam as a game called Glittermitten Grove.
Where to buy : It's a free Flash game – play it here.
13. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2022)
Difficulty : ★★★
At first glance, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons looks like a strictly two-player co-op game. However, the reality is just the opposite: It's up to a single player to control two characters at the same time, a revolutionary gameplay approach that fits perfectly with the game's themes about the bond between siblings and the painful and exciting journey into old age. adult. You play as two brothers in an unspecified medieval fantasy land, who are tasked with an arduous journey facing the wrath of nature, the scourge of war, and a slew of giants and monsters who want to tear the brothers to pieces to find an herb. who can heal his dying father. The premise is Ancient Mythology 101, but developer 505 Games manages to pack a layered journey full of surprising character arcs and complex adult themes into a fairly straightforward action/adventure game. Of all the games on this list, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is certainly the hardest. There are some action levels that require some agility and alertness, but they should be easy to beat after a few tries. Its supreme visual storytelling is simply unbelievable.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows), PS3 , PS4 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , iOS , Android
14. Florence (2022)
Difficulty : ★
If you have two dollars to spare and want to contemplate the universality of love, heartbreak, despair and eventual human self-healing in 30 minutes, then Florence is your destination. Designed with a charming pencil sketch look and soft autumn colors, Florence tells the story of the title character who falls in love with a cellist and experiences the ups and downs of the relationship. Interactivity is minimal but effective. While she's at work, all you have to do is match random numbers until they disappear. When florence and your new boyfriend go out on the first date, you should assemble speech bubbles like micro puzzles that get easier or harder depending on the tone of the conversation. A brilliant visual expression of how we emotionally sync with the people we care about as we get to know them better.
Where to buy : iOS , Android
15. Night in the Woods (2022)
Difficulty : ★
Fans of Bojack Horseman, a show that looks like a colorful cartoon about talking animals but turns out to be a powerful exploration of mental illness and the weirdness of modern society, will find a lot to like about Night in the Woods. The game is set in a universe inhabited by talking animals, but everything else is as realistic and contemporary as it gets. You are Mae, a college dropout who has no choice but to move back in with her parents in her small hometown. As if dealing with the depression of her past failures and anxiety about the bleakness of her future wasn't enough, she becomes embroiled in a bizarre criminal conspiracy. Simple 2D graphics and text-based interactions allow an epic story to unfold at a patient pace that eventually allows us to feel like a resident of Mae City.
Where to buy : Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux), PS4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch
16. Abzu (2022)
Difficulty : ★★
A beautiful third-person ocean exploration game – or “experience” might be more fitting – Abzu will provide you with one of the most calming and relaxing two hours in front of a TV or computer screen. You are an unidentified humanoid character, perhaps an android, discovering the depths of a vast ocean filled with friendly fish and various sea creatures that you can grab and ride. As the journey continues, you start to find traces of an ancient civilization with very advanced underwater life technology. Their motivation for their journey is never explained clearly, allowing each player to design their own narrative for the game. Most meditative of all is that nearly every frame in the underwater game – the marine animals are highly detailed depictions and the glowing plant life stands out in the silent blue waters – is worth hanging on the wall as erudite digital art.
Where to buy : Steam(Windows), PS4 , Xbox One
