What do you do when you enjoy gaming, but your significant other doesn’t play?
Everyone wants to share their hobbies and passions with someone, but you just can’t throw them in the deep end. You can’t bring your S/O into a large high-level raid in World of Warcraft or a diamond tier competitive match in Overwatch on their first day.
Helping them take baby steps into the world of gaming takes time and it will allow them to ease themselves into games they may have never thought of enjoying.
Nintendo is always a good way to start and with each console and presentation, Nintendo always pushes for a shared gameplay experience. The Switch may release in March, but with a clear focus on playing with friends, you can bet some couples will love their new console.
Nintendo Games like Mario Kart, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. invite everyone to meet a cast of vibrant characters that anyone can find a favorite. This helps them pick out a specific character, course or item, and lets them focus on working to use it.
For example, if your S/O is an automotive aficionado, they might easily gravitate towards Captain Falcon in Smash, which will then lead to a quick race in the Mute City track on Mario Kart. All it would take is one small detail in one game to help them experience another. All of this while being in the same room as your loved one
However, the issue with games like Smash Bros. and Mario Kart is sharing. You don’t play these games with someone next to you and just expect them to watch, but no one enjoys playing with the notion of losing. You and your S/O can plan to play for an hour, but if they lose of beating you in five minutes, it’s all for nothing. Which sets up a precedent of them never being able to beat you, so why bother.
You also can’t just let someone win because it feels cheap and stales the experience. Therefore, I recommend games that encourage competitiveness, but help balance the skill gap with simple adjustments.
Towefall Ascension is a great starting game to share because it has simple controls and the winning penalties give new players a slight advantage. The new player can start off with three arrows and a shield, while the winning player starts with two. This makes it more difficult for the winning player to steamroll their S/O, while giving them an advantage small enough to keep the game fair. Add in player mistakes, fun power-ups and simple level design and the results will be a fun game night that can lead to more intrigue into gaming.
Cooperative gaming is also a great opportunity to share the gaming hobby while using your own chemistry to deal with certain tasks. A few games that come to mind can be Minecraft, Call of Duty Zombies and Super Mario 3D Land.
You can create your own house and farm in Minecraft, but that might take too long and might bore them after 30 minutes of resource gathering.
You both can take on the endless horde of zombies, but with little knowledge of controlling a first-person shooter and an increasingly difficult wave of zombies, the game will turn into a video of you playing till the next round to save them.
Super Mario 3D Land is fun and easy to grasp, but Mario is too widely known and they can never fully understand your hobby if they only play Mario games. They need something fresh, but simple. Something they can see actual progress on, but know they contributed equally. A game that is unorthodox, but opens their eyes to something past Minecraft, Mario or COD.
Broforce has the simplicity of running and gunning mixed with the star-studded cast of classic action heroes makes for a fun and silly experience. The best part is that because of the fast level completion and quick restart, both players can enjoy their action hero without the fear of losing progress. You can revive each other if you die, there is no game over screen and is a constant barrage of tiny pixelated carnage.
Assuming everyone has a S/O that has watched an action movie in the last 30 years, at least one action star should be recognizable. Their different abilities and weapons keeps the game fresh and unlocking new stars is always fun. It also doesn’t hurt shouting out classic lines during each playthrough.
Broforce and Towerfall Ascension can be those baby steps your S/O takes before jumping into the deep end with you. Who knows, maybe they start playing these games now and eventually join your guild, clan, party etc. later.
What games do you enjoy playing with your S/O? Let us know in the comments below.
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