Video game suggestions

November 24, 2020 1:37 PM

Can you suggest some xbox one games for me, given some criteria below?

I recently bought a used xbox one as a pandemic present to myself. I enjoy video games but I'm not up on game culture and this is the first console I've owned in over 10 years. I thought I would want to play AAA games, but I've found them to be a little boring or tedious. I got bored with Red Dead Redemption almost immediately -- I'm sure that the game gets better eventually, but following NPCs around while they explain things to me is not what I need right now. Similarly, I tried NBA 2K since I used to love sports games but the controls are so intricate that the learning curve seems too steep to bother with. (I'm old I guess). I played Battlefield V for a bit, but it didn't really take either.

Games I've enjoyed: Super Mega Baseball, Overwatch, Rocket League, Overcooked (with my wife). Fortnite is fine, but not my favorite. Before I bought the xbox, my favorite game was TF2 on my PC. Fall Guys looks like something I'd like but it's not on xbox.

Based on this, I think I like games that are cartoony, exciting, and fairly easy to pick up. I don't like elaborate stories, or having to read much text on the screen. I just want to jump into the fun part.

Please help me kill time during the lockdown by suggesting games I might like!

posted by no regrets, coyote to Computers & Internet (16 answers total)

We don't exactly share taste in games, but here are a couple I enjoyed recently that might be along those lines (and both are on Game Pass, if you have it): De Blob, Golf with Friends. (Golf with Friends is a mini golf game that seems a little dumb for a second, but very quickly goes into absurd territory, which I find very fun! Despite the name, I Golf Alone.)
posted by nosila at 2:03 PM on November 24, 2020

Cartoony, easy to pick up, relatively simple story...you might enjoy the Costume Quest series from Double Fine. I had a lot of fun with the first one, and only put the second one on hold because the new XBox came out and I've been playing some of the new games that came out around the same time.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:26 PM on November 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Some great games outside the AAA style:

Donut County is a bit of a spiritual successor to Katamari

Dragon Quest builders is super fun for co-op play

Spelunky remains one of the best games ever
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:03 PM on November 24, 2020

If you like driving games, you'd probably enjoy Burnout Paradise Remastered. The reissue of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 looks pretty neat. If you liked playing those games ten years ago, you'll probably still like them. You could hit the reissue trifecta with Okami HD.

There are Xbox One versions of Stardew Valley and Minecraft, if you want to go more modern but not AAA. Cuphead seems like something you'd enjoy. Maybe Shovel Knight and Guacamelee, too.

Games that are cartoony and easy to pick up are sometimes described as 'arcade-style.' Think of like Burnout compared to Forza, or (more dated metaphors ahead) Super Tecmo Bowl versus Madden, or NBA Jam compared to NBA 2K. I add this just because it might be helpful for searching for other games to play.
posted by box at 3:32 PM on November 24, 2020

Here's a few suggestions:

For multiplayer stuff, Sea of Thieves is a multiplayer cartoony pirate game, many people find it relaxing although there are other people. Overwatch is worth a shot if you never played it. Gears (of war) 5 is a good showpiece for graphics.

There's several good platformers on Xbox One: Ori and the Blind Forest (and the sequel Will of the Wisps) is a fun platformer with a great art style that can get difficult later. Celeste is another very good platformer that gets hard later. Inside is more creepy then cartoony, but is definitely easy to pick up and play.

Other misc stuff would be Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, Batman Arkham Knight, The Outer Wilds,
Rare Replay
posted by JZig at 3:37 PM on November 24, 2020

The Xbox One is backwards compatible with dozens of Xbox 360 games:
Daytona USA
EDF 2017
EDF 2025
Guardian Heroes
Radiant Silvergun
posted by Bangaioh at 3:52 PM on November 24, 2020

It's unlike anything else, and you might think the concept's a bit soft, but Untitled Goose Game is better than I could have imagined.
posted by scruss at 3:53 PM on November 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

The Borderlands games are cartoon-ey-ish, fast paced, you're constantly gaining incrementally better loot, and I thought the learning curve wasn't so bad.

It's rather droll.
posted by porpoise at 4:06 PM on November 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

Cuphead?
posted by bgrebs at 4:32 PM on November 24, 2020

Deep rock galactic is simply amazing
posted by bbqturtle at 5:35 PM on November 24, 2020

I was just going to say Deep Rock Galactic also.
posted by ropeladder at 5:58 PM on November 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you like zombie games, try Left 4 Dead 2 (the copy should include all maps from the original Left 4 Dead).

It's a very simple first-person shooter game. There are no skill trees, leveling up, cutscenes, complicated weapons or inventory items. You dive right in, and over time you learn the layout of the maps, where the choke points are and how best to position yourself and your team. Can be played single player, couch co-op or online co-op.
posted by extramundane at 6:52 PM on November 24, 2020

I always like to recommend running through the Quantic Foundry motivation profile to get a better idea of what aspects of gaming you enjoy.

That said and also enjoying Super Mega Baseball, Rocket League, Overcooked, and Fall Guys, I feel like I'm in a similar boat as you. Grew up in the 80s and still enjoy video games, yet I feel like I can't commit to 20, 30, 40+ hour games now. My "motivation profile" confirms that now I'm more likely to enjoy games where I can jump into the action, skill and ability are rewarded, and complete achievements and collect gear/loot over those where planning and strategy are more important or where the story and role playing aspects are immersive and enjoyable in their own right.

Those games you mentioned all line up with those motivations. I've found that going back to my roots has been the most rewarding for me lately. Replaying NES games, Super Mario 64, etc. are always fun, but more modern instances in the same vein like Spelunky (360), Dead Cells, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Celeste, Human Fall Flat, and Hollow Knight are all good. Also longer, but easy to jump in and out are Forza Horizon 3/4 and any of the Lego games.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 8:03 PM on November 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

I recommend getting Game Pass. It’s a relief to try something you might have paid $20 or $40 for, discover you don’t like it, and move on.
posted by argybarg at 11:25 PM on November 24, 2020

If you like Overcooked, you'd probably like the game Moving Out, which is basically the exact same game except you're movers instead of chefs. Get ready to destroy someone's entire house as you casually throw their belongings into an overflowing moving truck!
posted by zeusianfog at 11:11 AM on November 25, 2020

Portal Knights is fun, cartoony and not too difficult to pick up. Bonus points, you could play with your wife.
posted by VyanSelei at 3:42 AM on November 26, 2020