Seeking PS4 games that two non-gamers can enjoy together

December 4, 2020 7:35 PM

In a fit of folly a few years ago, I bought a PlayStation 4. It's been sitting largely unused, except for when my young nephew visits. I'd like to find some easy games (with a shallow learning curve) to play together with my wife while we are home for the holidays.

When I first got the PS4, I bought a few first-person shooter games, like Call of Duty, but I was absolutely horrible at them, even at the easiest settings. My reaction time and hand-eye coordination aren't very good. I also didn't have a lot of time to devote to learning them, and I just don't have the patience for it. And the PS4 controllers are intimidatingly complex, like the dashboard of a 747 jet.

So... I don't know if there are any games that would fit these criteria:

• Don't require a lot of practice before they become fun (or, at least, have a setting that makes them so easy that they would insult an average six-year-old)
• No long, complex adventures with problem-solving
• Can be played by two people at the same time (two people who are both middle-aged with slow reaction times)
• Use simple controls
• Can be enjoyed for relatively short periods of time, like 15 minutes

Do such games exist?

posted by alex1965 to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (18 answers total)

Katamari Damacy Reroll? I haven’t actually played Reroll, but it’s meant to be a faithful recreation of the original Katamari Damacy which I would recommend without hesitation. It’s bizarre and delightful, but not complicated to play. I don’t think you even need any of the buttons on the controller, just the sticks.
posted by rodlymight at 7:47 PM on December 4, 2020 [3 favorites]

Racing games might be good? I always enjoyed Mario cart as a non gamer.
posted by freethefeet at 8:06 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

Castle Crashers was the first thing I thought of.

My wife and I played the LEGO games for a bit. We played a several of the older ones on XBOX 360 but there's a good number of newer ones on PS4 on that list.

I was just looking at this PS4 Couch Multiplayer Guide. One that caught my eye was Windjammers, which I've never played but was an old school Neo Geo game that some people really love. There's some others on that list that might be possibilities as well but I've never played any of them either aside from Rocket League which might be too twitchy for you.
posted by cali59 at 8:17 PM on December 4, 2020

I just saw that Shiftlings seems to be available on PS4. That game is awful to try to play with one person but I think it might actually be fun with two people. It may be worth a look.
posted by cali59 at 8:25 PM on December 4, 2020

Me and my SO have a PS2 and enjoy some goofy games on it. The ones that are also on the PS4 include Katamari Damacy (as rodlymight suggests, I like it) and Monkeyball and I don't know how much you may have played arcade games in the past, but there are some classics like this knock-off of Tempest and Galaga. Aside from Katamari, those are turn-based in two player mode but we enjoyed noodling with all of them.
posted by jessamyn at 8:26 PM on December 4, 2020

Jessamyn sparked the memory neuron in my brain about this PS2 game they remade for the PS4 in 2018: Shadow of the Colossus — she and I would take turns playing it because it's a one-player large-world adventure. You know how sometimes it's no fun watching someone else play a game? This was the opposite. The scenery is amazing, the gameplay is challenging but not difficult (especially once you're used to the buttons), and ... it was just beautiful from what I remember on the PS2. The PS4 version is probably even more eye-opening.
posted by not_on_display at 8:31 PM on December 4, 2020

It is a lovely day in the village and you and your wife should be horrible geese. My wife, who last touched a controller to play Super Mario 20 years ago, picked it up in a few minutes, and we were absorbed for like two straight hours honking at people, ruining their days and cackling uncontrollably. There's a little bit of timing needed, and a little bit of planning, but not a ton.
posted by Superilla at 10:47 PM on December 4, 2020 [11 favorites]

Pretty much all the Lego games are good, just pick a franchise you like and go. The gameplay is very forgiving but the writing and details are often incredibly detailed and super pleasing to fans and usually really funny. You can play local multiplayer or by yourself and have your partner drop in and out of the game as desired.

Seconding the goose game as well, the chaos is impeccable.

Rocket League is like... imagine soccer... but if each player was a ridiculous race car with confetti cannons and turbo boosts. It is very silly and fun. I’m not sure how difficult it would be to learn if you aren’t a little familiar with racing or sports games but it’s now free to play so you can download it and mess around with no financial penalty.
posted by Mizu at 11:38 PM on December 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

Death Squared would be perfect, I think. Ignore the name - it's a really fun two-player puzzle game that doesn't require reflexes or fine control to play, just a bit of lateral thinking. In its two-player mode you only need to control the left stick to play.

Overcooked is a little more complex, but it's good chaotic fun, and when you get it wrong it only gets funnier. The main challenge is thinking on your feet and being able to work out what the best next thing to do is every few seconds.

Alternatively, have you considered playing a story-based game? Sometimes I'll play a game with my wife and one of us will play while the other watches and makes suggestions, swapping over the controller every so often. Night in the Woods would be ideal for this - a good story, great writing and little to no challenge.
posted by dudekiller at 4:05 AM on December 5, 2020

Seconding the LEGO games of whatever franchise amuses you. We’ve played a few of them and they’re all low-stress fun.

I played Child of Light a while back and I think it would suit—it has a lovely aesthetic, a story that was interesting to talk about, and it wasn’t too hard for me (a person with the worst reflexes.) Only downside is that the second playable character is a little less “deep” in its gameplay, so you may want to swap controllers now and then.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:45 AM on December 5, 2020

I am someone like you and the key for me is that timing is not important in the game. I can stand still and think for 10 seconds at pretty much any point and (while I might lose because I didn't do all the tasks in the 10 minute time limit) nobody's going to smash me while I'm trying to remember the buttons.

Based on that, I definitely loved Lego Indiana Jones (I played others, but that was my favorite gameplay wise), Untitled Goose Game, Overcooked, Katamari Damacy Reroll and Mario Kart. So I second all those suggestions from above.

I'm also really enjoying Pikmin; the controls take a little learning, but it's super forgiving while you're figuring them out. I played Pokemon Sword and Shield, but that's only if you're already a Pokemon fan (it was fun to play and collect Pokemon, but I picked it up to please my son).
posted by gideonfrog at 6:24 AM on December 5, 2020

We have had a lot of fun playing Ultimate Chicken Horse in our family (parents, 9 year old, 6 year old). You play hot seat and take turns putting pieces of a platformer-type game and then try to run it. So you can make it as easy or as hard as you want. Our 6 year old leaned heavily on the teleporter to get around traps as he learned the game.
posted by Wink Ricketts at 7:03 AM on December 5, 2020

If you want an absolutely silly, non-competitive game that is full of colorful, imaginative imagery, goofy music and just plain weirdness, go with Peggle. (Peggle 1 or 2 or any version of it will do, not sure what's available in the PS4 online store)

It's kind of like pinball, but sillier and an easier learning curve. Even little kids could play it... you launch a ball up a ramp and attempt to knock down colored pegs—but there's more to it. It's a great game to pick up and play, or leave on at a party for others to goof around with. It might be TOO silly and simple, but I know it's also really cheap: less than $10.

On that note, there's a bunch of extremely cool pinball simulators for PS4 on the online store. Search "pinball" and see what you find. The graphics, sounds and feedback on these things is remarkable. You can even "nudge" the machine with the controller, and possibly "tilt" the game if you do it too much. But otherwise: exactly like an old-school coin-op pinball machine (some include elaborate video animations, though)
posted by SoberHighland at 8:13 AM on December 5, 2020

Want to add: Peggle (and pinball) allow you to play 2 player by taking turns, so neither is co-op. But individual turns go by quickly. And Peggle is fun to watch even when it's not your turn.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:26 AM on December 5, 2020

Do you like stories? The games sometimes derisively called walking simulators are surprisingly good. I would put Firewatch at the top of the list to play. Also Tacoma, which didn't make the list I linked. The top ones they talk about are good too.
posted by Nelson at 11:18 AM on December 5, 2020

Stardew Valley is awesome. There is an update coming soon that will have split screen.
posted by VyanSelei at 5:33 PM on December 5, 2020

+1 Overcooked.
posted by pompomtom at 4:32 PM on December 6, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I'm not going to mark any answers as "best answer", because I haven't had a chance yet to explore all the options that were recommended to me. But off-hand, I'd say that pinball simulations look the most promising to me, and that's where I'm going to start. Thank you!
posted by alex1965 at 9:51 AM on December 8, 2020