Okay so work with me a little here. You’ve just been tasked with recommending a game to someone who’s got very little experience with gaming.
Maybe they’re a kid who’s just starting out, or maybe they’ve just never had much interest in videogames.
What one game are you giving to them to show what videogames can be
I would vote for Stardew Valley as a universally “good” introduction to gaming. There’s a lot of charm, it’s low intensity, it’s obviously a labor of love, there are frequent rewards, and it incentivizes planning/engagement but not in a way that makes a new player fail.
Honestly though I’d rather know what kind of preferences a person has and tailor the game to that because gaming is so diverse.
Speaking of labour of love I would also add Terraria
100% agree. Both are examples of how passionate indie gaming can surpass millions of dollars of budget and create something special.
SDV is a great answer. It’s still my top played game in steam. I played it through the entire quarantine phase of the pandemic.
Even if SDV is my favourite game to play, I wouldn’t recommend it for someone with little to no gaming experience. It’s a cozy farming sim yes, but a lot of mechanics are not that well explained and you have to use the wiki A LOT! Even watching streamers playing it for the first time just shows how much on top explaining is often necessary to really start a good farm where you can feel the progress.