Simple controls, no twitch skill, still genuinely good.
Handing a normal controller to someone who has never used one is the fastest way to end the evening. The trick is picking games where the input is simple and the interest comes from somewhere else.
These fall into three groups: games one of you can play while the other watches and decides, games with one-button controls, and games designed for two people with different skill levels.
2018 · PC, PS5
Mostly decisions, with a flowchart at the end showing what you missed. Passing the controller between scenes works perfectly.
2015 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
A slow, talky story where the choices are the gameplay. Easy to discuss and easy to hand over.
2018 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
A deduction puzzle you solve on paper together. The person not holding the controller is doing half the work.
2017 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Two hours, no failure, and one of the few games that lands with people who do not play games at all.
2020 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Two buttons and a stick. The difficulty comes from communication, not dexterity.
2018 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Gentle two-player platforming where a stronger player can carry a weaker one without it feeling bad.
2017 · Switch
Two shapes cutting each other into new shapes. Almost no controls to learn and immediately funny.
2017 · Switch
Smart steering and auto-accelerate let a complete newcomer finish a race, which is the whole battle.
2016 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
The most common first game for people who thought they did not like games. No failure, endless small goals.
2020 · Switch
Twenty minutes a day of tidying an island. It asks nothing and rewards routine.
2019 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
You are a horrible goose. It explains itself in ten seconds and lasts a pleasant afternoon.
2022 · PC, Switch
Placing tiles to build a calm landscape. Closer to a jigsaw than a video game, which is the appeal.
Stardew Valley, Untitled Goose Game and Mario Kart 8 with smart steering are the usual first successes. Story games like Life is Strange work if they would rather watch and decide.
Start with a game that uses one stick and one button. Two-stick camera control is the thing that puts most newcomers off.
Unravel Two, Overcooked and Snipperclips all let a stronger player carry without making the other feel useless.
For this purpose it does not matter — Detroit and Edith Finch are among the most reliable ways to get a non-player interested in the medium at all.