Best PC Games For Beginners

Summary

• Start your gaming journey with beginner-friendly titles like Plate Up, Dorfromantik, and Stardew Valley for a smooth and enjoyable experience.
• Avoid challenging games like Elden Ring or Cuphead as a beginner - opt for games like Weyrdlets for short, daily play sessions instead.
• Enjoy captivating storylines and interactive gameplay in Telltale Games titles like Batman and The Walking Dead, perfect for replaying multiple times.

When it comes to getting familiar with what kind of games PCs have to offer, you need games that show you how to move with the new control scheme and pacing that take things slow and easy enough for you to consistently start playing on it all the time.

10 Best Games For People New To Video Games

These games are great for video game beginners, and are sure to have you back for more in no time.

Some games like Elden Ring or Cuphead may seem fun to pick up, but for an average Joe unfamiliar with gaming, they’re quite challenging and ultimately not satisfying enough to play at times. A beginner needs titles that ease them into the entire process rather than games that make the entire process arduous.

Updated July 26, 2024 by Zoë J. Osik: We've updated this list with a few new titles that are perfect PC games for beginners looking to start off on the right foot. Check them out for a smooth experience and some lighthearted fun!

13 Plate Up!

This is a casual co-op cooking game where you and your partner manage an entire restaurant together and try to get by each day while cleaning up and cooking for your guests. You get power-ups in the form of decorations and handy kitchen tools that make the process a lot easier.

The controls are simple, and the movement is easy enough to get familiar with. Not only that, but since the game features a simple objective, it’s not hard to find out what you’re supposed to do and manage to scrape by serving up orders. It’s never too overwhelming, even though it’s still challenging.

12 Dorfromantik

Part city-building sim and part relaxing board game, Dorfromantik throws different buildings at you, and you’re tasked with picking the right tile to place them in order to keep getting new ones. It’s a very satisfying yet slow-paced game.

The controls are simple, and the objectives aren’t hard to fulfill either. The aesthetics and graphics are fairly pleasing to the eyes, and the structures have a minimalist vibe. Placing down the tiles and maximizing your score is actually pretty fun.

11 Stardew Valley

Some farming simulators tend to get rather hectic when it comes to resource management and convoluted tasks meant to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, Stardew Valley manages to deliver some complexity despite keeping things simple enough to have new players progress easily and not get overwhelmed.

It’s immensely popular because it offers you tons of things to do, and the pixilated graphics are endearing, if anything. The NPCs are fun to interact with, and the game has a little bit of everything for everyone, from exploring dungeons to fishing.

10 Vampire Survivors

A dark action auto-shooter game, you automatically whip away at enemies without having to press a button and progress through the level by killing enemies, picking up experiences, and surviving for a certain amount of time. It’s an homage to games like Castlevania, but it does its own thing.

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Vampire Survivors starts off easy but progressively gets hectic. Since all you have to do is move, it’s not hard to figure out how to play either, but eventually, the game gets harder as time draws on and the enemies start to pile up in massive droves.

9 Portal

A puzzle-solving game with mind-bending complexity that builds up slowly over time, Portal provides enough time to allow you a chance to get familiar with the game’s mechanics and truly enjoy the experience.

The Portal series is iconic for featuring games that are easily accessible. Moreover, you can decide whether you’d like to experience the game solo or in co-op mode with a partner. Despite how old the games are, the graphics are fairly impressive, and the game never fails to draw you in with its complexity and charm.

8 The Stanley Parable

A game where you decide what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. The Stanley Parable throws scenarios at you, and your job is to decide how you’re supposed to react to each situation.

It won’t demand a lot of movement from you since there aren’t any vast open-world zones to explore or first-person shooter sections. It’s a simple game made for people looking to have a laugh and enjoy having their expectations subverted.

7 Half-Life 2

Once considered to be one of the best PC games ever, Half-Life 2 was a cultural phenomenon that shook up the gaming world right after its launch. The spectacularly gripping story and impressive graphics for the time were enough to draw in droves of attention.

It was tremendously influential regarding the keyboard controls and practically set the standard for most control layouts you’ll find in popular video games today. The Source engine was just as important and can even be found in certain modern titles as well.

6 Undertale

A charming and endearing adventure in a land found underground with tons of mysterious beings and unknown evil lurking around every corner. Undertale made a name for itself when it first came out because it was jam-packed with personality.

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Not only that, the game was a breeze to play since it relied on a simple control scheme and taught you how to play as you progressed through the well-written story. It’s the perfect way to get acquainted with turn-based exploration games.

5 Katamari Damacy Reroll

As an underrated cult classic of sorts, the Katamari Damacy franchise delivers a fun, semi-puzzle-solving experience that revolves around rolling up everything you see into a giant "Katamari" or ball.

The game’s colorful, loud, and obnoxious yet vibrant at times, and it’s not afraid to get weird and wacky every now and then. It’s a great way to get yourself used to how the directional keys work.

4 Telltale Games

They may not be the most engaging games when it comes to fast-paced action, but any Telltale game you play will surely come with a captivating storyline and some above-par cinematics, especially when it comes to the way these games build up the fantasy worlds you’re already familiar with.

Batman, The Walking Dead, GOTG, Wallace and Gromit, and even Borderlands have a dedicated adaptation to their name developed by this studio. The games feature light interactive segments that are easy to play through and dialogue prompts for you to choose from in order to progress.

Your choices significantly impact the outcome of the story and alter the events leading up to it in a myriad of ways. It’s a great way to get familiar with replaying certain video games over and over again in order to get the appropriate ending you seek.