Action-adventure games
What action-adventure games combine, and how they differ from pure action and from RPGs.
Action-adventure is the most popular genre in modern gaming, and probably the one most large single-player releases belong to. It combines the combat of an action game with exploration, puzzles, and a story you progress through.
The rhythm is what defines it: fight, explore, solve, advance the story, repeat. You are rarely doing one thing for long.
What it includes
Combat, but usually not the whole game.
Exploration — areas that reward looking around, and often places you cannot reach until you gain an ability later.
Puzzles — environmental rather than abstract, usually.
A story with characters, delivered through cutscenes and dialogue.
Tools rather than levels — you gain a grappling hook or a new weapon that opens up areas, instead of gaining stats.
What are examples of action-adventure games?
The Legend of Zelda essentially defined the genre. Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Marvel''s Spider-Man, God of War, Assassin''s Creed and The Last of Us are all action-adventure, despite feeling quite different from each other.
That range is a fair illustration of how wide the label is: it describes a structure, not a tone.
Against RPGs
The line is progression. In an RPG, your character gets numerically stronger and your choices shape the story. In action-adventure, you gain abilities and the story is largely fixed — you are following a written narrative rather than authoring one.
Modern games blur this constantly. Several major action-adventure series now include skill trees and equipment upgrades, which is why you will see the same game described both ways.
Who they suit
If you want a story with variety in what you do, this is the genre to start with. It is also the easiest one to recommend to someone who has not played much — the pacing is designed to keep moving, and most titles guide you clearly.