How to choose a game that suits you

How to work out what kind of game you will actually enjoy, and where to check before buying.

Updated Sep 25, 2026

Most disappointing purchases are not bad games. They are good games bought by the wrong person. Here is how to avoid that.

How do I know what kind of game I will enjoy?

Start with what you want from the time, not with the game:

To relax and switch off → simulation, farming games, platformers, puzzle games.

A story that pulls you along → action-adventure and RPGs.

To compete and improve → shooters, fighting games, sports.

To be challenged → soulslikes, strategy.

To play with people in the room → party games, sports, fighting games.

Then check the practical constraints. How much time do you have in one sitting? A strategy game or a long RPG needs long sessions; a racing game or a platformer works in twenty minutes. Buying a hundred-hour RPG when you play twice a week is the most common mismatch there is.

The other useful question: think about the last game you genuinely enjoyed and ask what you enjoyed about it — the story, the difficulty, the exploration, the competition. That answer points at the genre more reliably than any list. See our guide to genres for what each one involves.

What are good games for beginners?

Look for these qualities rather than specific titles:

Adjustable difficulty, so the game can meet you where you are.

A good tutorial that teaches rather than assumes.

Forgiving checkpoints — losing twenty minutes of progress is how beginners quit.

Simple controls, ideally a handful of buttons rather than combinations.

Nintendo games are consistently strong on all four, which is why they are so often recommended as a first console. Among other platforms, well-reviewed single-player games with difficulty options are the safest entry point. Avoid starting with competitive online games — being matched against experienced players is discouraging in a way that has nothing to do with the game''s quality.

Where can I read reviews before buying a game?

Review aggregators give you a quick sense of critical reception, and player reviews on store pages tell you how it holds up over time — those two together are more useful than either alone.

Better than reading, though: watch fifteen minutes of unedited gameplay. Trailers are edited to look exciting; gameplay footage shows what you will actually be doing for hours. If that footage looks boring, the game will be boring for you regardless of its score.

And look at the date of reviews. A game patched heavily since launch may be substantially different from what early reviews describe.