Video game genres explained

Genre labels exist to answer one question before you buy: what will I actually be doing in this game? Two games can look identical in screenshots and demand completely different things from you. This guide covers the main genres, what each asks of the player, and where they overlap.

What are the main video game genres?

The most common ones you will see on a box or a store page:

• Action — reflexes and timing.
• Action-adventure — action plus exploration and puzzles.
• RPG — character progression, choices and long stories.
• First-person shooters — aiming and gunplay from the character''s eyes.
• Battle royale — many players, one survivor, a shrinking map.
• Sports — football, basketball, wrestling and the rest.
• Racing — from arcade to full simulation.
• Fighting — one-on-one combat with deep mechanics.
• Platformers — jumping and precise movement.
• Open world — a large space you explore at your own pace.
• Simulation — recreating a real activity or system.
• Strategy — planning and managing rather than reacting.
• Survival horror — fear, scarcity and vulnerability.
• Soulslike — demanding combat built around learning from failure.
• Party games — short, simple, several people on one screen.

What is the difference between an RPG and an action-adventure game?

This is the pairing people confuse most, because modern games blur them.

In an RPG, your character gets stronger. You gain levels, allocate stats, choose skills and equipment, and a fight you lost early becomes winnable later because the numbers changed. Choice and progression systems are the core.

In an action-adventure game, you get stronger. The character may gain new tools, but success comes from your own skill improving. Beat a boss and it is because you learned the pattern, not because you levelled up.

The simplest test: if grinding for an hour would make a fight easier, it leans RPG. If only practice would, it leans action-adventure.

What does open world mean?

Open world is not really a genre — it is a structure that other genres use. An open-world game gives you a large connected space to move through freely, rather than a sequence of separate levels.

You can have an open-world RPG, an open-world racing game, an open-world horror game. When someone says "it is an open-world game", they are telling you about its shape, not its gameplay.

Genres mix, and that is normal

Most large modern games combine several. A game can be an open-world action-adventure with RPG progression and survival elements — and that description is accurate rather than evasive.

So treat genre as a starting filter, not a verdict. It narrows the field; reviews and gameplay footage decide the rest.

How to find your genre

Think about what you enjoy rather than what looks impressive:

Want to relax? Simulation, platformers, party games.

Want a story? RPGs and action-adventure.

Want to compete? Shooters, fighting games, sports.

Want a challenge? Soulslikes and strategy.

Playing with others in the room? Party games, sports, fighting games.

And if you are unsure, tell us what you liked last and we will suggest something adjacent — call 16280 or ask in any branch. Browse our games to see what is in stock.