Sometimes you come across a game that’s so good it ignites a passion within you for a genre you’d previously written off. Here are eight games that expanded my horizons.
1
Slay the Spire and Deck-Building Roguelikes
Slay the Spire was released in 2019 to a chorus of praise, and its follow-up (due out in 2025) is one of the most anticipated sequels of all time. The game hooks you with its easy-to-pick-up card-based gameplay and a roguelike structure that means each “run” is different to the last.
As you play, you’ll assemble a deck of cards (hence deck-building) which will give you new ways to attack, defend, and manipulate fights to your advantage. You have some control over the “path” you take as you attempt to slay the spire, so you can pick more challenging fights with better rewards or play it safe if you’re low on health.
The game is rounded out with a fair dose of unpredictability. You’re never sure which boss you’ll face, which cards you’ll encounter, or which relics (passive buffs) you’ll be blessed with along the way. This keeps the game feeling fresh and fun, even after hundreds of runs.
Each run can take a few hours if you’re trepidatious and over-analyzing every move, or you can enable fast mode in the options and blitz through. The game is available on everything, including mobile. Being a turn-based affair, it’s perfect for stop-start gameplay on underpowered smartphones or handhelds like the Switch or Steam Deck.
Balatro is another example of a deck-building roguelike, but one that employs a completely different set of rules. The game revolves around using poker hands to score points (don’t worry, you don’t need to understand poker to play—the game will guide you).
2
Elden Ring and Soulslikes
Elden Ring has a bit of a reputation for being “baby’s first _Dark Souls_” and I don’t see that as a bad thing. It may be unforgiving and brutally hard at points, but the game is different from the developer’s other titles in several key ways that make it far more accessible.
First, it’s a true open world. Unlike Dark Souls, which feels like a series of corridors leading from one ghastly boss to another, Elden Ring lets you pick your poison. If you’re not strong enough to take on a particular dungeon, area, or boss, you can run away and do something else.
The “sites of grace” checkpoints in Elden Ring also feel more generously spaced out than the bonfires in Dark Souls or Bloodborne ever did. Despite sticking to a trusty sword and shield combination in my own playthrough, you can opt for magical classes that rely on casting and take the emphasis away from parrying and dodging.
There’s also a heavy dose of Breath of the Wild-esque exploration, which rewards your curiosity. The map is littered with secrets, interesting characters, and useful items just begging to be discovered. And fingers. So many fingers…
If you’ve admired the black metal aesthetic of games like Dark Souls from afar and still believe that they’re not for you, Elden Ring might just change your mind. You’ll still need to learn some of FromSoftware’s obtuse systems, but there are plenty of guides and YouTube videos out there to help you on your way.
3
Sea of Stars and JRPGs
The funniest thing about Sea of Stars being the game that helped re-evaluate the Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) genre is that it’s not even Japanese. The 2023 hit was developed by a French-speaking team of Canadians based in Quebec City, but still manages to have all of the hallmarks of the genre.
I’ve dabbled in JRPGs before, most notably playing Chrono Trigger when I was too young to truly appreciate it, but Sea of Stars was the first time the genre gripped me on all fronts. The visuals are stunning, the story is interesting, and the combat system is more than just “pick move, end turn, repeat.”
Sabotage Studio combined the pixel-art beauty of the SNES era with the 4K splendor of modern consoles. The result is a lush, animated world that’s rich in color with modern touches like perfect pixel scaling and 3D lighting effects. And the soundtrack is a belter, as you’d hope from a game where you spend a lot of time wondering about.
The game uses an active combat system, which combines turn-based tactics with QTE-like timing windows for challenging yet engaging combat. It also features one of the most endearing characters of any modern RPG, a cook-turned-warrior who’s useful both in a fight and at camp.
4
MudRunner and Physics Driving Simulators
MudRunner isn’t so much a game but a whole genre of games thanks to follow-ups SnowRunner and Expeditions, with another entry called RoadCraft due mid-2025.
Right away I’ll say that MudRunner and its follow-ups aren’t for everyone, but somehow I found myself utterly hooked. The game is all about exploring and transporting goods over difficult terrain. Hop in a pickup truck and map the region, then grab some trucks and start picking up and delivering the raw materials needed to rebuild.
Ultimately, this is a driving surface simulator. You’ll need to think very carefully about how you approach different situations, including the load and balance of your vehicle. You’ll need to use all-wheel drive, locked differentials, and specialized tires to overcome mud, rock, and snow. You will get stuck in the mud, and you will ditch your whole payload meters from the drop-off point.
You’ll then be tasked with grabbing an even bigger truck to get yourself out of the mess. You’ll need to manage your fleet, discover more trucks, and ensure you have the fuel available wherever you are. Oh, and you can do all of this in multiplayer if you want to share the, uh, fun.
If physics and driving sounds like your jam, give BeamNG.drive a shot too. This early-access driving simulator has a detailed soft-body physics system that guarantees the best crashes in video games.
5
SOMA and Walking Simulators
“Walking simulator” is a disparaging term that also happens to perfectly summarize a genre of games where you spend most of your time walking about. These are narrative-driven affairs, where the story is more important than the action. SOMA is one example of the genre that I haven’t forgotten, and it’s been a decade since I played it.
SOMA departs from the average walking simulator since it also incorporates survival horror elements, stealth, and light puzzle solving. It presents you with some difficult choices that might stir up some thought-provoking existential questions.
This is a horror game, with eerie settings, a suitably creepy soundscape, and some frightful creature designs. But it’s a far cry from Resident Evil or Silent Hill, focusing more on immersive gameplay and basking in the atmosphere. You can beat it in under 10 hours, so why not give it a shot?
Firewatch, Gone Home, and What Remains of Edith Finch are other stellar examples of this genre that serve as equally compelling starting points.
6
Into the Breach and Tactics Games
2018’s Into the Breach combines turn-based combat and a run-based roguelike structure in a game that feels a lot like playing chess with mechs. I gave it a shot as a fan of the developer’s previous hit, FTL: Faster Than Light, and it led me to realize just how engrossing the tactics genre could be.
Battles take place on a varied grid of only 8×8 squares. You must defend civilian structures to safeguard the power grid, which your mechs depend on to fight. Once the power grid goes down, it’s game over. You’ll head “back in time” for another crack at saving the world (a narratively consistent way of starting over).
The game takes a lot of its queues from Nintendo’s Advance Wars series. It’s also available free of charge for Netflix subscribers, and saw a considerable free upgrade in 2022 with the arrival of the Advanced Edition which introduced new enemies and mechs plus a higher difficulty level.
It’s the perfect example of challenging yet satisfying gameplay, complete with muted grimy pixel art and a mood-appropriate soundtrack to boot.
7
Vampire Survivors and Survival Auto-Shooters
Vampire Survivors is a game like Tetris or Minesweeper in that it’s devilishly easy to pick up and brutally hard to put down. Like clockwork, I’ll go through phases where Vampire Survivors is all I want to play, and only a couple of months pass before I want to pick it up again.
If you’re not familiar with 2022’s breakout viral hit, Vampire Survivors is a wave-based survival game that only requires that you move your character. Attacking occurs automatically, all you need to do is collect gems to level up. Each time you level up you can add another ability, or augment an existing ability.
There’s a lot more to the game beneath the easily accessible surface, with different characters, levels, combinations of weapons that unlock even better weapons, secrets, and several rounds of DLC to explore (including Castlevania and Among Us tie-ins). It’s also absurdly cheap (and it’s free on iPhone and Android).
The game inspired a whole genre of so-called “bullet heaven” survival games. Other excellent examples include Brotato, Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, Boneraiser Minions, Yet Another Zombie Survivors, 20 Minutes Till Dawn and Soulstone Survivors.
8
Neon White and Speed-Running Games
Nothing awakened the “just one more go” compulsion inside me quite like 2022’s Neon White. The aim is simple: complete the course in the fastest time possible to earn one of five medals. Along the way, you can use Soul Cards as weapons to defeat enemies or discard the cards to activate alternate abilities like double jump.
The game’s unique card-based approach, minimalistic yet stylish visuals, and thumping drum and bass soundtrack combine to create one utterly addictive blur of a game. The controls are suitably tight and responsive, even on the Switch which is how I first encountered the game.
I’ll admit that the story is somewhat disposable, though I still managed to enjoy it. Fortunately, you can blitz through it and just play the levels if you want.
We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to games, which can make finding new favorites difficult. Even if you’re already a fan of the games above, consider which genres are underrepresented in your library and try out the best examples.
