It’s not only multiplayer games that are fun with friends, some single-player titles are engaging even if you don’t have a controller in your hands. You can even pass and play to keep everyone engaged.
Puzzle Games Like Myst and Botany Manor
Two (or more) heads are usually better than one. That’s especially true when you’re trying to solve the sort of abstract puzzles you’ll find in a game like Myst. This 1993 classic received a full remake in 2020 and can now be played on modern Windows, Mac, and Xbox platforms (plus the iPhone and iPad). Myst is a classic that you should try at least once, but you will hit roadblocks and crowd-sourcing solutions is one way to overcome them.
Botany Manor is a 2024 puzzler that tasks you with growing plants from seed to discover their mysterious properties. You’ll need to create the ideal conditions for each plant while completing your character’s unfinished research. It’s a short experience that the whole family can enjoy.
Along the same lines are games like The Witness, which arguably benefits more from a pass-and-play scenario. This beautiful first-person puzzle game has you wandering around a mysterious island, but to say it’s challenging is an understatement.
Cinematic Horror Games Like The Quarry and Until Dawn
Until Dawn and its spiritual successor The Quarry gamify the experience of watching a slasher flick. The twist is that you are in control of the character’s fates, which means that every playthrough is different depending on your decisions and reaction times.
Prepare to have the whole room screaming directions at you, and reacting in unison whenever a threat rears its head. The games make use of interesting, static camera placements and quick-time event cutscenes that’ll test your reactions, which makes them compelling to both play and watch.
If you like these consider picking up Supermassive Games’ other titles from The Dark Pictures Anthology like House of Ashes and Man of Medan.
Walking Sims Like Firewatch and Gone Home
The contentiously named “walking simulator” genre is full of interesting games that slowly tell a story, often involving something of a twist at the end. Though these games aren’t for everyone, it’s unfair to say that they’re boring. Sure, you do a lot of walking around and looking at stuff, and they’re not going to test your reflexes, but these games are driven primarily by the narrative.
Firewatch is a beautiful walking sim set in the remote forests of Wyoming. You take on the role of a lookout, with nothing but a walkie-talkie for company. You’ll soon learn that not everything is quite as it seems, as you spend the summer unraveling a mystery. Gone Home is another classic of the genre that has you exploring a
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There aren't many ways left to put a twist on Stardew Valley, but suffixing it with "in space!" oughta do it. Little-Known Galaxy is out in a week, and currently has a demo on Steam, where you can sample many of the delights that you're used to from a Stardewlike when you're new in town: meeting the locals, growing potatoes, and tidying up the place. Also, raising alien pets, seeking out new life, and new civilisations... It all takes place on a spaceship, you see, and this has some ramifications to playing the game beyond reskinning everything to be shiny metal instead of picturesque mud. It's an intriguing proposition.
Emulation shouldn’t be a dirty word, despite what some hardware manufacturers believe. The good news is that the emulation scene is booming, and emulators aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
You can run most apps just fine, with very little lag, on a five-year-old phone. It's when someone sends you a photo taken on a newer model that you start to notice how old yours has gotten. Smartphone cameras have become remarkably good and are one of the most standout reasons to get a new phone.
The PC version of Persona 5 Royal has been rendered temporarily unplayable in early May due to a major Denuvo server outage. While a partial workaround allowed fans to circumvent the issue and access the game with some features disabled, this turn of events still angered many Persona 5 Royal players.
In its continuing quest to become Everything to Everyone, Fortnite has shapeshifted, The Thing-like, into a new Lego Star Wars game. The Lego Fortnite survival mode has been expanded with a new, permanent Star Wars world, with this weekend - which includes May the Fourth, don’tcha know - also kicking off a new battle pass and bringing additions to every other part of Fortnite: whether you’re playing it as a battle royale shooter (remember that?), racing game or music-rhythm successor to Guitar Hero.
The Star Wars: The Old Republic team revealed details about Update 7.5 in a special stream today. We can expect the next chapter of the Desperate Defiance story, a new spring event on Dantooine, new single-player content, PvP Season 6, and more.
Gamers woke up to some very surprising news on Wednesday, May 1. Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley revealed via X that Rocksteady’s beloved Batman: Arkham series was making a comeback. Batman: Arkham Shadow would launch later this year, with more details coming in June during Summer Game Fest. It was a cause for celebration … until people read the fine print.
Hypercharge: Unboxed is finally coming to Xbox consoles on May 31. The shooter, set in a world of toy soldiers, has been slated to receive an Xbox console release after the viral Hypercharge craze from a couple of years ago, and it seems that time has finally come.
Remember the times when playing Snake on your phone was the ultimate way to beat boredom? Pictoline Games has brought those memories back with a splash of mythology in their new game Quetzi. Yes, it’s the classic snake game but with an epic twist.
The Xbox Game Pass library has expanded to include Have a Nice Death. The stylish and scintillating roguelike is the 17th new title to reach Xbox Game Pass in April 2024.
Five more games have been confirmed for Xbox Game Pass as part of the latest ID at Xbox showcase, including one that can be played today. When it comes to new Xbox Game Pass games, fans are treated to a huge variety of titles. Some of the games that are added to Xbox Game Pass are massive, AAA games with blockbuster budgets, but other times, they are smaller-scale indie games.