If you really love video games you probably already know that it can be much more than just a hobby or a pass time activity. Whether it’s a shooter or an RPG game, Video games give us unique experiences and evoke a vast array of emotions that other forms of media often lack.
The rush of adrenaline from hitting that sweet kill streak, the sense of wonder exploring a fantastical open world game, the sheer satisfaction when finally cracking a mind-bending puzzle or the sweet sensation when beating that *bleep* boss you fought for hours.
These, and many other experiences, are what makes gaming so great and the reason why we love to share these moments with others, especially with the ones closest to you.
But sometimes, the people you want to play with just don’t go along with it. whether it’s your significant other or maybe just a good friend we really want to share these amazing experiences with, sometimes we just don’t know how to approach the subject and get them into the world of video games.
To face this common issue we collected everything we’ve learned from our experience playing together and made a quick guide to get you going, so you can start playing some video games together.
Before we begin
We first need to understand what are the benefits of playing video games together and why this guide even exists. Except gaining a cool new activity to pass the time together, Gaming with your significant other can build a deeper connection through many ways.
Most co-op games require some sort of communication between the two players, so you’ll quickly find yourself constantly talking back and forth with each other, building a new form of communication we sometimes miss.
We learn how to solve problems together using the best of both minds and working together to achieve the goals video games gives us. Working out solutions together can quickly translate into our day to day life without even noticing, learning how to share information with each other, identify and untie the knots in our relationships. Sharing many wonderful moments while gaming together adds a lot of fresh memories to our relationships and when it becomes a common interest, we get another fascinating topic to talk about when we spend time with each other.
So with all that being said, let’s get back to the question in hand and figure out how can we start gaming together.
Share your experience
If you have a passion for gaming then you probably have some good gaming stories to tell and that’s where you should start.
Before we shove a controller into our dear partner’s hands we first need to introduce them to the world of video games (We assume he/she has little to no experience with video games).
There is no reason to be shy and curb your enthusiasm. You would be surprised how a good story about a gaming experience you had can captivate another person even if gaming seems to hold no interest for them.
Told with the passion it deserves, we can start sharing our awesome experience with our loved ones and they might even ask for more. That’s one heck of a start!
Let them watch
After our captivating verbal introduction to video games, we can try showing them a game or two that we like. If your partner is a little impatient *Glances at Moran*, you might want to skip this part or invest little time in it.
Try choosing a slower paced game, maybe an exploration game or a narrative driven game. We don’t want to overwhelm them with too many explosions and floating numbers over our screen so try avoiding hectic FPS games or overcomplicated JRPG games – At least for now.
It’s very important that we don’t just go diving into the game and shutting our partner out. We want to share and explain what we are actually doing in the game and keep the person sitting next to us engaged. Know that it might be somewhat difficult to play and explain at the same time so picking a fitting game is crucial.
Choosing the right games
So it’s finally time to sit on the couch and turn on that second controller! But what game do we choose?
First of all, we recommend checking our article Best games for couples where we recommend some awesome games for playing together and elaborate on their co-op features, skill level and overall design.
For a start, we should pick games that have simple mechanics and fairly basic controls. We found that puzzle games and narrative based games are the best for the job.
Remember that us gamers can learn the basics of any new game thrown at us in just a couple of minutes but for someone who hasn’t played many video games before this doesn’t come by that easily.
Patience is key, new players need to build up the dexterity for controlling even the simplest games and we need to guide them along through this learning experience.
We recommend avoiding games in 3rd person view, FPS games that require precise aiming and fast movement and RPGs with intricate systems.
This is a trial and error process, we need to find a game that our partner can handle while being enjoyable for both of us. It can take a few games to run by until you will find the right one, so no rush, and most certainly do not push it! we don’t want to discourage them out of it.
Explore other genres
Since there’s not a huge amount of games that fit our specific purpose we need to explore the full spectrum of genres gaming offers us, even the genres we tend to stay away from.
I, for example, always avoided horror games (Yes, not the bravest of the bunch) but I found out that playing with another person makes it much more enjoyable.
Games and entire genres can completely go 180° on you once co-op comes into play.
Taking a dive into uncharted waters is one of the most crucial and thrilling parts of this guide.
We cannot expect that our partner will share the exact same taste as us and it’s better off that way! This is our chance to expand our gaming horizon while taking our loved ones on this journey with us.
Playing together we experienced some wonderful games I never thought id play before, Our gaming library exploded with new and exciting titles and there is not a single moment of boredom when we switch on that controller.
The ultimate goal: Having fun!
I mean this is what it all about no? This guide might come off as somewhat ponderous and cumbersome but we shouldn’t forget that our ultimate goal is to simply have fun with our significant other.
It’s ok to take breaks from gaming or maybe play only on the weekends. We also experience some ups and downs with gaming and that’s fine! Don’t obsess over it and most certainly don’t pressure your partner into it. After all, it’s all about having fun and enjoy a relaxing activity with your loved ones.
We hope this guide will help you start gaming with your significant other and enjoy some sweet video games together. How did you start playing with your co-op partner? What’s the first video game you played together? Is there another approach for this topic that we missed?
Feel free to drop a comment below and share it with whoever may find it useful.