Comprehensive Guide To Choosing The Best Gift For Gamers 2023

Understanding Gaming Genres

The world of gaming is vast, ever-evolving, and beautifully diverse. Before you head out as a gift givers you should understand the various types of gaming genres out there. But how do you categorise games? Like we have genres in movies, books, and music, the gaming realm also has genres. Understanding these genres helps choose the suitable game and gives a glimpse into the kind of virtual adventures a player is likely to embark upon. Let’s dive deep into some popular gamer genres.

Action/Adventure

Action and adventure games are all about excitement and direct engagement. They often involve combat scenarios, challenges, and tasks that require quick reflexes. Games like Assassin’s Creed or The Legend of Zelda are iconic in this genre, offering a blend of fast-paced action with an intriguing storyline.

Role-Playing Games (RPGs)

RPGs allow players to dive deep into intricate worlds, adopting roles of specific characters and following (or diverging from) pre-set storylines. Popular games like Final Fantasy, The Elder Scrolls, and Witcher series fall under this category. These games often offer choices that can alter game outcomes, making each playthrough unique.

Action RPG (ARPG)

Blending the progression and storyline depth of RPGs with the direct, real-time combat of action games, ARPGs offer players a more hands-on approach to battles. In ARPGs, players often control a single character in real-time combat scenarios. Dark Souls, Diablo, and Path of Exile are quintessential examples of the ARPG genre.

Battle Royale

This genre, popularized by games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), puts players against each other in a last-person-standing format, often starting with minimal equipment and scavenging for weapons and resources.

Sandbox

Sandbox games provide players with a world in which they can play freely. The game might have objectives, but they are optional. The emphasis is on player-driven experiences. Minecraft and Terraria are great examples.

Simulation

Simulation games aim to provide a realistic experience. This could be anything from managing a farm in Stardew Valley, piloting an aircraft in Flight Simulator, or building a city in SimCity. They mimic real-life activities, offering a digital platform to live alternative lives or test out scenarios.

Strategy

Strategy games require patience, careful planning, and a knack for thinking multiple steps ahead. They can be real-time, like Age of Empires, where decisions and gameplay happen on the fly, or turn-based like Civilization, where players take turns planning their moves.

Sports & Racing

This genre captures the thrill of real-world sports and racing. Whether you’re leading a team to the FIFA World Cup, throwing down tricks in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or racing in the streets of Forza Horizon, these games mirror real-world physical activities.

Roguelike and Roguelite

These genres have gained considerable popularity in recent years. They are characterised by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, and, most importantly, the permanent death of the player character. The difference is that Roguelites often have some progression that persists across playthroughs, while Roguelikes reset completely. Examples include Spelunky (Roguelike) and Dead Cells (Roguelite).

Horror

Horror games like Resident Evil or Dead by Daylight provide chills and thrills for those who love a good scare. They rely heavily on atmosphere, sound, and storyline to instil fear and suspense.

Casual & Mobile

These are games designed for short bursts of play. Think Candy Crush, Angry Birds, or Among Us. They’re often simple in terms of mechanics but can be incredibly addictive.

Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)

MMOs are vast online worlds where thousands of players can interact, trade, and embark on quests together. World of Warcraft and Guild Wars are prime examples, offering expansive digital universes brimming with AI and real-player interactions.

MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)

MOBAs involve teams of players competing against each other, usually in a top-down view. Each player controls a single character with unique abilities. The goal is often to destroy the opposing team’s main structure with the help of AI-controlled units. Games like Dota 2 and League of Legends dominate this genre.

Fighting Games

Focused on close combat between characters with unique move sets, fighting games are about mastering combos, predicting opponent moves, and timely reactions. Classic titles like Street Fighter, Tekken, and Super Smash Bros. are stalwarts of this genre.

VR & AR Games

The frontier of gaming, VR (Virtual Reality), and AR (Augmented Reality) games offer a blend of the real and virtual. With VR sets like Oculus Rift or AR games like Pokémon Go, players get an immersive experience, interacting with the game environment in entirely new ways.

Idle and Incremental

These are games where the gameplay consists of the player performing simple actions (like clicking) to gain some form of currency. This can be spent to gain the ability to get more of that currency faster or to buy other sub-games. Cookie Clicker is a famous example.

Online Board Games

Online board games digitize classic tabletop experiences, bringing players together across vast distances. These games maintain their physical counterparts’ core rules and essence, yet often include features like AI opponents or unique digital enhancements. Chess, “Ticket to Ride” and “Catan Universe” are the popular ones that come to mind.

Puzzle

A genre that tests a player’s problem-solving skills, puzzle games vary from matching colours and shapes, like in Tetris or Bejeweled, to more complex narrative-driven puzzles like in Portal or The Witness.