What’s the Best Way to Find a New Game to Play?

You don't have to look very far to find new video games to play. As of 2023, the list of titles that are available for gamers to enjoy runs into the millions. Even if you restrict yourself to only playing on one platform for the rest of your life, you'd be unlikely to play every single game available on it during your lifetime.

With so many options to choose from, it can be a daunting prospect to try and find something new to play. Of course, you could simply pick one of the more popular games that have found their way into pop culture, but if you want to take a more considered approach, then here's how you can do it.

Get Personal Recommendations

Your friends are often a good place to get recommendations for new video games from. Unless your friendship group is made up of people that are very different to you, which is unlikely, you're bound to have some shared tastes.

Ask them what they're playing at the moment, which games they enjoy the most, and why. You may even want to try one out with them using their copy so you can see whether you like it or not.

Get Recommendations From a Computer

If your friends aren't a good source of suggestions, then you can use technology to help you instead. There are several tools out there that are designed to help use your personal preferences to suggest a new game that should, statistically, be one you'll have fun playing.

While the exact methodologies between these tools will vary, they all follow the same principle. They make connections between titles that are enjoyed by a single player. When there are many people who say they enjoy the same two games, the software recognises this as a pattern and assumes that they are similar.

Scale this up to thousands of different connections, you can begin to identify trends in player preferences that can make accurate recommendations on new titles you should try.

The Games Finder tool is very simple. You just type in a game you enjoy to find others like it, for example, enter "Grand Theft Auto", and it spits out suggestions like "Yakuza 0", "Batman: Arkham City", and "Watch Dogs 2".

Quantic Foundry's Video Game Recommendation Engine is a little more advanced. To use it, you must enter three different games to get suggestions. It will then allow you to filter the results by platform and release date, as well as compare the popularity ratings. To get even more accurate suggestions, you can complete a survey to understand your "gamer motivation profile".

Read Up On the Recommendations

Once you have a few options, it's usually a good idea to do a bit of homework on them before making a commitment. There are several things you'll want to look out for, such as whether the game is compatible with one of the devices you want to play on, how much it costs, and whether it has single or multiplayer modes.

Another thing you'll want to look out for is how much of a learning curve is required. If you're looking for a game that you can play casually without much effort, then you won't one that requires you to learn a lot.

Poker is one of these complex games. While it's possible to learn the basics quickly and begin playing, if you want to compete seriously, there is a lot you need to learn. Firstly, there is a long list of terms and definitions that you need to familiarise yourself with, so many, in fact, that it's like learning another language. On top of that, you need to understand the rules, the mechanics of the betting rounds, and different strategies to deploy.

In contrast, it's possible to pick up a game like Candy Crush and find your way around through trial and error without too much need to focus on strategy.

Give it a try

The final step in seeing if a game is right for you is to try it out as it's the only way to truly know if it's going to be one you'll enjoy.

Thankfully, it's now easier to do this than in the past. Many of the most popular video games can be played for free, including Fortnite, League of Legends, DoTA 2, and CS:GO, while platforms like Steam offer refunds on games if you try them and don't like them. Once you're happy, you can commit more of your time and money since it's something you find fun.