8 Essential Video Games To Get You Into A New Genre

For all but the most adventurous of players, getting into a new video game genre can be just a little intimidating. 

First of all, it's tough to know where to start if you've never played a game of that type before, and nothing will make a player bounce off a genre faster than a terrible first impression.

Picking that first game you play in a given genre is crucially important, then, and so, having pored over key entries into some of the most polarising and tough-to-crack genres - as well as a few common faves - these are the absolute essentials you can't go wrong with.

These games all provide a perfect onboarding for genre newcomers, outlining the gameplay fundamentals yet never in a way that feels diluted to the point of boredom.

Playing through these games will ensure you're equipped to take on more complex and challenging entries in the future, and allow you to expand your gaming palette nice and wide.

Variety is indeed the spice of life, and so if you're craving a well-rounded gaming diet, you can't go wrong with these genre primers...

Roguelikes are a genre that many gamers immediately bounce off given their reputation for being among the toughest of all game types. 

They're generally designed to keep players on the back foot and force them to experiment with different strategies to find a way forward, as isn't necessarily a winning formula for the more patience-averse among us.

But not all roguelikes are designed to be quite so relentlessly oppressive, and for anyone curious to dip a toe in, there's simply no better entry point than Hades. 

Supergiant Games avoid basically every conceivable genre pitfall here, from actually saddling the gameplay with a compelling, mythologically inspired story, to providing a fitting in-universe explanation for its run-based format.

If more "advanced" roguelikes can threaten to overwhelm and demotivate, Hades ingeniously makes you feel like you're getting somewhere or learning something valuable each and every time you perish. 

And your timing to play Hades couldn't be much better either, as the sequel just recently launched in early access. Get in.