GAMES SUITABLE FOR NON-GAMERS

If you are eager to enter the magical world of gaming but you are intimidated by complicated controls and/or the need for expensive hardware, the following games would be a good place to start –

Telltale's The Walking Dead Series

The Walking Dead series follows the story of Clementine, an eight-year-old girl growing up in an apocalyptic world. In the first season, you take the role of Lee Everett, an escaped convict, who now protects Clementine. In the second season, you get to play as Clementine herself. The story of the game is tailored according to the dialogue choices you make, which constitute a huge portion of the gameplay. Other than dialogue choices, the game has you press certain buttons within a limited amount of time (popularly known as Quick Time Events or QTEs). The simplistic nature of the gameplay and the excellent story make it a great game for beginners. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers is set in a fantasy world where you take the control of two brothers, Naia and Naiee, who go out on an adventure to find a cure for their ailing father. The spectacular and engaging world of Brothers is fittingly accompanied by the emotional storyline. The gameplay involves using both of the brothers to solve some really well-designed puzzles. Even though you can finish the whole game by yourself with a little perseverance, I think it's better to play it with another person and divide the controls for the two brothers. 

Life Is Strange

Life Is Strange is about Max Caulfield, a photography student who mysteriously develops the power to rewind time. With her powers, she saves her best friend Chloe Price from being murdered but in doing so, brings about negative consequences which she must now face. The gameplay is similar to that of The Walking Dead except the addition of time-reversal power and puzzle sections.

Honourable Mentions

Heavy Rain

Inspired by the noir film genre, Heavy Rain tells the story of Ethan Mars, a father who loses his elder son Jason to a road accident and his remaining son, Shaun is kidnapped by the Origami Killer and Ethan must go through five trials to rescue Shaun. The gameplay is fairly simple and the impact of player choices on the plot is more satisfactory than most other games of the same genre. Heavy Rain is exclusive to the PS3 and PS4, making it unavailable to a sizeable audience. However, if you have access to any of the two systems, you should most definitely check out this game. 

L.A. Noire

Set in 1940s Los Angeles, L.A. Noire puts you in the shoes of Detective Cole Phelps. You must live up to your reputation as a good detective by solving various cases for the police. The game has you investigating crime scenes for clues and taking interviews of suspects and witnesses. You have to closely observe the facial expressions of the interviewee and decide whether he/she is lying. The game also has difficult driving and shooting sections similar to Grand Theft Auto but they can be skipped. L.A. Noire is also more demanding in terms of graphical and processing power compared to the other games listed here. If you do have a decent PC or can dig up a last gen console, do check this one out. 

Nony Khondaker is an introvert with immense passion for tech and music. Feel free to send your constructive feedback at nonykhondaker@live.com or follow him on twitter.com/NonyKhondaker