Ask Lemmy

Speed runs to games I know how to play.

Most horror games. My startle threshold is through the floor, even when I know a jumpscare is coming it still gets me a lot of the time. I also hate feeling panicked and chased.

Anything with a mechanic where every choice matters and will affect the next 50 hours of gameplay, and where it's possible to choose wrong. That's a lot of pressure, and I'd rather someone else deal with that.

Also, anything that's 100 hours of gameplay and 10 hours of story.

None.

I have absolutely no interest in watching someone else play a video game, excluding short clips of gameplay to get a feel for the mechanics.

Starcraft. I still love playing through the campaigns and coop, but I don't have the time or energy to keep up with the 1v1 anymore. Used to play it a ton back before Legacy of the Void, but you basically have to treat that game like a second job in order to be competitive and not get destroyed most of the time. I remember going like 3-4 days without playing back then and it'd take me 3-5 hours to get back up to my usual level of play.

It's still a lot of fun to watch pros or high level players play the game though, at least IMO.

Competitive games and broken games (in the se se that there are glitches that can be expolited for fun)

I'll never be on that level, So i prefer to watch them.

Jump scare games, definitely. And survival horror, like that Alien game where you walk around and hide. Yeesh. Stuff like that. Also racing sims.

for a bit a few years ago i watched a ton of minecraft experts create very advanced things that i never would've been able to. eventually i had seen enough.

Elden Ring and most other soulslikes - I don't have the skill, time or will to "git gud" at them, but they are a beautiful spectacle and a joy to watch, especially when watching someone who plays really well.

Dwarf fortress, I love to see how and what people build and the emergent chaotic stories when a giant or vampire or whatever shows up.

Horror games

Walking sims/narrative games. I'm a sucker for gameplay, so games with non-complex gameplay bore the hell out of me

Any of the 4x/grand strategy type games (e.g., Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, Civilization). I don't really enjoy the menu management of some of those games and the density of information and mechanics is anxiety inducing. However the emergent narrative those games provide really interests me so watching someone else play is the best way to access what I enjoy about those games.

Hearthstone. couldn't keep up with new cards and it's more fun to watch other people lose.

Literally none. I enjoy interactive entertainment much more than passive consumption.

Singleplayer vanilla minecraft

I dont like playing alone

Counterstrike and Tarkov because I'm too bad at them to have any fun playing myself, but I really enjoy watching competitive matches or streamers raids here and there.

Also, Dark Souls 1-3 and Skyrim. I've played them all so much and still play through here and there, but I like to watch challenge runs and see all the modded or otherwise ridiculous playthroughs that I don't have the patience to commit to myself.

Dragon's Lair (old school). Too difficult and frustrating for a casual like me, but I want to see the later stages of the game!

Triple A titles with a story. I don't have the rig or the patience myself, but I stream some video gameplay on another monitor while I work...

Dokapon Kingdom.

It's a cutesy looking cross between Mario Party, Rock Paper Scissors, and Dragon Quest. By the time you are done you will look at your now ex-best friend in the same way Guts looks at Femto. Watching someone else play it though, you don't have to personally deal with the consequences and can enjoy all of the drama.

Cities Skylines - because ain't no way am I getting enough memory for the fluid huge city I want to be flying through. Also, it's fun to watch design nerds make some really pretty cities.

Rust

I really enjoy a good narrative roleplay, like Neebscraft's Subnautica.

...also this thread needs links!!!

I didn't really grow up playing video games. Never built the muscle memory for controllers, and I don't really have the time or desire to learn now.

But there are many games with intriguing stories that explore fascinating concepts. Some of them, like Disco Elysium for example, don't require any skill with a controller, and I would rather play those myself.

As technically easy as Detroit Become Human was, some points like the rooftop chase scene pushed the limits of my capability. So anything that demands more controller skill than that is something I would rather watch than waste my time fumbling around with.

There are a couple of occasions where I watch someone else playing: when deciding if the game is worth buying (gameplay vs cutscenes) and when I'm stuck in a part of a game I can't really google.

games that I couldn't afford and also the games that requires a lot of grinding.

Backrooms, especially the scary kinds

Dave the diver was one for me. I watched Francis John play it and it was fun to watch, but I had no interest in playing.

None ... I understand how video games work. You play them.

Lol, being down voted because I liked to play video games.

Tetris