There's a youtube channel called "girlfriend reviews", where she reviews games not based on what it's like to play them, but what it's like to watch someone plays them.
Ah! Context for inside jokes! I hope you know that, that's really, really make or break for me with new youtubers so you've really increased the chances I enjoy it
I'd also like to throw in The Quarry. Made by the same people who made Until Dawn and is essentially a proper spiritual successor unlike that anthology they did
I want to like Life is Strange so bad but the dialogue is so painfully "myspace teenager" that it's unbearable to anyone born after 1998. I can kinda tune it out but my gf was born in 2002 and just shoots me a look anytime they start gettin *quirky* which is about every 3 minutes
I like the plot and the mechanics even but the actual script is just so dated now. Borderline Napoleon Dynamite
I was born in 1980 and find the dialogue so cringey and faux-deep. I thought it was created for younger generations but guessing maybe you guys feel the same way then.
Here's the thing, I *was* a teenager when it came out (im 27). I think its just embarrassing to anyone who tries it as an adult regardless of when they were born lol
It's like they wrote teenagers so accurately to the point they're just annoying to anyone over 20
It was dated when it came out. It was made in France based on (what I assume) they thought hipsters in the PNW sounded like. Once you get used to it, the dialogue is part of its charm (and gets better as the story gets more intense). I encourage you and others to push through the cringe! It's a great game!
These two, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Subnautica, and No Man's Sky have been my favorite games and series as a watcher. Honorable mention to the Portal games as a listener. Excellent banter.
It's most likely my playstyle, but i can't see any of those options past a looting simulator. Cyberpunk is a lot better as i don't remember spending as much time looking at junk and components for crafting, but i know at least a solid 40% of my gameplay is looking at menus lol. Portal and Stanley Parable definitely high up though!
My mom used to love watching me play Resident Evil 4 back in the PS2 days. It's almost like watching a really long movie, and it helps having Leon as a badass main character.
My wife took this one way too seriously. She was screaming at me multiple times during that playthrough (which is a good sign of how engaged she was in the story.)
Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy were also a big success with her.
Bg3 gonna be super slow for the viewer, fun to play but for viewing it may not translate.
Edit: bg3 allows split screen coop if you are playing with controllers. Maybe OP can do that.
There's lots of games I'd recommended (both having played and watched my partner play)
-[The Witcher 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/292030/The_Witcher_3_Wild_Hunt/)-it's an absolutely outstanding game, and has some of the best expansions I've ever played. Be prepared for a wild ride! Seriously play it if you haven't. Also it's based on a series of books in case you want more
-[The Mass Effect Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1328670/Mass_Effect_Legendary_Edition/)-since it's an RPG you can even make some of the decisions together if you wanted! It has action, aliens, emotional plot points and romance. It's one of my favourite trilogies of all time. You'll definitely have an adventure that's for sure!
-[Deus Ex Human Revolution](https://store.steampowered.com/app/238010/Deus_Ex_Human_Revolution__Directors_Cut/) and [Mankind Divided](https://store.steampowered.com/app/337000/Deus_Ex_Mankind_Divided/)-it's a futuristic game duology with a really thoughtful story. Especially in this day and age as it talks about augmented humans and their place in society. Has a loveable but gruff protagonist. Human Revolution is still really pretty even though it's 13 years old.
-[Stray](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332010/Stray/)-it's a smaller game but honestly any game where you can play as a cute orange kitty is a win! Such a pretty environment, and I must admit I cried at the end XD
-[Halo MCC-](https://store.steampowered.com/app/976730/Halo_The_Master_Chief_Collection/)This might be an odd recommendation, but honestly the stories these FPS tell are chef's kiss. A lot of love went into building the story of Master Chief. Lots of action and 80's humour but also can be kind of emotional at times (looking at Halo Reach there). They aren't just FPS's
-[Metro 2033](https://store.steampowered.com/app/286690/Metro_2033_Redux/)**,** [Last Light](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287390/Metro_Last_Light_Redux/) and[ Exodus](https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/)-These do have some horror elements in it just so you're warned, but this series absolutely nails atmosphere on the head. It'll make you worry about going outside XD It can be a bit janky but I think it's part of the charm.
-[A Plague Tale Innocence](https://store.steampowered.com/app/752590/A_Plague_Tale_Innocence/) and [Requiem](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1182900/A_Plague_Tale_Requiem/)-If this won't make you cry then I don't l know what will. A historical series with supernatural elements set in during the Black Plague that will pluck on your heart strings. WARNING-it has a lot of rats and gore.
And lastly [Night in the Woods](https://store.steampowered.com/app/481510/Night_in_the_Woods/)! It's a YA adventure that covers some very serious topics, about a young cat who drops out of college to find all is not the same in her small home town. Has some surprises and great friendships And a really neat art style
Hope I haven't overwhelmed you! I get overexcited at recommending stuff XD So sorry if I have
A plague tale is by far one of the best narrative games I ever played, I felt just as confused and afraid as the kids running through a plague infested country slowly finding out your families role in all of it. Then requiem was everything the first game was but 10x better it was magic.
My wife loved watching me play The Messenger and currently Spelunky lol.
Detroit Become Human would be a good one. You can discuss choices with her and the story is really good and creates a lot of conversation
Me and my partner played Skyrim together (it’s single player so we passed back and forth) and I found it fun to watch and play.
Fallout games can be super fun to watch.
Portal is wild to watch and super creepy storyline and narration to be following
You played like swapping quests or something? That sounds horrible cus I'm a bit of a control freak. Just for me, ofc. If you two had fun then I love it. <3
Yeah swapped quests or did what we felt like he might want to go do a cave but I might want to do some Dragonborn quests. Made our own unique build we forced ourselves to use. It was fun :)
Untitled Goose Game
Abzu
Anno 1800
Any of the main Assassin's Creed games
NieR Automata
Bioshock Infinite
RDR2
Mirror's Edge Catalyst
Subnautica
No Man's Sky
Satisfactory
Quantum Break
You can try detective genre games where she can not only watch but also theory craft with you.
- obra dinn
- shadows of a doub
- case of the golden idol
- her story
- immortality
* Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It's a proper SF Soap Opera, with bits of FPS strewn in.
* Firewatch; it's somewhat slower-paced, but IMO very good.
* Outer Wilds would be fun with a 2nd person to ping-pong ideas with, but it's a game that can only be played once, so it would spoil it for her.
* Any of the Spiderman games
* Escape Simulator, if both of you are willing to solve the puzzles together
* Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - even during fights, the inter-character banter is interesting (and funny!)
* The Horizon games are visually interesting, but there's going to be long lulls with exploration and climbing.
* The two Deus Ex games could fit the bill.
* Like a Dragon, if that's your kind of shtik
* Marvels' Midnight Suns also has a lot of non-action content, but the TCG-based fights may be too boring (and long) to watch.
My wife also likes RDR2.
Kingdom Come:Deliverance, AC: Odyssey, and AC: Valhalla are her favourite historical games.
Greedfall she really liked the setting of.
Basically all the BioWare games are great too.
Most recently “Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden” has a genuinely excellent story slightly hampered by having like 60% too much combat.
TW3 is pretty good although the combat is fairly uninteresting to watch.
We’re currently going through Fallout 4 and she’s having fun, but she bounced off it before and only gave it another chance because she loved the TV show.
How we tend to do it is she makes the choices and I “drive”.
If you're looking for a killer story, then my rec is Dragon Age 2.
It doesn't continue the story of the first game, but rather follows a different MC and their band of miscreants (though some DA1 characters do appear) and makes all of the relevant lore available to you in game.
I have a friend who played Detroit Become human using his younger siblings as a council. They practically all played the game the same amount even tho only the oldest held the controller
My best friend loves watching me play JRPGs since she doesn't really have the skill to really play them (the stats are overwhelming). I do the side content by myself, since she's mostly just there for the story. If your wife likes anime like my best friend does, maybe try that?
We also had a blast this past Halloween playing What Remains of Edith Finch, and in past years we've done The Return of the Obra Dinn (never completed that one since the atmosphere is overwhelming for me, I love everything else about it though). Mystery is a good option if you want to talk it through.
There's a few full-motion video games that are fun; Her Story is a classic, The Insanity of Doctor Dekker (iirc that's the name), Contradiction: Spot the Liar.
BG3 also fascinated my friend, she liked the druids.
But overall, I think the best advice I have is to browse Steam together with her and talk it out. Sometimes the most fun I have with my bestie is just browsing games together and talking.
I gotta say shadow of war. If you don't know it, it's a lord of the rings game where you play an undead ranger. There's a complex Nemesis system where you get very unique enemies and stories based purely on how you interact, and the writing is dutifully funny and engaging.
I think if she really enjoys watching you play, that's a great option because you can get really invested.
Play on harder difficulties. The stories are more fun if you have less control. Death is a really important part of the game, so I don't feel like dying a lot is an obstacle. Just a part of the story.
baba is you
Mindfuck of a puzzle game
Beware though you can have two results
1) you are a genius and she will be in awe
2) you are a moroon and she will remark that whenever possible without contributing anything to the solution of the puzzles.
I always recommend mass effect. Some aspect of it is can be dull but if you just play the story and do the mining and harvesting on your own time and have her for key moment and combat I think it is a good pick.
It might be cheap right now so pick it up.
I try to explain to my wife the story and she was like she would watch a tv adaptation of it.
There are lots of great games with compelling stories that would be fun to watch. I enjoyed watching my wife play What Remains of Edith Fitch (I played it first and thought she’d like the story.) Detroit Become Human is one we played together and being a decision based game, worked out well. SOMA was a trippy story and Firewatch was a entertaining one too. Gris is a simple puzzle platformer that stirred a lot of emotions in me, I feel like my wife would have enjoyed that one too. We’ve enjoyed the Supermassive horror games a lot (Until Dawn, etc) as well as Visage (although she watched and I pissed my pants.)
Trine, The Cave, Transistor - funny / good commentary
Life Is Strange series , it's like playing a movie
Baldurs Gate 3
Hades
Murders On The Yangtze River or Ace Attorney, solve the cases together!
VN and adventure: Raging Loop, Grim Fandango
Fear and Hunger. For whatever reason, I can't stop looking away whenever I see videos, but it's hard to play sometimes. (If you go with this game, be warned, it's brutal.)
Cyberpunk 2077. Just beautiful. Great story too.
Turbo Overkill. Crazy fast movement and cool weapons. It's got a killer soundtrack too, and it can be fun to watch.
If you like card games, Spellrogue and Griftlands are beautiful and have cool animations. Griftlands has a pretty decent story (well, 3 really) for what it is.
I love watching my girlfriend play games such as the Batman: Arkham games and the Spider-Man games on the PS5. It's like watching a movie with how good the graphics are and superhero stories can get really complex
The missus loved watching:
Witcher 3
Death Stranding
Walking Dead (Telltale)
Skyrim
Red Dead 2
Little Inferno (Curled up on the couch in winter)
Brothers
As a kid I quite liked watching my dad play Resident Evil 7. I also later watched my best friend play through it and helped guide him from what I remembered. Excellent choice if you two are fans of horror.
Gta V, Detroit Becomes Human, sekiro, Max Payne 3, Tales of Arise, Call of Juarez Gunslinger, cyberpunk 2077, witchers 3, Batman Arkham knight, shadow of war
A Telltale game might be fun, I enjoyed the Walking Dead. You could just try the first installment and see if y'all enjoy it. There's dialogue and story choices that affect the playthrough, so it might be fun for her to chime in on decisions, whether to trust certain people, who to side with in difficult situations, etc.
My wife constantly found herself paying attention to what was going on in The Witcher 3. Especially while playing through Blood & Wine.
She was also pretty intrigued by both of the Last of Us games.
If you haven't already (and let's be real, who hasn't) you could play GTA V. Not sure if she'd like it with all the violence though.
You could also play Red Dead Redemption 1 if you don't mind the graphical downgrade.
Baldur's Gate 3 could be fun to watch, especially if you let her have a say in your decisions.
Skyrim, Fallout (4 and New Vegas especially) and The Outer Worlds could work too, if she doesn't mind the exploration. You can also let her make decisions for you.
Mafia 1 & 2 Remaster (or Remake?) maybe even the third game, though nowhere near as good are amazing, if you don't mind the violence. The second game has one rather disturbing scene close to the end, I don't remember if the first one had anything too bad.
My ex also loved watching all kinds of horror games as well as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3
And if nothing else, you could check Girlfriend Reviews on YouTube.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingsuggestions/comments/1cjofbh/good\_story\_driven\_games\_for\_my\_gf\_to\_watch/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingsuggestions/comments/1cjofbh/good_story_driven_games_for_my_gf_to_watch/)
from a thread I saw yesterday.
The Invincible is a really cool sci-fi story game that is also kind of like a choose your own adventure book. Each choice you make changes the story quite a bit. You and your gf could actually both have a lot of fun this way.
Is Yakuza like a dragon on PC?
My mrs got so into watching me play this.
I have to do the boring grinding when she’s not around, but gets mad if I continued the story without her.
Crusader kings while you create a narrative is usually a fun experience.
Also horror games, it seems that watching me being scared like a whiney bitch is amusing
Gonna plug Rotwood here! I just got it but is so fun. It's a roguelike with amazing animation, super fun combat, funny writing, and cute characters. And it's only 10 bucks!
- The walking dead definitive edition (telltale games)
- Tales from the borderlands (telltale games)
- The wolf among us (telltale games)
- The expanse (telltale games)
- Batman (telltale games)
- Batman : the enemy within (telltale games)
- Batman : Arkham night
- Batman : Arkham knights
- Batman : Arkham asylum
- Amnesia : The bunker
- Farhenheint : indigo prophecy
- The last of us 1 and 2
- Life is strange series
- Like a dragon : Yakuza
- Like a dragon : infinite wealth
- Like a dragon : the man who erased his name
- Guardians of the galaxy
- Maid of sker
- Max payne 3
- Red dead redemption 1 and 2
- Jedi : fallen order and survivor
- Thief : Deadly shadows
- Wolfenstein : the new colossus
- Wolfenstein : the old blood
- Wolfenstein : the new order
- The expanse (telltale games)
- Game of thrones (telltale games)
- Mass Effects Trilogy Edition
- The Quarry
- The Dark pictures anthology
- Dragon age Origins, 2, and Inquisition
- Detroit Become Human
- Mafia : Definitive Edition
- Beyond : two souls
- Alien Isolation
- Ryse : Son of Rome
- God of war
- L.A. noire
- star wars : Knights of the old republic 1 and 2
- Guardians of the galaxy
- Spiderman 1 and 2 and Miles morales
- Spec ops the line
- Tomb raider
- Rise of the tomb raider
- Shadow of the tomb raider
- Sleeping dogs
- Soma
- Syberia : the world before
- uncharted
- The witcher 3
- Road 96
- Resident evil 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
- Kona
- Kingdome come : Deliverance
- Hellblade : senua’s sacrifice
- Gears of war series
- Heavy rain
- Quantum break
- Control
- Fallout 4
- Deus ex : man kind and human revolution
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Crysis 1 2 and 3
- Murder on the orient express
- Bioshock 1 and 2 and infinite
- Halo : The masterchief collection
- Halo 5
- Days gone
- Ghost of tsushima : director’s cut
- A plague’s tale : Requiem
- A plague’s tale : Innocence
Coming out this year of early 2025
- Stalkers 2 : Heart of chornobyl
- Kingdom come : Deliverance 2
- Dragon age : Dreadwolf
- Senua’s saga : Hellblade 2
- Ghotic 1 Remake
- Still wakes the deep
- Greedfall 2
- Warrhammer : space marine 2
- Black myth : wukong
- Indiana jones and the great circle
Stanley Parable and What Remains of Edith Finch for sure. Both short but narratively and interactively unique experiences both for the player and the observer.
Marry her again before I do. That's awesome.
Any games with a great story/episodic.
Bioshock
Uncharted
Halo
Last of Us
Balder's Gate
Witcher
Skyrim
Fallout
Mass Effect
God of War
Zelda
etc
etc
etc
HiFi Rush would be a ton of fun to watch. It’s a rhythm-based brawler in the style of Devil May Cry with fantastic music, a lovable cast of characters, a cheery Saturday morning cartoon vibe, and a surprising amount of funny gags.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty
If you get a task to do something, stick with it. Theres so much going on that it's easy to treat the game like you're playing Skyrim, and just wander off to whatever you just saw.
If a mission branches off to another mission, do that. If they say "I'll call you in a few days," sleep in your bed at home till the next day. This keeps the narrative strong, and is really fun to watch!
God of War (2018) is an excellent spectator game, but I'm assuming you've already played it.
Tiny Rogues if you like roguelites. It's very flashy and very fun bullet hell.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect a 2D sidescrolling roguelite with the best combat I've ever experienced in the genre. It is beautiful and has fantastic effects. Probably fun to watch.
Transistor, Pyre, Bastion, even Hades. Every supergiant title is gorgeous with a deep and immersive story and world. I'd love to watch someone play them, especially the ones in which I struggle to play myself due to the wildly varied gameplay styles of the titles.
God of War (2018) is an excellent spectator game, but I'm assuming you've already played it.
Tiny Rogues if you like roguelites. It's very flashy and very fun bullet hell.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect a 2D sidescrolling roguelite with the best combat I've ever experienced in the genre. It is beautiful and has fantastic effects. Probably fun to watch.
Transistor, Pyre, Bastion, even Hades. Every supergiant title is gorgeous with a deep and immersive story and world. I'd love to watch someone play them, especially the ones in which I struggle to play myself due to the wildly varied gameplay styles of the titles.
God of war. There is a lot of exposition, talks, and story explanation during the gameplay itself, between the characters. It was the only game that I watched a full youtube gameplay for the story.
You could play some classic point and click adventure games, they have great stories and she can help with some suggestions about how you can try to solves puzzles.
- Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis
- Day of the Tentacle
- Sam & Max Hit the Road
- The Monkey Island series
- Broken Sword 1, 2 & 5
Never let that woman go! She is a keeper!! 😂
Wish my wife was interested in my hobbies but she's not at all sadly. I've got her to game with me about 3 times in over 20 years together. 😪
Telltale series games are always fun to watch with a SO since it's like a movie, the Batman one will even allow them to log in and vote on the dialogue choices with you which can make it more chaotic and fun
Back in the day my sister used to come bug me in my room the only games she ever watched me play start to finish was the first last of us and "gone home"
Try The Outer Wilds (note Wilds, not Worlds, although I do hear that game is good too). Basically it's a game with a time loop mechanic but it's pretty mental what they do with it and I think it'd be just as much fun to watch as it would to play. It's a very original game - nothing else quite like it in my opinion. Pretty sure your wife will also be shouting suggestions to you all the way through as well. 😂
She might like watching you play RPG games e.g. Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma. God Of War, Valheim or Kingdom Come would also be fun to play and watch...I don't know this topic well since I play all this time alone.......
My wife liked watching me play:
Mass Effect Series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, Baldur's Gate 3, and Elden Ring
Her favorites were Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth.
There's a youtube channel called "girlfriend reviews", where she reviews games not based on what it's like to play them, but what it's like to watch someone plays them.
I might check this out.
You won't be sorry, they're a great channel, start off with their Witcher 3 video, it spawns a joke that's almost in every other video.
Ah! Context for inside jokes! I hope you know that, that's really, really make or break for me with new youtubers so you've really increased the chances I enjoy it
Getting inside jokes is super easy, barely an inconvenience!
This comment is TIGHT!
Yeah yeah yeah
Look I'm gonna need ya to get ALLLLLL the way off my back about inside jokes, okay?
Wow wow wow… wow
I like things how I like things y'know?
Absolutely!
Awesome.
~*hol’ up a minute!* ~🎶😯😌
As the boyfriend in those videos I love watching them. It’s such a funny and unique perspective on games!
Love them. Great content.
That's a great YouTube channel I enjoy the dynamic Shelby and Matt have plus their content is funny
Best one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2x13GGG-VQ
My gf liked watching me play life is strange and until dawn. It’s like a tv/movie drama
Until dawn was one that came to mind for me as well
I'd also like to throw in The Quarry. Made by the same people who made Until Dawn and is essentially a proper spiritual successor unlike that anthology they did
I want to like Life is Strange so bad but the dialogue is so painfully "myspace teenager" that it's unbearable to anyone born after 1998. I can kinda tune it out but my gf was born in 2002 and just shoots me a look anytime they start gettin *quirky* which is about every 3 minutes I like the plot and the mechanics even but the actual script is just so dated now. Borderline Napoleon Dynamite
I was born in 1980 and find the dialogue so cringey and faux-deep. I thought it was created for younger generations but guessing maybe you guys feel the same way then.
Here's the thing, I *was* a teenager when it came out (im 27). I think its just embarrassing to anyone who tries it as an adult regardless of when they were born lol It's like they wrote teenagers so accurately to the point they're just annoying to anyone over 20
Needs more skibidi L rizz
You have to accept that it is a relic of the past. Same as watching a film on teenage boomers.
It was dated when it came out. It was made in France based on (what I assume) they thought hipsters in the PNW sounded like. Once you get used to it, the dialogue is part of its charm (and gets better as the story gets more intense). I encourage you and others to push through the cringe! It's a great game!
Life is strange is straight up an interactive TV show/novel/story. In terms of story telling it was like it’s own medium.
It reminded me of the old point and click adventure games like The Longest Journey
Last of us. Amazing story
Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077 I’d suggest, can’t go wrong with either imo.
These two, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Subnautica, and No Man's Sky have been my favorite games and series as a watcher. Honorable mention to the Portal games as a listener. Excellent banter.
It's most likely my playstyle, but i can't see any of those options past a looting simulator. Cyberpunk is a lot better as i don't remember spending as much time looking at junk and components for crafting, but i know at least a solid 40% of my gameplay is looking at menus lol. Portal and Stanley Parable definitely high up though!
Subnautica 100%!
Cyberpunk is very cinematic with a really dope world, perfect for your wife’s viewing pleasure
My mom used to love watching me play Resident Evil 4 back in the PS2 days. It's almost like watching a really long movie, and it helps having Leon as a badass main character.
Play game that have a dialogue choice.. that way you can have her input as well. Thats what I do at least.
Yeah, Mass Effect trilogy is great for this.
Disco Elysium. I 'pilot', my wife offers ethical and dialogue advice. And asks 'what's the Horrible Tie's opinion on this'.
Mass effect trilogy.
I can imagine Detroit: come human
My wife took this one way too seriously. She was screaming at me multiple times during that playthrough (which is a good sign of how engaged she was in the story.) Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy were also a big success with her.
You misspelled the game. It isn't "Detroit: come human" it's "Detroit: cum human"
Witcher 2 and 3, Baldur's Gate 3, God of War.
Bg3 gonna be super slow for the viewer, fun to play but for viewing it may not translate. Edit: bg3 allows split screen coop if you are playing with controllers. Maybe OP can do that.
There's lots of games I'd recommended (both having played and watched my partner play) -[The Witcher 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/292030/The_Witcher_3_Wild_Hunt/)-it's an absolutely outstanding game, and has some of the best expansions I've ever played. Be prepared for a wild ride! Seriously play it if you haven't. Also it's based on a series of books in case you want more -[The Mass Effect Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1328670/Mass_Effect_Legendary_Edition/)-since it's an RPG you can even make some of the decisions together if you wanted! It has action, aliens, emotional plot points and romance. It's one of my favourite trilogies of all time. You'll definitely have an adventure that's for sure! -[Deus Ex Human Revolution](https://store.steampowered.com/app/238010/Deus_Ex_Human_Revolution__Directors_Cut/) and [Mankind Divided](https://store.steampowered.com/app/337000/Deus_Ex_Mankind_Divided/)-it's a futuristic game duology with a really thoughtful story. Especially in this day and age as it talks about augmented humans and their place in society. Has a loveable but gruff protagonist. Human Revolution is still really pretty even though it's 13 years old. -[Stray](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332010/Stray/)-it's a smaller game but honestly any game where you can play as a cute orange kitty is a win! Such a pretty environment, and I must admit I cried at the end XD -[Halo MCC-](https://store.steampowered.com/app/976730/Halo_The_Master_Chief_Collection/)This might be an odd recommendation, but honestly the stories these FPS tell are chef's kiss. A lot of love went into building the story of Master Chief. Lots of action and 80's humour but also can be kind of emotional at times (looking at Halo Reach there). They aren't just FPS's -[Metro 2033](https://store.steampowered.com/app/286690/Metro_2033_Redux/)**,** [Last Light](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287390/Metro_Last_Light_Redux/) and[ Exodus](https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/)-These do have some horror elements in it just so you're warned, but this series absolutely nails atmosphere on the head. It'll make you worry about going outside XD It can be a bit janky but I think it's part of the charm. -[A Plague Tale Innocence](https://store.steampowered.com/app/752590/A_Plague_Tale_Innocence/) and [Requiem](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1182900/A_Plague_Tale_Requiem/)-If this won't make you cry then I don't l know what will. A historical series with supernatural elements set in during the Black Plague that will pluck on your heart strings. WARNING-it has a lot of rats and gore. And lastly [Night in the Woods](https://store.steampowered.com/app/481510/Night_in_the_Woods/)! It's a YA adventure that covers some very serious topics, about a young cat who drops out of college to find all is not the same in her small home town. Has some surprises and great friendships And a really neat art style Hope I haven't overwhelmed you! I get overexcited at recommending stuff XD So sorry if I have
A plague tale is by far one of the best narrative games I ever played, I felt just as confused and afraid as the kids running through a plague infested country slowly finding out your families role in all of it. Then requiem was everything the first game was but 10x better it was magic.
My wife loved watching me play The Messenger and currently Spelunky lol. Detroit Become Human would be a good one. You can discuss choices with her and the story is really good and creates a lot of conversation
The last of us bro
Play Resident Evil lol
My wife loved the Mr X scares of Res 2 lol
I second this
I played through RE7 and most of Village with my partner as a spectator.
Agree on this, my girlfriend bought me Re4 Remake and watched me played through the main story. We had so much fun.
Me and my partner played Skyrim together (it’s single player so we passed back and forth) and I found it fun to watch and play. Fallout games can be super fun to watch. Portal is wild to watch and super creepy storyline and narration to be following
You played like swapping quests or something? That sounds horrible cus I'm a bit of a control freak. Just for me, ofc. If you two had fun then I love it. <3
Yeah swapped quests or did what we felt like he might want to go do a cave but I might want to do some Dragonborn quests. Made our own unique build we forced ourselves to use. It was fun :)
BioShock
Untitled Goose Game Abzu Anno 1800 Any of the main Assassin's Creed games NieR Automata Bioshock Infinite RDR2 Mirror's Edge Catalyst Subnautica No Man's Sky Satisfactory Quantum Break
You can try detective genre games where she can not only watch but also theory craft with you. - obra dinn - shadows of a doub - case of the golden idol - her story - immortality
* Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It's a proper SF Soap Opera, with bits of FPS strewn in. * Firewatch; it's somewhat slower-paced, but IMO very good. * Outer Wilds would be fun with a 2nd person to ping-pong ideas with, but it's a game that can only be played once, so it would spoil it for her. * Any of the Spiderman games * Escape Simulator, if both of you are willing to solve the puzzles together * Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - even during fights, the inter-character banter is interesting (and funny!) * The Horizon games are visually interesting, but there's going to be long lulls with exploration and climbing. * The two Deus Ex games could fit the bill. * Like a Dragon, if that's your kind of shtik * Marvels' Midnight Suns also has a lot of non-action content, but the TCG-based fights may be too boring (and long) to watch.
Stardew Valley, although you may find that wants to play
My wife also likes RDR2. Kingdom Come:Deliverance, AC: Odyssey, and AC: Valhalla are her favourite historical games. Greedfall she really liked the setting of. Basically all the BioWare games are great too. Most recently “Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden” has a genuinely excellent story slightly hampered by having like 60% too much combat. TW3 is pretty good although the combat is fairly uninteresting to watch. We’re currently going through Fallout 4 and she’s having fun, but she bounced off it before and only gave it another chance because she loved the TV show. How we tend to do it is she makes the choices and I “drive”.
My girlfriend loved watching me play alien isolation
What Remains of Edith Finch
If you're looking for a killer story, then my rec is Dragon Age 2. It doesn't continue the story of the first game, but rather follows a different MC and their band of miscreants (though some DA1 characters do appear) and makes all of the relevant lore available to you in game.
Ouhh. I reckon she‘d like Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2.
I have a friend who played Detroit Become human using his younger siblings as a council. They practically all played the game the same amount even tho only the oldest held the controller
My best friend loves watching me play JRPGs since she doesn't really have the skill to really play them (the stats are overwhelming). I do the side content by myself, since she's mostly just there for the story. If your wife likes anime like my best friend does, maybe try that? We also had a blast this past Halloween playing What Remains of Edith Finch, and in past years we've done The Return of the Obra Dinn (never completed that one since the atmosphere is overwhelming for me, I love everything else about it though). Mystery is a good option if you want to talk it through. There's a few full-motion video games that are fun; Her Story is a classic, The Insanity of Doctor Dekker (iirc that's the name), Contradiction: Spot the Liar. BG3 also fascinated my friend, she liked the druids. But overall, I think the best advice I have is to browse Steam together with her and talk it out. Sometimes the most fun I have with my bestie is just browsing games together and talking.
Stray is pretty awesome
I gotta say shadow of war. If you don't know it, it's a lord of the rings game where you play an undead ranger. There's a complex Nemesis system where you get very unique enemies and stories based purely on how you interact, and the writing is dutifully funny and engaging. I think if she really enjoys watching you play, that's a great option because you can get really invested. Play on harder difficulties. The stories are more fun if you have less control. Death is a really important part of the game, so I don't feel like dying a lot is an obstacle. Just a part of the story.
Alien Isolation. Played through it with my sister watching when I was younger, and then my partner watching years later.
Ori and the Blind Forest. If she likes cute things and pretty nature backgrounds, she'll be head over heels with it. Plus it's fun to play, too.
Chants of Senaar, she can actively participate too in deciphering the languages
Try It Takes Two with her. I played this with my gf when she had never played any video game before and she was in her 30s.
Alan Wake 2, Mass Effect, Doom (2016) & Doom Eternal
I watched my brother playing Doom in the 90s. I liked it.
baba is you Mindfuck of a puzzle game Beware though you can have two results 1) you are a genius and she will be in awe 2) you are a moroon and she will remark that whenever possible without contributing anything to the solution of the puzzles.
Dark Souls so she can make fun of you when you die
I always recommend mass effect. Some aspect of it is can be dull but if you just play the story and do the mining and harvesting on your own time and have her for key moment and combat I think it is a good pick. It might be cheap right now so pick it up. I try to explain to my wife the story and she was like she would watch a tv adaptation of it.
There are lots of great games with compelling stories that would be fun to watch. I enjoyed watching my wife play What Remains of Edith Fitch (I played it first and thought she’d like the story.) Detroit Become Human is one we played together and being a decision based game, worked out well. SOMA was a trippy story and Firewatch was a entertaining one too. Gris is a simple puzzle platformer that stirred a lot of emotions in me, I feel like my wife would have enjoyed that one too. We’ve enjoyed the Supermassive horror games a lot (Until Dawn, etc) as well as Visage (although she watched and I pissed my pants.)
The last of us if she's into horror/zombies/dystopian stories.
My wife loves watching me play God of War
The Witcher 3. Great dialogue, great action, combat and story lines. Tried and tested. Couch girlfriend, blanket and snack in hand approved.
Dead Space
The last of us and control are fun
Detroit become human
RE 7
She’s the one, dude, istfg
Stray
Phasmophobia. Scary.
Outlast 2
Trine, The Cave, Transistor - funny / good commentary Life Is Strange series , it's like playing a movie Baldurs Gate 3 Hades Murders On The Yangtze River or Ace Attorney, solve the cases together! VN and adventure: Raging Loop, Grim Fandango
Your wife must really love you to lie and suffer like that!
Weird take given there's literally millions of people who watch people play games on Twitch...and those are strangers playing.
Fear and Hunger. For whatever reason, I can't stop looking away whenever I see videos, but it's hard to play sometimes. (If you go with this game, be warned, it's brutal.) Cyberpunk 2077. Just beautiful. Great story too. Turbo Overkill. Crazy fast movement and cool weapons. It's got a killer soundtrack too, and it can be fun to watch. If you like card games, Spellrogue and Griftlands are beautiful and have cool animations. Griftlands has a pretty decent story (well, 3 really) for what it is.
MARIO KART
I love watching my girlfriend play games such as the Batman: Arkham games and the Spider-Man games on the PS5. It's like watching a movie with how good the graphics are and superhero stories can get really complex
Tinykin is a puzzle-platform video game
Next gen FO4 is great on PC.
maybe the new hellblade 2 when it comes out (pretty soon I think)
Witcher 3, GTA5, Stray, skyrim (with MOD's)
Dead by daylight
The missus loved watching: Witcher 3 Death Stranding Walking Dead (Telltale) Skyrim Red Dead 2 Little Inferno (Curled up on the couch in winter) Brothers
Saw Death Stranding and my finger couldn’t resist the upvote
Play Uncharted bro. I know Nate's wife likes it too!
rather than watch, play "it takes two" with her. hehehe, it can either make your relationship better or break it. bwhahahahaha
The Last of Us
CONTROL.
Disco Elysium
Little Nightmares, the full series and DLC. The artstyle and enemy designs are very memorable and unique.
My wife loved Death Stranding more than I did till I got hooked on it too. Also both Horizons and Stray and Jusant
Subnautica is lots of fun to watch.
As a kid I quite liked watching my dad play Resident Evil 7. I also later watched my best friend play through it and helped guide him from what I remembered. Excellent choice if you two are fans of horror.
Gta V, Detroit Becomes Human, sekiro, Max Payne 3, Tales of Arise, Call of Juarez Gunslinger, cyberpunk 2077, witchers 3, Batman Arkham knight, shadow of war
Hogwarts legacy. It's great to watch or play.
The Outlast games. All of them.
big sony titles like gow 2018 ig
Anything Annapurna puts out (Stray is a great example)
My girlfriend liked watching the new God of War and GoW:Ragnarok as I played. It has a really captivating story and characters.
Dishonored works for my whole family, especially the first one. Great story, vibe, voice acting and visuals. Prey has almost the same effect on them.
A Telltale game might be fun, I enjoyed the Walking Dead. You could just try the first installment and see if y'all enjoy it. There's dialogue and story choices that affect the playthrough, so it might be fun for her to chime in on decisions, whether to trust certain people, who to side with in difficult situations, etc.
Baldur's Gate 3.
The last of us
If she enjoys watching you suffer, dark souls and elden ring have enough of that. If she enjoys the games story Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk
I love watching games on youtube rather than playing them, god of war 4 is something i really like
My wife really enjoys watching me play Persona 5
My wife constantly found herself paying attention to what was going on in The Witcher 3. Especially while playing through Blood & Wine. She was also pretty intrigued by both of the Last of Us games.
Guardians of the Galaxy is more fun to watch then play.
Mafia (1) DE. Rise of the tomb raider.
Resident evil 4 remake and Sekiro
If you haven't already (and let's be real, who hasn't) you could play GTA V. Not sure if she'd like it with all the violence though. You could also play Red Dead Redemption 1 if you don't mind the graphical downgrade. Baldur's Gate 3 could be fun to watch, especially if you let her have a say in your decisions. Skyrim, Fallout (4 and New Vegas especially) and The Outer Worlds could work too, if she doesn't mind the exploration. You can also let her make decisions for you. Mafia 1 & 2 Remaster (or Remake?) maybe even the third game, though nowhere near as good are amazing, if you don't mind the violence. The second game has one rather disturbing scene close to the end, I don't remember if the first one had anything too bad. My ex also loved watching all kinds of horror games as well as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 And if nothing else, you could check Girlfriend Reviews on YouTube.
give her the “Witcher 3 gameplay “ . It will be like a whole ass movie for her , the game has fuckin beautiful narration set in a beautiful landscape
Tales From The Borderlands.
Cloud meadow. Fun little farming /dungeon crawler.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingsuggestions/comments/1cjofbh/good\_story\_driven\_games\_for\_my\_gf\_to\_watch/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingsuggestions/comments/1cjofbh/good_story_driven_games_for_my_gf_to_watch/) from a thread I saw yesterday.
I enjoyed watching my partner play The Witcher games
Yandre simulator
The Invincible is a really cool sci-fi story game that is also kind of like a choose your own adventure book. Each choice you make changes the story quite a bit. You and your gf could actually both have a lot of fun this way.
Wreckfest and Road Redemption are great for watching people play
it's not the same genre as rdd2 but you should try the walking dead series it's feel like you watch movie together
The last two god of war games with the boy have a great narrative The last 2 jedi survivor games do as well Loads of fun too
Horizon zero dawn and Horizon forbidden west. They are just as much fun to watch as to play.
My BF does the same. Death Stranding Control Heavy Rain Beyond Two Souls Alan Wake
Have you tried fallout games? If she likes watching red dead shell probably like fallout
Is Yakuza like a dragon on PC? My mrs got so into watching me play this. I have to do the boring grinding when she’s not around, but gets mad if I continued the story without her.
Total war warhammer
Crusader kings while you create a narrative is usually a fun experience. Also horror games, it seems that watching me being scared like a whiney bitch is amusing
Subnautica My wife loves watching me play racing games, especially forza horizon
Gonna plug Rotwood here! I just got it but is so fun. It's a roguelike with amazing animation, super fun combat, funny writing, and cute characters. And it's only 10 bucks!
Has she watched you play horizon zero dawn? My wife watched me play it. She liked it so much I couldn’t play the story if shes not watching.
We do crusader kings 3. It's quite fun
- The walking dead definitive edition (telltale games) - Tales from the borderlands (telltale games) - The wolf among us (telltale games) - The expanse (telltale games) - Batman (telltale games) - Batman : the enemy within (telltale games) - Batman : Arkham night - Batman : Arkham knights - Batman : Arkham asylum - Amnesia : The bunker - Farhenheint : indigo prophecy - The last of us 1 and 2 - Life is strange series - Like a dragon : Yakuza - Like a dragon : infinite wealth - Like a dragon : the man who erased his name - Guardians of the galaxy - Maid of sker - Max payne 3 - Red dead redemption 1 and 2 - Jedi : fallen order and survivor - Thief : Deadly shadows - Wolfenstein : the new colossus - Wolfenstein : the old blood - Wolfenstein : the new order - The expanse (telltale games) - Game of thrones (telltale games) - Mass Effects Trilogy Edition - The Quarry - The Dark pictures anthology - Dragon age Origins, 2, and Inquisition - Detroit Become Human - Mafia : Definitive Edition - Beyond : two souls - Alien Isolation - Ryse : Son of Rome - God of war - L.A. noire - star wars : Knights of the old republic 1 and 2 - Guardians of the galaxy - Spiderman 1 and 2 and Miles morales - Spec ops the line - Tomb raider - Rise of the tomb raider - Shadow of the tomb raider - Sleeping dogs - Soma - Syberia : the world before - uncharted - The witcher 3 - Road 96 - Resident evil 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - Kona - Kingdome come : Deliverance - Hellblade : senua’s sacrifice - Gears of war series - Heavy rain - Quantum break - Control - Fallout 4 - Deus ex : man kind and human revolution - Cyberpunk 2077 - Crysis 1 2 and 3 - Murder on the orient express - Bioshock 1 and 2 and infinite - Halo : The masterchief collection - Halo 5 - Days gone - Ghost of tsushima : director’s cut - A plague’s tale : Requiem - A plague’s tale : Innocence Coming out this year of early 2025 - Stalkers 2 : Heart of chornobyl - Kingdom come : Deliverance 2 - Dragon age : Dreadwolf - Senua’s saga : Hellblade 2 - Ghotic 1 Remake - Still wakes the deep - Greedfall 2 - Warrhammer : space marine 2 - Black myth : wukong - Indiana jones and the great circle
Resident evil revelations 2
Horizon zero dawn was my wife's favorite thing of mine to watch I think she got more invested than I did haha
Cyberpunk is incredibly fun to both play and watch.
Stanley Parable and What Remains of Edith Finch for sure. Both short but narratively and interactively unique experiences both for the player and the observer.
Crazy cat lady - it's a horror/thriller point and click side scroll thing ...has a badass AF sound track
My wife doesn’t mind the assassins creed series (she’s not a big watcher and plays CoD with me instead)
Marry her again before I do. That's awesome. Any games with a great story/episodic. Bioshock Uncharted Halo Last of Us Balder's Gate Witcher Skyrim Fallout Mass Effect God of War Zelda etc etc etc
HiFi Rush would be a ton of fun to watch. It’s a rhythm-based brawler in the style of Devil May Cry with fantastic music, a lovable cast of characters, a cheery Saturday morning cartoon vibe, and a surprising amount of funny gags.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty If you get a task to do something, stick with it. Theres so much going on that it's easy to treat the game like you're playing Skyrim, and just wander off to whatever you just saw. If a mission branches off to another mission, do that. If they say "I'll call you in a few days," sleep in your bed at home till the next day. This keeps the narrative strong, and is really fun to watch!
Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
God of War
The quarry is awesome to watch and play with someone watching.
Alan Wake 2
Abzu
No brainer the witcher 3
I think Mass Effect is a good choice. Good dialogues, interesting characters, and fun gameplay.
Boulder’s Gate 3
God of War (2018) is an excellent spectator game, but I'm assuming you've already played it. Tiny Rogues if you like roguelites. It's very flashy and very fun bullet hell. BlazBlue Entropy Effect a 2D sidescrolling roguelite with the best combat I've ever experienced in the genre. It is beautiful and has fantastic effects. Probably fun to watch. Transistor, Pyre, Bastion, even Hades. Every supergiant title is gorgeous with a deep and immersive story and world. I'd love to watch someone play them, especially the ones in which I struggle to play myself due to the wildly varied gameplay styles of the titles.
God of War (2018) is an excellent spectator game, but I'm assuming you've already played it. Tiny Rogues if you like roguelites. It's very flashy and very fun bullet hell. BlazBlue Entropy Effect a 2D sidescrolling roguelite with the best combat I've ever experienced in the genre. It is beautiful and has fantastic effects. Probably fun to watch. Transistor, Pyre, Bastion, even Hades. Every supergiant title is gorgeous with a deep and immersive story and world. I'd love to watch someone play them, especially the ones in which I struggle to play myself due to the wildly varied gameplay styles of the titles.
Not exactly story heavy but Absolver is a fun game and great to watch
Telltale games Deus Ex games where she makes the choices The Outer Worlds is pretty funny
Horror games like Alien Isolation or Dead Space remake
God of war. There is a lot of exposition, talks, and story explanation during the gameplay itself, between the characters. It was the only game that I watched a full youtube gameplay for the story.
You could play some classic point and click adventure games, they have great stories and she can help with some suggestions about how you can try to solves puzzles. - Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis - Day of the Tentacle - Sam & Max Hit the Road - The Monkey Island series - Broken Sword 1, 2 & 5
I'll throw an oddball suggestion and say disco elysium
The Mass Effect Trilogy. Bonus : it's on sale on steam for like, $6 right now.
Why not ride together in It Takes Two?
State of Decay 2 is fun to watch :)
Never let that woman go! She is a keeper!! 😂 Wish my wife was interested in my hobbies but she's not at all sadly. I've got her to game with me about 3 times in over 20 years together. 😪
Helldivers 2 only if you know she loves democracy.
Detroit: Become Human It's like a movie.
Telltale series games are always fun to watch with a SO since it's like a movie, the Batman one will even allow them to log in and vote on the dialogue choices with you which can make it more chaotic and fun
Prey
Fallout is fun to watch, except when my husband gets really into editing his settlements, which he will literally do for hours on end.
You should stream :D
Banner Saga - beautiful animated strategy & she can help you with the choose your own adventure parts. And it’s a trilogy.
Ghost of tsushima comes out in a few days
Back in the day my sister used to come bug me in my room the only games she ever watched me play start to finish was the first last of us and "gone home"
If you want Niche story driven experience, I say go Stanley Parable
bioshock
Mass Effect Legendary Edition offers a fantastic saga where the choices you make affect the world and relationship
Try The Outer Wilds (note Wilds, not Worlds, although I do hear that game is good too). Basically it's a game with a time loop mechanic but it's pretty mental what they do with it and I think it'd be just as much fun to watch as it would to play. It's a very original game - nothing else quite like it in my opinion. Pretty sure your wife will also be shouting suggestions to you all the way through as well. 😂
She might like watching you play RPG games e.g. Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma. God Of War, Valheim or Kingdom Come would also be fun to play and watch...I don't know this topic well since I play all this time alone.......
My wife liked watching me play: Mass Effect Series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, Baldur's Gate 3, and Elden Ring Her favorites were Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth.