List of all Video Game Genres, and Which Ones Suit You? – Part 2

Popular sports gaming franchises like EA FC (FIFA), NBA, and NFL all have annual releases and are regularly among the most played games.

Racing

Racing games provide you with the thrill of getting behind the wheel, albeit on a virtual screen, and going as fast as you can.

The racing genre has developed into a more competitive field, with video game series like the F1 and Forza being hyper-realistic examples that add the edge of realism through real-life tracks, cars, and characters.

Fighting

Most Fighting games feature straight-up one-on-one brawls, providing players the best platform to test their skills against others.

These games involve high-octane action, strategy, muscle memory, and championing the unique abilities of every character. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Tekken are video game series that have defined an era and continue to be popular titles.

Stealth

While most action-heavy titles are full of battles, Stealth games champion the art of defeating the enemy and achieving the objectives with a controlled level of action.

The focus is more on using tactics, masking sound, vision, and attacks to outwit your enemies. The Assassin’s Creed and the Hitman series are pure examples of this genre.

Puzzle

Puzzle games involve logic-based quests, solving challenges with your brain rather than just pure physical mechanics. Hence, these games offer a different kind of satisfaction upon completing the objectives or the games themselves.

The Portal series is more of a modern-day adaptation of this genre.

Action RPG

These games combine the high-octane, action-packed combat with the world of the Role-Playing Games (RPG), wherein exploration, character development, and lore take center stage.

Games like Hades, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, and Diablo are popular examples.

Platformer

Platformer games are all about precision, timing, and clearing levels and overcoming platforms without getting caught or eliminated.

Usually, platformer games also involve puzzle elements, making it a cherished experience overall. Game franchises like the Super Mario and Sonic, along with games like Shovel Knight and Celeste, champion this art.

Hack-and-Slash

Hack-and-Slash games are a niche category where players usually can only use melee weapons with their characters to defeat enemies.

While the action-packed combat is enhanced by the proximity of battles, it also develops decision-making with the characters at more risk of damage than usual. God of War is a shining example of such a game.

Survival Horror

Survival Horror, as the name suggests, are games where survival is the main objective, and the environment is full of dread or has an eerie feeling to it.

Enjoy games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil for their atmospheric creep that develops in the generated world in the game.

Psychological Horror

Psychological Horror games have horror embedded in their story. But it is not in-your-face. The feeling of horror is generated more intrinsically and has a slow but ominous buildup to the objectives.

Games like Silent Hill 2, Alan Wake 2, and SOMA are good examples of games that inculcate the feeling of horror through the human psyche.

Visual Narrative

These are storyline-heavy games where the cinematic experience takes center stage in the game’s universe. The game involves making decisions and is heavy on dialogue as well, giving players an experience quite like an immersive 4D movie.

Steins Gate is the perfect example of this genre.

Interactive Narrative

The difference in an Interactive genre is that the choices or decisions you make affect the outcome and ending of the game, and can lead to other endings. These games are heavy on giving users more control over the ending they want to have.

Choices not only dictate what happens in the end but also end up teaching players the morality of it all, as poor choices result in bad endings. The multiple endings keep users engaged and can be experienced in games like Until Dawn.

Open World

Open World games are those where exploration isn’t bound or restricted by or to anything. The game allows and urges users to explore the vast world created by the developers, and takes them on a unique journey.

These games also have endings and completion, but the journey is entirely yours. Some don’t even end up taking that route and enjoy the exploration part of the games, with titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 offering such experiences.

Metroidvania

Metroidvania games feature a large, interconnected map with ability‑gated progression.

Some games even gate areas until you unlock a certain level, which is for the users’ own safety, as greater dangers lurk ahead in that part of the unexplored world.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is perhaps one of the best visually and storyline-based Metroidvania games in recent years.

Which genre do you like the best or enjoy the most?