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Action
Action is a diverse genre that encapsulates games where the primary appeal and challenge is to test the player’s physical skills, such as timing, precision, or reaction speed.
For a full list of Action games, check out the Best Action Games page.
Action Horror
Action Horror games see the player placed into a horror-themed environment usually with graphic violence and/or a frightening atmosphere. Enemies can be confronted in combat and defeated en masse throughout the game, with an abundance of supplies, weapons, ammunition, and health available for the player to utilize and collect in order to defeat these enemies.
For a full list of Action Horror games, check out the Best Action Horror Games page.
Action-Adventure
Action-Adventure games combine elements of Action and Adventure. A game in this genre might incorporate a strong storyline, exploration of the game environment, interaction with non-player characters, and puzzle solving, amongst other things. This genre will not be applied alongside genres that already imply action and adventure (e.g. Shooter, Platformer), meaning the tag is reserved for games that don't contain enough elements to meet the criteria for any other genre.
For a full list of Action-Adventure games, check out the Best Action-Adventure Games page.
Action-RPG
Action RPGs give the player direct control of a character for use in combat. They typically feature real-time battles, which may or may not take place in static sub-instances of the game world.
For a full list of Action-RPG games, check out the Best Action-RPG Games page.
Adventure
The Adventure genre includes games where the player takes part in an interactive story. The gameplay typically involves gathering information and items to solve puzzles and advance a story driven plot.
For a full list of Adventure games, check out the Best Adventure Games page.
Aerial
Aerial is used to describe games which heavily feature the player controlling air-based vehicles including airplanes, spaceships, and jets.
For a full list of Aerial games, check out the Best Aerial Games page.
Arcade Racing
Arcade Racing games usually feature extra gameplay elements besides driving, often in the form of weapons, stunts, or spectacular crashes. Handling is usually simplified and physics tuned towards being fun rather than realistic.
For a full list of Arcade Racing games, check out the Best Arcade Racing Games page.
Automobile
Automobile is used to describe games in the Racing and Vehicular Combat genres which heavily feature the player controlling land-based motorized vehicles including tanks, cars, and motorcycles.
For a full list of Automobile games, check out the Best Automobile Games page.
Battle Royale
Battle Royale games consist of a large number of players engaging in combat within the same arena. Typically, the play area gradually shrinks for the duration of the game, thus forcing combatants into smaller circles to find other players. Respawning eliminated players may be possible but is not required for the genre. Another common element of Battle Royale games is the option to loot items such as weapons, armor, ammo, etc from the playing field to give themselves an advantage over other players.
For a full list of Battle Royale games, check out the Best Battle Royale Games page.
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em Up games involve close-quarters combat against generally small to medium sized groups of relatively weak enemies which usually must be defeated before you can progress. Generally weapon choice is limited or non-existent and character/skill upgrade progression is minimal.
For a full list of Beat 'em up games, check out the Best Beat 'em up Games page.
Card & Board
Card & Board games simulate the experience of playing on a tabletop by modelling game pieces, boards, dice, and rules. These are usually adapted from physical counterparts, although can be entirely original concepts too.
For a full list of Card & Board games, check out the Best Card & Board Games page.
Casino
Casino games simulate gambling via games typically played at Casinos. Chance is usually a pivotal factor, although a knowledge of odds may provide a competitive advantage. Often the aim of these games is to accrue a virtual currency.
For a full list of Casino games, check out the Best Casino Games page.
Collectable Card Game
Collectable Card Games involve proprietary items which players collect and use to build personal reserves. The different items usually represent creatures with varying attributes and abilities, and can be used to battle other players.
For a full list of Collectable Card Game games, check out the Best Collectable Card Game Games page.
Collection
Collection groups games which contain not one, but a group of titles. These can range from sports titles to arcade collections.
For a full list of Collection games, check out the Best Collection Games page.
Dance
Dance games have the player emulate dancing moves with the character by pushing a button combination or by capturing directly using a peripheral such as Kinect.
For a full list of Dance games, check out the Best Dance Games page.
Dungeon Crawler
Dungeon Crawlers focus on the chase for better and better loot gained from exploring the environment and defeating enemies. Levelling your character and gaining skills is a means to increase your combat abilities and advance ever deeper into the world.
For a full list of Dungeon Crawler games, check out the Best Dungeon Crawler Games page.
Educational & Trivia
Educational titles have an explicit underlying educational purpose. Their intention is to facilitate the learning of subjects and concepts.
For a full list of Educational & Trivia games, check out the Best Educational & Trivia Games page.
Fighting
Fighting games feature combat, usually one-on-one, between equally matched characters. Each character has individual strengths and weaknesses and a unique set of moves for players to master. Real world sports such as mixed martial arts, professional wrestling, and others are excluded.
For a full list of Fighting games, check out the Best Fighting Games page.
First Person Shooter
First Person Shooters test the player’s marksmanship abilities and use a perspective where the player is looking out from the protagonists eyes.
For a full list of First Person Shooter games, check out the Best First Person Shooter Games page.
Fishing
Fishing games feature players fishing for sea creatures in rivers, lakes, and open oceans. Players may have a variety of accessories/items to use, such as rods, lures, or bait.
For a full list of Fishing games, check out the Best Fishing Games page.
Hack & Slash
Hack & Slash games usually feature a single or small group of characters facing off against medium to large groups of enemies (sometimes hundreds at a time) and gameplay is usually quite fast paced. Upgrading of either weapons or characters is generally a strong point of gameplay.
For a full list of Hack & Slash games, check out the Best Hack & Slash Games page.
Hunting
Hunting games are comprised of a hunter in the wilderness tracking and killing animals for sport. Players may make use of a variety of realistic hunting weapons such as rifles and shotguns as well as gear commonly found in hunting such as scent masks, blinds, and stands.
For a full list of Hunting games, check out the Best Hunting Games page.
Management
Management games give the player high level control of an entity, such as a sports team or a business. The player must decide game strategy and deal with issues like resource limitations and periodic setbacks.
For a full list of Management games, check out the Best Management Games page.
Mech
Mech games give the player direct control over one or more mecha, walking combat suits. Usually these games feature customisation options to modify the weapon loadout and configuration of the mech.
For a full list of Mech games, check out the Best Mech Games page.
Metroidvania
Metroidvania is a sub-genre of Action-Adventure that focuses on exploration of a, typically, single interconnected world. The player will gain new skills / abilities that allow them to explore once inaccessible areas as well as growing in power via an advancement system. These games feature prominent platforming elements, such as precision jumping, but need not be platformers. Instead, the player is mainly antagonized by enemies which can be defeated through combat.
For a full list of Metroidvania games, check out the Best Metroidvania Games page.
MMO
Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, are those that support large numbers of players in online worlds simultaneously. Depending on the game, players can compete against each other or band together in raids or parties to explore the game world and defeat enemies cooperatively.
For a full list of MMO games, check out the Best MMO Games page.
MOBA
MOBAs consist of games where player-controlled teams attempt to defeat each other by eliminating each team's primary objective. Computer-controlled units (often spawning and proceeding along set paths) assist the player, while their characters often have improving abilities.
For a full list of MOBA games, check out the Best MOBA Games page.
Music
Music games have the player emulate the playing or conducting of a piece of music, typically by using a peripheral to match on-screen prompts.
For a full list of Music games, check out the Best Music Games page.
Naval
Naval is used to describe games in the Racing and Vehicular Combat genres which heavily feature the player controlling sea-based vehicles including boats, battleships, and jet skis.
Naval is used to describe games which heavily feature the player controlling sea-based vehicles including boats, battleships, and jet skis.
For a full list of Naval games, check out the Best Naval Games page.
On Rails
On Rails games give the player limited control of their avatar, usually around the immediate screen. The player does not control the path their avatar takes, as though they are tied to a rail.
For a full list of On Rails games, check out the Best On Rails Games page.
Open World
Open World games feature an expansive open world for the player to explore. While there is usually an overarching story, a hallmark of this genre is the ability to put this on hold in favour of exploration and free play. While portions of the world may be closed off, upfront there should be relatively large swaths accessible to the player. In most cases, players can choose between multiple or many optional objectives.
For a full list of Open World games, check out the Best Open World Games page.
Party
Party games are usually played in local multiplayer with friends and seldom played alone. The objective of party games is usually to gather a certain score or outdo your opponents in minigames or trivia contests. Players can also work together cooperatively to achieve an objective
For a full list of Party games, check out the Best Party Games page.
Pinball
Pinball games attempt to mimic the experience, gameplay mechanics, and physics of real pinball machines to some degree. Gameplay tends to be oriented toward attempting to score points or complete objectives with a limited number of pinballs.
For a full list of Pinball games, check out the Best Pinball Games page.
Platformer
Platformers feature obstacle course like levels in which the player must navigate from the start to the end, with physics-enabled traversal between platforms or over obstacles. Platformers require the environment itself to be a primary antagonist. Accuracy-based jumping challenges and endless runners are two common examples of Platformer. In all cases, correct timing is necessary (either to avoid death or serious set-back) to advance.
For a full list of Platformer games, check out the Best Platformer Games page.
Point & Click
Point & Click are games that are played scene by scene, with the player exploring each to gather items or discover objects of interest. These items and objects are often vital to advancing the story.
For a full list of Point & Click games, check out the Best Point & Click Games page.
Puzzle
Puzzle games come in a variety forms. Be it a jigsaw puzzle, a combinatorial problem, a vocabulary or an arithmetic challenge, or even a physics based puzzle. These games conceptually challenge the player to use logic to approach and solve situations.
For a full list of Puzzle games, check out the Best Puzzle Games page.
Real Time
Real Time is a tag usually reserved for Strategy and Role Playing games to detail the pace of gameplay which creates a significantly different experience to Turn Based games. Real Time Strategy involves mechanics where all participants move and build simultaneously rather than taking turns while Real Time Role Playing sees you control a party of characters at once with the ability to switch between them, while one character is under your control the others run on auto-pilot to continue to attack and/or heal.
For a full list of Real Time games, check out the Best Real Time Games page.
Roguelite
Roguelite games are defined by permanent character death, randomized levels and/or maps with varying items, item locations, enemies, and/or bosses each playthrough. The extensiveness of the randomization can vary, but the goal is that every playthrough will be completely different. The persistence of unlocked weapons, characters, upgrades, or items between playthroughs is allowed but not required. Permanent death is classified as the game saving no environmental progress, no checkpoints, and no system consisting of multiple lives.
For a full list of Roguelite games, check out the Best Roguelite Games page.
Role Playing
Role Playing games (RPGs) see the player take control of one or more characters as they interact with the world around them. RPGs tend to come in two forms with most being a combination of the two. One sees the game being heavily focused on the story and narrative of the game while others focus more on character/s becoming more powerful over time giving the player a moderate to high level of control in regards to how they develop including stats/attributes, equipment and more.
For a full list of Role Playing games, check out the Best Role Playing Games page.
Run & Gun
Run & Gun games incorporate a platforming element into the game and the player has to use this, together with often upgradable arsenal to defeat enemies while progressing through mostly linear levels.
For a full list of Run & Gun games, check out the Best Run & Gun Games page.
Sandbox
Sandbox games allow the player to create, modify, or construct upon the physical aspects of a game world, either using tools or freeform, with no specific objective.
For a full list of Sandbox games, check out the Best Sandbox Games page.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot ‘em ups put the player in control of an avatar to be guided through an environment, while battling large numbers of weak enemies and dodging their fire. These games focus on reaction time and tend to feature scrolling levels and/or twin-stick mechanics.
For a full list of Shoot 'em up games, check out the Best Shoot 'em up Games page.
Simulation
Simulation games attempt to accurately replicate some current, or potential future, aspect of real life. Often the player is tasked with managing or caring for a system, although other tasks, such as driving or flying, may be encapsulated.
For a full list of Simulation games, check out the Best Simulation Games page.
Simulation Racing
Simulation Racing games feature realistic handling and physics in an attempt to accurately portray racing. They often include drifting and tuning, but tend to not feature weapons or other unrealistic elements.
For a full list of Simulation Racing games, check out the Best Simulation Racing Games page.
Sports
Sports games model an existing sport, complete with a set of rules and organized competition. They do not necessarily have to be simulations and may feature actions which are over-the-top, physically impossible, or not allowed within the real life activity.
For a full list of Sports games, check out the Best Sports Games page.
Stealth
Stealth games task the player with attempting to manoeuvre through an environment unseen and unheard by enemies. Detection will usually come at a cost, resulting in either combat, firefights, or other unfavourable circumstances. As such, the player will generally be rewarded for sticking to a more stealthy style of play and utilising any hiding and escape mechanics the game provides. Two primary systems employed by Stealth games are an enemy awareness system (of the player's presence) and/or gameplay mechanics explicitly to help players avoid or escape detection.
For a full list of Stealth games, check out the Best Stealth Games page.
Strategy
Covers both strategy and tactical games. Strategy games give the player command of resources which must be used strategically to defeat enemies. Common gameplay elements include building and defending a base, directing offensive units against opponents, and upgrading technology. Tactical games rely on the terrain influencing combat and movement regulation via grid use. Battles are often story driven. The concluding event need not be the destruction of the opposing unit(s).
For a full list of Strategy games, check out the Best Strategy Games page.
Survival
Survival games give players limited resources to survive. While enemies may be present, the focus is generally on the player's own survival against a hostile environment. Statistics such as hunger and thirst are governed by meters and need to be replenished in order to prevent death. Crafting elements are generally present, as well as the ability to construct weapons, buildings, or upgrades to aid in long-term survival.
For a full list of Survival games, check out the Best Survival Games page.
Survival Horror
Survival Horror games see the player placed into a horror-themed environment usually with graphic violence and/or a frightening atmosphere. While enemies can usually be confronted with combat the player is given limited assets such as ammunition, health or the ability to heal, speed and vision. Progress is usually stalled through the use of locked paths and/or puzzles that need to be solved or have specific items collected before being allowed to continue.
For a full list of Survival Horror games, check out the Best Survival Horror Games page.
Third Person Shooter
Third Person Shooters test the player’s marksmanship abilities and position the camera behind the player such that the protagonist can be seen.
For a full list of Third Person Shooter games, check out the Best Third Person Shooter Games page.
Tower Defence
Tower Defense games have the player defending a specific item or area on the map from enemy attacks. Attacks usually occur along a set path or fixed direction. The player is able to build objects in order to assist the defense of this base, either by attacking enemies or buffing their own abilities. These objects are built, maintained, or upgraded through a resource management system.
For a full list of Tower Defence games, check out the Best Tower Defence Games page.
Turn Based
Turn Based is a tag usually reserved for Strategy and Role Playing games to detail the pace of gameplay which creates a significantly different experience to Real Time games. Turn Based games see you and your opponents act one after the other or in the case of some RPGs when an action bar is filled. Turn Based Strategy games generally have a certain set or amount of actions they can execute before the turn passes to the next unit or player.
For a full list of Turn Based games, check out the Best Turn Based Games page.
Vehicular Combat
Vehicular Combat games give the player control of a vehicle on land, sea, air, or space, with a focus on battles against other vehicles or targets. Combat scenarios vary from simple arena battles to large scale military operations.
For a full list of Vehicular Combat games, check out the Best Vehicular Combat Games page.
Visual Novel
Visual Novels generally consist of static images or videos accompanied by text or spoken dialogue, and generally lack gameplay challenges in favour of pure storytelling. The player is usually confronted with choices which determine the branch of the storyline shown.
For a full list of Visual Novel games, check out the Best Visual Novel Games page.