Okay so work with me a little here. You’ve just been tasked with recommending a game to someone who’s got very little experience with gaming.
Maybe they’re a kid who’s just starting out, or maybe they’ve just never had much interest in videogames.
What one game are you giving to them to show what videogames can be
While maybe not kid friendly due to themes in the game, but i think The Binding of Issac is a pretty good place to start.
It is easy to learn, but provides enough space for skill growth. It offers a nice mysterious progression of enhancements and curses to amplify that core gameplay. Furthermore, the gameplay loop with randomly generated levels, item tables, and shuffling boss rosters, the game really offers so much for someone to get new to games excited about.
My wife never grew up with video games, where i was the opposite. we dated for about 3 years and one day she asked me about BOI. I showed her how to play it on my PC and the rest is history. i think she had clocked almost 1000hrs in the game. Now, she plays games more than I do! She bought an Xbox and plays whatever is on game pass. I am almost certain she is close to perfecting Hades.
A close second would maybe be the Aliens arcade shooter with the big ol guns you point at the screen!