Topic: New to gaming - recommendations please!

I'm relatively new to gaming at the grand old age of 55! I've played some games that I love and started some games that I didn't!

I like action/adventure/3rd person games. Exploring, a bit of a storyline and puzzles

My favourites have been:
Hogwarts Legacy
All the Tomb raiders
All the Unchartered
Jedi Survivor/Fallen order
Star Wars Outlaws
God of War Ragnarok (kind of liked but don't like the fact that it's not open world!)

I've tried but not keen on:
The Last of us
Banishers
Dayz
Lies of P
Ratchet and Clank
Sword of the Sea
Assassins Creed
Alone in the dark
Ghost of Tsushima
The witcher
Cyberpunk
Guardians of the Galaxy
Spiderman
For me, there's not enough going on in all of them and I get bored of playing them.
I know I'm probably asking for the Holy Grail of games! I'd love some recommendations please!

Hell Is Us could be your cup of tea. It has everything you're looking for in a game. There are no markers pointing you where you need to go. You need to figure it out by exploring the environment, listening to what characters tell you and reading documents.

@Leriloo Just Cause 3

@Leriloo Good for you, not that 55 is old (it's not) but it's always great to see someone find the hobby.

@Leriloo first off, awesome you've found gaming!

Secondly, that's a fair of list of games you've tried. Some you may not have stuck with long enough if you are concerned there isn't enough going on in them, but it's hard to know exactly what is going on in ones mind to fire off that dopamine hit, so it is understandable.

Thirdly, I shall elaborate in one specific case. The Witcher 3. It has a notoriously marmite introduction, and a lot of people give up before they get out of White Orchard. But, i'd say, that is the game most far from "not much going on" when you get into the cycle of turning up to a new village, taking contracts from the board and following those 'side quests' as you might soon realise there is more quality content in those side quests than a lot of other games have in their main quests.

That said, it may still not be for you, but I wanted to mention that it is a common thing before people then go back to it and have a different experience altogether (it happened to me too, before I understood the flow of the game it took maybe 2 or 3 attempts to get into it, and from then on I loved it, and the novels it is inspired by) it can take a while to click with RPGs, but once you get the love for them, the options are endless.

If you want to really dive in to exploring, then Red Dead Redemption 2 (and the original) might be the best option to recommend. If you like cinema in any way, then Rockstar Games has you covered, as all of their games are heavily inspired by movies and pop culture.

I do not believe you are ready for my obligatory Kingdom Come Deliverance recommendation, but you never know 😅

I know you may not currently be used to first person games, but the Far Cry series probably has a good chunk of what you seek. And that new Indiana Jones game

And the Holy Grail of games kind of includes The Last of Us, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk, so it is tough. Maybe try them again one day, as well. You never know.

There will be a James Bond game coming out next year, as well as GTA 6, so there are things on the horizon you might like, too.

@Leriloo To be new to gaming you sure have played a lot of games already! 😄

In trying to see a pattern of what you like and dislike, a few things come to mind. It seems you prefer fast paced experiences, or at least where either the gameplay and/or the story is fast paced. Also, it seems you like an open exploration type of set up. Although I’m a little thrown off because many of your ‘dislike’ list fit those criteria, and the Uncharteds are quite linear. 🤔 It’s not a criticism, just an observation and analysis to see what might work for you. I mean, we each like what we like and sometimes a game that fits our preferences doesn’t click.

Anyway, with that in mind, a few suggestions:

Red Dead Redemption 1&2 -
Especially RDR2, but I think RDR1 is a great game also. Both open world, and RDR2 map is especially impressive. Both have excellent storylines. The only downside for you for RDR2 might be that the pace is really slow in the opening hours especially. It takes a real commitment to get past the 4 or 5 hour mark when the open world and story really take shape. RDR1 has less of that problem, but it’s an older game with a smaller world, but it’s still very open. Storywise, RDR2 is actually a prequel to RDR1, but I think it’s nice to have the context of 1 before playing 2, although many people play 2 without ever having played 1.

Horizon Zero Dawn (and Horizon Forbidden West)-
I’m surprised you haven’t tried this series yet, but it has the open world, 3rd person action that you like. The story is good but a little convoluted so it may or may not hold your attention, but the action of fighting robot dinosaurs and exploring is right up your alley.

Batman Arkham games -
You have a couple superhero games on your dislikes, so maybe this won’t gel for you but these are really good, although a little old now. Arkham Asylum is the first of the series and is the least open. After that Arkham City and Arkham Knight are more traditional open world games. Most people feel like Asylum is the peak of the series. Personally I like City best.

Here’s a few that are more of a risk and I’m not sure you’ll like but might work for you —

Control -
There a lot is great 3rd person action combat, and there’s a lot of exploration around the map, but it’s a more confined map that’s mostly an indoor building setting. Still, there is a little flexibility to how you explore. The story is pretty crazy, X-files type of stuff, so it depends how you feel about that too.

Resident Evil 4 -
Not open world, but is 3rd person action and faster paced than the earlier RE games, which are slower survival type of horror games with more emphasis of puzzles and isolated enemy encounters. RE5 and RE6 became even more action based and kinetic, but just aren’t as beloved and so hard to recommend. Horror/zombies may not be your thing though, looking at your lists.

Returnal -
If you want kinetic engaging action gameplay, this fits the bill. It’s not open world, rather is a roguelike where you start back at the beginning after death. So that gameplay loop may not be to your liking. The story is mind-bending and is secondary to the action and the exploration around each biome as you progress, but there is a mysterious background narrative. Definitely the addictive third person shooting is the real attraction and keeps you engaged moment to moment.

If I think of some more I’ll post a follow up.

Edit: I took too long writing my epistle and so @Ravix beat me to the punch with RDR 😅

@Leriloo
Try these games.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Fantasy Life I

My advice would be not to limit yourself. Push yourself out of your gaming comfort zone from time to time and try out new genres. When you decide a genre you'd like to try just do an internet search for best (insert genre here) game on ps5 and you'll find a multitude of options. Oh and indie games, there's a whole bunch of amazing stuff from smaller studios that don't get as much coverage bursts just waiting for you to explore.

Failing that, just play Enter the Gungeon.

I feel like the Resident Evil games are essential. The one I'd recommend starting with is RE 2 remake.

@Leriloo Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might be a good choice for you, especially if you're a fan of the first 3 films. It's 1st person (except for cutscenes), but ticks all the other boxes for you: puzzle solving, open-ish, great story, and verrry nostalgic. The actor they got to play Indy does a nearly pitch-perfect impersonation of Ford from the movies.

I got myself a £20 top up card this evening I tried to look for a nice game on sale but I got so annoyed at all the shovelware taken space and I couldn't be bothered to continue it's so bad it really os

@Leriloo I recommend any of the Final Fantasy games, But I would say start with FF7 PS1 version which can be found on store for £12.99 (don't worry none of the games are connected story wise).