We all know how thrilling it can be to discover a new comic book series that pulls us in and keeps us gripped with exciting characters and thrilling plot twists that mean we never want to stop reading.
Finding a new game can be just as exciting as it can offer you dozens or even hundreds of hours of fun and entertainment. But, just as there is an almost infinite number of comics to choose from, the variety of new gaming opportunities is seemingly endless too.
Whether it’s the constant torrent of new titles that flood the market each year or the back catalogues of games from current-generation devices and the hardware of years gone by, there are more titles than you could ever play in many lifetimes.
With so many options it can be hard to know where to start and how to get the most out of your experience when you do settle on a new game. To help you, here is our guide to getting started with playing a great new gaming title.
Choosing the Right Type of Game
There are millions of video games on the market today, with hundreds or even thousands of different genres, categories, and formats for you to choose from. Therefore, a good place to start is to settle on the type of game you want to play and what device or platform you want to play it on.
For the platform, you’ll want to weigh up where and when you want to play, whether you want to prioritise convenience or graphics, and whether you’ll want access to the biggest and latest titles or if you’d prefer casual games and retro options.
If you’d like to play AAA blockbusters, then you’ll need to look for PC and console titles, but casual and retro games can be found on almost any device.
Choosing the genre is down to personal preference. Of course, you can try and find something completely new to explore things you might not otherwise have ever tried, or you can stick with what you know and love.
Check Out Reviews
Game developers and publishers are incentivised to sell you their content or to encourage you to start playing for free in the hopes you’ll buy in-game items via microtransactions. This incentive means they’re going to portray their work in the best possible light whenever promoting it in an online marketplace or physical store.
Therefore, to get a better understanding of what a game is like to play, you should turn to reviews from gaming critics and other players. These are much more likely to be objective and free of bias.
You can also watch others playing on sites like YouTube and Twitch to see if the gameplay matches what you expected and are looking for.
Learn How to Play
Before you get stuck in, it is usually a good idea to understand how to play. Of course, you can just jump into playing and learn through trial and error, but you can get a head start over others by learning how to play before you actually go in-game. How to do this depends on the game, but you can usually find resources for most games online.
Many online card rooms offer a suite of tools and guides to help you find your feet with their games. For example, one of the world’s leading online poker sites, PokerStars, offers educational resources to players of all types and abilities. For beginners, this includes guides on how to play poker, covering basics like hand rankings and the rules of popular variants like Texas Hold’em, but it also includes discussions of more complex strategies for advanced poker players.
Online chess sites like Chess.com also offer similar resources for their players, whilst third-party sites like GameRant and IGN have detailed guides on how to play popular video games like Fortnite that cover the different game modes and top tips on how to score higher.
Practice and Improve
Once you’ve learnt the ropes, it’s time to put your new knowledge into practice. Sometimes, it takes a little bit of commitment to a game before you can fully appreciate its mechanics, story, and level design. Therefore, it’s usually a good idea to give it some time before fully making up your mind about whether you like it or not.
Additionally, since most of us prefer it when we win, practising can make the gameplay experience much more enjoyable over time.
You may wish to do this alone in a single-player mode or you may prefer to just jump in at the deep end and head online to compete against other people. The latter can be a good way to really test your skills but it can be frustrating and skew your decision about whether you like it or not if you find yourself on the end of a 20-game losing streak because you’re still getting to grips with a new title.
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