What Is an Adventure Game? From Text Adventures to Visual Novels
Adventure games explained: core appeal, subgenres from text adventures to walking sims, and classics from Colossal Cave Adventure to The Walking Dead.
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#game genres
14 articles
The Complete Guide to Game Classification: Sorting Games by Platform, Perspective, Player Count, Business Model, Genre, and Rating
A guide to classifying games by six criteria (platform, camera perspective, player count, business model, genre, and age rating), with a summary table comparing the main categories under each one.
What Is a Horror Game? Survival, Psychological, and Action Horror
Horror games explained: why fear is fun, subgenres from survival and psychological horror to jump scares, and a history from Sweet Home to indie hits.
What Is a Racing Game? Arcade vs. Sim vs. Kart Racing, Key Titles
Racing games explained: the thrill of speed, arcade, sim, kart, anti-gravity, and open-world types, and history from Gran Trak 10 to Forza Horizon.
What Are Sports Games? Types and History From Pong to Wii Sports
Sports games explained: subgenres like simulation, arcade, and management, and a history from Tennis for Two and Pong to FIFA, PES, and Wii Sports.
What Are Survival Crafting Games? The Genre's Features and History from Minecraft to Valheim
The definition and appeal of survival crafting games, where you start empty-handed and hold out by gathering resources and making tools, plus subcategories such as sandbox, multiplayer, and story-driven, and a history running from UnReal World to Minecraft, DayZ, and Palworld.
History of Battle Royale Games — From the Film to PUBG and Fortnite
What battle royale games are, where the name comes from, and how the genre grew from Minecraft and Arma mods into PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.
City Builders and Management Games: Genre, Subgenres, Classics
City builders and management sims explained: core appeal, subgenres from tycoon to survival, and classics from SimCity to Cities: Skylines and Frostpunk.
Video Game Genres Explained: From Action and RPG to Roguelike
Definitions, origins, landmark titles and subgenres of the major game genres—action, RPG, strategy, puzzle, simulation, adventure and roguelike.
History of the Metroidvania: From Metroid to Hollow Knight
What "Metroidvania" means, how Metroid, Super Metroid, and Symphony of the Night built the formula, and how indies like Hollow Knight revived the genre.
What Is a Platformer? The Jumping Genre, Subgenres, Key Titles
Platformers explained: core appeal, subgenres from 2D and 3D to runners, and key titles from Donkey Kong to Super Mario, Sonic, Celeste, and Astro Bot.
History of Roguelikes and Roguelites: From Rogue (1980) to Hades
What roguelikes and roguelites are, how they differ, and how the genre grew from 1980's Rogue to NetHack, Mystery Dungeon, Spelunky and Hades.
What Is a Sandbox Game? Definition, Subgenres, and Key Titles
What sandbox games are, how they differ from open worlds, subgenres like survival, creative, and physics, and key titles from Elite to Minecraft and Roblox.
What Is a Visual Novel? Definition, Subgenres, Classics, History
Visual novels explained: their appeal, subgenres like sound and kinetic novels, and classics from The Portopia Serial Murder Case to Ace Attorney and DDLC.