Players usually want a good story in their games. I can enjoy a good story too, but sometimes I just want to get going and do stuff without listening to several minutes of dialog in-between action.
Do you know any games where there’s no story (or very minimal/skippable one), and the game mechanics alone carry the game?
EDIT: Thank you all for the suggestions. There are some that I’ve never heard of and look very interesting. Will definitely pick some of them up.
Rogue likes usually have very little story getting in the way. Binding of Isaac, Slay the Spire, Nova Drift, Darkest Dungeon are a few of my top played. I also really enjoy the make your own adventure Creative Survival type games like Minecraft, Astoneer, Terraria, Starbound, Empyrion Galactic Survival etc. City builders, colony sims and Farming Sims are always a good choice too. Some of my favorites are Cities: Skylines, Banished, Timberborn, Forager, The Anno series, Stardew Valley. Then there’s the pure building games. I really enjoy just building stuff and testing my creations out with games like Scrap Mechanic, Instruments of Destruction, Main Assembly, Cosmoteer, Reassembly, Kerbal Space Progam (the first game, Id wait on the second until all the bugs are fixed). Hack and Slash ARPGs are always fun for turning the brain off and most of them dont have a ton of story, save for a few cut scenes here and there. Path of Exile, Torchlight, Diablo 1 and 2 (I don’t like 3 and 4 personally) Grimm Dawn, Cronichon, Fate, Last Epoch are some of my favorites.
I finally got superhot: mind control delete during the summersale. Very simple but engaging combat mechanic, and story is kept to a minimum
Played that quite a long time ago. Such a good game.
Lots of posts here, so maybe you won’t see this, but i think the ___ Simulator games are mindless task-oriented fun (if you enjoy that sort of thing). I have been playing House Flipper lately, which has basic task lists and skippable emails if you don’t care about the job’s context. Clean up trash, paint, build outdoor furniture. There’s just something satisfying about it for me, but it won’t be for everyone. I have heard good things about PowerWash and Gas Station Simulators as well.
Elden Ring is apparently good. And the dark souls games as a whole. Almost no story
Factorio. All about letting the factory grow.
I also started playing wizards of legend recently. It takes maybe 20 minutes to get through the tutorial, then it’s just game. I’m enjoying it so far
Ready or Not is basically just a swat game with no story or dialogue that matters to gameplay.
Or a building or strategy game. Something like Cities: Skylines would maybe be good if you like that sort of genre.
Risk of Rain 2 is probably my favorite rouge like, easily recommended if you like FPS games
ULTRAKILL is a really fun movement shooter with minimal story except between chapters I guess, but there’s also an infinite wave mode that is a great time killer
Factorio?
Vampire Survivors
I keep hearing about this one. I need to try it one day.
I just discovered this game this past weekend and it is sooo good. I wanted a fairly mindless “kill a bunch of guys and keep my hand busy” type of game, and that’s exactly what I got.
Kenshi is a post-apocalyptic sandbox open-world RPG / base-building game with a bunch of lore but absolutely no plot for you to follow.
Trackmania. Any of them. TMNF/UF, Trackmania2, Trackmania Turbo, Trackmania (2020)
You mean the post-apocalyptic, self driving car game?
Dredge. I think there’s a bit of a story but really you’re just going out fishing.
Another unusual game. I like this suggestion, thank you.
