Playing games has become one of the most popular pastimes among people around the world with various genres or types of games. With the increasing use of gadgets, the interest in playing games is also increasing, both among children and adults.
As technology advances, the quality of games also improves, making the gaming experience even more enjoyable.
In addition, game development also involves a variety of different genres or types. There are many types and sub-genres available, so players have a choice of games that suit their preferences. With that in mind, here is a brief summary of the various video game genres that exist.
List of Popular Game Genres or Types
1. Action Games
The first type of game that is in high demand is the action game. In them, the player has full control and is the main focus in all the action that takes place.
In order to play action games, one needs to be able to deal with physical challenges. This is because action games usually focus on challenging the player’s reflexes, hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
The action game genre has several different sub-genres, including platformers, shooters, fighting, survival and battle royale. Action games have been around for decades, such as Donkey Kong (1981) and Galaga (1981). Examples of modern action games that are popular today are Fortnite and Call of Duty.
2. Action Adventure Game
An action adventure game often combines a mix of quests and challenges to face and overcome. You usually use in-game items and actions to achieve your goals.
In gaming, there are two sub-genres within the action-adventure category, survival horror and metroidvania. Survival horror, as the name suggests, focuses on fear and brings in elements of fictional horror to scare the player.
Meanwhile, metroidvania features a connected world map that players can explore. This map will unlock when the player successfully performs certain actions.
3. Adventure Games
The first type of game to be developed was the adventure game. This type of game is not identified by its storyline or content, but by the way it is played. Because they lack the action element of traditional video games, adventure games are not as popular with gamers.
There are several types of games that fall under this sub-genre, such as visual novels, interactable movies, and adventures with real-time 3D graphics.
In adventure games, players will communicate with their surroundings and with other characters to solve puzzles and develop the course of the story or game.
4. RPG (Role Playing-Game)
A popular genre of video games today is role-playing games or RPGs. There are a lot of game enthusiasts who still love this type of game. There are six sub-genres in RPG games, one of which is the action-RPG which often incorporates features from action games. There are also MMORPGs that involve hundreds of players at a time. Usually, these players can interact directly in real time.
Most role-playing games have a medieval background or a fantasy world. In the beginning, almost all games in this genre used a turn system. However, there are also modern role-playing games that thrive on real-time modes.
5. Simulation Game
In simple terms, simulation is the act of imitating. A simulation game is a type of game that is created to mimic the real world or a fictional story. This means that they try to simulate real situations and events. These simulation games are very popular.
In the world of gaming, there are three popular sub-genres known as simulation games, namely construction and management simulation. For example, there is the game SimCity which allows players to experience building a city in simulation.
In addition, there are life simulation games such as SimLife or The Sims that present the experience of living in a virtual world. There are also games that show how an ecosystem works and driving simulations. For example, Bus and Truck Simulators are both very popular.
6. Strategy Games
Strategy games emphasize games that require strategic thinking and careful and skillful planning. The goal is to achieve victory and complete various missions.
Essentially, players of these games need to implement the plans and strategies that they have carefully developed. In response to feedback from players, it is said that the strategy game has moved from a turn-based system to a real-time game.
There are many subgenres of popular strategy games, including multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), real-time strategy (RTS), and war games.
7. Sports Games
Sports games depict various sports activities such as basketball, soccer, bicycle racing and tennis. Players can control opponents in such games, and sometimes the opponents can also be controlled by AI.
There are four types of sports games that can be cited as examples. For example, racing games like Forza and Gran Turismo. Alternatively, there are also group sports games such as the FIFA Football game.
In addition, competitive games such as Overwatch and Team Fortress, as well as WWE also fall under the category of sports games.
8. Idle Game
Idle games engage players in simple tasks, such as clicking on icons. There are also games that run automatically. Although easy, idle games reward players who complete tasks.
Cookie Clicker is a popular idle game where players have to click on large cookies to earn more cookies. They can purchase in-game assets and items to increase their cookie production. This game represents this game genre well.
There are several other games that fall under this genre, such as Hospital Tycoon and Hotel Tycoon. These idle games are perfect to play when you want to relax.
9. Sandbox Games
Sandbox games are a type of game that places great importance on freedom. This means that players are given the freedom to explore the map or even the game itself without restrictions. They don’t have to worry about difficult objectives or missions.
Generally, the players have the freedom to set their own goals. They can even show their creativity while playing.
In the sandbox category, there are some popular titles such as GTA, The Sims and Minecraft. The sandbox RPG genre also includes games like Genshin Impact.
10. Puzzle Game
As the title suggests, this puzzle game can be used to train your thinking skills. Games with the puzzle genre often offer puzzles that players need to solve. Sometimes, there are puzzles that are simple to solve, and others that are more difficult.
There are several types of games that fall under this genre, such as match 3 games like Candy Crush Saga, hidden object games, board games, and word games.
Games with action and survival horror genres also often feature puzzle-solving. For example, we can mention Resident Evil 4 in its classic and remake versions. In this game, players are given the opportunity to face several puzzles that require ingenuity.
These are some of the games that are popular around the world. Maybe you are familiar with some of the genres mentioned and have tried playing them. Of all these genres or types of games, is there a favorite of yours?
