My go to games were always shooters and real-time strategy classics. I grew up on Red Alert and Halo. I never touched a puzzle game until this past year when I bought Limbo in a Humble Bundle. I try to spend as little as I can on games, and purchasing games through Humble Bundle is a great way to donate money while still getting great games.
I had never played anything beyond Bejeweled, and Limbo was my first eye opener into not only puzzle genre, but the indie games scene. I enjoyed the black and white art style, but I eventually got stuck in the game. The puzzle was too hard for me, or maybe I was doing the right thing but my reflexes weren't good enough. I never watched a walkthrough to figure out why the nameless protagonist kept dying. I haven't touched Limbo in months.
I moved on to Thomas Was Alone, which had minimalistic puzzle elements. It was not as hard as it was tedious. That's not to say I disliked the game though. Quite the contrary. It is probably my favorite indie game I have played yet. It's social commentary is lovely, I only wish more games were as deep.
Recently, I started playing Trine 2. The puzzles seem to be the perfect difficulty, and there are hints in case I get stuck. While the hints don't always help ("use the lever" doesn't help when I don't know what button interacts with the environment), I can usually figure it out eventually. There's something gratifying about solving a puzzle that is different from just completing a level in a shooter.
It's not just that my reflexes are good enough to beat a game, it's that I'm able to use logic, beyond my virtual brawn. I've broadened my horizons beyond blockbuster titles and I've been pleasantly surprised.
I've also branched out to more artsy games like Proteus. While it's not a game that I would play for hours on end, it is certainly worthwhile to see the interaction between the player and the environment and the beautiful music scores that follow. It's a sort of art genre in and of itself. There's no sense of accomplishment from it, but there is a level of exploration and wonder.
While I always enjoy playing a good shooter or strategy game, these other genres have a lot to explore. Puzzle doesn't mean frustratingly difficult games, (although I did rage-quit in Zork), and there is a whole genre of games that are more or less artsy and less game-y. They typically tend to explore themes that aren't found in a typical FPS or RTS game, and they can be just as fun.
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