A simpler game allows a more focused and easier gaming experience, without so much noise or clutter to contend with. There's certainly a time and a place for open-world RPGs with in-depth characters attempting to save all existence, but at other times it can be a welcome relief to simply hide in the bushes as a goose. Or to roam quiet woodland. Or to simply have minimal button configurations or game mechanics to become familiar with. The simplicity of some games is what makes them engaging. Even addictive.

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Less complexity makes a game more accessible too. New or less adept gamers can jump right in, without being overwhelmed by the content. These are some games that may be simple in gameplay, design, or narrative, but remain just as engrossing as other blockbuster titles. Sometimes even more so.

5 Townscaper

An image of a town built in the game Townscaper

Townscaper is perhaps one of the simplest games available. There’s no tutorial. Players simply press a button to build a block. Then again for another block. Then another block. Then one of those blocks on top of the other becomes a house. Rotate the camera and build another block on the side. The house gets bigger and more interesting, with its new section built on stilts above the calm, wavy blue water that is the player's building ground.

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This simple mechanic and lovely aesthetic – along with block color options, time of day/light settings, and satisfying plopping noises every time players build – will quickly get players attached, building endless quirky towns that wouldn’t look out of place in a Studio Ghibli movie. With a 10/10 rating on Steam from thousands of users, Townscaper may be simple, but it is also well-loved for a reason.

4 Dead By Daylight

Cover art image for the Dead By Daylight video game

Perhaps not the simplest game on the list, Dead by Daylight is still much simpler than a lot of games these days, both in premise and in gameplay. It is also certainly engaging. As engaging as running for one's life from a murderous entity.

In this 4 Vs 1 survival horror, four survivors must fix some generators in order to power the exit, whilst avoiding being slain by one killer. The maps are small, and the player actions are limited. From hiding in closets to throwing obstacles down in classic delay-your-axe-wielding-pursuer fashion, most actions are accomplished by pressing the same button. Otherwise, players simply run when in danger or creep to avoid it. Playing as the killer, the aim is more to slash, grab, and destroy. But playing on either side is a non-stop adrenaline experience.

3 Abzu

Screenshot of diver in Abzu swimming up toward a shoal of fish

Abzu is an ocean exploration game with no competitive element, no obvious narrative, and no dialogue. Players simply explore the underwater world and marvel at the gorgeous display of marine life. The controls are basic and easy to grasp, making the journey readily accessible. Players dive, swim, explore, and occasionally hitch a ride on a larger sea animal.

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It might not sound enough to enthrall, and yet, the lively display of teeming aquatic animals and accompanying score by Austin Wintory, make this title wonderfully immersive. It’s a vibrant and relaxing gaming experience players will happily come back to time and again to drift and relax. Where else can one ride ocean currents clinging to a striped marlin, bursting through swirling shoals of fish?

2 Limbo & Inside

In-game images from Limbo and Inside

Limbo and its spiritual successor Inside were developed by the independent studio Playdead. Like Abzu, these puzzle-solving platformers don’t contain any dialogue or clear narrative. While the puzzles have varying levels of complexity, the controls are very simple, making both games easy to jump right into.

The success of these games is down to their imaginative stories and settings, extraordinary game design, and enjoyable puzzles and game physics. The player never learns the protagonists’ names, they simply begin in the middle of things, quickly learning how to jump, push, and pull, in order to solve puzzles and escape a quiet doom. However, what makes these games stand out is their atmosphere. Shadow, light, and immersive depth of field, as well as amazing sound design and imaginative, dark fantasy, make these otherwise simple side-scrollers completely captivating. Intermittently there is a real sense of danger in an otherwise quiet and melancholic world. The lack of music or ambient noise amplifies the sounds of sliding rocks as they tumble toward the player, or echoing barks as distant dogs give chase.

1 Crash Bandicoot Series

Crash Bandicoot running with Aku Aku in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

The original Crash Bandicoot game was released on PlayStation 1 in 1996 and remains one of the console’s most memorable of all time. The following two games developed by Naughty Dog, Cortex Strikes Back and Warped, were also well received. This trilogy was remade and rereleased in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy in 2017 for PlayStation 4, and a year later Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. In 2020 Toys For Bob released a new Crash Bandicoot Game that follows on from the original trilogy, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.

These games, especially the first, are fairly simple platformers in which players complete levels collecting lives, jumping gaps, and trying not to die. The controls and game mechanics are limited and being child-friendly, there isn’t hugely complicated plots or narratives to follow either. What’s great about the games, however, is the titular character’s iconic charm, the meta humor, and the never ending need to try one more time to get past a difficult section.

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