Where to Start — Beginner's Guide to Every Major Game Franchise

Start with: Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Start with MGS1 — you want the Psycho Mantis codec fight reading your own memory card, not someone else's Let's Play.

Start with: Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild

Ocarina if you want the game that made Z-targeting feel like magic. BotW if you'd rather wander off the plateau and vanish for eighty hours.

Start with: Any mainline game from your era

Every gen is its own reset — pick the one you grew up with, or jump to Scarlet/Violet and stop asking permission.

Start with: FF7 or FF6

FF6 or FF7, your call — both are full stories with zero homework, and FF6 still won't pick a single main character because it's rude.

Start with: RE2 Remake (2019)

RE2 Remake: tight RPD, modern controls, and you'll meet RE4's Merchant later — tiny screen time, permanent brainworm.

Start with: Dark Souls 1 or Elden Ring

Dark Souls 1 if you want Lordran stitched together with no loading screens; Elden Ring if you need a horse and mercy. You'll die either way.

Start with: Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo CE — full campaign on a disc in 2001, still ridiculous. MCC puts the whole Chief arc on your PC for pocket change.

Start with: Symphony of the Night

Symphony of the Night — the upside-down castle isn't a spoiler, it's a threat: the map literally doubles when you think you're done.

Start with: Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2 — one of the best games ever made, full stop. The ending you earn watches how you play, not how moral you think you are.

Start with: Kingdom Hearts 1

KH1, then release order — no shortcuts unless you enjoy gibberish cutscenes. Grab Story So Far and clear a weekend. Or twelve.

Start with: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Standalone hack-and-slash — jump in anytime, zero lore quiz, maximum sword physics. It's not stealth; it's poetry.

Start with: Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania — all the good parts of classic Sonic, none of the mid-2000s despair. Sonic 3's soundtrack drama is optional homework.

Start with: Spyro Reignited Trilogy

All three originals remastered in one package. Stop after Year of the Dragon — the series peaked early and the Reignited version is the definitive way to play.

Start with: Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

All three games, all DLC, one package. The suicide mission in ME2 with a crew you spent 30 hours building relationships with is one of gaming's greatest moments.

Start with: BioShock 1

Rapture is one of the greatest settings ever built. "Would you kindly" — don't look it up, just play it.

Start with: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Skip straight to 3. One of the greatest RPGs ever made — the DLC alone is better than most full games.

Start with: Yakuza 0

The best entry point in the series. Kiryu and Majima at their most compelling — budget your time, these games are enormous.

Start with: Assassin's Creed II or Origins

AC2 for the classic Ezio story. Origins if you want modern RPG AC. Both work as standalone entries.

Start with: Skyrim or Oblivion Remastered

Skyrim is the safe answer. Oblivion Remastered (2025) made this a genuine toss-up. Either way you're losing 200 hours.

Start with: Monster Hunter Wilds

The best entry point right now. The loop is hunt, craft, hunt bigger thing. You will lose track of time completely.

Start with: Borderlands 2

Handsome Jack is one of gaming's best villains. He talks to you constantly and it never gets old.

Start with: Gears of War 1

Defined the cover shooter genre. Play the original trilogy in order — Gears 3's ending is worth every hour.

Start with: Fable II

The dog companion sounds gimmicky and ends up being one of the most emotionally effective things in any RPG. The ending will hurt.

Start with: Nioh 1

Not Dark Souls — faster, more technical, punishes harder. Master the Ki Pulse system and you'll feel like a samurai god.

Start with: Hollow Knight

One of the greatest games ever made for under $15. The lore is optional, the atmosphere is not.

Start with: Metroid Prime Remastered or Metroid Dread

Prime Remastered for first-person isolation and scan-log storytelling; Dread for razor 2D controls and EMMI terror. Either one is a top-tier Nintendo showcase.

Start with: Tomb Raider (2013) or Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

2013 for cinematic reboot action; the remastered trilogy if you want Core-era puzzles with optional modern controls. Two Laras, two vibes — pick before you buy.

Start with: Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium

The peak of the classic series — best story, best combat, and it catches you up on the lore without homework. A Genesis masterpiece most people slept on.

Start with: Pac-Man Championship Edition 2

The modern peak — faster, more hypnotic, and it answers every "it is just the old maze" complaint. Ms. Pac-Man is better than the original and the community has argued about it since 1982.

Start with: Most Wanted (2005) or Hot Pursuit (2010)

Most Wanted for the blacklist progression and that BMW M3 GTR. Hot Pursuit if you want pure arcade racing without tuning menus.

Start with: God of War (2018)

One of the greatest games ever made and works completely standalone. Then Ragnarök. That is two of the best PS4/PS5 games back to back.

Start with: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

First true 3D Kirby, genuinely excellent, and the mouthful mode is exactly as absurd as it sounds. Kirby Super Star on Switch Online if you want the classic.

Start with: Street Fighter 6

World Tour mode teaches you fundamentals without ranked ladder anxiety. Modern controls lower the barrier without removing the depth.

Start with: Mega Man 2 or Mega Man X

Mega Man 2 for the Classic series consensus masterpiece. Mega Man X if you want wall-jumping and a darker tone. Both are perfect.

Start with: Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Still one of the greatest platformers ever made. David Wise soundtrack alone is worth it. On Switch Online — no excuse not to play it.

Start with: N. Sane Trilogy

All three originals remastered in one package. Warped is the peak. Crash 4 after that if you want more punishment.

Start with: Rift Apart (PS5) or PS4 remake

Rift Apart if you have a PS5 — standalone, stunning, best entry point. PS4 2016 remake if not.

Start with: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

No loading screens in 2001 — genuinely impressive. Follow the trilogy in order. Jak II gets dark fast; you have been warned.

Start with: Dragon Quest XI

The best modern entry — completely standalone, perfect tutorial, Japan's most beloved RPG finally making sense to western players.