From “Soulslikes” to “Roguelites” – 12 Video Game Genre Names That Don’t Make Sense
I believe anyone can get into video games , but the hobby aspects can be unfriendly to newbies. One such unnecessary barrier to entry is the confusing way many players talk about video game genres.
Unlike film or book genres, which tend to describe the content or setting of a story, such as “science fiction,” “historical non-fiction,” “mystery,” or “romance,” video game genres describe gameplay. But while new players can probably point to common genres like racing, first-person shooter (FPS), and role-playing games (RPG), they probably don’t know what “immersive sim”, “roguelike” and ” like a soul.” they could not provide examples of these popular subgenres or describe how one differed from the other.
To help you navigate the often confusing world of video game genre nomenclature, let’s take a look at 12 popular video game genres and styles that need some more explanation.