Not all video game lovers have the skills to back up their passions. Some experience accessibility issues due to their vision, hand-eye coordination, or other physical factors. Others may not have the spare time to devote to developing their gaming skills to the level that more difficult titles require.
At the heart of these gaming fans' experience is one common factor: watching other people play video games. For those who love the industry and its art but cannot play on their own, backseat gaming with a friend at the controls can be a fulfilling activity. However, some games are better for this task than others.
10 Resident Evil Village Is A Marathon Of Horror Entertainment
Though the Resident Evil series has always focused on horror, it tends to take to the realm of over-the-top creature features rather than building a vague sense of dread. This method allows the player to enjoy the scares and the humor on display. Resident Evil Village shows the pinnacle of this form with Ethan Winters' quest to retrieve his daughter Rose.
The combat, dialogue, and puzzles all meld seamlessly with the story to keep both a player and a backseat viewer entertained through every minute of the game.
9 Uncharted 4 Is A Stunning Adventure
Though all of the Uncharted franchise titles are fantastic treasure-hunting adventures, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End rose above the rest. The plot continues to progress during intensive gameplay scenes, and every moment is punctuated by excellently voice-acted, snappy dialogue.
The game's environments and set pieces are absolutely gorgeous, making Uncharted 4's world as delightful to witness and watch as it is to play. The game is separated into chapters, making it easy to pick up and put down as needed for a busy schedule.
8 Papers, Please, Is Incredibly Detailed
While it is not cooperative, Papers, Please is full of minor decisions that a backseat gamer can assist in making. In addition to the multiple documents each person needs to have so they can pass through, the protagonist must also decide whether or not to take alternate paths, such as accepting bribes or joining an underground revolution.
Papers, Please has a relatively short playtime and several endings, making it the perfect game to play through multiple times, choosing new options on each pass in order to trigger different events.
7 At Dead Of Night Is An Unsettling Mystery
The indie-horror viral hit At Dead of Night presents the player with both a physical threat and a group of ghosts hoping to reveal the secrets that led to their deaths. The player takes on the role of a young woman whose friends have been captured by the disturbed owner and sole employee of the hotel they're staying at.
She then must discover the man's story by interacting with the ghosts of his past victims so they can help her rescue her friends and escape. Backseat gamers can enjoy the atmosphere and assist the player in dodging the hotel owner or getting information from the ghosts.
6 Psychonauts 2 Is Colorful And Clever
The most enjoyable element of Psychonauts 2 for a backseat gamer is the constantly-changing environments and aesthetics. As Raz ventures through the mindscapes of his colleagues and friends, each of them are portrayed differently. The mental settings vary from a complex cooking show and larger-than-life mailroom to an amusement park ride and bacterial city.
This platformer's colorful and eccentric style keeps backseat gamers intrigued as their compatriots tackle its particular challenges and unravel the answers to its central questions.
5 Untitled Goose Game Is Delightfully Mischievous
Whether or not a gamer has their hands on the controls, no one can deny the genuine glee of being a poorly-behaved goose in a beautiful English village. Untitled Goose Game allows players to commit mischievous pranks of varying scales as a rude goose.
Though Untitled Goose Game is more or less linear in terms of the achievements required to progress, its expansive design serves as a sandbox for gamers to play in. Backseat gamers can delight in requesting the theft of particular objects or the harassment of specific villagers.
4 Super Mario Odyssey Is A Boisterous Test Of Skill
There's no denying the sheer energy of Super Mario Odyssey's design. From the riotous color palettes to the bouncy joy of the background music, Odyssey is a game medium for having fun. Whether the player is a newcomer or an expert in the world of platforming, a backseat gamer can join in for the ride and watch their companion explore each kingdom and conquer their challenges.
Gamers with more experience and expertise in the genre can entertain their backseat audience with adept high-level strategy as they attempt to get the best times and scores possible.
3 Monster Prom Is A World Of Possibilities
In addition to its freeform character customization, Monster Prom has an abundance of diverging paths and distinct endings. Each romanceable monster the player can choose to pursue can answer their prom invitation differently based on how they played the game.
Backseat gamers can offer their opinions on each playthrough and suggest what decisions may lead to their desired endings. Thanks to Monster Prom's expansive multiplayer options, if the backseat gamer chooses to emerge from the background and take up a controller, they can join in the fun.
2 Little Nightmares Is A Highly Visual Experience
The art and stylistic visuals of Little Nightmares are integral to its unearthly horror experience. Players take on the role of a small child stuck in a world of horrific giants bent on eating their youthful prisoners. They dodge their startling demise by escaping through vents, elevator shafts, and spaces between furniture on a spacious ship.
Each figure they face is more powerful and cleverer than the last, requiring players to build upon the strategies they've learned to survive. Backseat gamers can revel in the thrills and visual storytelling of Little Nightmares from a comfortable distance.
1 Bugsnax Is Cute And Cartoonish
Backseat gamers can be almost equally involved in the gameplay of Bugsnax as their friend at the controls. The puzzle of working out how to capture each Snak requires only knowledge of the information the game puts on screen, meaning backseat gamers can offer important insight that players may have overlooked.
The main Grumpuses and the Bugsnax themselves are adorable. They benefit from the game's cutesy style and cartoonish reality to keep all gamers invested in the story as their adventures progress and new areas open up.