RPGs and sandbox style games, or games with sandbox elements.

By “sandbox” I mean games that are less objective based and more creative/emergent - even if that creativity can indirectly lead toward objectives. So, for example, in games like SimCity, Dwarf Fortress, or Crusader Kings, the emergent game and story elements can snowball and lead toward greater wealth and power, but the direction can go other ways as well - like you might have a massive empire or a thriving city, but then disaster hits, and it might be that you have to abandon huge areas of your city or empire (or both, in the case of Dwarf Fortress). Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both have a lot of emergent gameplay surrounding the physics of the game. Minecraft is a vertical slice of Dwarf Fortress spun off into one of the most popular games of all time. Often open world games go hand in hand with sandbox experiences, but to conflate the two would be a mistake - they’re just two elements commonly together in games. But not all open world games are sandbox games, and most sandbox games are not open world. Sandbox games were initially called “Simulation games” in the 1990s but that has fallen out of fashion as the sandbox genre expanded. Conveniently, I believe both “simulation” and “sandbox” genre names were coined (or at least popularized) by the same guy for the same games: Will Wright.

RPGs are games that simulate various elements with growth and experience systems/mechanics that would otherwise be done with action, collection, and physics. It’s a big argument for what an RPG actually is. But for my purposes - any game that merges story and “simulates” growth via experience points and makes that the central element. So, for example: a wrestling game that does these things is a wrestling game, not an RPG because the “wrestling” element is really what defines the experience, not the RPG mechanics. I think a great example of two very close games in the same spiritual series would be Illusion of Time and Terranigma from the Soul Blazer trilogy: Illusion of Time is story heavy, but lacks growth comes specifically from adventuring and finding power upgrades - in Terranigma it comes by simulating growth via experience points, and battles- despite having action - have simulated damage based on player experience, while Illusion of Time has flat damage based on collections and weapons (in this case, characters who wield different weapons) used. In other words, kill 100 enemies in Terranigma and you get better, kill 100,000 in Illusion of Time and you stay the same. An easy way is to consider whether the core experience is a video game centered on the mechanics of table top RPGs - so arguments like IGN’s 1998 “Ocarina of Time is an RPG because you play the role of Link” is about as a valid as “Mario 64 is an RPG because you play the role of Mario” - but that isn’t really what RPGs are about, they’re about experiences whose cores are adapted table top RPG mechanics… and IGN wasn’t a great source in the 1990s either - bashing PlayStation game Tactics Ogre and giving it a poor review score because they considered it a ripoff of Final Fantasy Tactics that didn’t live up to that original game*

*For those who don’t know, Tactics Ogre was not a ripoff. Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics were made by the same people (Quest and former Quest studio members)… also, the PlayStation version of the game was a port of a 1995 SNES game whilst FF Tactics came out in 1997.

I prefer third-person action-adventure games. The sort of game that has equal parts real-time action, exploration, and problem-solving. I find the best games test your physical and mental agility.

Some of my favorite series include The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Resident Evil.

My favorite genre is 2D playformers. Why it's my favorite genre is because I like games where the goal is always shown to you, and you're simply told to overcome it. Here is a wall, climb it etc... that sort of thing.

Action/Adventure.

I love going on a long journey with great combat and exploration.

After that its just Action, like Bayonetta/DMC etc
Then RPG and Platformers in a tie.
Then RTS, only so low because theres barely any games like this now and I played a shitton of these as a kid back then it was my favourite.

HOWEVER, I like to play a variety of games, normally I don't play 2 games in same genre in a row for example, I like to vary things around.
This year ive played DQ3 (2D RPG), then God of War Ragnarok (Action/Adventure) then im playing DKCR HD (platformer) then Echoes of Wisdom (2D Adventure) etc

Do you find yourself having a hard time on boarding into annRTS/simulation title?

I have found the older I get the less I can pull the effort out of myself to play RTS, 4x, simulation games or games like them cause it's too mentally taxing and it takes sooo long to get to the meat of the game. I still enjoy turn based strategy games if they flow well and there is no random battles and once I do get into one of these more accessible genres like Two point hosptial I get madly addicted yet those are fun and in full swing from the first mission.

And then there's the imagination aspect which is strong as a kid for simulation titles but it's not as powerful as you get older so making your own fun is not really a thing as an as adult. 

You're lucky, there are so many games for you to choose from the start of home consoles up to the Switch/steam indie boom. Have you tried Nine Sols yet? Amazing game, a little too difficult but really amazing. So is The Messenger but I'm sure you'll know of that by now. 

Didn't you have a similar thread last week? lol

Anyway, I can name a lot of different genres that I always enjoy playing, but to simplify, my favorite would be narrative-driven FPS games. The likes of Halo, Half-Life, Wolfenstein, Doom, Titanfall 2, Crysis, Resistance, Killzone, System Shock, Prey, Deus Ex, Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Dishonored, or Bioshock. All games that are so distinctly different from one another and some even in the realm for best games of all time.

Whether it's the approach to combat, gameplay, engaging story, characters, setting, or music, it all hits me differently from a first-person perspective.

This type of genre has seen a huge decline in recent years, but with AA games like Terminator: Resistance and Robocop: Rogue City or in the indie scene with the likes of Mouse: P.I. for Hire, Metal Eden, Fallen Aces, and Selaco. The AAA space offering Perfect Dark, Indiana Jones, and Judas, there's a lot to be excited for. 

Yeah but what I wanna know why. I wanna see if people get hooked on a genre for a completely different reason than myself. And yeah, I think we talked about this in the last thread, it's definitely a great genre and stuff like Robocop and terminator are AA games which we need more of. Ever tried Trepang2? I done the first mission recently, really cool stuff like a PS3 game. I hear turbo overkill is ps2 nostalgia bait and all. 

CRPGs...but honestly, that is very...fluid.

I've been playing them for the most of my gaming life (so since early 80s), but I wasn't at the first that much into them. Then at second half of 80s I started plying D&D at the table and that was turning point for me - from that point on whenever I'm playing or DM-ing some TTRPG, I'm not playing CRPGs, since I find TTRPGs to be superior experience. But when I don't have anything going on at the table, I tend to go back to CRPGs. So I guess they are surrogate for the real thing for me, no matter how much I like some of them, and why when I have something going at the table I gravitate toward action-adventures and action-RPGs.

RPGs.

I can play the game, and every time the characters are stronger. There is always progress being made. Everything is always saved. Everytime I beat an RPG, I feel accomplished and satisfied, like beating the story mode for other genres but 10x as much feeling. The worlds imagined in RPGs are often the most expansive. Other media struggle in other ways compared to video game RPGs in making worlds.