Game categories

Horror

Built to frighten with darkness scarcity and something hunting you.

Psychological Horror

Fear built from atmosphere and implication rather than threat.

Survival Horror

Horror with scarce ammunition and light.

Atmospheric

Carried by lighting and environment design rather than action.

Zombies

Undead enemies in numbers usually with scarce supplies.

Walking Simulator

Exploration and narrative with little or no mechanical challenge.

Post Apocalyptic

Set after a collapse and built around scarcity and ruins.

Dark Fantasy

Fantasy with a grim tone and a hostile world.

Thriller

Sustained tension and pace rather than outright horror.

Party Game

Built for a group in one sitting with minimal setup.

Family Friendly

Suitable for mixed ages with no explicit content.

Board Game

Tabletop games adapted for the screen and new designs like them.

Tabletop

Board card and dice games adapted for the screen.

Social Deduction

Players identify hidden roles by reading each other's behaviour.

Card Game

Play built around a deck and the rules that govern it.

Party

Short rounds for a group with rules anyone can learn instantly.

Minigames

A collection of short separate games rather than one long one.

Trivia

General-knowledge questions usually against other players.

Funny

Humour is central to the design or arises from its systems.

Arcade

Short rounds with immediate rules and a score to beat.

Physics

Objects behave under simulated forces and that drives the play.

Comedy

Written to be funny rather than funny by accident.

Memes

Built on internet jokes and references.

Job Simulator

Ordinary occupations modelled as play.

Survival

Managing hunger and shelter against an environment that depletes them.

Sandbox

Open tools and systems with no set objective.

Open World

A continuous map that can be crossed in any order.

Building

Constructing structures from placeable parts.

Crafting

Gathering materials and combining them into tools and structures.

Farming Sim

Growing crops and tending animals on a smallholding.

Open World Survival Craft

Survival and building across a large open map.

Base Building

Establishing and expanding a permanent home site.

City Builder

Laying out a settlement and managing its growth and services.

Mining

Digging underground for resources with hauling and cave hazards.

Cute

Soft rounded art and friendly presentation.

Relaxing

Slow paced with no failure states and no pressure.

Cozy

Warm presentation at a gentle pace with forgiving systems.

Cooking

Kitchen work under time pressure from order to service.

Life Sim

Everyday living modelled in detail from work to relationships.

Colorful

Bright saturated palettes and high-contrast art.

Desktop Companion

Runs on the desktop itself rather than in a window.

Creature Collector

Finding keeping and training creatures to use in play.

Fishing

Catching fish usually at a relaxed pace.

Nature

Outdoor settings of forest wildlife and weather.

Cats

Cats appear as characters or as the subject.

Music

Rhythm and sound drive the play directly.

Action Roguelike

Real-time combat across procedurally generated runs that restart on death.

Roguelite

Runs restart on death but some progress carries over.

Roguelike

Procedurally generated runs with permanent death.

Dungeon Crawler

Descending through connected rooms fighting and looting.

Bullet Hell

Dense patterns of enemy fire to weave through.

Procedural Generation

Levels or content are generated rather than authored in advance.

Difficult

High difficulty by design expecting repeated attempts.

Bullet Heaven

Large volumes of automatic attacks clear crowds of enemies.

Card Battler

Combat resolved by the cards in a deck the player assembles.

Deckbuilding

The deck is assembled during play card by card.

Auto Battler

Units are arranged before a fight that then resolves without input.

Souls Like

Deliberate high-risk combat with heavy penalties for a mistake.

PvP

Players compete directly against each other.

Shooter

Ranged combat with firearms or their equivalents as the main mechanic.

PvE

Players face the game's own opponents rather than each other.

FPS

A first-person view with ranged weapons as the main mechanic.

Top Down Shooter

Ranged combat seen from directly above.

Hack and Slash

Melee combat against large numbers of enemies.

Arena Shooter

Fast ranged combat in small enclosed maps.

Twin Stick Shooter

Movement and aiming on separate sticks in every direction.

Team Based

Players take distinct roles that depend on each other.

Third Person Shooter

Ranged combat with the camera behind the character.

Looter Shooter

Ranged combat where defeated enemies drop progressively better equipment.

Beat Em Up

Advancing along a level fighting waves of enemies by hand.

Battle Royale

A large lobby shrinks to one survivor as the map closes.

Platformer

Jumping between platforms with precise timing and movement.

3D Platformer

Jumping in three dimensions with depth judgement as the challenge.

Puzzle Platformer

Platforming levels where each obstacle is a puzzle to work out first.

2D Platformer

Side-on jumping and traversal built on precise timing.

Collectathon

Levels hold large numbers of collectible items to find.

Precision Platformer

Demanding jumps with tight margins and frequent restarts.

Parkour

Moving through the environment by running climbing and vaulting.

Runner

Continuous forward movement with obstacles to avoid.

Puzzle

Progress comes from working out a rule rather than from reflexes.

Hidden Object

Finding specific items concealed in detailed scenes.

Escape Room

A sealed space with linked puzzles and one way out.

Point Click

Navigating and solving by clicking on the scene and its objects.

Logic

Deduction and rule-following rather than reflexes.

Detective

Following clues and questioning suspects to reach a solution.

Mystery

An unexplained event that the player works to explain.

Investigation

Gathering evidence and reasoning towards a conclusion.

Falling Blocks

Arranging pieces that descend at an increasing rate.

Strategy

Planning and resource decisions determine the outcome.

Idler

Progress continues while the game is closed.

Management

Running an operation and the staff and budgets it needs.

Turn Based Strategy

Players take turns with time to plan each move.

Incremental

Numbers grow steadily unlocking systems that make them grow faster.

Organizing

Sorting stocking and tidying as the main activity.

Shop Keeper

Running a shop from stock and pricing to customers.

Tower Defense

Placing and upgrading defences along a route enemies follow.

Economy

Trade and supply determine progress.

Turn Based Tactics

Squad-scale combat on a grid one move at a time.

Real Time Tactics

Small-unit combat in real time without base building.

Time Management

More demands arrive than there is time to meet.

Exploration

Travel and discovery are the content with little pressure.

RPG

Character progression through levels statistics and equipment.

Action Adventure

Exploration and story combined with real-time combat.

Action RPG

Levels and equipment progression with combat played in real time.

Immersive Sim

Detailed systems that allow several valid solutions to each problem.

Fantasy

Set in a world of magic and pre-industrial technology.

Sci Fi

Set in a future or in space on invented technology.

Space

Set beyond the atmosphere among vessels and vacuum hazards.

Medieval

Set in a pre-gunpowder period of castles and melee weapons.

Anime

Drawn and paced in the Japanese animation style.

Stealth

Avoiding detection rather than confronting the opposition.

Story Rich

Written narrative is the main content.

Sports

Team or individual competition modelled on a real sport.

Driving

Controlling road vehicles for racing delivery or travel.

Racing

Competition to finish a course first against players or the clock.

Esports

Balanced for organised competition with ranked or tournament play.

Automobile Sim

Cars modelled in detail down to handling and damage.

Flight

Piloting aircraft or spacecraft.

Combat Racing

Racing with weapons and obstacles used against opponents.

Score Attack

The final score is the objective.

Football Soccer

Football.

Transportation

Moving goods and people around a network.

Casual

Simple rules and short sessions playable without practice.

Action

Reflex-driven play built on movement and timing.

Adventure

Exploration and narrative progress with obstacles to work through.

Simulation

Systems modelled in detail from vehicles to whole businesses.

Indie

Made by small teams outside the major publishers.

Online Co-op

Cooperative play over the internet from separate places.

Local Co-op

Cooperative play for people at the same machine.

Local Multiplayer

Several players on one machine competitive or cooperative.

Co-op Campaign

A full story campaign designed to be played together.

Split Screen

One display divided between players at the same machine.

4 Player Local

Supports four players at one machine.

Massively Multiplayer

Large persistent worlds shared with many other players.

VR

Played in a headset with motion controls and room-scale movement.

Mmorpg

A persistent shared world with character progression and other players in it.

Asynchronous Multiplayer

Players take part at different times rather than in one session.

Controller

Full gamepad support including menus and setup.

Level Editor

Players can build levels and share them.

First Person

Seen through the character's own eyes.

3D

Rendered and played in three dimensions.

2D

Played on a flat plane seen side-on or from above.

Pixel Graphics

Drawn in deliberate low-resolution pixel art.

Third Person

The camera sits behind and slightly above the character.

Top Down

Seen from above with the whole area visible at once.

Cartoony

Exaggerated heavily animated art in a cartoon style.

Realistic

Modelled closely on real equipment physics or procedure.

Side Scroller

The view moves sideways as the player advances.

Stylized

A distinct art direction chosen over photographic realism.

2.5D

Two-dimensional play staged in three-dimensional environments.

Cartoon

Animated in a broad cartoon style with physics to match.

Isometric

An angled overhead view that shows depth without full 3D.

Hand Drawn

Artwork drawn and animated by hand.

Retro

Made now in the style of an earlier era of games.