When it comes to the video game market, some genres just get more love than others. This can happen in waves; you don’t see quite as many Grand Theft Auto clones as you used to for example, but some genres stay popular no matter what. First-person shooters like Call of Duty or role-playing games like Final Fantasy 16 ensure their genres will always be present and popular.
There are some genres which deserve more attention and, more importantly, more games. Whether that’s because they have so few or the genre is just so good that it deserves more entries and the gaming landscape would be better off with more. Read below to find examples of the genres that need more games.
8 Point-And-Click Adventures
Some of the best known games in this genre, like Monkey Island or Broken Sword, received multiple entries and still do to this day. That said, the heyday of the point-and-click adventure seems mostly to have passed. While still viewed fondly, they don’t lead the conversation quite how they used to.
Games like Disco Elysium prove that, not only is there still life in the genre, but it can still produce some of the greatest games around. Hopefully this encourages more developers to return to the point-and-click genre as one that can be used to tell stories that are both incredible and accessible. It’s a style of game that, no matter how many are made, there’ll always be a need for more.
7 MMORPGs
It wasn’t that long ago that it felt like every third game announced was labelled a potential ‘WoW Killer’ as multiple developers were chasing the dragon of World of Warcraft’s unprecedented success. Other MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy 14 have seen success, but it does feel like there’s room for something new and exciting to burst onto the scene.
It may be that the live-service business model and so many games having multiplayer functionality built in means that the idea of an MMORPG is obsolete, the industry is very different from what it was when World of Warcraft launched almost 20 years ago. Even if that is the case, it would be interesting to see a fresh take with new ideas that remind us all of the magic we first felt exploring the starting areas back in 2004.
6 Real-Time Strategy
Best exemplified by Command & Conquer and Starcraft, the RTS genre was synonymous with PC gaming. With no signs that these game series are making a comeback anytime soon, the era of classic RTS games feels like it has well and truly passed.
The genre hasn’t gone away though, just changed, now dominated by the titan that is the Total War series. Although unquestionably great the Total War games feel like a genre in and of themselves, rather than part of something larger. While RTS games continue to be made, it would do the genre good to have more games, especially ones that break through into the mainstream.
5 Digital Therapeutics
Video games as a form of therapy is still a relatively new field but one with a lot of potential. Stories have always had the potential to be therapeutic, with many gamers experiencing a game’s narrative having a positive impact on them. This will always be a theme in video games as they continue to tell new and more emotionally complex stories.
What is relatively new is the idea that games mechanics and visuals can be used therapeutically for emotional or neurological treatments. Most notably is EndeavorRX by Akili Interative, an FDA-approved game used for treatments of children with ADHD. If games can be used in this way, it’s a genre that absolutely needs to be further explored.
4 City Builders
City builders haven’t vanished completely but nothing has risen up to take the place of Sim City after the infamously disastrous launch of SimCity in 2013. It’s a genre known for requiring meticulous planning while also being inexplicably relaxing.
Games like Cities: Skylines 2 may help fill the shoes of the Sim City series but nothing available currently feels quite the same. Hopefully with more entries in the city builder genre, there can be something that completely scratches that itch.
3 Fantasy Sports
Every year we get new entries in series like NBA 2k or EA Sports FC, dedicated to incremental updates to their respective sports game genre. The focus with these games is simulation of real sports, basketball and football respectively. Blood Bowl, on the other hand, is a game focused on a fictional game set in a fantasy world.
The advantage of a fantasy sports game is that it doesn’t have to remain true to real sports. They can be used as a starting point or disregarded completely, allowing developers far more creative liberty. Games like this do launch semi regularly, but there’s always room for more players on the field.
2 Extreme Sports
Extreme sports were a big part of gaming in the early 2000s, and has even had a resurgence with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater gracing our screens again thanks to a well-received remaster. There is one type of extreme sports game in particular that needs to see a revival: snowboarding.
Although Steep gave its best effort, nothing has recreated the magic that was SSX or Cool Boarders. It could be that the time of snowboarding games has passed, but if that were to change, there would be no shortage of gamers excited to shred fresh powder.
1 Musicals
Games based around music have taken many forms. Rhythm games like PaRappa the Rapper or instrument based games like Guitar Hero helped define their console generations while Trombone Champ is hilarious to play or watch.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical feels like it creates a genre, or at least a mythology, all of its own. A roleplaying musical is an idea that needs to gain both more attention and traction for being something brand new, but also for being a genuinely interesting concept. This is a genre that can carry a tune and needs more entries to build to a true crescendo.