Ever stare at a store page full of games and think, “I should be excited… why do I feel like I’m reading the back of a cereal box?”
Good news: you don’t have “bad taste.” You just don’t have a map yet. And game taste is a real thingpart personality, part mood,
part time-budget, part “I hate crafting unless it’s emotional support crafting.”
This guide helps you figure out what you actually enjoy (not what you think you should enjoy), then turns that into a personalized
recommendation you can use on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or wherever you collect digital backlogs like they’re Pokémon.
Step 1: Build Your “Taste Compass” (4 Questions That Change Everything)
Most people try to pick games by genre aloneRPG, shooter, puzzle, etc. That’s like choosing restaurants by saying “food.”
Instead, figure out your preferences on four simple axes:
1) Vibe: What emotion do you want?
- Cozy & calm (decompress, low stakes)
- Epic & heroic (big moments, big music, bigger capes)
- Spooky & tense (safe fear, controlled panic)
- Funny & chaotic (laughing while things explode)
- Thoughtful & story-rich (characters you’ll miss afterward)
2) Friction: How much challenge can you handle today?
“Hard” isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a setting. Sometimes you want a tough boss. Sometimes you want a game that lets you feel competent
while eating snacks. Your taste changes based on sleep, stress, and whether your brain is currently a browser with 37 tabs open.
3) Flavor: What do you enjoy doing minute-to-minute?
- Exploring (open worlds, secrets, wandering)
- Optimizing (builds, gear, strategy, “one more run”)
- Solving (puzzles, mysteries, deduction)
- Expressing (building, decorating, creating)
- Competing (ranked ladders, PvP, team synergy)
4) Format: How do you like to play?
- Solo (you + the story)
- Co-op (you + a friend + shared chaos)
- Short sessions (10–30 minutes)
- Long sessions (weekend time-travel)
- Portable (handheld/commute energy)
Write down your answers as a sentence. Example: “I want cozy vibes, low friction, expressive gameplay, short sessions.”
That one sentence is stronger than any genre label.
Step 2: Use Your Backlog as Data (Yes, Even the Games You Barely Played)
Your library is basically a personality quiz you paid for. Look at the last 10 games you touched (or watched someone play),
then label each with:
- Keep playing because… (story, combat, collecting, relaxing, social)
- I bounced because… (too hard, too slow, too grindy, confusing, not my vibe)
- Favorite moment (the part you still remember)
Patterns appear fast. If you keep quitting games right when crafting systems open up like a second job, you might prefer
lean mechanics. If you love “one more run,” roguelites and bite-sized progression games might be your people.
Step 3: Learn the Secret Language of Game Stores (Tags & Filters)
Stores don’t just sell gamesthey categorize them. If you learn the category system, you can make any store act like a personal shopper.
The trick is to search by mechanics and mood, not just “Action” or “Adventure.”
Steam: Treat tags like a playlist genre, not a label
On Steam, tags and discovery features can help you narrow in on what you actually like. Instead of searching “RPG,” try combinations like:
“story rich + choices matter,” “cozy + farming,” “tactical + turn-based,” or “roguelite + deckbuilder.”
The more specific you get, the better your results.
Steam’s discovery tools are designed around personalization and include a Discovery Queue that mixes recommendations, new releases, and popular titles.
Steam also offers an Interactive Recommender where you can tune results (for example, leaning toward popular or niche games, filtering by tags,
and adjusting release date ranges). Use those knobs like seasoningstart small, taste, adjust.
Xbox / Microsoft Store: Personalization is a setting, not just a vibe
Xbox recommendations can be influenced by personalization and privacy settings. If you want better suggestions, make sure your account
is actually allowed to show personalized recommendationsotherwise you’re basically asking the store to read your mind while wearing a blindfold.
(Very polite of you. Not very effective.)
PlayStation Plus: Use the catalog like a sampling menu
If you have PlayStation Plus, the Game Catalog’s “game finder” style browsing makes it easier to explore by category and discover something new.
Also, time-limited trials (where available on your plan/region) can be an efficient way to test whether a game is “you” before you commit.
Think of it as trying on game shoes. If they pinch in the first 20 minutes, they will not magically become comfortable at hour 40.
Nintendo: Wishlists are your future self’s best friend
Nintendo’s wish list features (including web-based management and sharing options) are great for taste-building. When you see a game that matches
your vibe, wishlist it immediatelydon’t trust your memory. Your brain is already storing the lyrics to songs you haven’t heard since 2013.
It’s busy.
Step 4: Safety CheckUse ESRB Ratings to Match Your Comfort Level
Taste isn’t only about funit’s also about comfort. ESRB ratings help you quickly understand age-appropriateness and common content themes.
If certain content types stress you out (or you’re shopping for someone else), check the rating category and descriptors so you’re not surprised.
Your goal is a good time, not an accidental emotional jump-scare.
Step 5: The “Three-Filter” Method (How to Pick the Right Game Fast)
When you’re overwhelmed, don’t ask “What should I play?” Ask three smaller questions:
Filter A: Time
- Under 30 minutes? Choose runs, rounds, or levels (roguelites, multiplayer matches, puzzle bites).
- 1–2 hours? Choose mission-based or episodic games.
- Big weekend? Choose story epics, open worlds, deep RPGs.
Filter B: Energy
- Low energy → cozy, chill, guided experiences, turn-based
- Medium energy → exploration, action-adventure, light strategy
- High energy → competitive, fast action, precision platformers
Filter C: Social
- Solo → story-rich, puzzles, immersive exploration
- Co-op → shared goals, teamwork chaos, “we did it!” moments
- Competitive → ranked modes, team shooters, fighting games
Now combine them: “Under 30 minutes, low energy, solo.” That instantly narrows your best choices.
Your Personalized Game Rec (Pick the Profile That Sounds Like You)
Choose the closest profile. If two fit, you’re a beautiful hybrid creature. (Like a gryphon, but with a backlog.)
Each profile includes a quick “what you like” and a few game recommendations to start with.
1) The Cozy Decompressor
You like: gentle goals, relaxing loops, low-pressure progress.
Try: Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Spiritfarer, Unpacking.
2) The Story Vacationer
You like: character-driven narratives, emotional payoff, memorable moments.
Try: The Last of Us Part I, Life is Strange, Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch.
3) The “One More Run” Optimizer
You like: tight gameplay, upgrades, build crafting, replayable challenge.
Try: Hades, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, Vampire Survivors.
4) The Puzzle Brain Gremlin (Affectionate)
You like: clever systems, deduction, “aha!” moments.
Try: Portal 2, The Witness, Return of the Obra Dinn, Baba Is You.
5) The Competitive Spark
You like: improvement, mastery, teamwork, ranked ladders.
Try: Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Fortnite, Street Fighter 6.
6) The Explorer Collector
You like: wandering, secrets, side quests, “what’s over there?” energy.
Try: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Skyrim, Hollow Knight, Subnautica.
7) The Tactical Thinker
You like: planning, positioning, decision-heavy combat, turn-based clarity.
Try: XCOM 2, Into the Breach, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
8) The Creative Builder
You like: making things, designing spaces, experimenting with systems.
Try: Minecraft, Terraria, The Sims 4, Super Mario Maker 2.
Want to level this up? Take your chosen profile and search it as a tag combo:
“cozy management,” “story rich choices matter,” “roguelite build crafting,” “tactical turn-based,” etc.
You’re not just picking a gameyou’re training your recommendation engines.
Step 6: Use Review Sites Without Getting Tricked by Numbers
Scores can be useful, but they’re not your taste. A “9/10” game can still be wrong for you if it’s high friction, long, or in a mood you don’t want.
Use reviews for specific clues: pacing, difficulty spikes, how grindy it is, whether it respects your time, and what the core loop feels like.
Metacritic’s Metascore approach is built from a weighted average of critic reviews, which is handy as a quick temperature check.
Just remember: “critical consensus” and “my personal joy” are cousins, not twins.
Common Taste Traps (And How to Escape Them)
You keep buying big open-world games and never finishing them
You might love exploration but dislike sprawl. Try smaller “open” games with tighter scope (hub worlds, chapters, or dense maps),
or pick games that clearly segment progress into missions.
You say you want a relaxing game, then pick something stressful
Your brain might be craving “competence” more than “calm.” Try low-stress games with satisfying masterylike turn-based strategy,
puzzles, or cozy games with structured goals.
You bounce off games everyone loves
That’s normal. Popular doesn’t mean personally compatible. It just means lots of people had fun. Your job is to find your fun,
not win the “Correct Opinions Olympics.”
Conclusion: Your Taste Isn’t RandomIt’s a Pattern You Can Learn
Finding your taste in games is less like discovering a soulmate and more like building a playlist. You notice what makes you light up:
vibe, friction, flavor, format. Then you feed those signals into the tools you already usetags, filters, wishlists, catalogs, and trials.
The result is fewer “meh” purchases, more games you actually finish, and a library that feels like it belongs to you.
Extra: of Real-World “Taste Discovery” Experiences (So This Actually Sticks)
Here’s what taste discovery looks like in the wildmessy, funny, and extremely human.
Experience #1: The Accidental Cozy Convert. Someone tries Stardew Valley because a friend won’t stop talking about it.
They assume they’ll get bored. Two hours later, they’re emotionally invested in a pixelated parsnip. The surprise isn’t “farming is fun”
it’s that the game provides gentle momentum: short goals, clear feedback, and a calm vibe that makes the brain exhale. That person’s
taste pattern usually expands into “cozy management” and “low-pressure progression” games. Their best next move isn’t “another farming game,”
it’s “another game that feels like a warm blanket but still gives me wins.”
Experience #2: The Burnout Rescue Mission. A competitive player who lives in ranked modes hits a wall: every match feels like a job interview.
They try a story game “just to chill” and discover a new cravingclosure. Stories end. Characters grow. Credits roll.
That’s a different kind of satisfaction than climbing a ladder. This player often becomes a hybrid: competitive when they have energy,
narrative when they need recovery. The taste hack is scheduling: “ranked nights” vs “story nights,” like a balanced diet but with fewer vegetables
and more dramatic cutscenes.
Experience #3: The ‘One More Run’ Realization. Someone bounces off long RPGs because they can’t remember what they were doing
after a busy week. Then they try Hades (or any great roguelite) and it clicks: every session is complete, progress is permanent,
and the loop is deliciously bite-sized. The taste pattern here is “short sessions + meaningful progression.” The best recommendations will
respect time and reward repetitionperfect for people whose schedules change daily.
Experience #4: The Puzzle Person’s Aha Moment. A player thinks they hate games because action stresses them out.
Then they try Portal 2 and realize they don’t hate gamesthey hate being rushed. Their taste is “thinking under no timer.”
Suddenly, game shopping becomes easy: puzzles, mysteries, turn-based tactics, narrative exploration. Their secret weapon is reading reviews
specifically for pacing and pressure, not just “is it good?”
Experience #5: The Wishlist Time Capsule. This is the simplest habit with the biggest payoff: whenever a game sparks curiosity,
wishlist it immediately. Over weeks, your wishlist becomes a mirror. You’ll notice patterns (cozy art styles, strategy systems, story-heavy indie games),
and you can pick your next game based on mood instead of impulse. Bonus: when sales hit, you’re shopping from a curated list you already vetted
not panic-buying a random “90% off” title that you will never install. Your future self will look back at this habit the way people look at
meal-prepping: impressed, slightly confused, and deeply grateful.
Bottom line: taste isn’t a mystery. It’s a trail of tiny reactionswhat you repeat, what you avoid, what you remember. Track the reactions,
and the “perfect game rec” stops being a gamble and starts being a pretty confident bet.