All game genres
Every genre guide on Golem, grouped by category. Click any card for the full breakdown.
Action & Reflex
Arcade Classics and the Skill Loop
Arcade classics are short, self-contained action games built for a single sitting, originally designed to live…
Read guide →First-Person Shooters and Aim Fundamentals
First-person shooters (FPS) are a genre where you view the game world through the eyes of your character, typi…
Read guide →Racing Games and the Racing Line
Racing games are a genre of video games that simulate the act of driving a vehicle, typically a car, in a comp…
Read guide →Fighting Games and the Neutral Game
Fighting games are a genre of competitive action games where two players face off in one-on-one combat, typica…
Read guide →Platformers and Precision Movement
Platformers are action games built around navigating 2D or 3D spaces with a strong emphasis on jumping, timing…
Read guide →Battle Royale: The Closing Circle
Battle royale is a competitive multiplayer genre built around a single shrinking arena and a large starting po…
Read guide →Strategy & Mind
Real-Time Strategy: Base, Army, and Tempo
Real-time strategy is a genre where you and your opponents act simultaneously, without turns, on a shared map.…
Read guide →4X Strategy Games: Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate
4X strategy is a turn-based or pausable grand-strategy genre built around four verbs: explore, expand, exploit…
Read guide →Deck-Building Games and Drafting Synergy
Deck-building games are a genre where your collection of cards is not just your arsenal but your character she…
Read guide →Puzzle Games and the Joy of the Aha Moment
Puzzle games are built around problems you must solve using logic, observation, and experimentation rather tha…
Read guide →City Builders and Systems That Feed Each Other
A city builder is a management game where you place structures on a map and watch the consequences ripple outw…
Read guide →Immersive Sims and Systems-Driven Play
An immersive sim is a first-person (usually) action game built around interlocking systems rather than scripte…
Read guide →RPG & Progression
Roguelikes and Run-Based Games Explained
Run-based games, often called roguelikes, are built around repeated attempts at a challenge that resets when y…
Read guide →Roguelites and Meta-Progression
Roguelites are action games built around repeated runs through procedurally generated levels. Each run starts …
Read guide →Soulslike Difficulty and Design
Soulslike games are action role-playing games defined by deliberate combat, high stakes, and a world that refu…
Read guide →Action RPGs and Build Variety
Action role-playing games blend real-time combat with deep character progression. Unlike turn-based RPGs, you …
Read guide →Turn-Based RPGs and Party Tactics
Turn-based RPGs are a genre of role-playing games where combat and many actions unfold in discrete turns, rath…
Read guide →Idle and Incremental Games
Idle and incremental games are built around progress that continues, or appears to continue, while you are not…
Read guide →Narrative & Exploration
Metroidvanias and Interconnected Exploration
A metroidvania is a type of action-adventure game focused on exploring a large, interconnected map. You contro…
Read guide →Open-World Games: Freedom and Structure
Open-world games are a genre of action-adventure or role-playing games set in expansive, seamlessly connected …
Read guide →Visual Novels and Branching Narrative
Visual novels are a genre of narrative-driven games that combine static or lightly animated character sprites,…
Read guide →Walking Simulators and Environmental Storytelling
Walking simulators are first-person games that prioritize exploration and narrative over combat or complex puz…
Read guide →Horror Games and the Mechanics of Dread
Horror games are built around the deliberate creation of fear, tension, and unease in the player. Rather than …
Read guide →Stealth Games and the Art of Not Being Seen
Stealth games are built around avoidance rather than confrontation. Instead of charging into every room with g…
Read guide →Social & Living
MMOs and Living Worlds
A massively multiplayer online game is a persistent, shared world that keeps running whether you are logged in…
Read guide →Co-Op Games and Shared Problem Solving
Co-op games are built around two or more players sharing a single challenge rather than competing against each…
Read guide →Life and Management Sims
Life and management sims are games built around running a system over time: a household, a farm, a shop, a tow…
Read guide →Survival Games and Emergent Stories
Survival games are a genre where you must manage limited resources to stay alive in a hostile environment. Typ…
Read guide →Sports Games and the Simulation-Accessibility Balance
Sports games simulate athletic competition, from team sports like soccer, basketball, and football to individu…
Read guide →Sandbox Games and Player-Directed Goals
Sandbox games are a genre defined by player agency rather than a fixed narrative or linear progression. Instea…
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