Unless you’re playing a specific mode in an online game, you really can’t play a video game wrong, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. Realistically, almost every video game does have a ‘correct’ way to play it, whether that be an urgent main quest to complete or plenty of friends to make.
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It can be a lot of fun to play a game in the wrong way, because who needs to be one of those ‘cool’ people who plays games the way they’re meant to be played? You can be different, and you can do that by completely disregarding the core mechanics of a game to make the experience one like no other.
Dead Rising 2does in fact have a main adventure for you to play through, but who wants to save survivors and deliver Zombrex to Chuck’s daughter when you could spend hours exploring the Fortune City while you absolutely bop zombies withyour pro wrestling moves?
Responsible parenting won’t be the ‘in’ thing in gaming for another decade or so, which means Chuck’s daughter is just going to have to deal with zombification. You’ve got to strap a set of knives to some boxing gloves — there’s no time for good parenting.
9Make Your Starter OP - Pokemon
ThePokemongames let you travel across expansive regions, making hundreds of little Pokemon friends along the way. You grow with them as you beat gyms, and it’s adorable, but you could completely disregard the concept of catching them all.
Instead, you could make your chosen starter a tank of death that takes on any and all comers, regardless of type advantage. Is Charizardup against a Vaporeon? No problem, because you’ve built a dragon that would strike fear into the heart of the bravest Dragon-Born.
8No Permadeath - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Housesis an absolute joy, but let’s be real, we all make some crushing mistakes, and sometimes we just don’t want to reset turns or the entire battle. Turning off permadeath might be taboo in the community, but it means you’ll never truly lose those students you’ve invested a bit too much time into.
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Sure, you won’t have to come to grips with the gravity of making a bad move, but you also won’t have to wonder what could have been with your favourite unit. You’ll be able to gift them all the flowers your little heart can handle until they’ve been Stockholm-syndromed into loving Byleth.
7Ignoring The Vital Main Quest - The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3is a massive game, and Geralt is a man who means business, but that doesn’t mean you need to rush through the game to save Ciri. It’s not like she’s being actively pursued — stop a while and play your 15th game of Gwent in a row.
If Gwent doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can always go off and slay monsters, assist villagers, and acquire the best-looking set of armor this side of Novigrad. When you get back to the main questline, the urgency is going to feel weird, but this game is your adventure, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
6Maxing Out Your Wanted Level - Grand Theft Auto 5
This might just be one of the most classic ‘incorrect’ ways to play a video game. Almost anyone who’s ever playedGrand Theft Autohas seen how long they can keep their wanted level maxed out without getting taken out by the cops.
There’s a lot of weird stuff to experience throughoutGTA 5’s main story, but there’s even more weird stuff you may experience on the side, so basically, create all the chaos you could ever dream of. Use a few cheat codes while you’re at it, become the menace of Los Santos.
5No Sword - The Legend Of Zelda
You could play through the NES classicThe Legend Of Zeldaas intended and have a grand ole time, or you could completely ignore that very first cave, not heed the old man’s warning and go alone. You don’t need an old man’s warning, and you don’t even need an NES manual, because you’re what we call a ‘pro gamer.’
You’re going to have a rough time doing absolutely anything if you aren’t following any kind of guide, but you do you, don’t let a game tell you what to do. You’ve got bombs, arrows, and a sweet way-too-powerful candle at your disposal. You’re basically a one-person army.
4Monster Hunter - Stardew Valley
You could befriend all those wonderfulStardew Valleyvillagers to have some fruitful relationships while you build a farm that your ancestors are proud of. You could do that — or you could spend all your time spelunking in the mines and slaying every monster that crosses your path.
It’s the anti-farm farm simulator run. Just roleplay as thatweird loner who moved into town, the one who has a strange twitch in one eye, the one who’s got a bloodlust for monsters. You won’t make any friends, but you’re basically the small-town equivalent of Batman, and I think that’s worth it.
3Doing Your Own Thing - The Sims 4
I took a very long break from playing aSimsgame, hopped back in, and realized that there are actually things you’re supposed to do in the game. You’re guided to do a variety of things and achieve different goals for your Sims, but you don’t need to do that.
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You can go rogue and make your Sim live the life you want them to live, not the one that the game dictates for you. Go ahead, invite people over and eat a full macaroni and cheese dinner solo right in front of them. You’re the Sim master, and ain’t nobody going to tell you otherwise.
2Weapons Only - Persona 5
If you ever thought to yourself, “Ya,Persona 5is a masterpiece, but I want to absolutely hate myself while I play it and maybe not even be able to beat it,” then a weapons-only run might just be the thing for you.
It’s exactly what it sounds like — avoid using any Personas to dish out attacks and instead rely on nothing but your melee weapon and guns. So much of the magic is stripped away from the combat and you’ll die so much, but at least you can say you played your way.
1Straight To Ganondorf - Tears Of The Kingdom
You could easily put in over one hundred hours before you ever even start the main quest ofTears of the Kingdomif you really want to. There’s so much to see and do that you can make Link Hyrule’s absentee hero for far too long.
You could also run straight to Ganondorfwith minimal equipment and with just Link alone, fight an entire army, multiple bosses, and Ganondorf himself. Link’s a bit impatient, so I’m sure the entire kingdom would be confused that you already saved Zelda afterBreath of the Wildtook you hundreds of hours years before.
