4 Games That Help You Get Better At Things In Real Life (2024)

Almost every gamer has been scolded by their parents for playing too many video games at some point in their life. I’m no different, and my parents always considered games to be a grand waste of time that I could better spend studying.

Well, this article is a rebuttal to every parent who made us feel bad for playing games. As it turns out, gaming is not only fun but also improves various real-life abilities like reflexes, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Here are 4 games that will sharpen your skills by just playing them.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

We all knew there would be a Soulslike game in this list. But Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice isn’t like any other Souls game. It’s one of the most frustratingly difficult games you’ll ever play, but when you get the hang of it, it’s just as satisfying.

Wolf, our protagonist, is equipped with his trusty katana and a prosthetic arm to which he can attach tools that can help him in a fight. Unlike all the other FromSoftware games, there is no grinding to level your character so you can more easily face the boss that’s giving you a hard time. And that’s the beauty of this game.

A fight in Sekiro involves executing perfectly timed parries to damage your opponent’s posture until they stagger, and that’s when you deliver a killing blow. But timing these parries perfectly with the opponent’s attack will take everything you’ve got, and test your reflexes like no other game.

If you managed to reach the credits of the game without using any cheap tactics against bosses, consider your reflexes honed sharper than Kasubimaru. These quick reflexes are sure to come in handy if you play sports.

The Witness

Puzzle games are amazing brain teasers, and The Witness achieves that like no other game. In an interview, the game’s developer, Jonathan Blow, explained that The Witness is designed to test different aspects of your mind’s problem-solving abilities.

You’ll be faced with puzzles that rely on your visual thinking skills, your hearing acumen, or your environmental puzzle-solving skills. I’m a very poor visual thinker, so a certain set of puzzles that I won’t spoil here had me stumped. People who were good visual thinkers actually found them easy. The same concept applies to all the different categories of puzzles, and depending on the player, the categories of puzzles they find difficult will be different.

Not only will this game improve your puzzle-solving skills, but if you manage to persevere through the sections that you find challenging without looking up the solutions online, you’ll be able to reinforce the areas of puzzle-solving you’re weak in.

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Kerbal Space Program

When it comes to training your creative muscles, playing Minecraft probably sits at the very top. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of its blocky, pixelated aesthetic, and going with Minecraft seemed like too obvious a choice.

Instead, let me introduce you to the Kerbal Space Program. Your’re tasked with engineering a spaceship that’s worthy of exploring the planets and moons in the game’s virtual solar system. Every part you use functions differently and you have to use your own creative prowess to make a spaceship out of them.

Like any creative video game, there is no end and there’s no winning; it’s a perpetual cycle of rebuilding your spaceship in a way that’s better than the last time, trying out new parts and configurations, and understanding the complex but surprisingly realistic physics system of the game.

If you want to get creative and want to try something unique, you should give the Kerbal Space Program a shot. It recently got a sequel as well, so you can try that out too.

Overcooked

Overcooked is a double-edged sword. At its core, it’s a co-op time management game where you have to cook up dishes and serve them to your customers.

When it works well, there’s nothing more beautiful than you and up to 3 other buddies of yours working in harmony to cook up dishes without making a single mistake. But at its worst, it’s a blame-game simulator where you’re yelling at your friends for making a mistake, like missing a crucial step in cooking a dish, or taking the long route when delivering the dish.

I believe that if you want to improve your teamwork skills, Overcooked is the best game to play. Just make sure your friendships aren’t too fragile, or this game will make short work of them.