Story can be one of the biggest selling points a video game has to offer. It can send players off on a fantastical journey to a faraway land, another planet, or even another plane of existence altogether. They can make players laugh, cry, and question everything around them and their existence. That's all perfectly fine, but what about gamers who just want to sit down and play?

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Sometimes players want an emotional story, but other times they want to get into the action and test their skills. For some gaming enthusiasts, it's better if the story takes a backseat to allow for some serious playing.

10 Doom

The original Doom is one of those early FPS games where the story is present, but it's more of a suggestion than anything else. The object of this gruesome and gory original? Shoot anything that moves and try not to get shredded by demons.

There is a story present, but it's kind of lost beneath the blood and the bullets. Shoot the monsters, get from A to B, and don't die. Remember when that was all a shooter needed to be fun?


9 LittleBigPlanet

There is a handful of lore in the original LittleBigPlanet, but it's only a sprinkling to give the levels a little personality. Other than that, players are free to explore and traverse the colorful realms across the Createosphere.

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The layout of the game is simple, but with a lot of cute and eccentric charm and personality. Bouncing from level to level and collecting colorful orbs will never go out of style, and it's this simple-yet-effective approach that makes the game PlayStation royalty.

8 Street Fighter Series

Street Fighter II gameplay screenshot

There is a story about the fighting tournament involving contestants from around the globe, but how many players truly pay any attention? Aside from the names and combos of one's favorite characters, not much is needed to enjoy this Capcom classic.

Like so many fighting games, Street Fighter is about the action and not the story. It's not about collecting coins or saving some damsel in distress, it's about seeing how many times one can Hadouken their opponent into next week.

7 Streets of Rage Series

Walk from left to right, mash buttons, and watch the bad guys fall. That's all one truly needs to know to master the beat-em-up genre, and Streets of Rage is one of the best in the business. It's a standard-issue good guys vs. bad guys scenario, and that's all that's truly needed.

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Taking out an organized crime syndicate is pretty cut and dry for most action titles, but in this neon-drenched piece of the '90s, it serves as an ideal backdrop for some serious arcade action.

6 Sonic the Hedgehog

Honestly, once one gets absolutely hypnotized by the lightning-fast antics of everyone's favorite blue hedgehog, does anyone even remember why they're running to the right of the screen? Joking aside, the original Sonic series has been a platforming giant since he first slipped on those sneakers.

Easy to pick up, but hard to master, Sonic's original 16-bit adventures can be a little breakneck at times, but as long as the Blue Blur keeps moving, the fun doesn't stop until he does.

5 Super Mario Bros.

Kill the dragon, save the princess, it's a tale as old as time, and Mario has been doing the same routine since 1985. Before Link and Zelda made it a virtual fantasy epic, it was a trope perfected by a mushroom-munching plumber.

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There's practically no gamer out there who doesn't know the name "Mario" or his eternal quest to save Peach from the clutches of Bowser. Jump on the Koopas and Goombas and try not to fall, rinse and repeat.

4 Rocket League

The Dropshot game mode, featuring damaged tiles and the ball

For those looking for something a bit more modern, look no further than the simple-yet-addictive stylings of Rocket League. In terms of story or narrative, it's pretty much nonexistent. The game is literally soccer played with suped-up racecars, what more could a sports game possibly ask for?

It's easy to pick up and score the winning goal, but there are plenty of tricks and moves to master to ensure a rocket-powered victory. There's more to it than keeping one's eye on the ball.

3 Ikaruga

Shoot-em-ups/shmups are a videogame mainstay, but one of the most ingenious modern innovations in the genre has to be Ikaruga. While it does have the typical spaceships, bullets, and lasers, this game offers a twist on the formula to give it a little depth.

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Ikaruga allows players to change the polarity of their ship from black to white and back again, with each side being immune to a corresponding color of enemy. Adding a bit of brainteasing makes this title easy to pick up but hard to master.

2 Pac-Man

Pac-Man Power Pill

If there's one character that could be called the undisputed mascot of the pick-up-and-play genre, it's probably Pac-Man. This pellet-popping maze-runner has been a video game icon since the '80s, and he's not slowed down since.

The world has had Pac-Man fever since he first debuted, and his ghost-munching ways have been popular across a multitude of consoles from NES to iPhone. There are few games so addicting, so stimulating, and so readily available across almost all platforms.

1 Tetris 99

Tetris has to be the most played game on the planet. There's not a console or smartphone out there that doesn't have some form of the game or any of its dozens of clones. It's quite possibly the most accessible to players of all degrees.

Repetitive yet insanely addicting, Tetris 99 only perfected the famous puzzler's formula by adding a battle royale element to the mix. With 99 other players hurling blocks at each other, things definitely get more than a bit bombastic.

NEXT: 10 Puzzle Games That Are Good For Your Brain

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