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Everyone has different preferences, so it can be difficult to judge what you may like or dislike. Even in gaming, there are such disparate subcommunities that one subcommunity may not even know of the existence of another. I personally prefer slow paced, artistic, single player games and I can't stand multi-player games, much less competitive ones.
So my answer is there's likely something for you somewhere, but without more information, I wouldn't know how you would begin finding that something
Yes it's absolutely worth getting in to video games, there is huge breadth and choice on what to play, and a huge vibrant community.
Starting place is really what devices do you have? Do you have a laptop or PC? If so the world is your oyster and you will find plenty to play even if it's not very powerful.
If you want something popular, cosy and accessible I'd recommend Stardew Valley. It's cheap for such a great game, plenty of content, great learning curve and a huge wholesome community.
But there is loads of choice - you could play card games or puzzle games on you other devices and explore what's available. PC games offer much more variety and depth compared to a mobile, and is very easy to access - no need to buy a console or hardware.
It's just like any other hobby, you have to see and decide for yourself! All I can say as a person who's been playing video games for 27 years and loves them for both their mechanics and their artistic potential is that so far it has been time well spent!
To start, i'd first think about what kind of games tempt you most. You have a wide array of genres from which to choose, like cerebral real-time strategy or 4x games (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate), narrative and player expression centric role-playing games, action-packed shooters, or agile and clever platformers.
Then, you can use storefronts like Steam or Epic and run general searches based on genres - I'd recommend sorting according to top sellers/most purchased, as score-based sorting isn't always reliable.
At the end of it all, however, the most important factor is whatever tempts you in any way. Steam (this is what I use most of the time) offers Demos for a lot of games nowadays, so you should be able to try pretty much whatever tempts you! Be it flashy graphics, an interesting story hook, or just sheer bloodlust, everything is valid!
I'll leave a list of games I think would serve as a gentle introduction to this hobby below - they're also not resource intensive, so you should be able to play them on any consumer laptop (or smartphone, some of them!):
Stardew Valley - management-like game, you have to administrate a farm. But there's a lot of extra complexity I won't spoil
Cloudpunk - combination of cyberpunk delivery person simulator and role-playing game, I've found it both relaxing and gripping!
Cultist Simulator - it's technically a card game, but what you actually do is balance having a socially acceptable life with investigating incomprehensible forces and leading a cult
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic I and II - these two are meat-and-potatoes role-playing games with really solid stories, well-written and presented characters, a neat progression system which sees you unlocking awesome Force powers and/or other valuable perks, and the combat, I find, is the perfect mix of engaging and lenient
Rocket League - this is as a taste of faster-paced action, basic multiplayer interactions, and relatively high-end graphis - it's football with cars, but awesome!
As an extra note, you may notice I've left links from everywhere. That's because you'll have to select a game storefront (it's a whole thing nowadays, but you really don't need to interact with that side of the hobby if you don't want to...). The storefronts share most of their libraries of games, but there are a few exceptions, so it's best to check them all out before sticking with one. Some examples of such:
Steam is the most popular and is good, but you can't run games without running Steam, plus it periodically needs to connect to the internet. Things are fairly priced, the community features are nice, the community is ok, frequent sales. They also offer a no-questions full refund if you choose to do so within two hours of play time, so that's a way to try out games without Demos.
GOG (Good Old Games) is basically Steam, less meaty. However, the main strongpoint is that, beyond installing the game through their platform, that game then exists as its own independent entity, not requiring any periodic validation through an internet connection (unless the game itself is online), no shady 3rd party software installed alongside the game to "protect it from piracy," etc. The games are as yours as they could possibly be in a digital-only environment.
Epic wants to be Steam's direct rival, so their storefront has many of the same features, but it's not as popular within the community. I honestly have no opinion about them.
Other than that, all I can say is try to explore the hobby, check out gaming outlets, watch Lets-Plays on YouTube, and you can always lean on the online community for suggestions and tips! Also applicable to myself!
It's definitely worth trying if you're interested.
I would not recommend buying a console or gaming PC first as that is a money sink that you're not sure is worth it yet. My gaming PC broke when I arrived at university, and I got by playing less graphically intensive games on my standard laptop for a few years.
Good games I'd recommend to start with:
Those can all be played on the average laptop or desktop anyone would have.
Best of luck on your journey! Feel free to reply with any questions or suggestions for specific genres and such. My girlfriend didn't play video games until I introduced them to her, and the most important thing was that I didn't try to force any games on her, just show her what there was and let her interest lead the way. So take a look at all the suggestions people are leaving and go with what interests you most. And if you're not enjoying a game, it's okay to go play a different one.
(Also, Steam provides free, no-questions-asked refunds for any games purchased that both 1) were bought less than 2 weeks ago, and 2) have less than 2 hours of game time. So you can always demo a game to see if you like it and return it easily if not.)
Yes it is worth it. The return on gameplay hours for the cost of a game can be incredibly high.
I recommend you start by downloading Steam on a laptop or PC and browse some games, or try some demos. Some games require mouse and keyboard, while others are better with a controller - my preference is a regular Xbox controller, it's plug and play.
Where would I even start.
There's a lot of good information provided video game reviewers. I tend to start there, when looking for something new.
In particular, I've learned about entire genres such as "cozy games" and "couch co-op", that way. Then, once I know what the genre I'm in the mood for is called I can search for "best cozy games of 2020", to find ideas of what I might like to try.
In order to not worry about whether each game will run, I feel that the SteamDeck is the current nicest all around game console available, followed by the Nintendo Switch.
If you like phone puzzle games, have you tried Monument Valley?
Something I don't really like seeing when someone asks a question like this, is everyone just jerking someone around with their recommendations.
I would advise first to feel your tastes out, what do you feel like doing? What do you think is worth your time and even money to invest in? Whatever you feel gravitates you, go for it.
Hogwarts legacy might resonate here IMHO
I started recently after a 15 year hiatus.
I chose steamworld dig 2. It's a fun game
Slay the Spire is a card based video game.
I think these types of games would be a great place to start; maybe even something like Inscryption since it shows how deep games can be even when they appear to start off fairly simple.
There are some decent to good video games available on Android & iPhone, of a wide variety of genres.
If you have the self discipline to not let gaming take over all your spare time (whistles innocently while totally not looking in mirror), it’s absolutely worth getting into.
Where to start? I recommend keeping it simple. If you don’t already own a desktop or laptop computer at home, it’s probably easiest to stick with games on your phone.
Personally, I play the following:
I don’t have the reflexes for active combat games. I like RPGs but prefer to play those on desktop.
I would highly recommend not starting with phone games. 90% of them are designed to be addicting, borderline gambling games, which you can collect or accomplish more things if you just pay them an easy $2 or more... which quickly turns into $20, which then becomes $50+. Before you know it, you're throwing hundreds of dollars at what is essentially a repetitive unending game, just for the dopamine hit.
I know; my wife is addicted to these games and I see $20 charges to our bank account every few days. Nothing ever changes in her games. She never progresses anywhere and there's no end to the game, but it gives her a boost on scores or collectibles or rare limited items, so she drops the money. It's been especially hard to break her of the habit.
I got her to sign up for Steam on her desktop PC and I gifted her a few co-op games, and so we play games online together to give her something fun to do that doesn't require spending money to progress. She used to be awful at FPS games, but playing with me gave her more confidence and practice, and now she's pretty decent.
She really loves Deep Rock Galactic, because a lot of the game is just mining and resource-collecting, with only a little alien bug shooting. She plays as the engineer, so she can set up a turret and not have to worry too much about aiming herself. Plus, playing solo means she gets Bosco, the flying droid, to help her with combat and resource-collecting too. If I'm not around to play with her, she has all the assistance she needs to relax and enjoy the game. It was a very good intro to video games for her.
Heck yeah, my wife didn't play video games before she met me. Now she's obsessed with Assassins Creed, and Stardew Valley. Like others have said, there's something for everyone out there. You just gotta try stuff and see what you like.
Video games are great and there is something for everyone.
But without more info, it is hard to advise.
Got an ex Nintendo Switch and Zelda breath of the wild. It was beautiful seeing her get into it.
Yes. I highly recommend it. You don't need to get a high end gaming PC or spend a lot of money on new titles. You can go to websites like GOG (DRM-Free games), or Steam (more mainstream platform with more games) to pick up some older games at massive discounts, and they are likely to run well on your normal PC with minimal spending to test the waters. If you enjoy it and want to spend more money for a better experience with newer games, that's entirely optional.
What kind of games are you interested in?
maybe something like Minecraft or terraria? I'd recommend starting with the classics, no shooter games or stuff like that.
Its such a vast ocean, I would just start with whatever catches your attention. Theres so many different kinds if games for all types of people that you should probably assess what you think is fun, and pick a game sort of involved with that? I tend to like cooperative games, RPGs, and games about exploring more than I like competitive games like First Person Shooters. I also really like racing games.