In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Destiny 2 in the following lists:
In this series, we are learning how different aspects of video games work by playing games that offer an easy introduction to this one concept. This is designed for people new to gaming, and aims to identify games with the least barriers. In this entry we are looking at big budget games.
These games are big, brash and popular. They have big budgets which means the visual and interactive quality is particularly high. They also have strong and wide ranging player communities.
For new players these can be overwhelming as they combine a number of genres like
Strategy games,
Shooting games,
Adventure games,
Role Play games. Still, they are a good way to see how these different elements combine in a large and ambitious experience.
The British Academy Games Awards are presented annually to recognise, honour and reward outstanding creative achievement in Games. The awards categories reflect the wealth and diversity of the games sector.
The awards started in 2004 and are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). For parents, they are a great way of discovering brilliant games to play in their family. The games included here are from these categories:
-
The Family Games Award highlights games that will work really well for parents and children. These often include multiplayer features and feature a cast of family-friendly characters.
-
The Games Beyond Entertainment award is also of interest as this highlights more unusual games with an emphasis on storytelling that addresses topics that parents may find appealing themselves.
Video games are usually non-stop. They invite us onto a ride that takes us to all sorts of places. They invite us to continually engage and interact with the worlds they create. However, some games create space for us to pause the action, sit, and take in the environments they have created.
We have other lists of games that players use to gain a sense of calm or meditative state. The games in this are those that include the chance to get your character to actually stop and meditate themselves.
This can be a specific meditate option, like in
Sable, or the ability to get your character to sit and listen when you stop moving, this is a powerful way to get a taste of how meditation in real life can help us come back to ourselves and in so doing, rediscover the world around us.
Games like
Kena depict the breath slowing and draw attention to the sights and sounds of the natural world. Then there is
Journey that allow us to sit when we stop moving or
Flower that encourages us to slow our pace with scenes of where we have just been. Then there is
Sky Children of the Light where you need to go to special locations to meditate.
Even violent or desolate games can offer powerful moments of stillness. Stopping in
Death Stranding or
Ghost of Tsushima means you can simply sit and relax. In
Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Origins and Valhalla you can use meditation to see the sun to quickly shift across the sky. In
The Witcher 3 you can stop and meditate to restore your health and pass time.
Or there are
hidden moments of meditation in games like
Uncharted The Lost Legacy where Chloe will work through her Yoga poses on top of a tower.
Spiritfarer is similar, you have to find a snake named Summer and complete their quests to be invited to meditate with them.
There are also games that offer
Photo modes that don't specifically depict the feature as meditation. It offers a chance to pause, take in the action and the world as you pan the camera, frame an image or adjust the depth of field.
Finally there are games like
Animal Crossing,
Conan Exiles, that don't offer specific meditation but let you sit on benches, stare out to see, or watch the sun rise.
How hard a game is considered to be depends on who is playing it. A three-year-old tackling Zelda will struggle. But equally a new-to-games-parents will find
Mutant Mudds quickly gets beyond them. The games in this list are known for being difficult. They wear the difficulty as a badge of honour. "None shall pass," except this with the will, time and belligerence to get good enough at this particular activity to beat the high bar the game sets.
This might be grappling with the flying mechanics in
Rocket League, getting endlessly lost trying to find the next guardian in
Shadow of the Colossus or coming up with the right tactic to get enough money for the ship you need in
Elite. Of course, some of these games can be made easier, but to play them at their best is to ramp up the difficulty to max (crushing on
The Last Of Us for example) and let them give you all they've got.
Most online games only work if the person you are wanting to play against has the same system that you have, console, PC or smartphone. There are, however, a growing library of games that offer what is often called cross-play. This lets you play with people on different systems.
These games are a good way to extend the list of friends and family that you can play with. It also makes it less critical which system you have in your home, even if your friends have a different one.
The
Besties is a podcast about video games with a focus on a Game of Year format. Although episodes do cover new games like other podcasts, much of the content builds towards yearly Game of the Year shows, and head-to-head showdowns for best games in a series (
Zelda,
Grand Theft Auto and so on).
"It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?"
This is a list of the games that they have picked for their final game of the year show from 2014 to 2021. In some cases we didn't have the game on the database, but generally this is a good representation of their picks over the time of the show.
Communication is a big part of why video games are enjoyable. Games provide this in different ways: voice chat, text chat or maybe just limiting it to pings or bleeps.
Voice chat is most useful in games where you need to quickly coordinate with teammates. Games provide this communication in different ways. Maybe you can only speak to one other person you select, or your whole squad, or perhaps you can communicate with other squads.
Proximity chat extends the realism of using your voice to communicate by mimicking how sound travels in real-life. The closer you are to another player, the louder you hear their voice. This not only means you need to be close to a teammate for them to hear you, but you also need to be careful about what opponents may overhear (or maybe you'll let them think they've overheard you to mislead or delay them).
Online games are great because you have a world of opponents to take on and defeat (or be defeated by). But beyond the competitive element of these games are often a strong sense of community and camaraderie.
We’re supporting the
Every Mind Matters campaign from NHS and bringing you some games that help you connect with friends and family while you look after your mental health.
Players enjoy making new connections in these games, as well as connecting with wider family and friends. Listen to the chatter while children play these games, and you hear as much talk about homework, television, YouTube or what's happening in the world as much as how to win the next race in Mario Kart.
The Game Awards highlight the best video games each year. It's an award produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley. Games are selected by video game news organizations who then vote on the games to choose the winners in each of the categories.