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 Assassin's Creed Valhalla in the following lists:
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.
Whether it’s a simple puzzle grid, a battlefield or a universe of planets to visit, all games create virtual spaces in which to play. Some of these are simply the background to a campaign - the game’s unfolding drama, missions or challenge. But others invite you to invest in the worlds they create, move in, tend to and inhabit in fantastical ways.
The games in this section invite you to spend time in spaces that have a sense of place, life and character. Worlds that hold history and lore in their landscapes, flora, fauna and inhabitants; environments that respond to your presence and invite you to restore them to their former glory.
While many games include characters to interact with, some are specifically designed to make relationships a central element. Whether this is during the rounds of a puzzle game amidst a zombie outbreak or as we race cars around a circuit, they can offer a unique way to think deeply about how we relate to each other and to the games people play.
In contrast to films or books, characters and relationships in video games need to be discovered by the player. Some of my favourite relational moments in games happen amidst other action. Often these other actions – whether shooting, puzzle-solving, or fetching and carrying – serve to underline the difficult, awkward and snatched nature of interpersonal interactions.
Games use the spaces they create to tell stories. Some games do this by locking you in a key moment where the time of day doesn't change. Other games let you explore and revisit places at different times of day.
These day-night cycles invite players to explore at different times not only to find different things to do but to see how different locations change visually and audibly at different times of day.
Some games, like
The Long Dark, do this to offer a different environmental challenge at night, when the sun is in and the cold wind really affects your character. Other games offer more unusual ways to tie in-game light levels to the real world, like
Unmaze that uses your smartphone's camera to determine how much light there is in the game.
The spaces and places that video games create are often designed with a particular interaction or way to progress through them. However, because games are open to the player, how you play, the direction you move and what you do in the game is up to you.
This means that you can often put video games to unusual uses. Photography is one aspect of this as Paul Buttle recently
highlight on Twitter. All modern video game consoles enable you to capture an image of the screen. At a rudimentary level this allows you to take pictures of your adventures. Beyond this, many games offer a Photo mode that allows you to freeze the action and take control of the camera -- even letting you control effects, depth of field and shutter speed in some cases.
This means you can take really beautiful and engaging pictures in the games you play. Some families have tasked their expert players with capturing a certain type of photograph as they play:
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Portraiture - capture images of the people you meet.
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Photojournalism - create a photo diary of the events of the game to be annotated later.
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Fashion - document the different outfits and wardrobe styles your character chooses.
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Sports - capture sporting moments, including not only players, but the crowd and coaches.
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Still Life - capture the inanimate, mundane and overlooked elements that make the game world what it is.
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Architectural - find ways to photograph the buildings in various states of build, decay and renewal.
Some examples of these projects include:
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:
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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.
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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.
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.
We've worked with
SpecialEffect on this list of games which aims to highlight games that are good for people with reduced gross motor control.
Special Effect is a charity that aims to put fun and inclusion back into the lives of people with physical disabilities by helping them to play video games. They use technology ranging from modified joypads to eye control to find a way for people to play to the very best of their abilities.
Last time we talked about game options which may work well for those with difficulty using fine motor movements. Today we will talk about game options which be more accessible for those who mainly have fine motor control instead. Several conditions which can cause or impact a reduction in gross motor control include; chronic pain, Muscular Dystrophy, Dyspraxia and some Neurological conditions, to name a few examples. People with these and similar conditions might identify with some of the following phrases:
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“I find it easier to play if I rest the controller rather than hold it”
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“My fingers have more strength when things are positioned well”
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“I can’t move my arms much, but I can move my fingers and toes well”
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“I find joysticks easier than buttons"
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”I find it easier if my hands can stay in one place”
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”My body doesn’t move much, but I can move my head really well”
Alongside options such as mounting or resting the controller to alleviate the need to hold and use the controller at the same time, it may also be easier with games that are remappable, require only one input at a time (joystick or button) or have options to reduce button inputs (either for Quick Time Events, or permanently).
Additionally having low force options such as a lighter joystick and light weight external switches using a switch interface like the Xbox Adaptive Controller or Hori Flex could make access easier. Games that meet some of the following criteria:
As well as the games we have picked out below that meet these criteria, there are some common searches on the database that are good for people with reduced fine motor control:
1 Stick + 1 Button,
1 Stick,
1 Button ,
Remap Buttons or
Remap Keys,
Low Pressure,
Rapid Pressing Optional,
joystick sensitivity and Co-Piloting with
Xbox games.
We hope this list helps you discover games that work for you. If you are struggling to game due to access issues caused by a physical disability do contact SpecialEffect who will offer support free of charge, as capacity allows.
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