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 The Last Of Us Left Behind in the following lists:
Video games aren't high on the list of most people's spiritual spaces. However, many games offer experiences that invite you to explore buildings, worlds, cities and the countryside full of potential for spiritual reflection.
Games offer a unique way to encounter what is beyond us: other people, the world and possibly even the divine. They include themes of hope, loss and love. They invite us to reconsider how we see the outsider and the marginalised. They offer a chance for response and emotion to grow.
The games in this list have been the subject of a series of articles I have written about video games and faith. Firstly, from 2013-2015 for
ThirdWay magazine, and more recently for
Youth and Children's Work (YCW) magazine.
These are two publications for Christian audiences, that have invited me to shed light on what a range of video games might mean for those communities. I aim to make connections with faith, the bible and the experience of these video games. This is one way to interpret them which of course invites further and possibly counter interpretations from other perspectives.
YCW articles:
Firewatch |
Everything |
Bury Me My Love |
Abzu |
Wilmot's WarehouseThirdway Articles:
Proteus |
Joust |
Uncharted 3 |
Alan Wake |
This War of Mine |
Journey |
Limbo |
Spaceteam |
A Dark Room |
Altos Adventure |
A Year Walk |
Bioshock Infinite |
The Last of Us |
Disney Infinity |
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture |
That Dragon Cancer |
Spec Ops The Line |
Papo and Yo 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.
We've worked with the Mermaids charity to find games that create space for gender identity including trans, non-binary, gender diverse perspectives.
Mermaids has been supporting trans, non-binary and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families since 1995.
The games in this list offer a chance to play as a wide range of genders as well as assigning various roles to characters regardless of their identity.
Some games, like
Animal Crossing, offer a chance to step out of the common binary choices and instead play as a character without having to define a specific gender identity. Other games, like
A Fold Apart, allow players to combine genders, roles, careers and relationships as they want. Then there are games, like
The Last Of Us II, that include trans, non-binary, gender diverse characters.
The games in this list all offer space to consider these topics and themes through different lenses and experiences. They can provide parents, carers and young people with common (non-confrontational) ground and are a unique way to gain understanding of this complex area of life.
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.
In this list, provided by the
LTN (Love Thy Nerd) editors, we bring together video games that have the potential to offer more than entertainment. It starts with 12 with a challenge us to be a good neighbour, and follows with others added over time. LTN exists to be the love of Jesus to nerds and nerd culture, you can read more about them on their
website.
"What if video games have more to offer than just an exciting diversion into a digital battlefield, fantasy war, or alien invasion? While these types of games are certainly the loudest and most financially successful, there are a growing number of games asking important questions about life, the human condition, and even God."
"Our list is not 'Christian' games, but rather a list of games that pose important spiritual questions to those who play them. These are games that provide us with the opportunity to consider what a truly 'spiritual' life looks like by encouraging us to have empathy for the suffering, love for our neighbours and our enemies, and an imagination vivid enough to contemplate a better world."
Journey's understated yet deep mythology, lack of guidance and mysterious ways it brings players together will have players thinking about the course of their own lives.
Dropsy is, on the surface, a silly point-and-click adventure game about a creepy but misunderstood clown, dig deeper and you’ll see this a game that challenges players to love everyone, even their enemies.
Kentucky Route Zero is at its core, about rediscovery, of adventure-game mechanics and modernist aesthetics, of a more spiritual outlook on the physical world.
Gris is a platformer about the stages of grief that highlights the indelible impact of our most sacred relationships.
That Dragon, Cancer is a game where Ryan and Amy Green share their grief and their hope by drawing us not only into their lives but into the common grace of the Christian faith.
Myst, one of the best selling titles of all time, is a puzzle game about the beauty and mystery of creation.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a game about the spiritual impact our most precious relationships have on us.
Wandersong is a game about transforming the world with music. Heroism isn’t measured in bulk or recognition but in the melodic tones of compassion and kindness.
The Last Guardian confronts us with our own self-centredness and challenges us to give rather than merely take.
Pyre is a game about mercy that deconstructs player’s perceptions of winning and losing, encouraging them to see and meet the needs of those who are oppressed.
My Child Lebensborn is a game that challenges players to care for a child born into a fascist regime--this is a game about the power of empathy.
Celeste strikes at the centre of what it means to be a person in all of our messy humanity a wonderful reminder that even when we fall, we are lifted up again through redemptive love, forgiveness, and grace—both for ourselves and for one another.
Surviving in games is often a key element. Some games, however, make it the main focus. With minimal resources and little light can you make it through to the morning? Can you prepare a shelter as the daylight dwindles in time for you to cope with the lurking creatures of the dark?
Whether this is as simple as closing the door to keep the zombies out in
Minecraft or as complex as crafting food, clothing and medicine to cope with the freezing blackness of
The Long Dark, these games are exhilarating as they pose a strategic puzzle with personal consequences.
Many of these games offer an open world in which to survive, which opens up more ways of preparing for and then making it through the night time. This, of course, leads to another day where you need to spend time and resources wisely while exploring your surroundings.
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.
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:
Start Here
