The Last Of Us Part II is in These Lists
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 Part II in the following lists:
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.
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.
These games, compiled by
Christy Smith, have graphics styles or options that make the games easier to see for people with impaired vision. Many of these games include
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Fonts: Larger, scalable font sizes and bold fonts, like Moving Out.
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Zoom: Ability to increase the size of all objects on the screen such as in Untitled Goose Game's zoom feature.
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Contrast: Settings to adjust contrast and brightness, as well as distinct colours with good lighting, like Splatoon.
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Non-Visual Cues: Sounds and haptic feedback that help direct the player, like Lego games.
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Colourblind: Modes that invert colours or change colours to accommodate different types of colourblindness, such as in Hue.
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Screen Readers: Functions that read text and menus as they are highlighted and appear on the screen, such as in Eagle Island.
In addition, there are other ways to make games easier for people with low vision to play. Some offer modes that lower the difficulty, like the Assist Mode in Super Mario Odyssey. Playing with a sighted friend or family member can make things much easier.
Some platforms provide
system-wide accessibility features that help. The Nintendo Switch offers a built-in zoom function, while the Xbox offers co-pilot mode that allows two people to play as a single player. Such features create necessary flexibility for players.
There are many different types of visual impairments, and no two people ever see things the exact same way. Because of this, games that are accessible for one person may not be accessible to all low vision gamers. For gamers who find visual games too cumbersome, audio-only games may provide a solution.
It may be difficult for parents and caregivers who are fully sighted to understand which games will be easier to see. The best way to learn about what works and what doesn’t is hearing from people with impaired vision themselves.
Can I Play That? has a variety of reviews discussing accessibility of games for people with disabilities, by people with disabilities.
These games go above and beyond just adding a few difficulty settings. They consider a wide range of ability and accessibilities by offering customisable difficulty settings as well as special low pressure or assist modes that aid progress.
Autism affects the way people communicate and experience the world around them. It is a spectrum of developmental conditions, including Asperger’s Syndrome. Many autistic people play games to have fun, relax, connect with others and build skills. This is a list of games we have put together with some of Autistica’s
Autistica Play Ambassadors, to highlight games that have been enjoyed by autistic people.
Autistica is the UK’s national autism research charity. It focuses on giving autistic people the opportunity to live long, happy, healthy lives. It does this by funding research, shaping policy and working with autistic people to understand their needs.
Cognitive Pressure: Some autistic people may take time to process information and could feel pressured by time limits. Games like
A Short Hike or
Roki let you progress at your own speed, without being on the clock. Other games, like
Townscaper or
Stardew Valley, help here by not making game tasks time-limited or requiring quick reactions. Then there are games, including
Rocket League,
Celeste and
Eagle Island, that let you adjust the overall speed of play.
Difficulty Settings: Autistic people may prefer to tailor their experience based on how they are feeling. Some days they may want more of a challenge than others. Adjust how hard the game is. Some games like
Subnautica or
Bad North let you set the overall difficulty. Others, like
Mario Kart or
The Last of Us Part II let you adjust specific aspects of difficulty. Then there are games like
Marvel’s Spider-Man or
Immortals Fenyx Rising, that allow you to adjust the difficulty as you play.
Sense of Control: The real world can be an overwhelming place with constant change and unpredictable situations. Games like
Viva Pinata,
Civilization or
The Sims let you play in a world where you control the variables. Other games, like
Mini Metro,
Traffix or
Mini Motorways offer a chance to work with systems and see how changes impact outcomes. Then there are games that magnify this, like
Factorio or
Planet Coaster, by letting you create interconnect systems and tweak for the desired result.
As Autistica helpfully highlights, every autistic person is different. While many autistic people are able to learn, live and work independently, some have learning differences or co-occurring health conditions that require specialist support. Finding a game that can be a positive experience can therefore take some time and investigation.
These games’ mechanics and options make it possible to adapt the experience to be accessible for people depending on your physical capabilities.
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Remap Controls: Remapping buttons and swapping joysticks (like Fortnite) help customize the player’s way to interact with the game, also helping players that use only one hand.
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No Holding: Some games (like Moving Out) also offer the option to avoid having to hold any buttons down for actions like aiming, opening or equipping. You can use simple taps or toggles instead to reduce muscular fatigue.
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Sensitivity: Some of these games (like Fortnite) also enable you to adjust control sensitivity as well as controller vibration if that is present.
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Fewer Buttons: Simpler controls (like FIFA) are good to consider, as well as those that offer extensive difficulty settings.
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Speed: Reducing how fast a game plays (like Eagle Island) is a helpful setting.
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Difficulty: Offering customisable difficulty, like how fast a game plays (like Eagle Island) or adding invincibility (like Celeste), and other features allow tailoring the game to the player’s needs.
This list and accessibility details in each game was compiled the help of
Antonio Ignacio Martínez and
Kyle “onehandmostly”. Please be aware that options may vary depending on the platform you choose to play. Also there is no game that works the same for everyone, so be mindful of your own needs when considering this information.
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.
Growing up playing video games has taught us that controllers with two sticks are a good way to move around a game. One controls looking and the other controls movement. Or maybe you prefer a mouse and keyboard?
However, the prevalence of these somewhat awkward schemes (similar to the prevalent but inefficient QUERTY keyboard layout) means that motion controls are often overlooked. This was made worse when the Wii failed to offer many high-end games and made motion synonymous with kid’s games.
The reality of well-implemented motion controls for aiming can make a profound difference to how approachable and accessible the experience is -- especially if two sticks don’t work for you or are unfamiliar.
We’ve worked with
Jibb Smart on this list of games that offer motion controls that work as a viable (and often enhanced) replacement for stick control. He is pioneering well-executed motion controls and has created open-source tools JoyShockLibrary and JoyShockMapper to help explore the potential offered by the gyroscopes in these controllers. His website
GyroWiki teaches developers how to implement these features well. In this list, we highlight games that put motion controls to good use in a way that is effective and well-executed.
Much of Jibb’s work focuses on the potential of gyro aiming. “It replaces the mouse with gyro controls. And since mouse control is a core pillar of PC gaming, it bridges a significant gap between PC and console players.” But motion controls is a very broad category. It’s worth breaking it down into more specific types of control that can help players in different ways:
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Motion Aiming: Can use small movements of the gamepad to fine-tune aiming or as the main aiming mechanism. This is sometimes known as Gyro-Aiming. Games like The Last of Us Part II and Rogue Company provide this ability to replace one of the sticks or mouse with gyro controls. This usually requires the ability to calibrate these controls to taste. Search database for Motion Aiming games.
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Motion Pointing: Can use the direction of the gamepad to move a cursor-target around the screen like a mouse. Games like Ghost Squad, World of Goo and Boom Blox use this to offer a light-gun experience. Search database for Motion Pointing games.
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Motion Tilting: Can use movements of the gamepad to replace steering or left/right movement with sticks. Games like Forza, Mario Kart and Wipeout offer this to enable you to steer left or right by tilting the controller. Search database for Motion Tilting games.
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Motion Gesture: Can motion with the controller to direct an in-game action. This can be a nuanced one-to-one motion for analogue sword (Zelda Skyward Sword) or bat movement (Wii Sports Resort). It can also be a simple shake to trigger a one-off action, like in Super Mario Galaxy. Search database for Motion Gesture games.
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.
Video games are known for high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled entertainment, but there are many that address the player’s emotions as much as their dexterity. Often overlooked by younger or more competitive players, these experiences can provide a helpful variety in the diet of games your family enjoys.
The games selected below create emotionally rich spaces in which to explore scenarios with feelings rather than facts. In some games this is achieved with beautiful or soothing interactive visuals; others create charged relationships and settings that invite players to take a role in processing these emotions.
Of the different senses, it's easy to overlook the importance of hearing. We encourage children to read, watch and observe. But just as important is to develop more than just cursory listening.
Despite their name,
video games use sounds just as much as visuals to create their worlds. As well as this, audio is often a crucial aspect of interactions and clues for puzzle solving.
Because of this, video games (like walking in nature) are a powerful way to learn to notice and use the sounds around us. Playing a game with headphones helps the player focus on the sound. Doing this intentionally can help younger players discover a new world of sound in the games they play.
There are games like
Limbo,
Hellblade,
Overboard and
Super Mario Odyssey that use sound to set the mood and aesthetic of the play. This is more than just background music as it reacts and integrates with the sounds the player is making while they play.
Then there are games like
Uncharted,
Alba,
Fortnite and
Sea of Thieves that use audio to indicate things happening in the game. Not only what is happening, like the sound of someone boarding your ship, but where that is happening in relation to your character with spatial audio.
There are games where you create the audio with your actions. Touching petals in
Flower adds notes to the classical music. In
Mini Metro you add to the ambient sounds as you place stations and new tube lines.
Finally, there are games where sound is your main way of navigating the world. Games like
The Vale and
Frequency Missing can be played with just sound. This not only offers an accessible experience to those without sight but a chance to engage with a virtual world using just our hearing.
After the Wii's success, PlayStation added motion controls to its PlayStation 3 controller. Although a novelty at first, this continued to mature in PlayStation 4 games and its DualShock 4 controller that included motion detection as well as a Touchpad and speaker.
The games in this list make intelligent use of the motion controls and other interactive features of the DualShock PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 controller.
This ranges from games like
Journey that lets you control the direction you are looking with controller motion, to
Tearaway that uses the gyroscope and touch pad to launch objects from the controller to the screen. Then there are games like
Gravity Rush that use motion to direct movement.
Some of these games use motion controls to complement traditional use of sticks for aiming and movement. You can use the
Motion Aiming accessibility search to find more of these games on the database.
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 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.
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