Games like Viva Pinata, Civilization or The Sims let you play in a world where you control the variables. Sense of Control: The real world can be an overwhelming place with constant change and unpredictable situations. Then there are games like Marvel’s Spider-Man or Immortals Fenyx Rising, that allow you to adjust the difficulty as you play. Others, like Mario Kart or The Last of Us Part II let you adjust specific aspects of difficulty. Some games like Subnautica or Bad North let you set the overall difficulty. Some days they may want more of a challenge than others. Then there are games, including Rocket League, Celeste and Eagle Island, that let you adjust the overall speed of play.ĭifficulty Settings: Autistic people may prefer to tailor their experience based on how they are feeling. Other games, like Townscaper or Stardew Valley, help here by not making game tasks time-limited or requiring quick reactions. Games like A Short Hike or Roki let you progress at your own speed, without being on the clock. It does this by funding research, shaping policy and working with autistic people to understand their needs.Ĭognitive Pressure: Some autistic people may take time to process information and could feel pressured by time limits. It focuses on giving autistic people the opportunity to live long, happy, healthy lives. 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.Īutistica is the UK’s national autism research charity. Many autistic people play games to have fun, relax, connect with others and build skills. It is a spectrum of developmental conditions, including Asperger’s Syndrome. There have even been stories of teenagers discovering the ghost laps of deceased parents and being able to race them as if they were still alive.Īutism affects the way people communicate and experience the world around them. However the game provides this, it does so to give you the feel of playing against someone at the same time, although they actually played some time (maybe seconds, maybe hours or maybe years) ago. Perhaps it's in Horizon Chase Turbo where you see the ghosted cars of your Nintendo Switch friends who have raced the circuit you are on Or, perhaps you see the failed attempts of people you don't know in a temple in Phantom Abyss. Perhaps it's in Forza where you race against representations of real-world opponents. In these asynchronous multiplayer games, you usually see the other player as a ghost representation of how they played the level or circuit. Perhaps your opponent is in a different time zone, you are playing years after the person you are competing against, or perhaps you have a job or family commitments that the only game time is when the person you are playing against is in bed. Whether they are sat next to you on the couch or miles away over the internet, it's instant intense competition.Īsynchronous multiplayer games, create this sense of simultaneous competition when you can't play at the same time. Multiplayer games are fun because you go head to head against another person. Whether you are a parent playing with a gaming expert son or daughter, or a partner of someone who plays less or more games, these are a great place to find common ground. Finally, there are single player games, like Detroit Become Human or Return of the Obra Dinn where one player can control things while the other makes suggestions. Some games like Tick Tock A Tale For Two or Get Together let you play on separate devices and talk to each other to solve collaborative puzzles. Then there are games, like Affordable Space Adventures or Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes where each player takes on a different role. Other games, like Kingdoms or Chariot let you work together to progress with enough time for one player to help the other. Some of these games, like Super Mario Odyssey or Spiritfarer, let one player help the other. This list is designed to help you find games to solve this. Finding a game to play with another person who has less (or more) expertise of playing can be a challenge. We all have a different level of experience, ability and connection to video games.