Summary
Players with bad hand-eye coordination may feel limited in the games that are available to them or may give up on the idea of gaming altogether. The games that seem the most interesting and captivating can havesteep difficulty curvesin terms of controls and combat. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
There are plenty of options for both long-time gamers who need controls that are a little more forgiving and new gamers who are just finding their feet. These games are not necessarily dependent on genre, as there are plenty of games that have adjustable settings or flexible modes to make life easier for those with bad hand-eye coordination.
Looking for something extremely silly that has flexible modes? Why not tryTotally Accurate Battle Simulator? Players can get as up close and personal as they want to, and the controls are designed to be clumsy.
That is part of the charm of the battle units. They lope and trip about the place regardless of the player’s skill, so finely tuned reflexes won’t necessarily give players a firm advantage. There are options to play first-person or third-person as a purely sillybattle strategy game.
John Wick Hexand kindred games such asHotline Miami(and evenHitman Go) are fantastic for those who want to play an action game but, overwhelming but rapid button pressing to execute real-time combat.
Players plan their approach and brutal take-downs and then watch the action play out. Basically, players do the strategic brain work and then let John Wick do the rest. It is incredibly satisfying game play and the top-down design of these kinds of games is really empowering.
Want to get immersed in theFallout universebut struggle with the combat?Fallout Shelterallows players to engage with the bleak, cynical world, the faux-nostalgia world ofFalloutwith basic point-and-click controls, or even simple touch controls on Android or iOS.
Touch controls can remove some of the abstraction that gaming peripherals and controllers sometimes add to gaming. Tapping where a character needs to go rather than learning which buttons or keys to use is more intuitive for those who struggle with other forms of input like controllers or a mouse and keyboard.
Just because someone struggles with using a keyboard for gaming, doesn’t mean they don’t have lightning-fast reflexes when it comes to typing. For those who are used to using computers for typing, it can be hard to make the transition to a new way of interaction with a very familiar interface. Consoles present their own issues, forcing players to learn muscle memory. Typing games can be a neat solution.
Epistoryis a great typing game that allows people to play an adventure game by tapping (pun intended) into another skill. Players spell words to take action, and success is contingent on their typing skills. Another fantastic game in this genre isLetter Quest: Grimm’s Journey.
Dredgeis one of the most interesting games of the past few years, and it is in no small part due to its gameplay loop of exploration, fishing, selling fish to unlock more areas to explore, etc. But the fishing and dredging games proved a little tricky for some. Especially those that were there primarily for theHugo award-nominated story.
The developers had the gameplay motivations of their diverse audience in mind and allowed players to turn off the fishing and dredging mini-game fail state. So, players with slower reflexes can spend less time getting frustrated and focus on exploration, fishTetris… and not hitting rocks.Dredgeisn’t the only game to add these kinds of accessibility options. According toCan I Play That?Silent Hill 2 Remakein particular has some excellent accessibility options, including aim assist, that can help those with additional accessibility needs.
Don’t like simulators? Like games with a bit more up-close drama?Like A DragonandLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthare turn-based installments of the belovedYakuzaseriesand follow the adventures of Ichiban Kasuga, the goofy formerYakuzaprotagonist, and his party of unlikely allies.
The real-time combat of otherYakuzagames can be quite intimidating, but the turn-based approach makes for a different kind of challenging gameplay. There are some instances when timing matters, but the number of inputs that players have to hit is greatly reduced in comparison to real-time combat. Some mini-games require better hand-eye coordination, but many of them are part of optional side quests.
In puzzle games, the player’s brain does the bulk of the work, and puzzle mechanics that represent complex ideas allow players to complete actions using relatively simple inputs. If a mystery game with intuitive and challenging puzzles sounds appealing, why not tryThe Witness?
The puzzle mechanics are introduced one after the other and players are free to roam from one to another without fear of being attacked.The Witnessis a great example of how puzzle games can be accessible without patronizing their audience. There are so many other games that cater to the same market, includingObduction(from the makers ofMyst)andBaba is You(which is an absolute brain breaker).
