Videogames to play when you're in pain and have control restrictions

[Kura]

So I have arthritis, and have recently gotten a very bad flare up (me continuing with comic work despite pain most likely did not help at all and is one of the big reasons it has gotten worse)

Anyways, I am in need some game suggestions to play on my downtime, I figured that I would ask here / make a list for other people that might need it, since well, artists hurting their arms for work is frankly more common than it really should be, and sometimes, when you need the downtime and to take breaks, you need something more stimulating than just watching TV shows and movies (I absolutely cannot stand watching TV and movies for too long personally, I have no idea how the other people in my household are able to watch netflix pretty much all day)

I'm good for anything Playstation and Nintendo (IF they use a controller, no motion controls or even the Wii U pad), I can play controller friendly PC games as well. I don't have anything xbox related, but feel free to suggest games on systems I don't have, since maybe someone else that needs to use this list can use it.

Anyway, my arthritis is very bad, so I've got limitations, so there are some control restrictions. (I know not everyone may be as limited as me, and even I have days where it's not so bad that I can do more stuff, so feel free to suggest games that may use them very lightly, just mention that they do for people that can't use these controls)

1: No Mouse and Keyboard, it needs to be something that can be played with a controller. I can hardly use these in general, they make things very bad very fast for me and it takes days to recover.

2: No Back buttons or VERY limited/optional use of them. (L1, L2, R1, R2) The fingers that use them are currently very inflamed. I can't move them easily and when I do it hurts like hell.

3: No L3 or R3. This is when you push down on the left and right stick. My thumbs are unable to provide the amount of pressure needed to use them.

4: No handhelds like the 3DS, Vita, phone or Wii U pad. I just cannot hold them up right now due to both pain and lack of strength.

5: No excessively quick button mashing

6: No motion controls.

I know it kind of sounds like I can't actually do anything, but that's not true, I can use the joysticks and most of the other buttons as my thumbs move just fine. It's mostly just the back controls and anything that needs to be held up that I can't do when I have flareups.

[Isky]

So I read everything. First of all, I hope you feel better soon!

I think you'd be able to play through The Witness on PS4 without feeling any pain. So I recommend that!

[scullpanda]

the old harvest moon games are good to play i believe some of them are on steam and other downloadable things for pc friendly gaming also good for the old gameboy and gamecube

[AnnaLandin]

You've probably already played it, but I do think you'd be able to play, and enjoy, Journey. IIRC, it mostly uses the analog sticks to move, a button to jump, and a button to make a noise at other players.

It's also been a while since I played it, but if I remember right, Child of Light has pretty straightforward controls, and doesn't use the shoulder-buttons much, and certainly not in combat. It's pretty much the right-hand symbol buttons (x, triangle, square, circle) and the analog sticks for moving around. I could be wrong, so it's worth double-checking first, but it should be okay to play.

I want to recommend you Stories: Path of Destinies too - but the combat might be a bit too button-mash-y? It's pretty fast, and relies on you hitting and holding the square-button in pretty rapid succession. Otherwise so far (I haven't played through the whole game), the use of any of the shoulder-buttons/L3/R3 is either very limited or non-existent.

[phen]

I second @scullpanda's suggestion of the older Harvest Moon games (THEY MIGHT... maybe require the L and R buttons for the Super Nintendo version but maybe not, I can't remember). They're very mellow, very simple, but extremely addictive and lovely. I own every single release in the series, heh~

SNES Battle Grand Prix (it's a top-down racing, simple requirements, no button-mashing) is pretty fun!

Oh! And Wii's Endless Ocean (my brothers played this for DAYS, it's mainly an exploration game and is very hypnotic and relaxing).

[Greg_Dickson]

It's too bad about the Wii U pad, because I would have suggested the Ace Attorney games. Visual Novels are incredibly relaxing and easy to play, and I THINK they're on the Wii U eshop...but if the pad is uncomfortable to hold, it's not a good suggestion.

Oh, games like Limbo (PSN), A Boy and His Blob (Wii), Fez (PSN), VVVVVV (PSN), Sound Shapes (PSN), any Telltale game (pretty sure they're on PS and XBOX platforms), and maybe a couple of light Wii 2D platformers like Klonoa and Kirby's Epic Yarn (neither are too taxing and pretty straightforward to play). I hope this helps. All of these games are very mellow, but interesting (VVVVVV you can die a lot, but there's only the movement and one button to flip gravity, and you can try as many times as you want. Plus, there's no enemies). Just double check with these games to see the control layouts. I'm pretty sure that they don't have excessive use of the L3/R3 buttons and back buttons, but it's been awhile since I've played some of them.

[Herofeeder]

The game is called "drink Ginger Tea " and "excercise" and "lubricate your hands with "Olive Oil"

[KSlinger]

Is it possible to run games on your computer? If so, go out and buy an xbox controller (any version will do, they're less than $20 second hand), plug the controller into your computer using a USB port and use it to play keyboard/mouse games plus any other game made for PC. I don't think you need to install any patches to make this work, but it depends on the games you're playing.

You can then download Steam and install games directly onto your computer. There's loads of choice there and their sales are great.

[kencoon7]

At 76 I play Minecraft. If you play the creative screens there are no fast movements and nothing runs out. If you play the survival mode you have to find everything. Also go to the Options and turn difficulty all the way down. Then there will be no monsters.
If you need instructions, ask any child with a computer or tablet.
I also bought a capacitor type pen for my tablet and phone. They seem to work on any touch screen.
I can even draw on my Samsung Galaxy with it.

[Devika]

@Greg_Dickson The Ace Attorney games are available for GBA/3DS, so no Wii U necessary. Try amazon! They are great games and you can play at your own pace, so I second the recommendation!

Also for GBA/3DS if you have one: heroes of might and magic - clash of heroes is a bit older and simpler, but I love it. It's turn-based and you only need the basic buttons and your brain. There are Might and Magic Heroes games for the PC too, but since I don't play with a controller I don't know if it requires use of the L and R buttons. However, it's still turn-based as far as I remember. (There might be a pacing setting so it waits for you to end your turn before having the enemy attack.) FFIV for the DS is also a lovely game, and you can set it to wait for you to end your turn as well, so no need for button mashing there either.

Edit: Sorry, totally missed the part where you said no handhelds. My point still stands about the PC version of the might and magic games though (:

[Greg_Dickson]

Yes but the topic creator said no handheld games. I think I'm wrong anyway. I think they used to be available on the regular Wii's eshop, but I'm not sure if they're available for download anymore.

[shaneoid77]

I have hand pain too (although it's a mystery as the Docs don't know what it is). Anyway I'd suggest maybe some point and click games, or perhaps some isometric role playing strategy games like Baldur's Gate, Renowned Explorers, XCOM, where most things are done with keyboard/mouse. Hope this helps x

[JessJackdaw]

Ahh, I would recommend Kirby's Air Ride! It's an older game for the GameCube, but I bought a copy on ebay recently for $25 and there are loads of emulators of it if you want to go that route. : >

Now why this old game? It's because it is one of the few games that exclusively uses two buttons to play and gosh darn is it fun. City Trial mode is almost therapeutic to me, even just playing with bots (because they are remarkably smart on higher difficulties).

The thing that makes this game so replayable is that you can evolve your vehicles in widely different ways even to the point of breaking the game sometimes which I love. Sometimes you end up with a vehicle that's so uncontrollably fast, or other times a vehicle so light it won't stay on the ground. It's just really fun to fly around in a sandbox and do little mini games that it makes the game really zen and relaxing to play in short 10 minute intervals.

And like I said before, only two buttons. The vehicle automatically moves. The A button is your brakes, joystick back is to fly upwards, joystick back and forth is movement, flick the joystick to spin. That's it, and it works so well!

[Zannen00]

Any genre's in particular that you like/disliked?

[Aloredd]

If you like puzzle games there's one out named 'Q'....i have it for the xbox one but i think you can get it for other systems as well. there's a cursor you move with the sticks and you use the 'a' button and i think that's about it...it's a really basic simple game as far as controls go (if I remember correctly, that is)

[NickRowler]

Well visual novels don't really require fast movements however, most of them tend to require a mouse and pushing some keys (unless you set it on auto).

[donnarasmussen99]

I also like Xbox the most. My friend suggested me for Acheter Abonnement xbox live 12 mois which has a great graphical capability, processing power, and quite the fan base and these gaming consoles which are given a new dimension to the video games. The great thing about it is that anyone who is interested, can just actually go and play it as long as he has a video game console of course. Xbox is my favorite.

[jurinova]

I suffer from chronic pains that affect my hands and occasionally limit my ability to play games. Thanfully there's one game I can always play no matter the pain: We Love Katamari! It's a PS2 game where you control a giant katamari ball with almost only the joysticks. It's a colourful and super fun game that I recommend to anyone. There's also Katamari Damacy but it wasn't released in the PAL region, so I never got a chance to play it but I hear it's also great.

The Disgaea game series is also quite easy on the hands because it's turn-based strategy.

[VermillionWorks]

Telltale games uses back buttons sometimes but the gameplay is pretty basic most of the time, I found them pretty easy on my strained hands/arms even at my worst, you might even be able to make it easier than they have it, though I've never checked. Just a thought.