Acceptable Video Games

[RedRob]

Can anyone make some suggestions on video games that are deep and complex, but don't violate any of our precious christian principles?  So many are so full of violence or spiritism.  Are there any that aren't superficial or simple that aren't bad?

[-Chris-]

Subnautica was intentionally created without guns. There's a utility knife and some weird alien stuff and some of the creatures are out to get you but you're not expected to get violent in the game. However it is a scary game, I would not let a young child play.

 

https://kotaku.com/revulsion-with-real-guns-inspired-developer-to-make-a-g-1768960503

 

Simulation games often go deep and complex without violence. KSP, various train, city, transportation, and economy sims are in my library.

 

Several brothers here play racing games to scratch the competitive itch. They have pedal and steering wheel setups and do serious racing online.

 

Factorio has some limited guns to fight off alien creatures, I'm pretty sure there are mods that turn that part of the game off. There's a variety of similar games like Dyson Sphere Program and Satisfactory with various low levels of violence.

 

Rocket League is a reasonable first person twitch small team play game. Knockout City is a sort of supercharged dodgeball kind of thing.

 

I know some brothers that play Deep Rock Galactic, there's lots of guns but all the shooting is at alien bugs. Conscience thing.

 

As I've gotten older and have less time for extended game sessions I've become a fan of simple games like Mini Metro, Mini Motorways, Train Valley, Turmoil, Dorfromantik, and the like.

 

 

 

 

[New World Explorer]

Planet Zoo by Frontier if you have capable computer. 

[Prism]

Minecraft doesn't violate Bible principles, and it can get pretty complex...

 

Also even the simplest games can reveal a whole new layer of complexity if you try to speedrun them. There's a whole science behind speedrunning Super Mario Bros for example. I do admit that speedrunning is not for everyone though. 

 

Other than that @-Chris- gave some good suggestions. I could suggest more games but I don't know if they'd fit your definition of a "complex game". 

[computerwiz]

12 hours ago, RedRob said:

Can anyone make some suggestions on video games that are deep and complex, but don't violate any of our precious christian principles?  So many are so full of violence or spiritism.  Are there any that aren't superficial or simple that aren't bad?

 

FTL (Faster Than Light)  It's also frustratingly challenging.  But lots of fun!  Not sure you can call it "deep", but complex for sure...

 

Cities: Skylines

 

[Tortuga]

Solitaire....

[Myew]

You're going to be hard pressed to find any modern games or recreation that don't violate *any* Christian principles, but here's a few that I feel comfortable recommending that haven't already been mentioned:
Beat Saber
Moving Out
Scrap Mechanic
Slime Rancher
Stray
SuchArt
Tetris

I haven't tried Grounded or PowerWash Simulator, but they look alright. Some people like Bloons, Minecraft, or Stardew, but others may find some of the content unacceptable. The majority of wholly acceptable games are going to be on the simpler side. I personally play a fair bit of ARK: Survival Evolved/Ascended (crafting, survival, taming/breeding/hunting dinosaurs in space stations) and other hunting/survival games, but I host my own personal servers only allowing co-op with friends and don't do any pvp.

[Mike047]

One of the challenges, here, is to match the time, attention, and commitment given over to entertainment, with the equivalent given to more worthy matters. So much of our time is given over to recreation, in one format or another. We can be sure that more tempting versions of gaming and other entertainment will appear as developments like Apple Vision Pro take the challenge up a level.

 

One of the worst culprits use to be television (back in the day). When I was young, we used to spend time in front of it until the light went out. 

[coolbrz731]

Unmatched air traffic control is a good simulator.  It can get pretty complex managing planes taxiing without hitting other planes that are pushing back, along with managing takeoffs, landings, and runway crossings.  

[Qapla]

  in the Microsoft Store - but it looks like it is available on Android and Apple

 

Maze puzzles are considered good for helping keep mental agility stimulated and is recommended for those with advanced age.

 

This game has over 7500 individual puzzle mazes in the free version.

 

They range from very simple

 

To quite complex

 

You do have to start with the simple ones and work your way through to "unlock" the more complex puzzles. Some of the puzzles have a solution that works but is not the actual solution and therefore earns a "check mark" to show it was completed ... however, if you complete the puzzle with the correct solution you get a "star" showing it was completed correctly.

 

You can replay any of the puzzles and, with over 7500 of them, trust me, you will not remember all the correct solutions to the more complex ones.

 

 

[RedRob]

One game that I really love is Flight Simulator!  In fact, during the heavy covid lockdowns, one of my relatives who is a CO was getting pretty stir crazy.  CO's were sometimes told to stay on Kingdom Hall property for long stretches of time to avoid exposure.  So, he being a gamer too (gasp, right?), flew online with me a few times!  It was really fun!  I highly recommend it!  Super clean, incredibly complex and deep, and so much fun to use it to vicariously see the world!

[bobby]

2 hours ago, computerwiz said:

 

FTL (Faster Than Light)  It's also frustratingly challenging.  But lots of fun!  Not sure you can call it "deep", but complex for sure...

 

Cities: Skylines

 

have you play the city skylines 2 

 

 games i have played all on PS4 

Subnautica

City skylines i have not played the 2 sec one 

Minecraft

Star trek online 

No man’s sky 

Crew 1 and 2

 

PC 

city skylines 

Star Trek games the older ones

most of the civilization games 2,3,4,6

sim city 

 

[RedRob]

1 minute ago, bobby said:

have you play the city skylines 2 

 

 games i have played all on PS4 

Subnautica

City skylines i have not played the 2 sec one 

Minecraft

Star trek online 

No man’s sky 

Crew 1 and 2

 

PC 

city skylines 

Star Trek games the older ones

most of the civilization games 2,3,4,6

sim city 

 

I am in love with Cities Skylines!!!  Also, Cities Skylines 2!  Here's one of my latest cities in CS2:

[computerwiz]

6 minutes ago, bobby said:

have you play the city skylines 2 

 

No I have not.  I didn't even make it far with the first one.  Nothing wrong or unfun about the game...its just rare for me these days to stick with games that I can't play with others.  I can't even count how many unfinished games I have now...I just don't see the point unless I'm associating with someone.  If it's a solo game, it has to be super entertaining or unique.

 

Back in the day when I had way more free time, I played Sim City 3000 on the original Playstation.  I really liked how similar City Skylines was to that.  But again, I didn't play it for long...

[trottigy]

Bible principles .... hmm.

 

Is it bad that I still enjoy StarCraft?

 

I see that HomeWorld is coming out with HomeWorld 3. I am really looking forward to that. I "may" need to buy a new laptop - so gameplay is "acceptable" 

 

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/homeworld-3

 

 

[computerwiz]

4 minutes ago, trottigy said:

I see that HomeWorld is coming out with HomeWorld 3. I am really looking forward to that. I "may" need to buy a new laptop - so gameplay is "acceptable" 

 

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/homeworld-3

 

Oh man, that was the game back in my day!  Sunk a lot of time into Homeworld & Homeworld Cataclysm.  Had a friendship soured because my dad suggested that he betray me, and my friend did, because "it was time to go home".  😝

 

Very tempting.  But you know what would be even BETTER?  If they had a remake of Sword of the Stars.  I think that was the ultimate space strategy/combat game.  Even better than Homeworld...because you could save it and continue it later (if I remember correctly 😅)  So much strategy in that one.....I faked my dad out into quitting because I sent a massive fleet of fuel tankers & sensor jammers to all his planets.  He thought I had a massive army...but it was all just a ruse.  🤣  He surrendered before any reached their destination.  😁

[bobby]

40 minutes ago, RedRob said:

I am in love with Cities Skylines!!!  Also, Cities Skylines 2!  Here's one of my latest cities in CS2:

 

 

yeah I'm thinking of getting the second one 

 your city looks cool, what you max population do you have any mod's 

i have that lets me put in kingdom halls 

Edited December 19, 2023 by bobby

[Sebastian]

Timberborn has provided me with some hours of fun. Keep those beavers alive! 🦫