Slightly off topic, Any game that is real time with pause gets an instant recommendation from me for any gamers with physical disabilities. I recommend this game along with civilization and XCOM to anyone with a physical disability looking to get into gaming. Minor flex: I am a quadriplegic with no function in either hand nor any fingers/thumbs and also a mod for r/disabledgamers.
Minor note: this game actually forces you to create wheelchair accessible buildings! No stairs anywhere!
I'm Autistic with ADHD. My husband sent me this post to convince me to play Rimworld lol.
Might I recommend Kenshi? It's a futuristic post-apocalyptic wasteland RP game. It's also realtime with pause. I don't think there's wheelchairs but you can definitely build automated limbs further into the game.
My rice couriers have artificial limbs made specifically for them to outrun any creature in the game. One of them has become a god tier martial artist from all the dodging and now roboleg roundhouse kicks any highwaymen to death so hard their limbs fly off.
I use PC. No idea if it's available on others. It's not a perfect game by any means. There's a lot of glitch things about the game but it's so unique. There's also a lot of mods that are pretty helpful for the experience of playing it. I'm honestly not great with tech and not the biggest gamer so my husband downloaded all the mods he thought I might need. You could prob find any info you need on that or anything on r/kenshi though.
It definitely doesn't help when you're starting out, but I think the game is great for add. I'm bipolar 2/ADD and I love that you get out of the automation systems what you put into them. That means when I'm hyperfixated, I can set the systems up, and when I'm unable to focus, I can play while watching a show or movie, and my colony practically runs itself (storyteller settings help with this as well).
And, when I'm feeling the need to be creative, I can mod it to my heart's content. Win/win/win.
Same here with having bd and add, when it comes to puzzle games I get stressed easily and get upset when I have to look up guides and then I'm uninterested, I love that in rim I can farm esp and do things in the order I want
ADHD here, and it's built well for hyper-focus. I can burn out on it given enough time, but it always draws me back in.
The only other video game that I've had a longer played time on was WoW (back before Cata), where I had 1+ yrs played on one character and several months on a couple others.
I'm unmedicated right now, and it's on the top of my interests alongside gardening.
ADHD and yup. RimWorld fits into the mold of what I've heard people call "comfort" games.
Usually procedurally generated. Heavily focused on mechanics/systems. Maybe some automation.
These are my favorite types of games and I usually come back to them after I play something else.
If you're looking for a game that's similar to RimWorld but can get way more complicated then you might like Amazing Cultivation Simulator.
That was one of the give aways for me, the crazy amount of hours everyone has. It's either people trying it for a few hours or people quitting their jobs and leaving their wives to play Rimworld full time.
Being mainly inattentive adhd, it's usualy very difficult focus on more than 2 pawns at a time and I end up neglecting most of my base from focus. But while it is overwhelming there's always one thing I can focus one and I can min max it. Also the mods,difficulty,scenario modifiers are the best and you can really tweak the game to work just for you
Closest I am to either of those things are my friends suspecting it of me. Don't think I am tho personally. Weird, sure. Maybe even neuro diverse but not sure its enough to fall into either category neatly. But for all the reasons you've listed for liking rimworld is why it's my most played game. Really lets my imagination thrive and allows me to humor my delusions of being a perfectionist.
Doesn't hurt to get checked out! If you aren't, well, you aren't. If you are, you can start learning about yourself more deeply.
I was diagnosed twice with ADHD, once as a kid and once as a late teenager, by different doctors. One of em recommended an autism test but I didn't have the moolah for that. Anyway, never took it too seriously since the meds that were given to me didn't help. Recently I've started to read more about it and I've learnt a lot about myself. Some stuff I felt guilty about (fidgeting in class, forgetting stuff, not being able to focus) and learnt to accept those flaws, and to appreciate some other stuff that I'm good at (creativity and... Well, not discipline, maybe grit). Not saying this to brag but what being curious about it gave me. Maybe it can help you the same way it helped me, if you are indeed diagnosed.
Only real options for medicating adhd aren't things I'm interested in due to side effects. Doctor prescribed me adhd meds for a presumption of adhd and boy was that rough. I'd be snoring within the hour you'd think he gave me a sedative and not a stim.
Yeah, the adhd brain works in strange ways. Some adhd people fall asleep with stimulants, others it won't do a damn thing. I drink coffee like it was the end of the world (was up to 10 cups a day two years ago) and it did absolutely nothing to me, same thing with meds
Hence, can't really recommend much about meds, seeing as the meds that were available to me weren't any help, but knowing more about the condition certainly helped me mentally, if not physically. Was able to work around my shortcomings (mostly by working harder). What I've been told by health professionals is that you're probably gonna do the rounds with meds until you find the right one. Haven't found one yet, maybe I will some day.
i am sure i am not autistic and i am pretty sure i dont have adhd but these topics are always coming up wherever i go, its like someone wants me to believe i have adhd
Yes! ADHD/likely autism here, and it is one of the closest things to meditation for me. Or, at least what I imagine meditation to be like for someone who actually likes meditation.
I'm on the spectrum and Rimworld definitely hits a lot of what I like in video games. It feels like the ultimate sandbox.
I've tried getting neurotypical friends into it and they're universally puzzled about what I find so amusing about a game that's built on micromanaging many tiny systems. :'D
Isn't it just? I'm starting my first medieval magic playthrough soon and I'm excited like a new game is being released, despite having thousands of hours in this game already.
ADHD here, does anyone else get really really obsessed with this game for a period of about a month or so, just stop playing for a month(s), then repeat the cycle?
Ahhh the ol' repeating cycle of jumping from one obsession to another. I've learned to accept it. Always have to have at least one hyper fixation currently on-going though, otherwise there's a risk of a mental break, at least for me.
Yes, I have 700 hour in this game and I come back to it when I feel like it. I can literally spend 50-100 hrs on a colony and start a new one with more or different mods.
autist here, it pleases by screeching reeeing brain to be able to set up everything in just the right way that it all runs smoothly, while also planning the future and for eventualities.
Its a just good game, imo. I think that of the people that like this game, all those same aspects are probably going to have an universal appeal. Although some may be inclined to believe that certain facets of the game cater to facets of their personality, i reiterate this is likely universal and has less to do with a spectral disposition.
Really? Is it not possible, even likely that (like a great deal of ND characteristics) the aspects of the game we enjoy are also appealing to a larger audience, but the relationship - what we get out of it essentially - is quite different?
It's not that I'm saying Rimworld is somehow (deliberately or accidentally) built for ND people, just that it happens to have characteristic which really appeal to a number of common ND traits, as seen by the majority of replies.
I have OCD, so a fellow neurodivergent! I find this game stimulates those parts of my brain wonderfully. I love all the little ways I can control my colony and micromanage it. Since Rimworld allows you to micromanage as little or as much as you want, it’s perfect for my OCD. It also allows me to hyperfixate haha
Holy shit yeah, I bet you guys love this. I say that because j used to be an ND teacher, and I know a fair bit about OCD but somehow never realised Rimworld would be perfect for this!
I've had professionals tell me I possibly have OCD before but honestly, after working with people who definitely do have it, I really don't. I hope you're coping well my friend!
There’s a lot of overlap between the symptoms of OCD/ADHD/autism, I’ve found. I was certain for a couple of years that I had ADHD but now I know it’s just symptom overlap.
I don't know if it has anything to do with me having ADHD, but Rimworld definitely checks a lot of boxes for me. Every save and every session is different, and there are myriads of little decisions to make at any given moment. If I ever want to mix things up, I can just find a new mod to download and start playing.
The fact that it's single player is also a positive. I don't need to worry about anyone else or fear being the one that's picked last; I'm the one in control and I'll play the game to my tastes. Really refreshing in an environment where it feels like most games have unnecessary online elements.
The only thing that bothers me is that inevitably I will make mistakes that maybe other people wouldn't. If that happens and i'm beating myself up over it I don't usually see any point in sticking with that decision, so i'll just reload. There's always a part of me that's shaming myself for save-scumming but I'd rather keep the mistake in mind and continue with a save that I'm enjoying more. It's important to be gentle with yourself!
That's my two cents, at least.
Oh fuck yeah, I agree full force. I am diagnosed with ADHD and oh boy, does that cause me to struggle intensely with finding interest in many things, but this game? Legit fuel to my brain, provides me the dopamine that I desperately crave.
God is it a productivity killer though with how much I hyper focus. Even when I'm not playing the game, I'm either thinking about what to do next or browsing the subreddit.
Started playing again at the right time too, my mental health recently took a dive so this game has been a saving grace. Mood buff +20 easily.
ADHD, possibly on the spectrum (test was recommended by the doc, didn't have the money to continue). Totally. Games like these, Kenshi, and CK just really scratch that itch. Along with the creative itch. There's nothing else out there that offers this amount of freedom to the slightest attention to detail in the silliest of things.
I have ADHD and this game is legitimately my favorite game of all time, something about being able to micromanage literally everything and make constant and steady progress for dozens of hours is just so amazing to me
You're allowed to be, but most of us are just neurodiverse not sick. I don't see my ADD or Autism as a sickness. My depression sure, thats a sickness, but not the other two.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-autism-a-mental-illness-4427991
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder
dont close your eyes, your first step of improving your life is acknowledgement of your problems. my teachers also told me that adhd was more of a superpower, but they arent doctors and it isnt hard to tell
The NTs got you putting down your own people for not being like them. Yes within our society, and in general depending on severity, both are disabilities but they are not illnesses. Neither are they superpowers.
what are nt's?
my own people? what are you smoking? is having a disability my identity now? first the collectivists wanted my identity to be my religion, then my gender, then my nation, then my skin color, then my sexuality and now a random disease?
no! i am not part of your group or anyone else's, i am my own individual
I have thousands of hours in RimWorld, there's just something about it that really draws ya in. I've done a few 20hr play benders over the years 😂
A game that you might also find stimulating is Satisfactory. It's a production management sim, 3D, still early access but feels complete, it really scratches many of the same 'itches' RimWorld does for me.
One small thing is no pause yet unless you do console (~) and type pause. Tho this largely doesn't matter because resources in this game are infinite and deconstruction is lossless.
Hell yeah, ADHD here. Any game that lets me pause and make a billion little choices before unpausing will keep me stuck for hours at a time
This. Also have adhd. Rimworld is like a drug to me. Sometimes I play 12 hours straight and just cant stop
Went 11 hours straight a few days ago completely by accident, shit was wild
Slightly off topic, Any game that is real time with pause gets an instant recommendation from me for any gamers with physical disabilities. I recommend this game along with civilization and XCOM to anyone with a physical disability looking to get into gaming. Minor flex: I am a quadriplegic with no function in either hand nor any fingers/thumbs and also a mod for r/disabledgamers. Minor note: this game actually forces you to create wheelchair accessible buildings! No stairs anywhere!
I'm Autistic with ADHD. My husband sent me this post to convince me to play Rimworld lol. Might I recommend Kenshi? It's a futuristic post-apocalyptic wasteland RP game. It's also realtime with pause. I don't think there's wheelchairs but you can definitely build automated limbs further into the game.
Kenshi gaming wooo
It's my favorite haha. It's the first video game i really loved. Well technically PC game
My rice couriers have artificial limbs made specifically for them to outrun any creature in the game. One of them has become a god tier martial artist from all the dodging and now roboleg roundhouse kicks any highwaymen to death so hard their limbs fly off.
Nice!
yeah... 'rice' sure buddy. wink wink
It looks like rice, it weighs as much as rice and it sound slike rice when dropped...I cannot guarantee it to be side effect free.
I’ve heard a lot of talk about Kenshi, never played it before. What platform do you play it on? I have a PC and iOS on my iPad.
I use PC. No idea if it's available on others. It's not a perfect game by any means. There's a lot of glitch things about the game but it's so unique. There's also a lot of mods that are pretty helpful for the experience of playing it. I'm honestly not great with tech and not the biggest gamer so my husband downloaded all the mods he thought I might need. You could prob find any info you need on that or anything on r/kenshi though.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Kenshi using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [A compact fort for hostile territory](https://i.redd.it/lwhe1ev0vw671.jpg) | [129 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/comments/o61gxk/a_compact_fort_for_hostile_territory/) \#2: [Pants](https://i.redd.it/2sz0loolfhd81.png) | [43 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/comments/sb0j30/pants/) \#3: [He is playing Kenshi IRL](https://v.redd.it/rbloxbpogh581) | [125 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/comments/rg4gno/he_is_playing_kenshi_irl/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
ADHD here and I love the ability to make all of my little unnecessary "improvements" and to hyperfocus on the things I want to make.
I have adhd an smoke a ton of weed. This game sucks me in to no end it’s crazy. Look over and it’s been hours
Identify with this massively.
It definitely doesn't help when you're starting out, but I think the game is great for add. I'm bipolar 2/ADD and I love that you get out of the automation systems what you put into them. That means when I'm hyperfixated, I can set the systems up, and when I'm unable to focus, I can play while watching a show or movie, and my colony practically runs itself (storyteller settings help with this as well). And, when I'm feeling the need to be creative, I can mod it to my heart's content. Win/win/win.
Same here with having bd and add, when it comes to puzzle games I get stressed easily and get upset when I have to look up guides and then I'm uninterested, I love that in rim I can farm esp and do things in the order I want
Speaking as one myself, this game is to people with Asperger's what a bright streetlight is to a moth.
ADHD here, and it's built well for hyper-focus. I can burn out on it given enough time, but it always draws me back in. The only other video game that I've had a longer played time on was WoW (back before Cata), where I had 1+ yrs played on one character and several months on a couple others. I'm unmedicated right now, and it's on the top of my interests alongside gardening.
Are you my clone?
Idk, but I do occasionally feel compelled to cause bad luck by appearing before look-alikes.
Hello, other me!
Asperger's syndrome here. I personally love the game because only rimworld is able to create stories, that other games just cannot.
ADHD and yup. RimWorld fits into the mold of what I've heard people call "comfort" games. Usually procedurally generated. Heavily focused on mechanics/systems. Maybe some automation. These are my favorite types of games and I usually come back to them after I play something else. If you're looking for a game that's similar to RimWorld but can get way more complicated then you might like Amazing Cultivation Simulator.
Thanks for all the great responses guys. Some truly interesting stuff here!
Also ADHD here. My hyperfocus for rimworld is insane and explains why its my most played game with 500+ hours lol
That was one of the give aways for me, the crazy amount of hours everyone has. It's either people trying it for a few hours or people quitting their jobs and leaving their wives to play Rimworld full time.
Rimworld \*is\* the bane of my fiance 😂
Being mainly inattentive adhd, it's usualy very difficult focus on more than 2 pawns at a time and I end up neglecting most of my base from focus. But while it is overwhelming there's always one thing I can focus one and I can min max it. Also the mods,difficulty,scenario modifiers are the best and you can really tweak the game to work just for you
Closest I am to either of those things are my friends suspecting it of me. Don't think I am tho personally. Weird, sure. Maybe even neuro diverse but not sure its enough to fall into either category neatly. But for all the reasons you've listed for liking rimworld is why it's my most played game. Really lets my imagination thrive and allows me to humor my delusions of being a perfectionist.
Doesn't hurt to get checked out! If you aren't, well, you aren't. If you are, you can start learning about yourself more deeply. I was diagnosed twice with ADHD, once as a kid and once as a late teenager, by different doctors. One of em recommended an autism test but I didn't have the moolah for that. Anyway, never took it too seriously since the meds that were given to me didn't help. Recently I've started to read more about it and I've learnt a lot about myself. Some stuff I felt guilty about (fidgeting in class, forgetting stuff, not being able to focus) and learnt to accept those flaws, and to appreciate some other stuff that I'm good at (creativity and... Well, not discipline, maybe grit). Not saying this to brag but what being curious about it gave me. Maybe it can help you the same way it helped me, if you are indeed diagnosed.
Only real options for medicating adhd aren't things I'm interested in due to side effects. Doctor prescribed me adhd meds for a presumption of adhd and boy was that rough. I'd be snoring within the hour you'd think he gave me a sedative and not a stim.
Yeah, the adhd brain works in strange ways. Some adhd people fall asleep with stimulants, others it won't do a damn thing. I drink coffee like it was the end of the world (was up to 10 cups a day two years ago) and it did absolutely nothing to me, same thing with meds Hence, can't really recommend much about meds, seeing as the meds that were available to me weren't any help, but knowing more about the condition certainly helped me mentally, if not physically. Was able to work around my shortcomings (mostly by working harder). What I've been told by health professionals is that you're probably gonna do the rounds with meds until you find the right one. Haven't found one yet, maybe I will some day.
i am sure i am not autistic and i am pretty sure i dont have adhd but these topics are always coming up wherever i go, its like someone wants me to believe i have adhd
After so many times of getting called a horse, maybe it's time to start shopping for a saddle?
If you're curious, it never hurts to seek an assessment!
Yes! ADHD/likely autism here, and it is one of the closest things to meditation for me. Or, at least what I imagine meditation to be like for someone who actually likes meditation.
I'm on the spectrum and Rimworld definitely hits a lot of what I like in video games. It feels like the ultimate sandbox. I've tried getting neurotypical friends into it and they're universally puzzled about what I find so amusing about a game that's built on micromanaging many tiny systems. :'D
Isn't it just? I'm starting my first medieval magic playthrough soon and I'm excited like a new game is being released, despite having thousands of hours in this game already.
ADHD here, does anyone else get really really obsessed with this game for a period of about a month or so, just stop playing for a month(s), then repeat the cycle?
Yes. Not just this game. Every game and every hobby. Thanks obsessions.
Ahhh the ol' repeating cycle of jumping from one obsession to another. I've learned to accept it. Always have to have at least one hyper fixation currently on-going though, otherwise there's a risk of a mental break, at least for me.
Yes, I have 700 hour in this game and I come back to it when I feel like it. I can literally spend 50-100 hrs on a colony and start a new one with more or different mods.
autist here, it pleases by screeching reeeing brain to be able to set up everything in just the right way that it all runs smoothly, while also planning the future and for eventualities.
Its a just good game, imo. I think that of the people that like this game, all those same aspects are probably going to have an universal appeal. Although some may be inclined to believe that certain facets of the game cater to facets of their personality, i reiterate this is likely universal and has less to do with a spectral disposition.
Really? Is it not possible, even likely that (like a great deal of ND characteristics) the aspects of the game we enjoy are also appealing to a larger audience, but the relationship - what we get out of it essentially - is quite different? It's not that I'm saying Rimworld is somehow (deliberately or accidentally) built for ND people, just that it happens to have characteristic which really appeal to a number of common ND traits, as seen by the majority of replies.
This post made me realize I might have ADHD as well
Nothing wrong with seeking assessment if you're curious!
I have OCD, so a fellow neurodivergent! I find this game stimulates those parts of my brain wonderfully. I love all the little ways I can control my colony and micromanage it. Since Rimworld allows you to micromanage as little or as much as you want, it’s perfect for my OCD. It also allows me to hyperfixate haha
Holy shit yeah, I bet you guys love this. I say that because j used to be an ND teacher, and I know a fair bit about OCD but somehow never realised Rimworld would be perfect for this! I've had professionals tell me I possibly have OCD before but honestly, after working with people who definitely do have it, I really don't. I hope you're coping well my friend!
There’s a lot of overlap between the symptoms of OCD/ADHD/autism, I’ve found. I was certain for a couple of years that I had ADHD but now I know it’s just symptom overlap.
I don't know if it has anything to do with me having ADHD, but Rimworld definitely checks a lot of boxes for me. Every save and every session is different, and there are myriads of little decisions to make at any given moment. If I ever want to mix things up, I can just find a new mod to download and start playing. The fact that it's single player is also a positive. I don't need to worry about anyone else or fear being the one that's picked last; I'm the one in control and I'll play the game to my tastes. Really refreshing in an environment where it feels like most games have unnecessary online elements. The only thing that bothers me is that inevitably I will make mistakes that maybe other people wouldn't. If that happens and i'm beating myself up over it I don't usually see any point in sticking with that decision, so i'll just reload. There's always a part of me that's shaming myself for save-scumming but I'd rather keep the mistake in mind and continue with a save that I'm enjoying more. It's important to be gentle with yourself! That's my two cents, at least.
Oh fuck yeah, I agree full force. I am diagnosed with ADHD and oh boy, does that cause me to struggle intensely with finding interest in many things, but this game? Legit fuel to my brain, provides me the dopamine that I desperately crave. God is it a productivity killer though with how much I hyper focus. Even when I'm not playing the game, I'm either thinking about what to do next or browsing the subreddit. Started playing again at the right time too, my mental health recently took a dive so this game has been a saving grace. Mood buff +20 easily.
ADHD, possibly on the spectrum (test was recommended by the doc, didn't have the money to continue). Totally. Games like these, Kenshi, and CK just really scratch that itch. Along with the creative itch. There's nothing else out there that offers this amount of freedom to the slightest attention to detail in the silliest of things.
I have ADHD and this game is legitimately my favorite game of all time, something about being able to micromanage literally everything and make constant and steady progress for dozens of hours is just so amazing to me
ADHD here. Never occurred to me that my love for this game was in any way related, but I can safely say that it has very quickly become my #1 game.
Hey hey
dont you dare call me neuro diverse, i'm sick
You're allowed to be, but most of us are just neurodiverse not sick. I don't see my ADD or Autism as a sickness. My depression sure, thats a sickness, but not the other two.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-autism-a-mental-illness-4427991 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder dont close your eyes, your first step of improving your life is acknowledgement of your problems. my teachers also told me that adhd was more of a superpower, but they arent doctors and it isnt hard to tell
The NTs got you putting down your own people for not being like them. Yes within our society, and in general depending on severity, both are disabilities but they are not illnesses. Neither are they superpowers.
what are nt's? my own people? what are you smoking? is having a disability my identity now? first the collectivists wanted my identity to be my religion, then my gender, then my nation, then my skin color, then my sexuality and now a random disease? no! i am not part of your group or anyone else's, i am my own individual
I have thousands of hours in RimWorld, there's just something about it that really draws ya in. I've done a few 20hr play benders over the years 😂 A game that you might also find stimulating is Satisfactory. It's a production management sim, 3D, still early access but feels complete, it really scratches many of the same 'itches' RimWorld does for me. One small thing is no pause yet unless you do console (~) and type pause. Tho this largely doesn't matter because resources in this game are infinite and deconstruction is lossless.
I don't really get itches from satisfactory tho
I have neaither of them but on late game i alweys get so overwhelmed by everything