Video games to play with my son?

**schuss** · 07-01-2022, 07:53 AM

Skywalker saga is great, as are all the Lego games. Fun, goofy takes on everything with low consequences for dying.

**MarcusBrody** · 07-01-2022, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by schuss

Skywalker saga is great, as are all the Lego games. Fun, goofy takes on everything with low consequences for dying.

I bought it along with the Switch, Mario Kart, and Minecraft this morning. We can start with those and maybe add a Mario Platformer or something like Splatoon when we master those.

**MontuckyFried** · 07-01-2022, 12:41 PM

My kids are now 5 & 6. These days, they are really into Super Mario Maker 2 on Switch. They've also been solidly enjoying the Zelda: Link's Awakening remake going on two years now. We've gotten a LOT of mileage out of those two games alone.

Also worth mentioning is that the Portal Companion Collection just dropped on Switch a few days ago.
https://www.nintendo.com/store/produ...ection-switch/

Words can't quite describe just how freaking amazing those games are, but I'm tempted to buy it again for Switch to play them with the kids on that format. It's only $20 and is SUPER worth it at that price.

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**basinbeater** · 07-01-2022, 06:00 PM

My boy is 9 and can now beat me at NHL 22. It's fun as hell.

I do have some Nintendo switch stuff that i don't need (kid left the switch on the plane), and would be happy to throw in an envelope and send to someone. But i just got up to Idaho and will be here 2 weeks, so... Bug me in a couple weeks. Some games, a couple controllers? Dock, can't remember what else.

**JayPowHound** · 07-01-2022, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by basinbeater

My boy is 9 and can now beat me at NHL 22. It's fun as hell.

I do have some Nintendo switch stuff that i don't need (kid left the switch on the plane), and would be happy to throw in an envelope and send to someone. But i just got up to Idaho and will be here 2 weeks, so... Bug me in a couple weeks. Some games, a couple controllers? Dock, can't remember what else.

My 9 yo regularly beats me at FIFA. Love playing it with him.

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**Todd Zander** · 07-01-2022, 08:24 PM

My 2 older boys are right behind marcus and austins and dont know what tablets or video games are …yet, but on the topic of star wars, where do i start?

My initial thoughts were to watch the original 3 and then maybe consider all the add-ons later, i lost track after #4 aka young darth vader.

**MarcusBrody** · 07-01-2022, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by Todd Zander

My 2 older boys are right behind marcus and austins and dont know what tablets or video games are …yet, but on the topic of star wars, where do i start?

My initial thoughts were to watch the original 3 and then maybe consider all the add-ons later, i lost track after #4 aka young darth vader.

So far my son has only seen A New Hope. My desire to have him unspoiled for the mind-blowing reveal trumped any commitment to in world chronological order. He's somewhat sensitive with some things, but liked it a lot and didn't have any problems with it. It's odd what gets to him.

I was just having a conversation with my wife this evening. I want to show him Empire and Jedi before they get spoiled for him. She objected, particularly to Jedi and Leah and the slave bikini. I started out arguing for Leah choking Jabba out as a feminist triumph, but when they didn't seem to work, I somewhat successfully argued that we actually should watch it now as my son will just be like "Ooooh shiny" and not think twice about it whereas if we wait a few years he might find previously inexperienced feelings.

I will note that we live outside of Vegas and our son has seen images of more suggestively dressed women in the past week as we waited for our luggage at baggage claim.

**Supermoon** · 07-02-2022, 06:48 AM

Ha. I watched Jedi before I was old enough to understand the bikini, and while it’s sort of changed in my mind as I get older, it’s never held the power over me that it does someone who saw it in their more formative years

**nickwm21** · 07-02-2022, 06:54 AM

I get that Zelda BOTW is too advanced for a young one… but it literally is a masterpiece - we’re talking Shawshank / Abbey Road / The Wire level media… You shouldn’t really own a switch without having that in the library.

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**Bobby Stainless** · 07-02-2022, 07:10 AM

I stopped playing video games with my kid. I'm not even a challenge anymore.

**MarcusBrody** · 07-02-2022, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by nickwm21

I get that Zelda BOTW is too advanced for a young one… but it literally is a masterpiece - we’re talking Shawshank / Abbey Road / The Wire level media… You shouldn’t really own a switch without having that in the library.

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I think I'll pick it up eventually (assuming we enjoy the Switch). I'll just ease into gaming with a few less challenging titles to start. I am very interested in it, though.

**MontuckyFried** · 07-02-2022, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by Todd Zander

My 2 older boys are right behind marcus and austins and dont know what tablets or video games are …yet, but on the topic of star wars, where do i start?

My initial thoughts were to watch the original 3 and then maybe consider all the add-ons later, i lost track after #4 aka young darth vader.

You're on the right track. I introduced my kids to them in the same order we grew up with. So original trilogy, then we did Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Finished with the excellent Clone Wars 2D animated series. We stopped short of Ep 3: Revenge of the Sith since that's where it starts getting too dark and scary for them IMO.

That said, do what you think is appropriate for them since every kid is different. I'm an 80s child so my personal film experience is pretty whack now that I look back on it so I have to reign myself in sometimes when it comes to what I share with the kids. How many of us saw Alien as small children? I'm a huge fan of it still but holy crap did I have nightmares for years. Hahaha. Of course us 80s kids also grew up with a healthy dose of John Carpenter horror movies, dark sci-fi, and pretty violent action stuff like Rambo. Even the old Spielberg movies have stuff that doesn't really fly today. Watched ET with my kids and it was a blast but a couple spots I was a bit uneasy, hoping they didn't pick up on all of it. Easing my kids into it all. WTF was up with 80s parents? They let us kids watch pretty much everything! LMAO. Seems there has to be a balance so my kids aren't too sheltered but certainly don't want to fuel their nightmares either and traumatize 'em. I'm more or less erring on the side of a more G/PG approach. Guess I'm still trying to figure this whole parenting thing out too.

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**kathleenturneroverdrive** · 07-02-2022, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by MarcusBrody

Thanks, everyone.

I think Super Mario 3D World was one of the games we played demos of in Target today which my son liked. Maybe we'll go for that.

I'm also tempted by Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga just because it looks like goofy fun for me and less difficult than Zelda.

One I don’t think was mentioned is Luigi’s Haunted Mansion. It’s def one of the best kid/parent multi-players we’ve played on the Switch

**bagtagley** · 07-19-2022, 07:01 AM

Started playing Cuphead with the kiddo on a long trip and got hooked. It’s pretty difficult, especially the regular rounds, but finally beating one together after trying and trying is a pretty fun thing to share.

I’ll second Luigi’s Haunted Mansion. One of my favorite in the…franchise?

**VTskibum** · 07-19-2022, 07:18 AM

Skywalker series, Minecraft dungeons, Animal Crossing (mostly my daughter), MarioKart are most played in my house by 11 y/o boy and 9 y/o girl. Neither kid can beat me yet, though I don't play those much.

Games I do recommend for adult and more mature kids are Zelda Link's Awakening and Zelda Breath of the Wild. The latter I'll agree is the best video game I've ever played, even my kids liked it just for the exploration when they were younger.

Will have to check out Luigi's Haunted Mansion, looks pretty fun

**tekkedry** · 08-01-2022, 03:13 AM

If you play wisely, you should not be scared of any gaming disorde

**warthog** · 02-22-2023, 07:35 AM

My 11 y/o daughter likes to play Hunter- Call of the Wild.
The other day she was telling grandpa in full detail about how a lion killed her in the game.
He gave me a bit of side eye. I just shrugged. She likes what she likes.

We bought the newest FIFA and are trying to figure it all out. Hoping for some rowdy matches soon.

**pepperdawg** · 02-22-2023, 09:38 AM

Another vote for Rocket League - soccer using cars in the thunderdome.

**MarcusBrody** · 02-22-2023, 02:19 PM

I was the one who bumped this thread last summer looking for recs. At people's suggestion, I bought Mario Cart, Minecraft, and Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker Saga.

I bought the Switch partially as we were going to be traveling to India to visit some of my wife's family. Well we got Covid on the way, ended up stuck in a room with my 6 year old (who had Covid for about 13 minutes and then was back to bouncing off the walls), and the Switch/Mario Kart basically saved me life and sanity. If we never used it again after that week, I'd still have considered it worth it. My son and I have played on and off since, though. My reviews:

Mario Kart - Great introductory and party game. My son started off bad then quickly got pretty decent at it and it was fun to race him. If we introduce friends, it's the game we choose and I think it should be in everyone's arsenal.

Minecraft - his friends talking about Minecraft was what got my son excited to try video games but he's never really gotten into it that much. I think it's kind of cool, but we rarely play it.

Lego Star Wars - originally I just wanted this for me as it looked amusing, but I didn't plan to let my son play given the frequent blasting and light sabering of people. The covid enclosure sent this out the window though and it was the game we played most for most of the time we've had the switch. He - unsurprisingly - really likes blasting and light sabering people. It is fun and has lots of little humorous easter eggs. We've gotten through two trilogies and are now on the Rey movies.

Super Mario 3D World/Bowser's Fury - I got this for him for Christmas and we've played a good deal since. We're almost to the final castle of 3D world and just need to collect some more coins to unlock it. It has a decent variety of levels and works pretty well in co-op as if one player dies while the other is alive, they'll just regenerate nearby (until you are out of lives). You can basically kill the other player by moving too far so that the screen moves and you can't see where you are and that causes some shouting and accusations between us, but overall it's good.

I'm debating what are next game will be. Probably either Luigi's Haunted Mansion that was recommended earlier in the thread or something like FIFA. My son loves soccer, but I haven't heard great things about FIFA on Switch. Still, a lot of the complaints seem to be about lack of improvements and just selling the same old game with player shifts each year, but since we haven't played any, that might not be a big deal for us.

**dan_pdx** · 02-22-2023, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by MarcusBrody

I was the one who bumped this thread last summer looking for recs. At people's suggestion, I bought Mario Cart, Minecraft, and Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker Saga.

I bought the Switch partially as we were going to be traveling to India to visit some of my wife's family. Well we got Covid on the way, ended up stuck in a room with my 6 year old (who had Covid for about 13 minutes and then was back to bouncing off the walls), and the Switch/Mario Kart basically saved me life and sanity. If we never used it again after that week, I'd still have considered it worth it. My son and I have played on and off since, though. My reviews:

Mario Kart - Great introductory and party game. My son started off bad then quickly got pretty decent at it and it was fun to race him. If we introduce friends, it's the game we choose and I think it should be in everyone's arsenal.

Minecraft - his friends talking about Minecraft was what got my son excited to try video games but he's never really gotten into it that much. I think it's kind of cool, but we rarely play it.

Lego Star Wars - originally I just wanted this for me as it looked amusing, but I didn't plan to let my son play given the frequent blasting and light sabering of people. The covid enclosure sent this out the window though and it was the game we played most for most of the time we've had the switch. He - unsurprisingly - really likes blasting and light sabering people. It is fun and has lots of little humorous easter eggs. We've gotten through two trilogies and are now on the Rey movies.

Super Mario 3D World/Bowser's Fury - I got this for him for Christmas and we've played a good deal since. We're almost to the final castle of 3D world and just need to collect some more coins to unlock it. It has a decent variety of levels and works pretty well in co-op as if one player dies while the other is alive, they'll just regenerate nearby (until you are out of lives). You can basically kill the other player by moving too far so that the screen moves and you can't see where you are and that causes some shouting and accusations between us, but overall it's good.

I'm debating what are next game will be. Probably either Luigi's Haunted Mansion that was recommended earlier in the thread or something like FIFA. My son loves soccer, but I haven't heard great things about FIFA on Switch. Still, a lot of the complaints seem to be about lack of improvements and just selling the same old game with player shifts each year, but since we haven't played any, that might not be a big deal for us.

The Ori games are great, but maybe a little better for slightly older kids. Rocket League has been recommended several times, and that is a super fun game with lots of replayability.

It Takes Two is an amazing game that requires two players to complete it cooperatively. Basically a platformer with a strong narrative component. I don't know if it has much replayability, but you will have an awesome 15 or 20 hours working through it. One possible funky thing: The story is that a husband and wife who are on the brink of divorce get turned to dolls and have to work together to get back to their human selves. It's all pretty mild, but part of the narrative is them trying to rekindle their romance, which could be a little weird to play with your six-year-old son. The game is really awesome from a gameplay perspective though.

**MontuckyFried** · 02-22-2023, 02:42 PM

^^
Nice! Glad it saved your sanity. FWIW, I bought the Portal pack I mentioned above and have been playing the crap out of it with my kids. We're about halfway through Portal 2 now. It has been really, REALLY fun to share that experience with them and they come up with the most wild solutions to the puzzles. Neat seeing their little brains start thinking in portals and actually getting super good at it all. All the dark humor in there is still top notch. For $20, you really can't go wrong. It's a solid port for sure.

**Supermoon** · 02-22-2023, 02:58 PM

I just bought portal 2 again and had forgotten how fun it is. The wife and I play the two player and it’s a great way to kill an evening with a few beers

**MarcusBrody** · 02-22-2023, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by dan_pdx

The Ori games are great, but maybe a little better for slightly older kids. Rocket League has been recommended several times, and that is a super fun game with lots of replayability.

It Takes Two is an amazing game that requires two players to complete it cooperatively. Basically a platformer with a strong narrative component. I don't know if it has much replayability, but you will have an awesome 15 or 20 hours working through it. One possible funky thing: The story is that a husband and wife who are on the brink of divorce get turned to dolls and have to work together to get back to their human selves. It's all pretty mild, but part of the narrative is them trying to rekindle their romance, which could be a little weird to play with your six-year-old son. The game is really awesome from a gameplay perspective though.

Rocket League might be a good one. Everyone says it's a blast gameplay wise. I was curious about FIFA just because he watches a lot of European football and thought he would enjoy playing as players he knows.

I've heard amazing things about It Take Two. I was actually talking to one of my students about it the other day, though she too felt it might be better when he's a bit older.

MontuckyFried, I've heard amazing things about Portal, but never played and don't totally know what it's about (aside from solving puzzles with portals). We do enjoy the Toad House puzzle levels on Super Mario 3D, so maybe a puzzle game would be good. Though to be honest, I probably enjoy the puzzle solving more than he does. So maybe this would get him more into it.

**Harry** · 02-22-2023, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by pepperdawg

Another vote for Rocket League - soccer using cars in the thunderdome.

This sounds fun as hell IRL.

I’m high right now.

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**MontuckyFried** · 02-22-2023, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Supermoon

I just bought portal 2 again and had forgotten how fun it is. The wife and I play the two player and it’s a great way to kill an evening with a few beers

Right on! 2 player mode is fun indeed. Those little bots have a ton of personality.

Originally Posted by MarcusBrody

MontuckyFried, I've heard amazing things about Portal, but never played and don't totally know what it's about (aside from solving puzzles with portals). We do enjoy the Toad House puzzle levels on Super Mario 3D, so maybe a puzzle game would be good. Though to be honest, I probably enjoy the puzzle solving more than he does. So maybe this would get him more into it.

Imagine a first-person shooter (so the kids will love it), but instead of a weapon, you have a portal "gun." You're essentially a human rat in a maze run by a sadistic computer and you have to find your way out of each level by solving them through whatever means necessary. I don't want to spoil too much if you haven't experienced it, but it's a LOT of fun. At it's most fundamental, it's a "puzzle" game, but you'll end up getting pretty into the plot as it goes along. Especially as you find some of the hidden stuff. That song by the National still gets me every time...