4 ms·

Fun question! I would suggest the following (in no particular order), subject to the proviso that you do need to be sat next to them to help manage frustration,

Fun question! I would suggest the following (in no particular order), subject to the proviso that you do need to be sat next to them to help manage frustration, especially in the beginning (although my personal take is that they shouldn’t be left to play by themselves at all at that age) - particularly as they learn the controller, general video game conventions, and the specifics of each game: - Breath of the Wild - Animal Crossing - Stardew Valley - Minecraft - Super Mario Odyssey - Super Mario 3D World - Rayman Legends - Ratchet & Clank - It Takes Two - Slay the Spire - Journey - Spiderman and Miles Morales My son’s favourite superhero - far and away - is Spiderman, in large part thanks to the PlayStation games. Pretty great role model. Kids find swinging through the city utterly exhilarating. It Takes Two was such a fantastic, memorable experience for both of us - he still talks about it months later. It does require quite a lot of a kid, though - better for when they’ve got a year’s experience. And trying to catch all the insects and fish in Animal Crossing kicked off a passion in him for the real things, to say nothing of what it taught him about animals generally, time and seasonality. A Nintendo Switch is probably a good place to start, although as he gets older I’m encouraging him to move more over to the PlayStation (partly because it’s so much cheaper over time!). Switch Joycons are great for small hands, too, although most kids seem to be able to manipulate a full-size controller by age 4-5. Enjoy!

drdrey 4y ago
My kid loves Unraveled on the switch, he asks for it all the time. It’s a cute co-op puzzle platformer.
HorizonXP 4y ago
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- taspeotis 4y ago
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  - istjohn 4y ago
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aceazzameen 4y ago
Is It Takes Two about a married couple and their struggles? Isn't it made for couples? I could be wrong. What is that like for a child? Did it spark a lot of questions about marriage or anything else? Or did the eyes of a child ignore any adult themes and he only cared about the gameplay?
- darkteflon 4y ago
  In our case, the adult themes went straight over his head and we just enjoyed the (frankly terrific) team-driven gameplay. The art style is very cutesy in a way that seems to appeal to kids, and there’s no swearing in the dialogue. Ymmv, though, this stuff is highly subjective. If you’re particularly concerned then better just to stick to Nintendo first-party stuff - their whole brand is built around keeping everything wholesome.
otikik 4y ago
I also recommend the Switch to begin with. The one that can be hooked to a TV - children will throw stuff to the ground, by mistake or purposely. You'd rather have them throw the control pad instead of the full console. While I love Breath of the Wild to the death, its combat is rather difficult and somewhat realistic from the start, which might be a turnoff ("scary monsters keep killing me"). It also has lots of written dialog, which may be challenging for a 4 year old. Definitively this one has to be played with an adult. Super Mario Odyssey is a much better intro game for a 4-year old. It also has combat (complex combat, with all the "possessed enemy powers"), but it introduces all its mechanics extremely gradually (starts with one-attack button, on a safe environment, and builds up from there). The game works well without paying attention to the dialog at all. The cartoon looks is also more child-friendly. At 6 years old my son can do air tricks with Mario that I struggle to do. It is a jewel of a game. Animal crossing is fun. I worry a bit about the "materialistic/accumulative" parts of it ("gotta have more stuff!" here's an ice-cream shop stand that does nothing) but the insect and fish collection things are great. Again it will require some reading in order to advance. I have not played Slay the Spire myself. Isn't that too "brainy" for a 4yo? Oh I forgot to mention: Picu-nicu is a great "my first platformer" game, definitively recommended.

drdrey 4y ago

My kid loves Unraveled on the switch, he asks for it all the time. It’s a cute co-op puzzle platformer.

HorizonXP 4y ago

Commenting as a bookmark. Thanks!

taspeotis 4y ago
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- istjohn 4y ago
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aceazzameen 4y ago

Is It Takes Two about a married couple and their struggles? Isn't it made for couples? I could be wrong. What is that like for a child? Did it spark a lot of questions about marriage or anything else? Or did the eyes of a child ignore any adult themes and he only cared about the gameplay?

darkteflon 4y ago
In our case, the adult themes went straight over his head and we just enjoyed the (frankly terrific) team-driven gameplay. The art style is very cutesy in a way that seems to appeal to kids, and there’s no swearing in the dialogue. Ymmv, though, this stuff is highly subjective. If you’re particularly concerned then better just to stick to Nintendo first-party stuff - their whole brand is built around keeping everything wholesome.

otikik 4y ago

I also recommend the Switch to begin with. The one that can be hooked to a TV - children will throw stuff to the ground, by mistake or purposely. You'd rather have them throw the control pad instead of the full console. While I love Breath of the Wild to the death, its combat is rather difficult and somewhat realistic from the start, which might be a turnoff ("scary monsters keep killing me"). It also has lots of written dialog, which may be challenging for a 4 year old. Definitively this one has to be played with an adult. Super Mario Odyssey is a much better intro game for a 4-year old. It also has combat (complex combat, with all the "possessed enemy powers"), but it introduces all its mechanics extremely gradually (starts with one-attack button, on a safe environment, and builds up from there). The game works well without paying attention to the dialog at all. The cartoon looks is also more child-friendly. At 6 years old my son can do air tricks with Mario that I struggle to do. It is a jewel of a game. Animal crossing is fun. I worry a bit about the "materialistic/accumulative" parts of it ("gotta have more stuff!" here's an ice-cream shop stand that does nothing) but the insect and fish collection things are great. Again it will require some reading in order to advance. I have not played Slay the Spire myself. Isn't that too "brainy" for a 4yo? Oh I forgot to mention: Picu-nicu is a great "my first platformer" game, definitively recommended.