A look into the top 10 PC games you and your kid will love
PC gaming is a popular hobby among everybody aged from 5 all the way through 105. While grandpa can play anything he wants, you should take a little more time to find games that are right for the young PC enthusiasts. The good news is that kids are no longer stuck playing Solitaire. Far from it, there are plenty of PC games that provide a rich experiences both kids and parents will love.
1) Minecraft
Minecraft Trailer
Minecraft is what you make it. It’s an open world that encourages innovation, creation, and exploration. At the center of this world is a cube: a simple and very literal building block that forms the foundation on which your kid can build the objects of their imagination.
Even before your kid touches it, the world of Minecraft feels alive
Gameplay is varied, thanks in part to the imagination of the developers and in part thanks to the highly active community of modders that contribute to the game. Gameplay can essentially be broken down into the following categories, however: survival, creative, and adventure modes.
Survival modes places players in a harsh, unforgiving environments where they harvest and use resources to survive and eventually thrive. Creative mode is a more forgiving game mode that gives unlimited resources to players, and turns them lose on a world to create worlds limited only by the reach of their imaginations. Last, but certainly not least is the adventure mode that allows players to explore other player’s maps, but not interact with environments.
Yes parents, that’s Game of Throne’s “Kings Landing” in Minecraft
By now, everybody and their mother has heard of Minecraft, and for good reason. Across all platforms the game has sold over a mind-bending 100 million copies. The community is alive and well, and if you’re looking for an interactive experience that’s not going to be a passive experience for yourkid, but something they can think about and contribute to, then Minecraft is likely exactly what you’ve been looking for.
2) Lego Games
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Game Teaser
The Lego universe has expanded well beyond you living room floor into movie theaters across the world, and even (you guesses it) PC gaming. All the stories you love from Star Wars to Harry Potter have all been brought to the world of Lego, and they’re all done with the humor and respect for the original stories that kids will love. Better yet, Lego games give parents the power to trick their kids into liking Star Wars, and that alone is going to be worth the price of admission for many.
It’s only a matter of time before the world gets a Lego Stan Lee cameo
Gameplay will vary depending on which franchise you want your kid to explore, but there a few core tenets that will be found in all PC Lego games that parents can expect. First, you can expect a good amount of puzzle solving in between action sequences. The puzzles are kid friendly of course, and will keep your kid busy with something that doesn’t exclusively require mindless button mashing. Second, all Lego games have a good-natured sense of fun that you’ll not only want your kid to enjoy, but share together.
The most recent iterations of the game are Star Wars just in time for the release of the newest films, but other franchises include Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Marvel, Jurassic World, and Lord of the Rings.
“I am no man… I’m a Lego.” – Lego Princess Eowyn, probably
3) Pid
Pid Gameplay Trailer
Pid has players playing a young boy by the name of Kurt. Kurt is lost on a strange and often dangerous alien world that’s home to robot enemies that will test the boy’s ability to survive, and find him making friends in the most unlikely of places.
Stunning level design makes it hard to be upset that you’re stranded on a remote alien planet
Pid is a side scrolling platformer with a heavy emphasis on thoughtful play that you’ll need to navigate the beautiful alien world that’s chalk-full of well thought out puzzles and obstacles. Besides your mind, players will have tools at their disposal to help them along their adventure including white orbs that affect gravity, bombs (not the violent GTA V kind), and “burst beams” that can give Kurt an added boost onto hard to reach platforms.
Part of the reason Pid is a standout choice for parents looking for a great PC gaming experience for their kids, is the fact that is has a co-op mode. In co-op, players rely on each other to solve puzzles, and as you might expect it’s a perfect chance for you and your kid to bond over your shared love of gaming.
Co-op also has competitive elements, so Pid is perfect for parents that like to trash talk
4) Fez
Fez follows a lovable little guy by the name of Gomez that lives a simple life in a simple 2-D world. That is, until the fabric of space-time is ripped to shreds, and Gomez is forced to adapt to a 3-D world to find cubes and return the world to a sense of order.
Fez is basically what would happen if M. C. Escher made games instead of paintings
As you might expect Fez’s gameplay centers around the interaction of Gomez with the newfound 3-dimensional world. It might sound confusing, but the developers developed a brilliant cube system that makes navigating in three dimensions simple enough for kids, and dynamic enough to keep them interested.
What makes Fez a brilliant choice for kids isn’t only the critical thinking it requires, however. The pace of play in Fez is conducive to keeping young players engaged. There are no “enemies” in the traditional sense, and “dying” is not the frustrating experience it is for most games. The designers frequently describe the game as a “stop and smell the roses” type of game, and Fez’s engaging world will keep your kid hoping for more and more “roses” to smell.
Fez is all about seeing the world from another perspective: a great lesson for kids and adults alike
5) Type:Rider
Type:Rider Trailer
History itself comes alive in Type:Rider. Players take on the role of as “:” (that’s right, a colon) as “:” explores the rich history of the typed word.
It might be hard to imagine how playing as a colon could be interesting, especially interesting enough to engage young kids, but the developers Ex Nihlio nailed it, and they’ve made a game that’s every bit as fun as it is educational.
History hasn’t looked this good since 11th grade American History with Ms. Thompson
Gameplay is fairly simple, in that Type:Rider is very much a platformer. You can expect to roll and jump through the game, but the levels themselves make for a unique twist on an age old game mechanic. The levels are actual fonts from throughout history, and to learn more players collect asterisks that tell a little bit more about the typed word.
The history of the written word spans the globe and so does Type:Rider
Type:Rider at its core is fun, but it’s also a great way to show your kid that history is a living story, and not the stuffy keywords in the back of a textbook.
6) And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves Trailer
A collage come to life, and you need to guide your torn paper man through a world of platforms made complicated by the fact that down is up, and up is down.
Raiders of the Lost Archive
The main gameplay mechanic in And Yet It Moves centers on the fact that players don’t only control the unnamed paper protagonist, but their actual surroundings. Not unlike Fez players have to contort their paper surroundings to keep their paper buddy from getting torn to shreds. It’s a pulse pounding adventure that is sure to keep kids thinking on their feet.
Rotating your world and manipulating gravity is the only way to win
And Yet It Moves boasts 17 levels with three different themes, which is enough to keep kids busy without getting repetitive, or else rehashing the same tricks ad nauseum. It’s a novel idea, expertly executed, and it’s sure to get your kid thinking in all the right ways.
7) Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts Unmasked Trailer
Scribblenauts is a side scrolling adventure, and in the most recent iteration, Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, you suit up and fight crime. That’s right, pick your favorite hero, or make your own and fight the forces of evil by summoning anything your imagination can think of.
Play as Batman… all of them!
The greatest part of Scribblenauts isn’t the puzzles you have to solve, but the way in which players go about solving them. Unlike most games, there is no one solution to puzzles. Instead, players can summon any of the tens of thousands of available objects to solve the puzzle in the way they see fit.
Scribblenauts tells a great, kid friendly, comic book story
Scribblenauts doesn’t encourage players to follow the developer’s train of thought, but instead find their own solutions. For kids, it’s a great opportunity to do truly outside the box thinking, and that can’t be said about many PC games out there.
8) Terraria
Terraria Trailer
Terraria is all about exploration, collecting resources, and battling enemies that will test your nerve and block your path to discovery.
In Terraria, the world underground is just as alive as the world above it
PC Gamers of a certain age will recognize the design of Terraria has the familiar look of 16-bit games of yore, but Terraria is very much a game of the modern era. Terraria has an open world design that is chalk full of interesting resources and enemies ranging from the common slimes to boss fights (*cough*Cthulu’s eye*cough*).
Collect valuable items from fallen enemies and container hidden around the map
Terraria is an open world adventure that will inspire kids to explore, and use the resources they collect along the way to defeat their foes. Depending on age, they can take on this adventure alone, or with a parent so they can get the most out of the game, and you can get your quality time in.
9) Octodad: Deadliest Catch
Octodad: Deadliest Catch Trailer
Life is tough for dads. Running around, doing errands, and doing it all while trying to keep an eye on the kids. If it’s hard for human dads, it’s even tougher for octopus dads pretending to be human. Octodad: Deadliest catch is the sequel to Octodad and has players performing daily routines while trying to hide the fact Octodad is an octopus from strangers, family, and friends.
Stay. Cool.
Gameplay allows players to switch between two sets of tentacles with a click of a button, and if that sounds easy, it’s not. Even the simplest of tasks devolves into hilarious chaos in Octodad: Deadliest catch. You can adjust difficulty settings to control how oblivious or astute the surrounding characters are to the fact that you’re an octopus, which is perfect for kids.
Discretion is the name of the game
Mastered the art of octopus parenting? Shake things up by playing co-op! Up to four players can control a tentacle, and if you hope to get anything done you’re going to have to work as a team. Great for parents and kids that love to play PC games together.
10) Peggle
Peggle Gameplay Trailer
Peggle pit players against a board of twenty-five pegs, and challenges you to clear the board by using the ball launcher located at the top of the screen.
Wonderful backgrounds look great and often determine the placement of pegs
Peggle is a great, quick game that’s perfect for parents that enjoy using PC games as a reward system. Peggle is divided up into fifty-five levels, and that makes it perfect for short games after homework is done, or a room is cleaned. Best of all, the level get more and more challenging, so you can count on the game challenging the mind as much as it does your kid’s reflexes.
Wrapping Up
If you love PC gaming, it’s natural that you’d want to share this passion with your kid in a responsible way. With the wide range of challenging, age-appropriate games that encourage critical thinking, it’s never been easier to get kids involved in PC gaming and to feel great about it.
Find the game that’s right for you and your family, and enjoy watching it bring you together into an engaging experience in a way that only PC gaming can.
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