With our list of the best video games for kids, you can keep your kids entertained for hours without worrying about inappropriate content.
Finding the best video games for kids is no easy task. There are a lot of video games geared toward children, and some of the bestselling games of all time are made for a younger audience, but sifting through all the options to find what’s “good” is quite the undertaking. Thankfully, you don’t have to go through the process. We’ve rounded up 30 of the top games for children across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. Although we’ve included ESRP ratings for reference, some of them don’t quite fit. For example, Super Mario Odyssey is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and older, but the game doesn’t feature any content that really earns that rating, especially compared to previous 3D Mario games. If you’re shopping for a particular age group, you can jump quickly to our recommendations using the links below. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone A great choice for kids who love platforming games and those with more creative ambition, Super Mario Maker 2 is an improved version of the original Wii U game, complete with more building components, a full campaign mode, and online multiplayer options. With red and blue switches and sloped hills available to build, this game revolutionized the kinds of levels players could make, and we’ve seen some very creative courses thus far. Super Mario Maker 2 also is a great choice for kids to play while an adult uses the television, as it’s actually much easier to build courses while playing in the Switch’s handheld mode. Purchasing an optional touchscreen stylus will make the process even smoother. Read our full Super Mario Maker 2 review ESRB Rating: E for Everyone New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe uses the classic sidescrolling orientation for its Mario platforming. A collection of two Wii U games — New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U — Deluxe is one of the best Nintendo Switch games around. The worlds are exceedingly colorful and vibrant, the platforming is excellent, and the Nintendo charm exudes with every jump. Deluxe introduces two new playable characters, Toadette and Nabbit, each of whom makes the levels more approachable for young kids. Nabbit cannot take damage from enemies, and Toadette can pick up a crown that turns her into Peachette, who can practically fly. Additionally, Deluxe supports co-op for up to four players so the whole family can partake in the Super Mario goodness together. Read our full New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe review ESRB Rating: E for Everyone As far as racing games go, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is both one of the easiest to play and the most fun. Featuring colorful, vibrant visuals, a simple control scheme, and all the Nintendo characters you could want in a game, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the best multiplayer games on Switch. Its wide selection of themed tracks in combination with battle modes that make use of the game’s awesome items give it immense legs. This is the sort of game you and your family will come back to for years to come. It’s that good. Read our full Mario Kart 8 Deluxe review ESRB Rating: E for Everyone, E10+ for Everyone 10 and older Since 2005, officially licensed LEGO games have given kids and parents awesome ways to experience hugely popular intellectual properties such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and a slew of superhero franchises. Almost all of these lovingly crafted experiences have been worth playing cooperatively with kids both young and young at heart. LEGO The Incredibles came out just in time for The Incredibles 2, and LEGO DC Super-Villains arrived in late 2018. With simple action gameplay, cooperative puzzles, and storylines often mirroring the movies at hand, the LEGO games are a great jumping-off point for young kids looking to get into games. The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame came out in 2019, too. Shop Lego Games ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10 and older No arms, no legs, no problem. Ubisoft’s limb-impoverished hero, Rayman, has starred in a series of great platforming games, both 2D and 3D, but Rayman Legends is the hero’s absolute best outing. This 2D sidescroller is colorful, inventive, expertly-designed, and brimming with excellent content. It’s perfect for fans of Mario. Rayman Legends is especially good for a family game night, as it features drop-in, drop-out cooperative play for up to four players. This is the type of multiplayer experience that can be enjoyed by young kids, teenagers, and parents all at the same time. It’s available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Read our full Rayman Legends review ESRB Rating: E for Everyone A three-year-old playing Untitled Goose Game is the definition of joy. Playing a game is different than playing within a game, and Untitled Goose Game showcases that. It’s a sandbox game about a self-described horrible goose set loose on the streets of a small town. No matter if it’s setting up pranks or honking at a resident down the street, Untitled Goose Game is a blast to play (and watch, for that matter). It even won the BAFTA award for the best family and social game, beating out Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone One of the simplest and most satisfying games ever made, Peggle 2 is a puzzle game masterpiece from PopCap Games. You simply aim your shot, press a button, and watch as the metal ball pings around blue, green, and orange pegs. The objective is to clear all of the orange pegs within 10 turns. You could call some of it luck, but aiming properly is the name of the game. We know this premise may sound boring, but it truly is one of the most addicting puzzle games around. Bright, colorful visuals, awesome sounds, and local multiplayer make this a great game for kids to play — no matter how young they are. It’s simple to pick up and incredibly hard to put down. Peggle 2 is available to download on Xbox One and PS4. Read our Peggle 2 hands-on ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10 and older Super Mario Odyssey is one of the best 3D platformers ever made. While Mario games have always leaned to the accessible side, Super Mario Odyssey has a really great feature for kids: Assist mode. With Assist mode activated, Mario’s health doubles, falling off the map doesn’t lead to instant death, and a marker always guides you to your objective. Since Odyssey ‘s planets are rather large and densely populated with stuff to look at and do, Assist mode removes some of the challenges and distractions for young players. You also can have one player control Mario while the other takes hold of Cappy, Mario’s sentient hat. Playing as Cappy is ideal for players 5 and younger who have little to no experience with controller-based video games. Or you could always swap the controller each time someone finds a moon. No matter how you play Super Mario Odyssey, it’s a pure delight for both young kids and parents. Read our full Super Mario Odyssey review ESRB Rating: E for Everyone If you just picked up a PS5 and want a game for your kids to play, look no further than Sackboy: A Big Adventure. It’s a PS5 exclusive from Sumo Digital, set in the world of LittleBigPlanet. Instead of a 2.5D puzzler, Sackboy is a full 3D platformer fit with the same charm as the LittleBigPlanet games. The game supports couch co-op for up to four players, too, and it’s a PS5 launch title, offering a full, child-friendly experience separate from Astro’s Playroom. Although Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a relatively short experience, it earns the “big” tag. Levels are fairly straightforward, balancing decently challenging platforming with light, cartoonish combat. Levels have a lot of replayability, however, littered with secrets and collectibles. Getting through the game is easy enough, but discovering all of the secrets will take some time. ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10 and older By now, everyone has heard of Minecraft, the sandbox game that has become a worldwide phenomenon over the past decade. What’s particularly great about Minecraft is that it’s a game that evolves with you.
