2024 has been a year of surprise video game hits. From the surprise success of Palworld (ESRB Teen) and Helldivers 2 (ESRB Mature) to the more expected popularity of Final Fantasy Rebirth (ESRB Teen) and Hades II, it’s already been a great year. But what about younger rated games for families?
It can be hard to spot the best games for your children in amongst all the big expensive licensed games or next hit from Nintendo. I’ve been spending time working with a range of parents and children to find games that fit their interests and hobbies this year.
More specifically, we’ve been testing lesser know (and much cheaper) indie games. What we’ve found is that out beyond the usual suspects there are some amazing gems perfect for kids.
Super Algebrawl (Not Yet Rated)
Image of Super Algebrawl in action.
Kids can sniff out an educational game a mile away. However, those I’ve seen play this soon get drawn into the clever math-based battles. You play the boar king on a quest for glory and slay monsters by recruiting heroes whose numbers exactly add up to your enemy. Any remainders get turned back as damage against you. It’s an ingenious system that is a lot of fun.
Mouse & Crane (ESRB Everyone)
Mouse and Crane in action.
This is one for the super young gamers. It’s a co-operative puzzle game about three friends who live in a harbour and fix machines. You collect junk materials and use them to make useful tools, then control Mouse, Crane and Electryna to play games. What I particularly love is how it scales to the ability of the players. If the child is more advanced they can go solo. For beginners they can recruit a parent’s help or even opt for just tilt controls like the classic Dora The Explorer Wii games.
Star Stuff (Not Yet Rated)
StarStuff in action.
If you have a child who wants to learn how to code, this is perfect. Not only does it do that, but let’s them have fun and solve puzzles creatively. In the game you help a young alien on their first day at a star factory by solving logic and coding puzzles. What’s particularly nice for kids is that you still have a character that can explore the world freely, as you help the aliens solve a mix of coding and logic puzzles.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (ESRB Everyone)
Duck Detective in action.
This is a great detective game because it does away with the messy complexity of other games. Instead you simply have to observe and investigate the crime scene before then putting the words together to reveal what happened. Just like The Case of the Golden Idol but with visuals more attuned to a younger player. It’s cleverly put together to make you feel like a genius when you figure it out.
Harold Halibut (ESRB Everyone 10+)
Harold Halibut in action.
This is a lovely hand made narrative for older teenagers who have the patience for a slow and moving story. It’s set on a city-sized spaceship submerged in an alien ocean. You play Harold, a young lab assistant on the ship who dreams of leaving the planet and returning to Earth. It’s intricately crafted with real puppetry and fully voice-acted and offers a mature and moving tale easily on par with mainstream animated films.
Paper Trail (ESRB Everyone)
Paper Trail in action.
This is a lovely game where you progress by literally folding the world to make new paths forward. I’ve seen families fall in love with this game when they have bounced off other games like Baba Is You or Cocoon. This is, in part, because of the excellent tips system that shows you the next stage of folding you need to do.
Rack & Slay (Not Yet Rated)
Rock and Slay in action.
This is a lovely twist on dungeon battles that gives younger players time to play their attacks. It combines a game of pool with turn-based battles. Rather than just potting balls you are using your cue ball to fight each enemy ball. As you progress you can earn power-ups and abilities for your ball as well as make use of the various traps and explosives on the table.
Balatro (ESRB Everyone 10+)
Balatro in action.
This is one any grown-up gamer worth their salt already knows about. But actually, it works really well for younger players with an appetite for math and statistics. You play hands of poker (so you do need to be comfortable with this theme) but can adjust the deck in your favour. Over time you add Joker cards to further ramp up your scoring. By the end you have (hopefully) built a little poker engine capable of scoring really high points. It’s a lot of fun and teaches a wide range of math-related skills.