There are plenty of games for kids like sand on the beach. But what do they really like to play? Sven Galitzki from MeinMMO has checked out his kids and presents, as part of our campaign “Find your next Game“, 5 PS4 games that his boys enjoy the most on the PlayStation 4.
No matter if Paw Patrol, Worms, Rayman, Sonic, Trine, Minecraft, Lego Worlds or other Lego offshoots like Ninjago, Star Wars or Harry Potter – there are many games that can provide age-appropriate entertainment for kids on the PS4 (unfortunately no Mario). But not every game is fun for the kids – despite good ratings.
Games are a matter of taste – especially with children. And as they grow older, this taste can and will vary. However, after recently comparing my own experiences with those of other parents in my friend and acquaintance circle, I noticed some games that are particularly popular with my boys (the oldest is almost 7) and other children of comparable age on the PS4.
The surprising thing is: They are not always the usual suspects like Minecraft, the Lego series or Fortnite (which is not yet an option for my boys) that score best with my kids and others.
As part of our campaign “Find Your Next Game”, I present to you 5 games for the PlayStation 4 that currently excite my two children the most. Perhaps you can discover one or another fun game for your kids for the PS4 this way.
Horizon Chase Turbo
Horizon Chase Turbo is a fast-paced arcade racer in a polished retro look. It is essentially a tribute to classic racing game gems such as Top Gear, Rush or Outrun. For veteran players, it becomes immediately clear what served as inspiration and reference.
The arcade racer is played from a typical rear perspective. Over numerous racetracks around the world, you engage in thrilling races against the computer or locally against other players in split-screen at breakneck speed. In doing so, you unlock new cars, upgrade your rides along the way, and must continually prove your dexterity and skills on increasingly challenging tracks.
What makes Horizon Chase Turbo special?
- Tribute to arcade racing classics with cool retro visuals
- Consistent soundtrack
- Precise controls
- Clearly noticeable speed
- Day-night cycle
- Many varied tracks
How challenging is Horizon Chase Turbo for kids?
The controls are well-executed and easy to learn. As a result, the vehicles can be driven quite well by kids after a short time.
Although the vehicle fleet becomes larger over time and the many tracks gradually become more challenging, with a bit of practice, even 6-year-olds find their way into the game and can keep up with the well-implemented learning curve. Soon, they can achieve their first successes – completely without the help of parents. Horizon Chase Turbo is also immensely fun for kids in co-op mode against friends or siblings.
What do we like and what do we not like?
Unravel 1 and 2
The Unravel series consists of physics-based puzzle platformers where players control a yarn creature known as a Yarny.
In both parts, players must cleverly utilize Yarny’s traits and manipulate the environment against a picturesque backdrop that almost appears fairy-tale-like. Thus, you solve exciting puzzles and master various skill challenges.
In Unravel 2, you can even control two yarn creatures – either alone or in co-op with another player. This is especially fun for kids when playing with friends or in parent-child pairs – regardless of age.
What makes Unravel special?
- Beautiful scenery and musical accompaniment – almost like from a fairy tale
- Clever, progressively challenging puzzles and skill sections that encourage thinking
- Precise controls
- Calm gameplay
How challenging is Unravel for kids?
Just the cute appearance of the character as well as the fairy-tale visuals quickly captivate children in both Unravel games. Initially, some guidance and support from parents may be required, but the first segments are quickly and joyfully mastered.
However, even though the game is recommended from 6 years, Unravel can become quite demanding in some areas as the game progresses, especially for younger kids. While some puzzles can still be steered in the right direction in a few hints, some skill challenges may prove to be insurmountable obstacles and could even cause frustration.
This does not make the games any worse, but parents should then actively support or play along completely. Especially co-op in the second part is perfectly suited for this.
What do we like and what do we not like?
FIFA 20 (VOLTA Mode)
If you are into football, the popular FIFA series by EA Sports is hardly avoidable. However, even if the action on the virtual pitch may overwhelm younger children despite their burning interest, I discovered the VOLTA mode from FIFA 20, which is truly made for kids.
With VOLTA, FIFA is bringing football to the streets – similar to the earlier FIFA Street. In small teams, you can play a round of street football or futsal. The twist: It’s much more straightforward, and with the neighborhood feel, it is apparently also more attractive to quite a few young footballers.
The cool, custom avatar, the VOLTA story, the accompanying locations – all of this allows young hobby footballers to live out their passion and dreams virtually. After all, playing on the neighborhood pitch is at least as popular among many younger kids, if not more so, than playing on the big field. And VOLTA implements this perfectly.
What makes FIFA 20 VOLTA special?
- Lets you play street football or futsal alongside “real” football
- Smaller formats – 3vs3, 4vs4 or 5vs5
- Cool, fitting locations
- Custom characters can be created and extensively customized
- VOLTA offers its own story
- Mini-skill games
How challenging is FIFA 20 Volta for kids?
The “big” FIFA 20 with all its extensive modes can be somewhat overwhelming despite an age rating of 0 years – especially for younger footballers.
VOLTA is different. While children do need assistance at first, turning down the difficulty level can lead to joy and fun for kids due to smaller teams, more compact venues, and the resulting better overview.
Even though VOLTA essentially focuses more on skills and tricks than the regular part of FIFA 20: the basic controls quickly become second nature for younger children.
Once orientation and directional changes are sorted, there’s no stopping them and they play with as much enthusiasm as on a real backyard or neighborhood pitch. With increasing experience, they can try out more tricks and nuances, which adds to their motivation and ambition. Eventually, they will master FIFA 20 on the big field too.
What do we like and what do we not like?
Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is an absolute gem of a 2D jump’n’run platformer in comic style. Some genre enthusiasts consider this iconic platformer, with its fantastic gameplay, charming characters, and unique, colorful look, as the only serious competition to Nintendo’s famous Super Mario series.
In Rayman Legends, you run, jump, and fight your way through various colorful worlds. Each level requires you to show your dexterity on the controller and your reaction skills repeatedly.
What makes Rayman Legends special?
- Snappy controls
- Cool visuals with a lively background
- Many varied levels
- Well-balanced increase in difficulty – especially for kids
- Large scope
How challenging is Rayman Legends for kids?
The game is not really complex. It starts relatively easily, children quickly get into the game and can mostly cope well with the increasing challenges.
While some mechanics (like the flying frog) may require brief instruction, the general control is learned quickly even at a young age, and before you know it, not only the first obstacles but entire passages or even levels are behind the kids. It doesn’t take long until they can entertain themselves completely with this jump’n’run masterpiece.
What do we like and what do we not like?
Sonic Forces
Sonic Forces is all about the blue cult hedgehog Sonic, the Hedgehog. This platformer cleverly mixes classic, genre-typical side-scroller elements such as the characteristic side perspective with modern 3D jump’n’run sections.
As is usual in the series, in this Sonic spin-off, you must prove your skills on the controller in a variety of theme-inspired levels with various parkour elements, and overcome numerous obstacles at a rapid pace while trying to take down a villain.
What makes Sonic Forces special?
- Very fast-paced gameplay
- Cool mix of classic side-scrolling and modern 3D
- Varied levels
- Customizable characters
How challenging is Sonic Forces for kids?
The controls in Sonic Forces are quite straightforward and easy to learn quickly. When starting out, kids need less assistance compared to many other games.
Especially the fast-paced gameplay as well as the mix of 2D elements and 3D sections makes it fun and keeps it fresh. Yet this change can seem confusing to some children at first – in 3D view, kids may need a bit more practice before the speedy hedgehog does what they want him to do. Eventually, parents become practically unnecessary.
What do we like and what do we not like?
A tip for controllers for little hands
The DualShock 4 controller for PlayStation 4 is not really designed for small children’s hands. Not all buttons, especially the triggers, are easily reachable for the kids – although they are indeed sometimes needed. Therefore, I looked for a more manageable alternative that my boys can handle well.
I have had very good experiences with the wired Hori Mini Gamepad. The controller is small, handy, and also fits comfortably in a 6-year-old’s hands – at least according to my kids.
Although this gamepad can’t be qualitatively compared to the original PS4 controller in terms of workmanship or features (the touch pad is missing), the Hori is surprisingly precise, robust, and durable, and most importantly: the kids can play noticeably better with it.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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![Horipad Mini Schwarz Standard [PlayStation 4]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31BtROULclS._SL160_.jpg)
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Horipad Mini Schwarz Standard [PlayStation 4]* | Zu Amazon |
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If you are also looking for a child-friendly controller alternative, take a closer look at this gamepad.
Conclusion from the author
Of course, tastes differ – especially among children. However, with this selection of games, I believe you can hardly go wrong if you want to entertain your kids on the PlayStation (or other platforms) – of course in moderation.
In general, most of the games listed here belong to the best games for kids and have quickly emerged as absolute favorites among my kids from numerous titles like Minecraft, Lego Worlds, and other Lego spin-offs.
The age recommendation for this selection of games ranges from 0 to 6 years. With all 5 games, I feel that the kids are well entertained and, above all, appropriately for their age.
Also, three of the five candidates, Sonic Forces, Rayman Legends, and Horizon Chase Turbo, have already been available as monthly free games at PS Plus. So it’s quite possible that you already own these games and your children can try them without further costs.
In short: Yes, games are a matter of taste. But if you want to provide your children with engaging, age-appropriate entertainment on the PS4, there is definitely something in this selection for your kids. Perhaps even at no additional cost.
By the way, the next hit is already set to come: Soon “Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions” is likely to dethrone the absolute favorites Horizon Chase Turbo and FIFA 20. As a huge fan of the anime series, my oldest is already looking forward to the release since the first trailer.
Sven Galitzki
Freelance author and shooter expert at MeinMMO
