One of my nephews is 5 just after christmas and my bro has just got a Switch. So I will be getting him his first video game. As far as I know he has only played games on an Android tablet previously. He did have a go on Zelda BOTW a few weeks back at my place and he did struggle with trying to control the camera with the right stick, and just kept going in a straight line every where. He also got a little upset with the enemies attacking him after a bit. He seemed to like the colourful graphics though.
He likes Batman and Cars and I see that there is the DC Villians and a Cars 3 game for the Switch. My only concern is that the DC game might be a bit too advanced for him which might frustrate him and is rated as 7 so might not be suitable for him. The Cars game might be a safer bet as it is rated E and might be more easy going for him. I was thinking of a 2D game but the ones that spring to mind will probably be too hard for him like Cuphead (if I was really evil that would be top of my list), Sonic Mania or the countless Metroidvania games available.
Has anyone got any other suggestions please? I'm not too worried about the overall quality of the game as long as it's not flat out broken to play. He will most likely just muck around in the game and not playing to complete it
@JohnnyShoulder I agree with @KratosMD, the accessiblity options in Mario Kart 8 are very good. You can calibrate it so that basically the user only has to worry about basic steering etc. My daughter used to play it with me when she was 6 and she struggles to control two sticks but you don't need to with this game.
I struggled with BOTW at first because there are a lot of systems in it and combat is very hard at the start - plus minimal hand holding. Also, oddly another good option might be a Switch online membership as there are lots of good NES and SNES games to try as well for platformers.
Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot
@KALofKRYPTON@Rudy_Manchego@KratosMD Cheers guys I will check out MK8 and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee and compare them with some others to see if I can them at a decent price as I'm not looking to spend loads if possible.
And yeah he likes both the Pixar Cars films and cars in general. Not sure if he's into actual racing enough for MK8 to hold his interest enough but we shall see.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder Maybe try the Spyro Collection. It's colorful controls are pretty much simple enough and really it's a good game to just "muck around in". I am sure a 5 year old will have fun just running around breathing fire and headbutting Gnorcs and collecting gems.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
@Thrillho@JohnnyShoulder I will also add that when my son was around that age he rather enjoyed Spyro (back on the PS One) and it didn't matter to him that he was completing the game.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
@Tasuki That's good to know, thanks! I've narrowed it down to the following
Yoshi's Crafted World (has a Mellow mode for lower skill levels)
Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Super Mario Party
Cars
Pokemon Let's Go
I will give all of those a deep dive over the weekend and decide on Monday.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder With respect, I'd remove New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe from that list. Even as a somewhat-experienced gamer, I found the difficulty curve on that to be prohibitive. Its content is brightly-coloured and innocent, but it's definitely a gamer's game. Maybe for when he's closer to ten, not five (same with LEGO DC Super-Villains, which you mentioned before and agree with you about).
Rest of those options look solid. I'd say that Yoshi, Spyro and Cars are your top picks.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger The only reason I chose NSMBUD is that there are two new characters, Toadette and Nabbit that have been introduced and have special abilities which are designed to help out less experienced players. Plus you can have local co-op with just one Joy-Con controller, so an adult can help out if needed. I'll keep your thoughts in mind though!
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder Ah, of course there are, my mistake! Yep, get him started on 2D platforming early. Key gaming developmental skills and all that; none of this Fortnite twin-stick, episodic VR season-based loot box nonsense his generation is bound to thrive on.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@KratosMD The only Ace Combat game I've ever played is Assault Horizon. I really enjoyed it; was looking for something a bit different to shake up my third-person adventure preoccupation at the time, and it worked wonders. It has a cheesy plot arguably influenced by the success of the contemporary CoD: Modern Warfare games (leading some to label it "CoD in a Plane" at launch) but the gameplay is fast-paced, cinematic and accessible. It'll take you on some memorable missions, and has a couple of additional offline game modes, alongside a likely-now-defunct multiplayer. I keep meaning to replay it at some point, and would jump at a remastered version in a heartbeat.
I've also played Alpha Protocol, several times. It's an ambitious game you'll love for its attempt at providing a spy RPG on a BioWare scale, and its deep dialogue choices can have alarmingly different outcomes, perhaps moreso than in your average Mass Effect or Dragon Age. I choose to fondly remember and respect its potential way more than the actual experience of playing it, however, because all of that ambition and detail weighs upon its technical performance, making the game frequently creak and occasionally break. The framerate is often slow, even in undemanding environments, texture pop-in is commonplace in cutscenes and I recall the whole thing crashing on me several times.
Assault Horizon doesn't arguably need a remaster, despite my comment above, but Alpha Protocol is most definitely crying out for one. You should want to forgive it its flaws; if you reckon you've got that capacity, then I'd recommend it... otherwise, not so much.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@KratosMD No problemo. Hope I'm not steering you wrong! I'm probably being overly cautious, but I just wanna clarify that Assault Horizon is fast-paced in its frequent combat but, as a flight sim with narrative focus, there are also "go over here in a straight line" moments where you'll be sat in the cockpit, keeping it level, listening to other characters have conversations in your ear. When things kick off, though, you won't be disappointed. I just looked up a clip and wanna play it now!
Rumours frequently crop up regarding an alleged Alpha Protocol remaster, so SEGA and Microsoft will see various associated hashtags on a regular basis. It's probably mid-to-high on the list of potentials, put it that way. I think you're wise to wait for definitive news, one way or another.
Of course, sod's law dictates that if you did buy it now, they'd announce a remaster the day after you finish it and so, for purely selfish reasons, I should be saying the opposite!
Sorry I couldn't help with Ninja Blade or Front Mission Evolved. Hope somebody pops by soon!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@KratosMD Sounds like quite the shopping list! Very nice!
I've got the very first Ghost Recon as a PS2 Classic on my PS3, but I haven't started it yet. I purchased it on brand recognition alone, and subsequently discovered its reputation for being challengingly realistic. I still haven't played Vegas 2 either, which is likewise installed on my PS3 ready to go. I find that a single Tom Clancy game nicely scratches an itch, but that playing two or more consecutively can hurt my enjoyment of them. It'll therefore be a while before I'm potentially playing any of the Advanced Warfighter games but, should I ever bite, I'll try and remember to tag you with some thoughts.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@KratosMD I remember Time to Kill from many years ago. Silly game but good fun. Some ridiculous weapons and lots of dirty humour. The time travelling device means you get to go around a good array of era but I don't remember much in the way of detail. I can see what you mean about Tomb Raider similarities in some ways but no annoying puzzles!
All I remember from Syphon Filter is playing the demo for the first game a ridiculous amount of times.
@KratosMD Again, limited experience with that list, this time only Syphon Filter 2. As with most of the PSone era, it'll take you a little while to get to grips with its control scheme. A lot of the gunplay can be stop-start at times, since the game's mid-to-high difficulty forces a cautionary approach as snipers pick at you from the edge of the graphics' draw distance.
But once you're in the zone, it can approach Metal Gear levels of excellence, with some cracking stealth missions peppered throughout its impressive duration.
One of my childhood favourites, from the middle of a trilogy I keep meaning to play through again.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@KratosMD No, I think you'll be okay jumping straight to the sequel. That's what I did when I was younger, and the story is generic B-movie schlock which is easy enough to pick up and piece together. It's one of those games where you're not really showing up for its narrative anyway, so as long as you don't mind tolerating a couple of missable "Oh, it's you!" moments, you'll still enjoy yourself. Worst case, you can always just read a synopsis of the first game's story to give you enough name recognition to get by.
Oh, and I second @nessisonett and the endorsement of Rainbow Six. It's clunky as heck, but has a unique atmosphere which can be quite engaging when it wants to be.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
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