Best Kids Games on PS4

wolfenstein 2.thats the best kids game 😱😂👍.this is a extremely fun game.word up son

I must be the only one who never played Minecraft.
Many great games on the list. There are also games like Legend of Kay, Lego City Undercover, A Hat in Time, first Knack.

Is Sonic Forces any good? I didn’t try it yet.

You'd only ever expose a child to Knack if you hate that child.

I'm glad a lego game was included, but I would have put Lego worlds in as well or instead of DC villains. It is like minecraft only with
Legos. The building controls are fantastic once you get used to it. You can copy and paste as well. My daughter and I built our own city in less than an hour. Quite fun to co-op.

Kinda telling that I have two of these 'kids' games (Sonic Mania Plus and Ratchet & Clank) currently installed on my PS4, and another in my library (Tearaway Unfolded) waiting to be torn open by me and my God children. I'm a kid at heart!

Legend of Kay. :>

No Plants v Zombies GW2? My son is 7 and he loves that. Also, dare I say it, Fortnite. And he's also a big Lego Worlds fan. Others to get a look in round our way are Disney Infinity 3.0, Goat Simulator, Nidhogg, Towerfall Acension, Broforce and a few others.

Great list, but should probably be a top 30 one at least as the Kingdom Hearts collection massively deserves to be in the top ten! Also Hat in Time, Stardew Valley, and all of the Dragon Quest Western releases deserve a mention (I personally preferred DQ Builders to Minecraft as I could never really get on with the latter).
Edit: I appreciate the Swords of Ditto mention btw - that game deserves more love than it has so far received!

I’d say count all lego games as 1 entry and add disney infinity 2/3 and the list is perfect.

Ni No Kuni 2, anyone? On normal difficulty it could be a perfect introduction to JRPG.

I could add a few more to the list, as these are ones that my kids also play...honestly surprised that they weren't added in some ways...

There's 4x Skylanders Games
2x Disney Infinity Games
Just Dance
Snoopy's Grand Adventure
Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard
Ben 10
TMNT: Mutants In Manhattan
Transformers: devastation
Cartoon Network Battle Crashers
Atari Flashback Classics Vol 1-3
Disney Afternoon Collection
Dynamite Fishing (my kids love this one)
Angry Birds Star Wars
Putty Squad
All Star Fruit Racing
Paw Patrol On A Roll (this one is an obvious pick)
Nickelodeon Kart Racers

Again, this was my opinions on them, as Ratchet And Clank and Knack are still too difficult for them. I can also add the Lego games too. There's a few others on the Playstation Store front that I could list too, but the Dynamite Fishing is fun for them (granted that there's a patch that needs to be done with the trophies...as many are impossible to get due to glitches). Flower is another great one that my kids love...and Flower offers the 'Can't Die' mechanics and gives them the peace with the incredible music! Surprised that FLOWER wasn't added for this list!!!! Also surprised about the Paw Patrol game.

Stardew Valley should have been #1. In fact, I got confused when I saw that it and/or Minecraft wasn't #2 because I absolutely 100% assumed SV would be included. Plants v Zombies 2 is another one that my younger kid loves. It's a great game because it kinda looks like a Fortnight/Overwatch if you're 8 and it lets them play a FPS-style game.

@andreoni79 I totally forgot about that one, even though I spent most of May playing it! It's definitely the perfect introduction for children to JRPGs, especially because it doesn't have a long drawn out introduction like many other games in that category do. Also, I really love the scores of the NNK games - it's obvious that the composer is a fan of Bizet operas!

@PS_Nation And i will never will play it. 😜

@Flaming_Kaiser Sonic Forces? Yeah, I understand, the recent 3D Sonic games are awful. Maybe I will buy if it’s very cheap.

Ratchet & Clank is an amazing game , my nephew loved it .

@PS_Nation Sonic Forces isn't a bad game. Just very unremarkable. As long as you don't expect a game on par with Generations, Unleashed or Mania you should be fine. Get it for $20 or less though.

My daughter likes Need for Speed: Rivals. She likes being the cop.

@kyleforrester87 SOTC is something every kid should play. The earlier you force them to like it, the easier it is make them do so. Gets a lot harder when they're older.

Sadly, we all know Fortnite and Call of Duty is what they are looking for... 😪 Tell them about Spyro or Crash and they will look away. Now those are real gems.

@tomassi yeah my boys have played hundreds of hours of PVZGW2. Great kid friendly shooter and Towerfall is our go to game. So simple but we always have a blast playing it.

Fat Princess Adventures is another one that's good for kids if you turn off the blood/gore.

@kyleforrester87 I was in the shadow of the colossus in the very same club. The bouncer kicked me out after minesweeping near the dance floor.

@redd214 Yeah I can't speak highly enough of PvZ. He doesn't play online and doesn't spend money on anything and he loves it.

I'll have to check out Fat Princess, thanks for the tip!

I downloaded 'Crow' yesterday. It's a free animated VR story for kids based on a Native American myth. The only interaction required is to point the beam at the 'start' button., After that you just watch the story unfold around you. It's got a big name cast topped with Oprah Winfrey.

Don't agree with quite a few on the list.
My 6 year old daughter would disagree as well as her favourites are...

Lego City Undercover - Basically GTA for kids, it actually looks fun to play as well.

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 - She was drawn to this after seeing me playing it and I think it's the character models and cute monsters that pulled her in.

Dynamite Fishing - No idea why she likes this, weird child.

Ben 10 - She is a fan of the cartoon so it spawned from that. Game looks reasonably good though.

Ape Escape 2 - Monkeys, need I say more.

Cat Quest - She is really looking forward to the 2nd one so we can play coop.

Shred It - simple snowboarding game where you jump and duck obstacles.

Elevator Action - really not sure why she likes this either.

Slime Rancher - super cute looking game where you get to farm and look after slimes.

Pacman 256 - pretty good take on Pacman with different skins to change the feel of the game.

Q-Bert - I kinda hate this game but she likes it for some reason.

Slow news day?

@antdickens Nothing new to talk about so we will re-post a "feature article" from last year. My definition of a slow news day.

Lol kids don't play anything not called Fortnite

@DualWielding Sad but so true.

My kids and I loved playing Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. Great co-op play, tight controls and cutesy visuals.

Knack 2 is there but no Astro Bot.

jumps off a cliff

For me, these are not kids games, but games for all ages, and also too difficult for small children. Kids games are usually games based on toys or cartoons, like Paw Patrol.

Oh man there is a lot of friendship ending games in that list!

My 7 year old adores Journey and Flower. Tearaway is brilliant with both kids as the younger one- who is too little to play- can doodle on the second screen and send them in to the game world

Minecraft is only for serious gamerz.

Knack 2 better than Crash trilogy??? In what parallel universe?

Personally thought Tearaway was incredibly dull.

@thefirst Glad to hear that about Knack 2. I liked the first one decently, so if 2 is that much better, then great!

I'd add Horizon Chase - my baby is hypnotised by it and I know he's not the only one! Fast, colourful, super simple, great music, it's a winner.

Hey don't forget retro games that are available on PS4, why don't you put that in on the list. Retro games can still be child friendly, and can entertain children now like they did back then. Also I have heard from retro gamers that are parent that they bond closer with their kids when they play retro games together. A parent who grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog as a kid and the children of parent that have been introduced to Sonic the Hedgehog, that parent and their children will bond closer all because of a retro game both parent and children adore. So here's my list of retro game that you can give to your kids (and even bond together):

Disney Afternoon Collection: This collection of classic NES Disney games that was released from 1989-1994, these compilation of Disney games can still entertain children. If your kids played Ducktales: Remastered on PS3 (or another console), then let them try the NES original (and the sequel) in this collection, they may like or love the game. Also, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers 1 & 2 in the collection should please kids if they like the 2 players mode. I'm sure Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin can still entertain children even if the games in this compilation collection are old.

Disney classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King-How many of you played Aladdin and the Lion King on the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo back in 1993/1994? Well these games are going to make a return in this upcoming re-release. Why am I putting this re-release on my list, it's because a lot of kids back in 1993/1994 (including me) played these games. I had fond memory playing Aladdin on my SNES and SEGA Genesis. I also played The Lion King in the same era. So if you have kids, and they watched The Lion King and Aladdin whether it's the classic animated movies or the recent live-action adaptation, they will enjoy this game. If a lot of kids in 1993/1994 played and loved Aladdin and The Lion King video game, then I'm sure kids today will enjoy this one. If you're a person who grew up in 1993/1994 playing this game as a kid, and you have children, get this game for your kids. Parents that played this game as a kid and playing this game with their children will bond closer.

SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics: OK, now Sonic Mania is on the list. But how can you forget SEGA Genesis Classics. That game collection is the only way your child can play Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 (along with Sonic Spinball, and Sonic 3D Blast). Beside Sonic, there are other Genesis/Mega Drive games in the collection that kids today can still enjoy. Shinobi (Shinobi 3, Revenge of Shinobi, Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi), Golden Axe (all 3 of them), Streets of Rage (all 3 of them although the 2nd one is my favorite), Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Ristar, Galaxy Force 2, Gunstar Heroes, Flicky, Kid Chameleon, Space Harrier 2, Wonderboy III, and Wonderboy in Monster World can be really fun for kids if you get this game collection. A lot of the Genesis/Mega Drive games I mentioned were played by kids back then, I don't see any reason why kids today wouldn't be turned off by old game in this collection.

SNK 40th anniversary collection: Despite the Teen rating from ESRB, and if you can find a way to not let your kids play Beast Busters, and SAR: Search and Rescue, then the other games in the collection should be OK for your kids. Ikari Warriors (all 3 of them), P.O.W, Alpha Mission, Time Soldiers, Prehistoric Isle, Bermuda Triangle, and World Wars in the collection should keep your kids enjoying these old school games.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2: Anybody remember playing Mega Man on their NES or any of it's sequel? When Mega Man first came out on NES, kids were the one playing this game back then. I still believe kids today can play and enjoy Mega Man classic in this collection even if the games are from another period. Mega Man already has a cartoon and several anime shows aimed at kids, so the game in both legacy collection should keep the kids entertain. Make sure your children are aware that Mega man are fun to play, but at the same time they can be difficult (the first and the third game in Mega Man Legacy Collection were classified as "Nintendo Hard" when they first came out back on NES).

Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection: Yep another Mega man franchise is getting a legacy collection, Mega Man Zero and it's sequels. It has been rated Teen despite the game has been rated E when it was released on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, I asked a Gamestop employee who played Mega Man Zero and he told me even in it's uncut format, Mega Man Zero and it's sequels are still kid-friendly. I asked him despite the T-rating, is it still safe for 6-7 years old to play? He said yes, the game is safe for a 6-7 year old. So if you're still skeptical about the teen rating it got, play it for yourself and judge/determine if this game is OK for your kids. My opinion: If it's previously rated E on GBA, and re-release on PS4 with a T-rating, I'm sure your 6-7 years old are going to be OK with Mega Man Zero/ZX legacy collection despite the Teen rating.

Contra Anniversary Collection: This compilation collection that make up of all the good Contra games from the arcade, NES era is in this one. Again, kids back in the NES period played Contra and Super C. This collection also has the arcade version of Contra, and Super Contra. Overall, this collection has 10 classic Contra games (and that include the Japanese version so your kids can not only compare 2 different versions, but also the Japanese version has some features not found in the English/US version). Again like Mega Man, Contra is fun but also difficult (yes, there are save slots in this collection to make it easier if you get a game over), the NES version of Contra has been classified as Nintendo Hard, so make sure your kids are taught that older game are harder then today's game, also make sure your kids save often when they played the NES version of Contra (as a matter of fact, make sure they always save often whatever Contra game they're playing in this collection).

Castlevania Anniversary Collection: Despite the Teen rating from ESRB, I still believe the early NES Castlevania game are pretty tame by today's standard and can still be played by kids today. Super Castlevania IV, and Castlevania: Bloodlines can still impress young children today when they play it. Including in this collection is Kid Dracula (released only in Japan on NES/Famicom) and translated in English for the first time for western audiences. Like the title, Kid Dracula was designed to appeal to children, so if your kids want to play something light in this collection, Kid Dracula can fulfill that for your kids. Like Contra, there are also Japanese version of each Castlevania games included in this collection. So your kids can play and compare both English and Japanese version. Like I mentioned in previous games like Contra and Mega Man, Castlevania 1 and 3 are classified as Nintendo Hard. So make sure like Contra, save often and make sure your kids are taught that Castlevania although fun but can be difficult, make sure your kids always save often when they're playing the first and third Castlevania game. I believe the Japanese NES/Famicom version of Castlevania 1 does have an easy mode option if your kids can't handle the Nintendo hard found in the US NES version of Castlevania.

Castlevania Requiem: Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night-I would recommend this game collection for kids age 9-10, and if those 9-10 years old completed Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and they want more Castlevania game, give them Rondo Of Blood and Symphony of the Night. I've heard of kids at that age back during the PS1 era played Symphony of the Night despite the Teen rating, so it should be OK.

Super Star Wars: This SNES game got a PS4 release via PS Store which really surprised me because I never thought we would get a SNES game on a Playstation console. Also it's a Star Wars game, what kid does not love Star Wars. So buy this game from the PS store if your kids love Star Wars and don't mind the game was from another era. Oh and one note: Super Star Wars despite being a SNES game, this game has been classified as Nintendo Hard. So please make sure your kids are aware of this game not going to be an easy run.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection: Anybody remember playing Street Fighter 2 on the Arcade or on SNES or on SEGA Genesis back in the 90's? I'm sure many kids as young as 7 years old back in the 90's did. Does your children currently played Ultra Street Fighter 4 or Street Fighter 5? Then take them back to 1991 with this game collection. Street Fighter 2 (Champion Edition, Turbo Hyper Fighting, and Super Turbo should keep the kids entertain) and the sequels that comes after it in the collection can still be fun and enjoyable by kids today. Don't worry about the Teen rating from the ESRB, all the SF games in the collection are pretty tame by today's standard.

Capcom Beat em up Bundle: Anybody here grew up playing arcade beat em up game back in the old day? Anybody remember playing Final Fight at the arcade (or playing the dumb down version on SNES, or the near arcade perfect version on SEGA CD)? Well, this collection (7 games total, that include their Japanese version) has it all. Also you want your kids away from Fortnite, but at the same time can't play Batman: Arkham series due to the game being too dark. No problem, Capcom Beat em up Bundle can fulfill that. Final Fight from 1989 can still entertain kids today (that's because kids play this game when it first came out at the arcade), it's more fun since it's connected to Street Fighter. Also in this collection, The King of Dragons, and Knights of the Round can entertain your kids if they're into medieval setting, the legend of King Arthur, etc... Armored Warriors in this collection is perfect for your kids if they loved giant robot/mech beating other mech/robot up. Captain Commando and Battle Circuit are the only 2 games in this collection that have 4 player mode. So if you want your kids to play 4 player multiplayer, there you go. Also let me make it easy to help how many multiplayer each game in the collection has:

-Final Fight: 2 players maximum
-3 players maximum: The King of Dragons, Knights of the Round, Warriors of Fate, Armored Warriors
-4 player maximum: Captain Commando, Battle Circuit

So yeah if you have a kids and their cousins, friends come over and they want a game they can play and enjoy. Capcom Beat em up Bundle can do that. Beat em ups are played by children back then, I still believe today's kids can still enjoy the genre.

The Arcade Archive from Hamster Corporation also have a bunch of good retro arcade and Neo Geo games that your kids can enjoy:

Arcade Archive:

Double Dragon: Come on, everybody knows this game was played by kids back in the old day. The NES version is the most well-known version. But the arcade version will always be the king. So yes, you can buy this one off of the PS Store.

Double Dragon 2: Just like Double Dragon, many kids played this game back in the day. I don't see any reason why kids today would not be turned off by this game.

Ninja Gaiden: Don't want your kids to play the M-rated version from Team Ninja. No problem, the arcade version from 1988 can still entertain children. It comes with both US and Japanese version.

Bubble Bobble: This cute 1986 arcade game from Taito can guarantee to entertain your kids.

There maybe other in the Arcade Archives, I haven't got chance to look at them.

I hope these will help when thinking about getting retro games for PS4 for your kids.

Minecraft will always be in first place

Just reading through this list, it really does show how the PS4 really has all of it’s quality games aimed at older audiences. It’s better than the XB1 lineup, but Sony could really do better in catering for families with the PS5.

Island Saver is the best game for young children, and the base game is free too.

Handy that this popped up as my nephew wants a PS4 for his birthday, mainly for Spider-man though!

1. Yonder The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
2. Portal Knights
3. Evoland: Legendary Edition
4. Dragon Quest Builders 1 + 2
5. My Universe: My Baby
6. My Universe: Fashion Boutique
7. PAW Patrol Mighty Pups
8. My Universe: School Teacher
9. Doraemon Story of Seasons
10. Planet Coaster

My niece and I played through Rayman Legends last summer. Best couch co-op I have ever played. That game gets my number one spot.

"kids games"
I feel personally attacked because I enjoyed half of these XD

Yeah idk about Fall Guys. Seems like one of those games that has the look of a kids game but I really don't see anyone 10 or under playing it. My "kids" are too old for me to know that for sure but my gut says nah. Same with Rocket League.

Saw some other commenter mention Fat Princess though. Definitely agree. LBP1 and 2, the DC Lego games, Mod Nation Racers, Fat Princess, and Minecraft were hits when mine were still in this age range.

Yeah there’s something really condescending about calling these “kids games” rather than family friendly or games suitable for kids. It implies they’re made for kids, not for adults as well, when most of these are made with both in mind.

But I don’t think that’s how the article intends it so no harm! It’s a good list on the whole!

My kid has New Super Lucky's Tale on the Switch and enjoys it. They're going to be getting that new Hot Wheels game for Christmas this year.

New Super Lucky's Tale is seriously underrated. Easy enough for a kid to get through, the platinum is tough enough for an adult to not be bored.

Want a sequel

I'm actually a tad surprised to see Sonic Mania on here. Don't get me wrong, Sonic Mania is my favorite Sonic game of all time, but that final boss kicked my trash, and I'm a grown-a adult. Haha!

@Ogbert I think that "kids" games really means games that are accessible to kids. As an adult, I play whatever I darn well please. I played last month I played Rift Apart and DMC 5 back-to-back and it was fantastic. Haha!

I would recommend both Yooka-Laylee titles as well. I haven't played The Impossible Lair yet, but it was received better than the original, which I really enjoyed personally.

A top 25 list and 75 comments and nobody even mentions LOCOROCO?! That should be number one on the list by a long mile.

Spiderman is also suitable for children despite the 15 rating in Europe. It has no blood of swearing in and only had that rating because of the punch ups.

If also mention a loaf of other PlayStation classics: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Flower, Journey, Jak trilogy, Sly Cooper trilogy, WipEout, Gran Turismo Sport, Burnout Paradise etc etc

New Super Lucky's Tales is just brilliant. Love that game!

My kids also like Moving Out (which is similar to Overcooked but moving furniture etc), Golf with your Friends, Astro's Playroom (on PS5 of course), Human Fall Flat, Bugsnax, King Oddball, Beach Buggy Racing, Castle Crashers, Broforce, Brawlout, Disney Infinity, Goat Simulator, Lego Worlds, Minecraft Dungeons, Nidhogg 2, Nippon Marathon, Plants Vs Zombies, Speed Runners, Runbow, That's You, Frantics, Chimparty, Trials Fusion and Unravel.

These games vary in quality from an adult perspective, but they love playing them. So some suggestions there for anyone who cares to take them!

How is the absolute banger that is Bugsnax not in this list?!