Nintendo Switch: 5 must-buy games for younger kids this holiday season
Like I said before, while there are a lot of great games for kids, there’s also a lot of predatory companies that will absolutely shoot out some trash because your kids are likely not to make a return as they have no buying power. Here are five that I promise you you’ll thank me for avoiding.
Bakugan: Champions of Vestoria
To say that my children were obsessed with Bakugan is a violent understatement of the highest order. Then I got them the game. This poorly made cash grab was so boring and so devoid of life and enjoyment that my kids not only stopped playing it, they stopped watching the cartoon and playing with their toys. Which, I guess this is good if you’re tired of hearing that show’s themesong.
Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay
There’s a LOT of shows for young kids that have been slowly getting video games. In addition to Paw Patrol, shows like PJ Masks and Octonauts have also been trying this. And while all of them are remarkably bad and not recommended, the big one of this group is Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay. This game was shot together so fast that the game has bugs that straight up make it unplayable. Stages will freeze or become unable to be beaten. And one of the biggest errors is that if you jump in to help your kid in two-player mode, the game won’t be able to handle it and just completely shut down. Oh, and as with almost all the games made off a property for kids, don’t expect this to ever be patched.
Hot Wheels Unleashed!
“But hold on Eric, you gave that game a really good review!” First off, aww, you read my other articles, thanks. Secondly, I did give it a really good review, but I also mentioned that it’s difficult. Hot Wheels Unleashed is one of the most difficult racing games I’ve ever played. Especially if you’re racing on player-made tracks, if you’re not taking momentum, trajectory and speed into account when taking a lot of the turns and jumps you’re gonna be in trouble. So unless your kid is super into trigonometry, maybe drive on past this one for younger kids.
Fortnite
Listen, this isn’t me being a hater on one of the biggest games of our lifetime. I don’t play it but I’m not going to hate on it. I’m just saying as a parent and someone who spent an embarrassingly long time working at Gamestop (I know) I’m telling you, if you get your kid into Fortnite it won’t be a month before you’ll be one of those lifeless parents standing in front of the Gamestop counter every paycheck buying your kid “vbucks” so they can get the latest in-game clothing. You say you don’t do that…but you will…because that game has become the newest place to flex clothing and your child will probably feel straight-up embarrassed if they have a default skin. Also the game actually turns ads into in-game characters so…meh.
Jenny LeClue – Detective
This is a weird one. Jenny LeClue is a wonderfully well-written point-and-click adventure on the Nintendo Switch. You play as Jenny LeClue, a self-proclaimed junior detective that’s solving minor mysteries for people around the college campus your mom teaches at. It’s funny, it’s clever, and I loved the protagonist. What I didn’t love was when I went to cook dinner and came back to find my son wide-eyed and pale looking because the game’s story takes a dark turn about two hours in and my kid was investigating the wounds on a well-detailed cadaver that has had their neck broken in an insane angle to the point where the spine was visible against the skin. This isn’t the fault of the developers, I just know this one is a bit infamous in one of the parent groups I talk with online as I’m not the only one who mistakenly thought this was for younger kids. You might enjoy it yourself though!