Video games are sometimes considered unhealthy for kids. However, if you choose the right games and limit the time your child spends on the computer, they can actually be beneficial.

By carefully selecting age-appropriate games, you can boost your child’s creativity, logical thinking, pattern recognition, coordination, reflexes, and a number of other skills. Monitoring and managing their screen time is key to ensuring a healthy balance between entertainment and personal development.

Explore our handpicked selection of kid-friendly video games that offer both fun and educational value. Check out the list below to find the perfect game for your child

GameReleaseGenreDeveloper
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom 2018-01-19 Adventure Level-5
LEGO The Hobbit 2014-04-10 Adventure Traveller's Tales
Minecraft Java Edition 2013-11-19 Action Mojang Studios
Overcooked 2 2018-08-07 Indie Ghost Town Games
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy 2018-06-29 Action Vicarious Visions
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 2021-10-14 Indie Jackbox Games, Inc.
Fifa 23 2022-09-30 Sports EA Vancouver
Chrono Trigger 2018-02-27 RPG Square
Stardew Valley 2016-02-26 Adventure ConcernedApe
No Man's Sky 2016-08-12 Adventure Hello Games

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Release date:2018-01-19
Genre:Adventure
Developer:Level-5

The first game on the list is none other than Ni No Kuni – a fantastic and relatively easy-action RPG.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom follows the story of a young King as he tries to unite the nations under his banner to fight back the evil forces. The game isn’t hard so kids shouldn’t have too much trouble slashing through the levels with their anime characters. In fact, more experienced players blamed the game for being too easy, which resulted in adding new difficulty levels later on.

Key features
  • Open-world environment
  • Easy gameplay focused on combat and exploration
  • Elements of kingdom management
  • Pretty anime-styled visuals

LEGO The Hobbit

Release date:2014-04-10
Genre:Adventure
Developer:Traveller's Tales

You can’t talk about games for kids without mentioning any LEGO titles, so here’s one.

Lego The Hobbit is an action-adventure game that takes the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and puts them into the Lego universe. As a result, we get a light-hearted story that follows the events of the original Hobbit but adds a lot of humor, for which Lego games are known. Apart from the casual-friendly atmosphere, there is a lot of stuff to find and collect, which could spark a flame of curiosity.

Key features
  • An action-adventure game that follows the story of the original Hobbit
  • The gameplay focused on exploration and solving simple puzzles
  • Lots of collectibles and unlockables for the most curious players
  • Light-hearted atmosphere

Minecraft

Release date:2013-11-19
Genre:Action
Developer:Mojang Studios

Who didn’t hear about Minecraft? If you happen to be one of such people, here’s some explanation.

Minecraft is a sandbox survival game that puts emphasis on exploring procedurally generated and virtually infinite worlds and shaping them to your liking. The entire environment is made of blocks you can mine, place, and rearrange the way you want, which makes Minecraft essentially a game where you can build things from your wildest dreams – a great tool for kids to unleash their creativity.

Key features
  • A sandbox game for the creative people
  • An open-world environment with procedurally generated worlds
  • The gameplay focused on exploration, survival, and building
  • Lots of various, unique biomes with their own special resources

Overcooked! 2

Release date:2018-08-07
Genre:Indie
Developer:Ghost Town Games

Fast-paced cooking games may also be a fun way for your child to spend some free time.

Overcooked! 2 is a fun cooking simulation game, where players can team up with up to 3 other people or play alone in order to serve as many dishes in the given time as possible. It’s easier said than done, though – certain parts of some levels are in constant motion, forcing players to cooperate to get a better score. Instead of trying to be everywhere, just toss the ingredients to your friends.

Key features
  • A cooking simulation game
  • Gameplay can be chaotic but in a fun way
  • A lot of unique levels, each with its own challenges to overcome
  • Can be played solo but gets much better in co-op

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Release date:2018-06-29
Genre:Action
Developer:Vicarious Visions

Crash Bandicoot makes a return and it does it with style.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a remastered bundle of the first three Crash Bandicoot games that focus on the adventures of the titular bandicoot protagonist. It’s a fun classic platformer experience combining side-view and third-person levels. The main objective is to complete the levels as fast as possible while avoiding obstacles and traps, and picking up collectibles for extra points.

Key features
  • A remastered version of three classic Crash Bandicoot games
  • Gameplay full of constant action
  • Lots of unique and well-designed levels to complete
  • Fun and casual atmosphere with a fitting background music

The Jackbox Party Pack 8

Release date:2021-10-14
Genre:Indie
Developer:Jackbox Games, Inc.

If your child has siblings or friends to play with, Jackbox Party Packs would be a solid choice.

The Jackbox Party Pack 8 is another version of the popular franchise of video games designed for casual party play. Each party pack consists of several minigames that are mostly focused on playing with words, answering questions, drawing, and a bit of randomness for an extra unpredictability factor. If you have some friends to play with, it’s an excellent choice for an evening party.

Key features
  • A great game for a party
  • Several unique minigames to try
  • Designed mostly to be played with other people
  • Requires only one copy to play with others

FIFA 23

Release date:2022-09-30
Genre:Sports
Developer:EA Vancouver

If you’re wondering what to buy for your kid, FIFA 23 may be worth checking out.

FIFA 23 is a football simulation video game from an incredibly popular franchise. A perfect choice for those who enjoy sports – the game features tons of real-world clubs and football players, which makes the experience even more realistic. Multiplayer can be very competitive but there’s a lot of fun in single-player mode to be had as well.

Key features
  • An addictive football game from one of the most popular series
  • Easy to learn, hard to master
  • An impressive number of officially licensed clubs, football players, leagues, and more
  • A great choice to play with friends

Chrono Trigger

Release date:2018-02-27
Genre:RPG
Developer:Square

A number of old-school video games received a new life in recent years, thanks to various remasters and re-releases – here’s an example of such a game.

Chrono Trigger is a classic role-playing game where you control a team of heroes on their quest to save the world by adventuring through space and time. The combat has a lot in common with traditional Japanese RPGs, which means you’ll have to utilize your characters’ unique abilities in a creative way to secure victory.

Key features
  • A remastered version of a classic role-playing game
  • Combat that requires a bit of clever strategy
  • The simple but adorable pixel art style
  • New Game Plus mode for increased replayability

Stardew Valley

Release date:2016-02-26
Genre:Adventure
Developer:ConcernedApe

Rated at PEGI 7, Stardew Valley is an amazing game for kids who’d like to take care of their own farm.

Stardew Valley is a game where players get a piece of land and it’s up to them to decide how to utilize it best. The game’s open-ended gameplay allows players to play the game the way they enjoy the most. With a variety of available activities, there’s surely something for everyone.

Key features
  • A casual-friendly experience with adorable pixel-art graphics
  • The gameplay focused on exploration and farm management
  • Seasonal events and environmental changes
  • NPC relationship system, crafting, fishing, mining, fighting, and more

No Man's Sky

Release date:2016-08-12
Genre:Adventure
Developer:Hello Games

Finally, for those who’d like to travel to the stars and beyond, there’s an amazing space exploration game in the store.

No Man’s Sky is a beautiful 3D game focused on exploring distant star systems and planets, discovering their unique fauna and flora, and collecting rare materials for upgrades. One of the cool features of the game lies in the naming rights – whenever you encounter a new species of plants or animals, a new planet, and such, you are allowed to name them and the entire multiplayer community will see your contribution.

Key features
  • An addictive sci-fi survival title
  • The gameplay focused on universe exploration
  • Virtually infinite space to explore with over 18 quintillion planets to visit
  • Naming rights – name newly found animals and planets to leave proof of your presence

Video games are a popular choice for a source of entertainment for kids and not without a reason. They’re easily available to get and distribution platforms like Steam or Epic make the process even easier – purchasing the game online has never been better.

Some games bring a lot of educational value to the table or may improve a variety of cognition-related skills. Take a look at our list above to find out more about some of highly recommended video games for 10.