Good Steam games for an 8 year old girl?

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  • I'm going to set up a Steam PC in the lounge room as a Christmas present for my 8 year old daughter. She hasn't got much experience playing videogames up till now (and I've been too busy making Spryke to spend much time playing other games myself). Probably the most 'gaming' experience she's had is with the dinosaur game Google Chrome pops up when the internet is down, which is probably kind of insane considering her father's a game developer XD. I think it's a good time to introduce her to the world of videogames more properly. It'll mean she watches less youtube, which is some kind of improvement at least ;)

    I have a large Steam library already, though it contains a lot of age-inappropriate games, and peters out at about 2014, which is when I started working on Spryke and stopped playing other games for the most part. So I'm very out of the loop with what's out there. I'd love to get some recommendations from those of you with a better sense of what good games are out there and/or what games are great for this age group. It doesn't have to be Fusion-made games of course (that would mean something to me, but she wouldn't care either way). And obviously nothing too violent or dark, especially as her 5-year old sister may play/watch as well. And nothing very difficult, as her confidence wouldn't be high yet. She probably wouldn't be into racing or fighting or shooting games, but I can imagine she could enjoy platformers/puzzlers/rhythm games/exploration games, or maybe a mild anime-themed RPGish game. Two player games that I can play with her would be great. And also some games that my other 5-year old daughter might like. And definitely nothing with Free-to-play addiction/dripfeed-based mechanics - I'm deeply against that garbage.

    Thanks!

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  • Did a quick peek in my steam lib......
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    (maybe this game has been removed)
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    (you are a newbee death and your mission is use your poor ability to create chain actions to cause accident)
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    (I think that all trine series is OK but I only purchased 2)

  • Jumping straight to PC for kids that age can be overwhelming and the lack of parental controls that perfectly work 100% of the time can potentially drive you insane.

    My suggestions for that age range with minimal cost and headache if something gets deleted/destroyed that 2 kids can enjoy:


    You might consider The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini. You can software mod via PC to add more games to the internal memory (I added over 100 to mine and got it from Japan for the 6 button) and with USB drive attached. You can setup a library that you approve of on it, with Master System games too. The Mega Drive mini comes with the awesome 6 button controller and you can get the 8bitdo blue wired one as a second. The SNES Mini is pretty good too. Pretty kid resistant if you only use the internal memory.

    I also recommend an emulation console with pre-loaded games like the Super Console X Pro, as I set one of these up for a friend in an arcade anywhere setup with 2 HORI Switch wired controllers and they work great. You can change the parameters of which consoles and games/types you want to be accessible or not. 40+ consoles/old computers, choose the 48,000+ games version. You will probably want to choose the consoles and games and put it into kiosk or one level above it mode and definitely backup the microsd card that comes preloaded the multitude of games. They would enjoy the SNK NEO GEO pocket fighting games and similar.

    Another great route while the DSI and eshop are still active for the 2DS/3DS systems is to get a used 2DS and load it up with a wide genre of games and the parental controls are consistent. Or get two, as download play is wonderful for saving money and allowing multiplayer. Game making programs for DS, drawing, music creation, education, core gaming genres, Nintendogs, Brain Age, old PC game ports, and tons more you hook her up with are in physical and digital formats.

    I do not suggest giving a big library to them at once, I would do 10 at a time or so, and if chores, exercise, and schoolwork are on point, then they unlock more games as the weeks go on. Don't hold back on genres (still age restricted/parental choices,etc), let them find and try things, you might be surprised. I also like to ask kids what they did and didn't like about the games they tried, they can offer some truly eye-opening perspectives we may not have though of and you can reward them for their reviews :)

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  • Xhadoe, thanks for the detailed suggestions. But buying a kid a gaming system with nothing but clunky 40-year old games on it sounds like some kind of elaborately cruel practical joke to me. If I had unwrapped a Christmas present as a kid only to find a copy of Pong, I'd still be struggling to forgive the deed today XD

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  • If you can, just buy her a gaming console like the switch
    It has a lot of family friendly games that are really fun

    I would recommend mario games to death like mario oddesy, maker or even that deluxe one

    Zelda botw is great, though it might be too complex for 8 years old

    You can do quick search and find many good games

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  • The following are my opinions based on my decades of gaming, experiences at AAA and indie companies, multiple industries, and my love for creating.

    If you actually look at the games on the Super Console X Pro, the emulators can get up to the 32bit/64bit 3d eras, and there are thousands of 2d and 3d arcade games most of us never got to play from various countries. The 2-4 player ones are great to play with kids ;) Go ahead and try some of the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s arcade action and shooter games and let me know how clunky they are :p

    Genres really have not changed much since the 1980s. We have to show respect for where we came from as gamers and designers, otherwise we keep repeating the same stuff and reinventing the same, tarnished wheel that many free to play and pay to win games do. Sharing these experiences with younger generations helps their creative process in ways we can't emulate.

    Rocket League IS Pong, Breakout, or Ball blazer with prettier graphics and better gameplay.

    Every FPS is pulled from Gauntlet, Robotron and Doom. Physics have improved but few have brought innovation to the genre in decades.

    Tetris is... Tetris

    Most overhead or side scrolling shooters are Space invaders, Asteroids, Gorf, Scamble, Galaga, & Defender.

    Most platformers are variants of Space Panic, Donkey Kong and Popeye.

    My kids (and many others I have helped teach over the years at GDC, career wise, and personally) were exposed to every generation I could get them exposed to, so that they knew the history and could better ascertain what makes a great game different from really bad games. It also makes them way better gamers than their peers because many of today's games are easy (usually designed to exploit the user out of time and/or money first) and hold the users hand along the way instead of teaching them critical thinking skills and fine tuning the hand-eye coordination.

    The SNES and Genesis have some amazing NEW indie games for them and many kid friendly titles. /retro rant

    StickFight, Terraria, Stardew Valley, Audio Surf, Sonic CD, Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 or 2, Pac-Man 256, Party Jousting, Nidhogg 1 or 2, Lethal League 1 or 2, Nights into Dreams, Peggle Nights, Puzzle Quest, World of Goo, Ducktales Remastered, Castle of Illusion, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Yooka Laylee, Crayon Physics Deluxe, are some of the ones I suggest on Steam that have worked for that age range and most of them are fun.

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  • Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm not worried parental control issues. She'll play the games that I install, or ask my permission to install others.

    Xhadoe, I'm intimately aware of what the older game landscape was like, because I lived it myself, and I have no desire or need to relive it. I grew up playing Atari 2600, C64, NES, Game Gear, SNES, and so on. Those games wowed me and instilled a lifelong love of gaming. But unlike many whose imaginations seem to have stalled in that era, I don't have rose colored glasses, and I'm aware of those games' limitations. I know from personal experience of playing both classic and modern games that modern games are on the whole better, since they can stand on the shoulders of the classics and add a better graphics, audio, physics, and a sprinkling of modern gameplay innovations (not least of which is the ditching of the crappy arcade-era 3-lives-and-restart model which sacrificed fun on the altar of profit in much the same way that free-to-play games do today).

    If people like to fetishise retro for the sake of retro that's their choice, but that's not for me. As a wise person once said:

    Rocket League IS Pong, Breakout, or Ball blazer with prettier graphics and better gameplay.

    Exactly.

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  • I am not sure if anyone suggested it yet but how about Overcooked? I think there might be a out sequel as well now...

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    Despite what the trailer says, it is available on Steam as well!

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  • I am not sure if anyone suggested it yet but how about Overcooked? I think there might be a out sequel as well now...

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    Despite what the trailer says, it is available on Steam as well!

    That game will cause ruined childhood, destroyed friendships and maybe some heart attacks here and there :)
    + some broken controllers / keyboards, maybe some screens too

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  • Wow, games are expensive nowadays. I just looked at my Steam wishlist from 5+ years ago. I assumed everything on there would be dirt cheap by now, but most everything was like $50.

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