Ramble - 23 great PS4 games for kids..?

So, this popped up from PlayStation on my twitter feed the other day: 23 great PS4 games for kids available right now.  Since this is the very thing that this blog is about (family friendly gaming), of course I clicked on it!  But were there any fun surprises waiting for me?  Have they missed some obvious family friendly games?  Hmm, well, no.  And to be honest, it's a sort of disappointing list.  And why are there 23?  They could have just made it the 20 best.  It's like they were trying for 25 and they ran out of ideas!  Anyway...

I should say here that I'm not totally clear what PlayStation were thinking with "kids" - little kids, or teenagers?  Because though a lot of  games on here have low certificates, they're not really fun for little kids. Like their number 1 game on the list - FIFA 19 (PEGI-3), also NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (PEGI-3), Everybody's Golf (PEGI-3), even Rocket League (PEGI-3).  By their nature, sports games don't have a lot in them that's offensive, hence the low certificates.  But that doesn't mean they're good games for kids.  (If you have a teenage boy chances are he's heavily into FIFA, but he's probably not going to want to play with his family...)

Gang Beasts (PEGI-3) is a crazy party game, so we'll go with that (admittedly I haven't played it).  As is Overcooked! 2 (PEGI-3). 

There are some PlayLink games like Chimparty (PEGI-3) and the card game classic Uno (PEGI-3).  I don't know how I feel about playing Uno on the PS4.  I think part of its charm lies in the physical act of playing with cards.  Hmm.  Also, Melbit's World (PEGI-3), which I have never heard of!  (So I will not comment further.)

There are lots of LEGO games on the list - Lego Movie 2 (PEGI-7), Lego Marvel's The Avengers (PEGI-7), Lego Harry Potter Collection (PEGI-7), Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PEGI-7).  Fair enough, Lego games are fun, but they're all pretty similar just with different stories.

There are some classic platformers, like Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Collection (PEGI-7), Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PEGI-7), Ratchet & Clank (PEGI-7).  Good fun, sure.  :-)

LittleBigPlanet 3 - one of the best games on this list...

Then there's Yooka Laylee (PEGI-7), which has co-op mode and some multiplayer games for four players, so truly a family game that everyone can get involved with.  And LittleBigPlanet 3 (PEGI-7) has a fun multiplayer (though I have to say the third game is not my favourite).  And Tearaway (PEGI-7) is awesome, though single player.

Minecraft (PEGI-7), don't really need to say much about Minecraft!  You know what Minecraft is, surely?!  Unless you've been living under a rock or something for years.  I believe the list's Dragon Quest Builders (PEGI-3) is "Minecraft inspired" but I haven't played it.  Single player though.

Bringing up the rear of the list is Singstar Celebration (PEGI-12), which is ok, but hey, it's karaoke.  I'm not sure it's a fun game for little kids.  And no. 23 is, terrifyingly, Monopoly Plus (PEGI-3).  I would like to see a three year old play Monopoly.  (Perhaps the PS4 version is very different..?)

The more I think about this list the more disappointed I feel.  Some truly great games are not on here, and some rather poor games have made the cut.  For instance, you could buy Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition (PEGI-7) for only £5.79 at the moment.  You could get the charming Unravel Yarny Bundle (PEGI-7) for only £9.99.  How about Rayman Legends (PEGI-7)?  Or one of our family multiplayer favourites, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PEGI-7)?

I'm thinking that maybe PlayStation had some sort of agenda when putting this list together.  Perhaps we shall have a family think and put together our top ten games for kids.  Hmm....!

My final word on the subject - probably best not to get FIFA for your 3 year old.  ;-)