I have a daughter when she turned 4 I decided to get her a Nintendo Switch game. It was trickier than I could imagine. Nintendo is as we know a video game developer focusing on mostly family friendly games. But to find a game that my 4 year old can play and have fun doing it is not easy. Most games produced today is made for ages 10 and up.
Here is what I was looking for in a game:
- Easy skill level.
- Simple controls.
- Easy to learn.
- Not a 3D game so you don’t have to use the right hand joystick to control a camera or viewing angle.
- Fun to play more than one time.
My daughter got Paw Patrol for her 4th birthday. The game was good. She barely managed to play it the first days, after a week she had learned jumping a lot better and started to enjoy the game a bit more. I think it was the best choice at the time to get her to know the controls and buttons better. It has fulfilled the demands I wrote in the list above.
Nintendo Switch Games for a four year old
- Paw Patrol: On a roll
- Paw Patrol the movie: Adventure city calls
- Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay
- Animal Crossing New Horizons
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
- Kirby and the forgotten land
Paw Patrol: On a roll
This is our best pick. Paw Patrol games are made for new young players. They are very easy in the beginning with instructions on the screen which buttons to press. This game is a old school sidescrolling jump and run game like the old Super Mario Bros but easier. And when you get stuck it will give you tips and show you which buttons to press.
My 4 year old got this game as a birthday gift. We downloaded the game together and she could start to play immediately. The timing in jumping was tricky in the beginning but soon she got the hang of it. Because of the simple controls kids can learn the timing and jumping actions easy.
Paw Patrol the movie: Adventure City Calls
The game is easy and made for small kids. We didn’t buy this due to the fact it was in a 3D world. I think it might have worked anyway but Paw Patrol: On a roll was a 2D sidescrolling game and it seemed to be a better fit. The Paw Patrol games are really well adapted for smaller children. You can almost choose anyone of them and be happy.
Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay
Also a good game for small kids. We didn’t choose this game due to the fact it is in 3d. I’m sure it is very simple anyway as is the other Paw Patrol games.
Animal Crossing
I don’t know about the age limits set by Nintendo for this game but my daughter likes it. The game take place on an island and has a peaceful nature and calm music tune. This is a explorer/building/collecting game where you set out to establish a new living on an empty island. You start off living in a tent.
My daughter enjoys the game a lot so do the rest of the family. She has here own house with a lot of stuff in it. She goes out for fishing and to explore the island. In the game she finds interesting things she can use to build or sell. The game is also more advanced with an economy and goals for building the island and houses. My daughter is completely fine with the small things in the game and do not care about the bigger objectives.
Yoshi’s Crafted World
It’s a platformer game inside a crafted world with toilet rolls, cardboard boxes and paper. It looks easy to play. Graphics wise it speaks a lot to me, the world is so charming, and I think the crafted style might speak to younger kids. It looks really fun but the kid must have some basic skill in playing games and handling Yoshi aiming an egg.
We didn’t buy it because I thought that the aiming and shooting of eggs could be difficult when it is your first game.
Kirby and the forgotten land
I didn’t know about the game until my oldest son downloaded the demo version on our Switch. He always downloads demo games to check them out. This demo was one that all of my kids loved and they have played it a lot. We still haven’t bought the game. Strange. This is a 3d adventure with Kirby and his friends. I told above that I wasn’t looking for a 3d game and I wasn’t.
My 4 year old wants to play this game now and then. And when she starts it she wants help with a lot of things. She can walk around with Kirby but get stuck with some enemies or trying to reach a platform. We usually play two players at the same time to help each other out.
Games that didn’t make it to my buy list
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Mario Kart 8 deluxe
- Super Mario Party
Luigi’s Mansion 3
A ghost hunting game with Luigi and Mario. It looks fun and reminds us of the original Ghostbusters. I want to play it but I think it’s for kids a little bit older than my daughter. It is also in a 3d world which makes the controlling of the character a bit harder than plain old 2d worlds.
Mario Kart 8
We have Mario Kart 8, the whole family plays it. I like it, but I prefer Mario Kart 64 which is my favourite version of Mario Kart. My daughter plays it with her older brothers.
When she races she has all the help features turned on. Auto acceleration, auto steering and motion steering so the kart can go the whole course without her doing anything. Occasionally she steers the kart in one direction or the other or shoots a shell or other item.
After a while she finds this boring and puts down the control. It’s good that Nintendo made it easier for small kids to run the game. But when you are to inexperienced and inpatient to learn the game it isn’t fun and help features don’t make the game more fun.
Super Mario Party
This is a kids game. I put it on the not interesting list because it has a lot of minigames with motioncontrol. This was not what we wanted for our daughter. We wanted her to start using the buttons and understanding how timing is important when jumping and control a character in a game. Super Mario Party didn’t speak to us in that way. I’m sure that some of the 80 minigames are fun but it was not what we had in mind.
Use a microSD card to store the games on the Switch
If you haven’t done it already I recommend buying a microSD card for your Nintendo Switch so that you can use the full potential of your Switch mobility. Download the games directly from the eShop and store them on the microSD card. You’ll also get rid of having to switch game cartridges. Read more about microSD card for Nintendo Switch.
