Your Guide to August’s Family Friendly Video Games
Let's hope you want to want to run a shop this month. Or a farm.
When this month is over, our kids will be back at school again.
Summer is nearly over, a phrase that will make some parents jump for joy, while others, like me, feeling melancholy over the ending of their favorite, if sweaty, season. But it also means the start of football and a chance for the Chicago Bears to spend another few months crushing my spirit, so who can say whether it’s a bad thing?
My children can now read the score for Bears games, and it destroys me when they take a break from playing with friends and ask “Why haven’t the Bears scored yet?”
It is also, relatively speaking, a quiet month for Nintendo in the wake of Donkey Kong Bananza, but the company is going to have an extremely busy fall. That said, I’m wondering if the Switch 2 update will re-ignite my halted playthrough of Kirby and the Forgotten Land with my eight-year-old? It stalled out, but not for any particular reason.
What are you looking forward to playing this month with your family?
Is This Seat Taken? (Switch, PC, Mac) — August TBA
Description: Is This Seat Taken? is a logic puzzle game where you play matchmaker for groups of hilariously particular people. Each character has pet peeves that make seating them a delightful challenge. Find the perfect spot for each person to unlock new levels in this cozy, silly, and relatable experience.
Rating: TBA
Price: TBA
This seems really neat! Likely a little beyond the logic skills of my eight-year-old, but I could imagine us trying it out together. Shacknews enjoyed their time with a demo, saying: ”There's no indication of how many puzzles will be included in the final version of the game, but there's room for a lot of creativity. Thankfully, there isn't the pressure of a timer, so players can mull over their situation as long as they need to.”
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (iOS, Android) – August 6
Description: Join Snufkin in this musical adventure about restoring harmony and balance to Moominvalley, protecting it from the industrious Park Keeper.
Rating: 4+
Price: TBA
This game is out on other platforms, but the reviews were great, with Rock Paper Shotgun saying: “It's a pleasant universe to spend a few hours in, where the wild is celebrated with rebellious song. If you're after the video game equivalent of a walk through the woods on a warm afternoon, Moominvalley is the place to wander.”
Fruitbus (Xbox Series X/S, Switch) – August 7
Description: A journey of flavors and friendships awaits you in your cozy, customisable food truck! Forage for fresh ingredients to create your own menu, then feed tummies and souls with home-cooked meals. Change the world, one apple at a time.
Rating: TBA
Price: $6.99/month
This is out on PC, where reviews were all over the place. Gaming Forever’s take on the game was, like many, mixed: “Fruitbus, overall, is a pleasant, unique experience that doesn’t try to make things too complicated, but could use some additional guidance along the way that would make the journey a little bit more clear in its goals.”
Play-Doh World (Apple Arcade) — August 7
Description: Play-Doh brings its magic to the digital space with Play-Doh World, allowing players to craft their own characters and watch them spring to life. From inventing wild zoo animals to styling outrageous salon hairdos, every corner of this colorful universe responds to the player’s creative whim. With dozens of interactive zones, collectible special Play-Doh, and regular content updates, Play-Doh World offers creative activities and open-ended, imagination-led play — all in a safe, ad-free environment.
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
I’ve really appreciated the focus Apple Arcade’s had on making games and experiences explicitly for children. There are lots of “all ages games,” the kinds of games that Nintendo specializes in, but that’s different than specifically for children.
Worms Across Worlds (Apple Arcade) — August 7
Description: Worms Across Worlds is the next evolution of the award-winning series. When Professor Worminkle’s experiments threaten reality, the beloved invertebrate warriors find themselves hurtling through five wildly different dimensions. Players will chase the mad scientist across worlds in this strategic turn-based action game. Whether battling solo or organizing epic four-team multiplayer mayhem, every challenge and dimension brings players closer to stopping the professor’s path of destruction.
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
Every few years I’m reminded Worms, which I largely remember from PC Gamer demo discs when I was a kid, is still around. It makes sense, though, because the basic idea behind Worms, one of gaming’s original goofy physics games, remains a great concept.
Let’s Go Mightycat! (Apple Arcade) — August 7
Description: An everyday feline becomes an unlikely galactic hero when an all-powerful being transforms it into the universe’s most adorable conqueror. In this spinoff of hit tower defense game The Battle Cats, players can customize their heroic cat with stylish capes, rescue interstellar friends, and launch Mightycat through colorful planetary stages. With a variety of challenging puzzle stages, every tap brings players closer to the ultimate goal: bringing every planet in the cosmos under the Cat Empire’s adorable yet mighty paw.
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
I am not familiar with The Battle Cats, but look, they seem exceptionally cute. I’m not surprised Apple Arcade continues its focus on puzzle games meant for passing time.
Make Room (PC) — August 7
Description: Build rooms, gardens, and camper vans with 1,000+ objects and the ability to create your own custom furniture, or visit MakeRoom Island and get inspired by unique design requests.
Rating: TBA
Price: TBA
My daughter played a demo of this at PAX last year and has asked me about it ever since. One of my great parenting moments was getting early access to the game and surprising her. The one problem is that she doesn’t really like holding a Steam Deck! But it was neat to look updates for the game as it went through development, because it was a rare instance where she was looking forward to a game eventually coming out.
Tiny Bookshop (PC, Mac) – August 7
Description: Leave everything behind and open a tiny bookshop by the sea in this cozy narrative management game. Stock your tiny bookshop with different books and items, set up shop in scenic locations, and run your cozy second-hand bookshop while getting to know the locals.
Rating: TBA
Price: TBA
There are so many of these simulation games running a “tiny” shop, which seems to reflect a broader trend towards “tiny” things in general, I think? Comfy Cozy Gaming seemed impressed by an early demo: “Tiny Bookshop had an equally tiny demo, but even in the small glimpse of about 2 to 3 days of running the shop, it was a lot of fun.”
Cat Quest III (Mac, iOS, Android) – August 8
Description: In Cat Quest III you play as a purrivateer in a freely explorable 2.5D open-world swarming with Pi-rats. You can sail the seas in your ship for treasures galore! But prepare for peril, as the Pirate King aims to hunt you down...
Rating: 9+
Price: TBA
A series that has perpetually been on my I-should-try-this list, even though I’ve yet to boot any of them up. TheGamer made the argument that’s not a huge deal: “I don’t know why I haven’t played Cat Quest or its numbered sequel. I love cats and I love quests. But I went into Cat Quest 3 entirely unfamiliar with The Gentlebros’ pedigree for captivatingly fast-paced RPG goodness, so imagine my surprise when I realized this was not only a cheeky feline adventure, but a pretty darn good video game.”
Drag x Drive (Switch 2) – August 14
Description: Hold each Joy-Con 2 controller like a mouse for tight control of both your wheels as you speed around the court. Raise your hand and flick your wrist to shoot...and score! Team up with—or take on—friends and other players from near and far online* in fast-paced 3-on-3 matches.
Rating: E
Price: $19.99
I don’t know who this game is for. I played a few rounds of this back in March and came away confused. I think it’s a neat idea to center a game around the mouse control capabilities in the Switch 2, but I’m not sure this is more than a prototype. I reserve the right to change my mind, but the $20 price tag isn’t inspiring confidence.
Madden NFL 26 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC) – August 14
Description: EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26 leverages a new AI-powered machine learning system trained on thousands of plays from nearly a decade of real NFL data to deliver more explosive gameplay – with new player-specific traits, authentic playstyles, and adaptive counters that match on-field tendencies and strategies of NFL quarterbacks and coaches.
Rating: E
Price: $69.99
Another year where I’ll wish NFL Blitz was still around.
Bendy: Lone Wolf (PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S/Xbox One, Switch, PC) – August 15
Description: Bendy: Lone Wolf will tests your ability to survive against ever increasing odds. Monsters and obstacles emerge from every direction as you journey into the rubberhose halls of the world's most evil animation studio. Every day is a challenge.
Rating: T
Price: $19.99
I need to sit down with one of these Bendy games sometime, because they feel adjacent to Five Nights at Freddy’s in that they’re explicitly creating a world that’s friendly to younger audiences who want to be scared. Of course, that only reminds me we’re getting even closer to the release of the next Five Nights at Freddy’s movie!
Sword of the Sea (PlayStation 5, PC) – August 19
Description: Surf across magnificent waves of sand and glistening waters on an epic quest to restore a lost ocean. From the visionary artist behind ABZÛ, The Pathless, and Journey, Sword of the Sea is an atmospheric surfing adventure with fast movement inspired by classic skateboarding and snowboarding games.
Rating: TBA
Price: TBA
Gosh, what a beautiful thing. There are games that remind me how platforming, how controlling a character, can feel beautiful. Sword of the Sea is one of those games. As for whether it’s a game that’ll land with my kids, who knows. This game’s for me, baby.
Discounty (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) – August 21
Description: Manage your own discount supermarket! Get caught up in small-town drama, organize and plan your shop's layout, and strike lucrative trade deals as you expand your secretive aunt's business empire. Selling more frozen fries will surely heal this broken community...right?
Rating: E
Price: $19.99
You gotta watch this trailer. It has all the hallmarks of a “cozy” sim game, before suggesting things get weird eventually. Grave Seasons is another game that’s putting a dark twist on a “cozy” game, and I wonder if we’re at a tipping point where some developers are going to start putting meta-level twists to catch some folks off guard.
Helldivers 2 (Xbox Series X/S) – August 26
Description: The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
Rating: M
Price: $39.99
A profoundly funny and goofy game that absolutely would’ve been the kind of game I poured hundreds of hours into if Helldivers 2 had come out when I was in high school. I’m not sure if they could squeeze this game onto a Switch 2 but dang, I hope they try.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (Switch 2, Switch, PC) – August 27
Description: Searching for a peaceful farm life, a fresh mountain breeze, and your own market stall? Look no further than the friendly community of Zephyr Town! Here you’ll grow crops and raise animals, get to know the locals, and sell your wares at the town's bazaar to restore it to its former glory.
Rating: E
Price: $59.99 / $10.00 (Upgrade Pack)
These are not my types of games, but hey, Nintendo World Report seems into it: “Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar seems like not only a massive upgrade over the original release; it's also a noticeable step forward for the franchise as a whole. The attractive presentation and more compelling relationship scenes complement the tried-and-true farming mechanics, leading to what could be a must play for fans of the genre.”
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch 2) – August 28
Description: Explore 3D platforming stages as you discover a mysterious world, save the kidnapped Waddle Dees, and defeat the ferocious Beast Pack. Hope you’re hungry for a big adventure!
Rating: E10+
Price: $79.99 / $19.99 (Upgrade Pack)
This truly was a great little action game. Did it really come out three years ago? Some of my earliest writing about kids and video games was regarding this game, actually, and it’s when I started laying down the earliest ideas in my head about Crossplay.
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Thanks for the line up. I am starting a nintendo switch gaming day once a month at my local library and find the reviews that you post so helpful!
My two older kids (12 and 8, now) went through a Bendy phase about a year and a half ago. I sat with them while they played through the first game during a snow day, and my oldest read one of the books. They listened to a bunch of fan songs on youtube on repeat, and played a ton of the iphone game which is just a runner. They didn't get hooked by the spinoff or sequel, though. I think it might have gotten a little too intense for them.