Four Children With Four Video Game Reviews, From Minecraft to Teardown
I asked your kids to turn into video game reviewers. The results are adorable.
A little while back, in the midst of playing Pokémon Pokopia and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I came up with a review template for my kids. My children were tickled and I heard from folks in the Crossplay community that they wanted their kids to try it, too.
I’ve been collecting those reviews over the past few weeks and have enough to share, which includes reviews of Minecraft, Teardown, Pokémon Pokopia, and Grounded 2!
(This would be a million miles long if I included all of them; stay tuned for part two!)
Folks, I am tickled to know there are families doing these together, and it’s also part of a broader mission at Crossplay to incorporate more voices from kids here. I am constantly brainstorming ways to make that happen, and I’m happy to hear your ideas, too. If you happen to record videos or voice notes about your experiences, pass ‘em on!
In case you missed it, the review form is below, and you can email the reviews here.
Kia (9 Years Old) on Grounded
“There are lots of crashes.” No one can blame you for being upset about that, kiddo. I’m still upset at losing a PlayStation 2 memory card in the mail with my FFX-2 saves.
Mia (10 Years Old) on Pokémon Pokopia
“I have no recent dislikes about Pokopia!” is a statement that makes my heart swell, and is the kind of thing one only feels when you’re really swept up in playing a game.
Kyle (7 Years Old) on Minecraft
Kyle, like my own children, does not care for survival mode in Minecraft. My children’s enjoyment of Minecraft comes from unleashing endless creativity without restrictions.
Jonas (10 Years Old) on Teardown
“10 all the way” is one of the best descriptions of a video game I’ve read in a minute. It’s not enough to just give the game a 10/10, it’s 10/10—all the way. Masterful, Jonas.
Also:
I’d intended to publish all the reviews I’ve received, but this article is already big. Apologies if you submitted one and it’s not here. Feel free to keep sending!
No Tomodachi Life review from my kids just yet, though my nine-year-old was enthralled with it for the extent of a car drive. It just hasn’t popped up since.
Personally, my next review is a Saluspa inflatable hot tub. My wife was kind enough to replace the one that broke a year or so back, and I’ve finally set it up.
This is a good starting point. I think I'll use it myself :) as I do play games with my son and review them here on substack afterwards. 😁
Usually I take notes of his reactions, what he liked or found difficult, along having a talk with him about the game, to get as much as possible from him. But a list like this would be a good starting point and maybe a tool for him to start thinking about the game, prior to our conversations.
Great stuff.
Keep up the good work!
I guess not using all of the 10-point scale starts early. 😂