Your Guide to March's Family Friendly Video Games
Nintendo's mashup of Animal Crossing and Minecraft is likely to dominate the month.
Just as the winter itself is beginning to thaw in fits and starts, we’re starting to see more games targeted at kids and families, too, now that we’ve got some meaningful distance from the holidays. (Hey, if you work in games publishing and have insight into how different the rhythm of releasing games for these audiences, let me know!)
The big question for my family this month is Pokemon Pokepia. Animal Crossing burned hot in the house for, uh, exactly a week. Will this be different? Time will tell. (I have my doubts, and it’ll basically have zero reflection on whether the game itself is good.)
If you represent these games and have a potentially interesting story to share about how these games consider kids as part of their audience, do get in touch with me!
Gnaughty Gnomes (PC) – March 3
Description: Crush your friends in combat by embodying these adorable yet Gnaughty Gnomes! Throw everything you find along the way, choose cards to upgrade your build, change the rules of the game... whatever it takes to win.
Rating: N/A
Price: N/A
This is the same studio who made Bread & Fred, which is a wickedly hard co-op platformer that I would not recommend playing with your children unless they’re platforming experts. Even then, it’s designed to be a good/bad time. Gnaughty Gnomes seems to be playing in the chaos realm, but one that’s likely a little less frustrating.
Scott Pilgrim EX (PC, PS 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch/Switch 2) — March 3
Description: Scott Pilgrim EX is an action-adventure game where players can fight as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers and more as they battle through the fractured time and space of Toronto. The combat gameplay is driven by instinct and improvisation—a hectic ballet of fists and flair that rewards strategy, spontaneity, and a good bit of brawling chaos. String together stylish combos, experiment with wacky weapons and unleash over-the-top special attacks. Rating: E10+
Price: $28.99
It’s interesting that Scott Pilgrim EX enters a world of many, many legitimately good (too many, honestly?) beat ‘em ups, when part of the original game’s novelty was how rare that was in 2010. A Nintendo World Report hands-on was positive on the game, but did note “this genre is very crowded and new games that follow its style tend to fall into the same trappings, so it’s encouraging to see Tribute bringing some new ideas to the table that helps to bring the characters, settings and powers to the forefront.”
Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea (Apple Arcade) — March 5
Description: Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea picks up one thousand years after the events of Oceanhorn 2. In this new era, you’ll navigate the treacherous Shadow Sea, accompanied by Em, the infamous technopirate and her rugged crew of Warlock’s Revenge. With the help of familiar faces, such as Blackhat of the Uncharted Seas, you must face the threats slumbering beneath the waves of the Shadow Sea, uncover the mysterious Lost God, and build a future for the people of Red Town.
Rating: 9+
Price: $6.99/month
This series has been going, if you can believe it, since 2013. Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas was/is a Zelda-inspired action adventure game released on basically every platform. The sequel, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of Lost Realm, came out in 2019. It’s wild to see comments in the trailer for Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea, where people are excited because they’ve been playing the series since they were kids! I have not heard of this series, I have no experience with it, but I think I gotta at least try it?
Pocket Love!+ (Apple Arcade) — March 5
Description: Welcome to the most wholesome life simulator in town! Shrink down to pocket size and move into a cute new home with your partner and your favorite pet. Everything is smaller, sweeter, and more adorable in the world of Pocket Love!+ Whether you love interior design, dressing up in kawaii fashion, or just need a relaxing game to escape into, this pocket-sized world is waiting for you.
Rating: 9+
Price: $6.99/month
I was putting together this story while my kids were watching an episode of Stranger Things, only for them to peer over at my laptop and go “WHAT’S THAT????” (They love games where you customize a room.) There aren’t a ton of reviews of the non-Apple Arcade version of the game, but the ones that do exist aren’t super kind. Metro said: “Between the mountains of paid content and limited range of things to do, you can’t shrug the sense of stultifying pointlessness in a game that’s not really a game at all.” Yikes! Well, at least the Apple Arcade version won’t have the paid content part?
Flow Free+ (Apple Arcade) — March 5
Description: Connect matching colors with pipe to create a Flow®. Pair all colors, and cover the entire board to solve each puzzle. But watch out, pipes will break if they cross or overlap! Free play through hundreds of levels, or race against the clock in Time Trial mode. Gameplay ranges from simple and relaxed, to challenging and frenetic, and everywhere in between. How you play is up to you. So, give Flow Free a try, and experience “mind like water”!
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
A game with hundreds of thousands of reviews on the App Store and more than a million on Google Play. Which isn’t always the case with games that convert to Apple Arcade? Sometimes, they’re shockingly obscure. As is usually the case with mobile games, there aren’t a ton of formal reviews, but ITZZZPERRY on Metacritic had a funny review: “Flow Free is probably the most addictive app I have ever played on the IPhone. Throughout my playthrough, I had one feeling. I had to finish ever last level.”
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story+ (Apple Arcade) — March 5
Description: A game where you run a sweets shop with the popular manga character Doraemon. Let’s make Doraemon’s favorite dorayaki and create a store that will be the talk of the town. First, make the sweets, set up the shelves, prepare the tables, and get ready to run the shop! In addition, various characters from Fujiko • F • Fujio’s works will appear as customers!
Rating: 9+
Price: $6.99/month
Do you remember Game Dev Story? This is the same company behind Game Dev Story. It was so popular they spun off the concept in a ton of different ways, including, it appears, Doraemon. Digitally Dowloaded put it this way: “The problem with Kairosoft games is that they’re inevitably good fun and even compulsive for a while. Once you sit down to one fresh you’re inevitably going to get hooked for a while, be that a few days or a few weeks. But soon after you’ll put it down and completely forget about it.”
Pokémon Pokopia (Switch 2) — March 5
Description: Shape the world and build a cozy new life with Pokémon! Learn the moves of your fellow Pokémon to change the land, such as Bulbasaur’s Leafage to make the wild grass grow. You can also use abilities to transform and navigate the world around you, like crossing water with Lapras’s Surf.
Rating: E
Price: $69.99
You can look forward to a proper review of this next week—well, you’ll see. I have a concept I’m trying out. My kids love the concept of games where you customize things, but when you actually have to put effort into the “game” part? That’s where it usually falls apart. Generational difference? Lazy children? A little from both of those?
Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, Switch/Switch 2, PC) – March 5
Description: On Lana and Mui’s home planet, new technology brings progress but also stirs greed and imbalance. As different tribes adopt it in their own ways, tensions grow and the world’s harmony begins to shift. When those seeking power push too far, Lana and her little companion are pulled into a journey that reveals long-buried truths about their planet and about themselves.
Rating: E10+
Price: $19.99
I adored the first game, which was basically a take on “cinematic platformers” like Inside or Limbo, except with a much bigger emphasis on puzzles. Feels like the kind of game that could be neat to play alongside a kid. I can’t tell you what I think of this second game yet, except to suggest that if you like the first, I bet you’ll like the second.
WWE 2K26 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Switch 2) — March 13
Description: Run the world’s greatest show your way and live out your WWE fandom to the fullest. Experience the most expansive gameplay to date with rebellious Legends of the Attitude Era and Superstars of today. Featuring the most stacked lineup in franchise history with 400+ playable WWE Superstars and Legends including The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, Rhea Ripley, and fan-favorites like Rey Fénix, Rusev, and Blake Monroe.
Rating: T
Price: $69.99
Every year one of these come out, I defer to…literally anyone else. Not my thing! IGN seems optimistic about this one, saying: “I have little doubt that WWE 2K26 is set to be the best the series has ever looked, sounded, and felt, and if you’re a WWE obsessive eager to replicate the pageantry at home, then you’ve never had it better.”
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PC, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) — March 13
Description: Monster Hunter Stories is an RPG series set in the Monster Hunter world, where you can become a Rider, raising and bonding with your favorite monsters.
Rating: T
Price: $69.99
I’ve requested to check this out! I have not played a previous one! Monster Hunter Wilds did nothing for me! I liked Monster Hunter World! But Polygon feel like this could break out: “It feels like Capcom’s goal is to elevate Monster Hunter Stories, a series that began as a humble Nintendo 3DS spinoff, clearly positioned as a B-game compared to the main series. Monster Hunter Stories 3 sheds that feeling and instead presents something that’s as grand and complex as any modern Monster Hunter game.”
MLB The Show 26 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) — March 17
Description: Step up and take control of how you leave your mark in the most immersive MLB The Show yet. Discover new Road To The Show mechanics, deeper Franchise experiences, enhanced customization options, and true-to-life on-field action.
Rating: E
Price: $59.99
Ah, baseball. My Chicago Cubs were fun last season, hoping they’re even more fun this season. No one’s had a chance to play this latest installment yet, though the weirdest part is there’s no proper Switch 2 release. Feels like an upgrade candidate later this year. Sadly, Nintendo World Report was not convinced by last year’s Switch version, saying “if you want to play a licensed baseball game and you only have access to Nintendo Switch, MLB The Show 25 will do the trick. This version is an adequate representation of the pristine gameplay design and mode variety the series has been consistently delivering for years, but every aspect of it feels compromised on Switch”
Disney Dreamlight Valley (Switch 2) — March 25
Description: Disney Dreamlight Valley is a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game rich with quests, exploration, and engaging activities featuring Disney and Pixar friends, both old and new.
Rating: E
Price: $39.99
Grind games have never done anything for me, nor do games almost exclusively about customization. But I also know I’m an outlier! All of these are popular! It makes total sense Disney is bringing this to Switch 2! GameSpot’s review of the Switch version basically highlighted my genre issues: “Two concepts clash here: the delightful and whimsical themes that spark the joy of your inner childhood, and the frustrations of time management as you experience the monotonous daily grind as an adult.”
Neopets: Mega Mini Games Collection (PC, Switch, PS5) — March 26
Description: Journey back to Neopia with 26 classic games, brought back to life for new and returning fans!
Rating: E
Price: $24.99
My first impression: What? My second impression, after some brief research: What?
Hozy (PC, Mac) — March 30
Description: Restore a forgotten neighbourhood through your favourite hobby, one cozy room at a time. In Hozy, clean, paint, and decorate abandoned homes with satisfying mechanics and intuitive controls. Enjoy the little details as you interact with tools, items and furniture to bring each space back to life.
Rating: N/A
Price: N/A
Oh my god, both of my kids basically did this in response to the trailer: 😍😍😍 The problem is how many of these games, however gorgeous, end up stuck on PC. Little chance this is coming to Switch anytime soon, if it’s coming at all, and I don’t have a great way to have a PC game played on my family room TV. Help me, Steam Machine!
Have a story idea? Want to share a tip? Got a funny parenting story? Drop Patrick an email.