Your Guide to April’s Family Friendly Video Games
What are you looking forward to playing to this month?
Apologies for not having coherent thoughts about Princess Peach: Showtime! yet, as Nintendo released it during my family vacation, which also lined up with me traveling all the way to Boston for PAX East. Yes, I went straight from a week of solo parenting my daughters, to a week of family adventures in Disneyland, to a weekend at PAX.
You would be correct in assuming I am tired! But we march onward, and while March was pretty quiet in terms of game releases, April is picking up a little momentum.
If there’s a game missing from this list, please let me know!
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!
Freedom Planet 2 (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, Switch) – April 4
Description: With 24 expertly designed stages, an ambitiously expanded Adventure mode, retro-but-refined 2D visuals, and the addition of the highly requested Boss Rush mode, Freedom Planet 2 is the indie darling grown up to become a true platforming power.
Rating: T
Price: $24.99
I’ve tried so hard to have a traditional Sonic games move me in any meaningful way, and when I played a few hours of the PC version of this last year, it seemed like a very good one of these. Sadly, “one of these” is just code for “I wish it was a Mario game.”
Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop (Apple Arcade) — April 4
Description: Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Puyo Puyo, the classic and widely loved Japanese matching puzzle game, exclusively at Apple Arcade. Dive into a whimsical realm filled with adorable characters and, where popping Puyos becomes a delightful pastime, where every match is a rewarding moment!
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
A longtime excellent puzzle series. I racked up most of my hours with Puyo Puyo playing in high school on the underrated NeoGeo Pocket Color. Great lil’ handheld.
Super Monsters Ate My Condo+ (Apple Arcade) — April 4
Description: The objective is simple — swipe to feed condos to insatiable monsters! Match the correct coloured condos together and score points and create combo condos which can be matched even further to pull off insane score streaks. Feed the wrong condos to the wrong monster too many times and they will become enraged and will topple over the tower — game over!
Rating: 12+
Price: $6.99/month
Unfamiliar with this one on mobile, personally, but this has a ton of fun personality. I can only sit back and applaud anything trying to introduce children to kaiju, as well.
Sago Mini Trips+ — April 4
Description: Ready for adventure? Sago Mini Trips+ brings together four fan-favorite preschool games into one kid-friendly app – Road Trip, Boats, Planes, and Trains. Travel to far-off destinations with your Sago Mini friends and discover lots of fun and surprises along the way!
Rating: 4+
Price: $6.99/month
Knowing this was coming, I tried introducing one of the solo games to my four-year-old, who promptly declared it “for babies.” It seems, however, excellently made, and I’m hoping when I can hand this bundle of experiences it’ll click. Just recently, The Verge declared them “adorable games [that] don’t make me want to throw my toddler’s tablet into the sea.” I mean, how can you ask for a more glowing review than that?
Turbo Golf Racing (PS5, Xbox Series X/S/One, PC) – April 4
Description: An action-packed fusion of racing and golf. Traverse across a diverse range of courses, using your car to skilfully putt your ball in the hole. Face off against 7 opponents in Race mode, make every shot count in golf mode, or test your skills against the clock in Time Trials.
Rating: E
Price: $9.99
Oh, this is fun. I streamed the PC version once and had a blast. The early access reviews were largely positive, but I haven’t seen much about its 1.0 release just yet.
Botany Manor (Xbox Series X/S/One, Switch, PC) – April 9
Description: Welcome to Botany Manor, a stately home in 19th century England. You play as inhabitant Arabella Greene, a retired botanist. Explore your house and gardens, filled with research, to figure out the ideal habitat of forgotten flora. Grow each plant to discover the mysterious qualities they hold…
Rating: E
Price: TBA
Seems chill. Pocket Tactics played it last year and said it’s “for anyone who’s a fan of wholesome, laid-back gaming, especially titles like Strange Horticulture or Garden In!—and anyone that enjoys plants or a wander around a stately English manor.”
House Flipper 2 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S) – April 10
Description: It's time to dust off your hammer - House Flipper is back in a brand-new fashion! Buy and renovate run-down houses! Or maybe you want to build new ones? Now you can! Start as a rookie Flipper and make a fortune by helping out the community of the charming town of Pinnacove.
Rating: E
Price: $44.99
Ah, man. The quintessential “I completely get why these are so popular, even if they do nothing for me” type of game. IGN was into the PC version in its review last year, saying “House Flipper 2 takes what made House Flipper weirdly addictive and cleans, paints, and builds its way to a worthwhile iterative upgrade on the renovation sim.”
Sophia the Traveler (Switch, PC) — April 11
Description: Join our lovely heroine as she roams Venice, the City of Water. Like a Where's Wally Visual Novel: Search for objects & characters in stunning and vivid hand-painted cityscapes!
Rating: E
Price: $8.99
Our whole family got really into another hidden object game, Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic, and I can easily see us diving into this gloriously drawn one, too.
Grounded (PS4/5, Switch) – April 16
Description: The world is a vast, beautiful, and dangerous place – especially when you have been shrunken to the size of an ant. Explore, build, and survive together in this cooperative survival-adventure. Can you thrive alongside the hordes of giant insects, fighting to survive the perils of the backyard?
Rating: T
Price: $39.99
It’s veeeeeeery tempting to look at this as an attempt to get into a survival game with my oldest. Survival games have never grabbed me solo, but with my kid? Teeeempting.
Planet of Lana (PS4/5, Switch) – April 16
Description: A young girl and her loyal friend embark on a rescue mission through a colorful world full of cold machines and unfamiliar creatures.
Rating: E10+
Price: $19.99
Oh, this game was a delight when I played it last year. I haven’t given it a second thought since the credits rolled, but I enjoyed every minute until those credits arrived.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) – April 23
Description: Prepare to adventure into the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera as Zau, a young shaman who bargains with the God of Death to bring his Baba back from darkness. Embark on a poignant single-player story shaped by actor Abubakar Salim’s own experience with grief, discovering how love gives us the courage to press on after devastating loss.
Rating: E10+
Price: $17.99
You’ll hear more about this one this month, I hope, because I’m scheduled to speak with the game’s developer about its themes of grief, parental loss. You know, fun stuff.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, Switch, PC) – April 23
Description: Re-experience the 2017 arcade classic on consoles and PC! Play as Leo, Mikey, Donny, or Raphael in 4 player local-co-op.
Rating: E10+
Price: $29.99
The phrase “2017 arcade classic” is one I had to look at a few times. Not sure, boss.
Sand Land (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – April 26
Description: In this action-RPG, players will find a nostalgic and heartwarming world created by Akira Toriyama, where you will become the main character Beelzebub. Learn how to control his powers and lead your company of heroic misfits exploring the legendary world of SAND LAND. Beware of the many dangers that populate it: between bandits, fierce wildlife, and the Royal Army, reaching the spring won’t be easy! Use your tact and imagination to develop tanks and other vehicles that will help you navigate this vast land, using a wide array of part combinations.
Rating: T
Price: $59.99
What else is there to say? RIP. I hope this game rips, with IGN calling the game in a hands-on preview from earlier this year “a love letter to Akira Toriyama fans.”
TopSpin 2K25 (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, PC) – April 26
Description: The TopSpin franchise returns with TopSpin 2K25, featuring tennis legends Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and a cast of other playable pros, competitive single-player and multiplayer modes, all four historic Grand Slams, and much more!
Rating: E
Price: $69.99
I worry about TopSpin 2K25 following the same monetization of NBA 2K games, but Game Informer was glowing, saying: “I had a blast with my time playing TopSpin 2K25. The game looks good in motion and feels even better during those long rallies.”
Braid: Anniversary Edition (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, Switch, PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android) – April 30
Description: Solve puzzles by changing the flow of time in this remaster of the classic, award-winning game Braid. This remaster has new puzzles, hand-repainted graphics and fully reimagined sound, and a completely unreasonable amount of developer commentary.
Rating: TBA
Price: TBA
Braid designer Jonathan Blow is a little loopy these days, but Braid is a bonafide classic. I wonder how it plays to an audience unfamiliar with the genre’s tropes?
Sea of Thieves (PS5) – April 30
Description: Sea of Thieves is a smash-hit pirate adventure game, offering the quintessential pirate experience of plundering lost treasures, intense battles, vanquishing sea monsters and more.
Rating: T
Price: $39.99
This one is going to be a hit, imo. I’m so glad this is showing up on other platforms, and with any luck, it’ll be one of the big games out of the gate, uncompromised because of ancient tech, on the next Switch. Gotta imagine that’s why it’s not there.