Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Amelia’s Garden (Switch)
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Posted on November 25th, 2024 by
Amelia is a young woman who finds a rooftop garden filled with broken pots, so she decides to fix them and plant things in them to restore the garden. Help her do so by solving simple jigsaw puzzles and playing a planting mini-game on Nintendo Switch. Amelia’s Garden is actually a sequel/spinoff to a game I reviewed a while back called Tell Me Your Story, Amelia just being a bit older since the last game. But if it weren’t for the similar art styles and the fact that the press release told me so, I would’ve had no idea these two games were related (I didn’t even know Amelia was her name in the first game).
Pikmin Sprouts Up at Kura Sushi
Posted on November 22nd, 2024 by
There’s a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants called Kura Sushi. When you go there, if you eat enough sushi plates, you can win little prizes! A couple of years ago, I went there for my birthday because they had Pac-Man prizes! I wrote a big article about it here, so I recommend checking it out. In October of this year, they had Pikmin prizes and promotions, so I decided to go back so here’s another little article about that.
Skater’s Solstice (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on November 20th, 2024 by
Help an ice skater collect stars and find the glowing exit on frozen ponds in Skater’s Solstice. It’s a 2D top down viewed puzzler. You can skate up, down, left, or right, but you can’t stop going in that direction unless you hit a rock or the edge of the pond. You must figure out the correct path to take in each level (50 in all). The game is available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Stilt Fella (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 18th, 2024 by
When I was a kid, I always thought it would be fun to learn how to walk on stilts. But where would you buy them? And because of my disability, being blind in my left eye since birth and having limited depth perception and peripheral vision, it also affects my balance. It’s why I’ve never been able to ride a bike or skateboard. So stilts were definitely out of the question. But maybe I could do it in a video game? Well, here’s Stilt Fella, a game about guiding a dude through obstacles on stilts. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on November 15th, 2024 by
Back in the 90s, 2D platformers starring cartoony animal mascots were all the rage, thanks to the popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog. One of the more prolific examples of this was Aero the Acro-Bat, who managed to get a sequel and a spin-off starring Aero’s rival: Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel. Recently these games have been re-released onto modern consoles, and I’ve been lucky enough to review the first Aero and his sequel. And now it’s time for the spinoff game. Aero’s rival Zero’s forest homeland is being destroyed by the evil lumberjack Jacques LeSheets and now Zero must go off and defeat him. Zero will use ninja throwing stars and dive moves to defeat enemies and bypass obstacles in this 16-bit 2D platformer. It’s available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Pearls of Atlantis (Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, Mobile)
Posted on November 13th, 2024 by
Pearls of Atlantis is a match three style puzzle game that kind of reminds me of a cross between Puzzle Bobble and Peggle. Drop colored pearls from the top of the screen into little baskets below. When three or more of the same color touch, they disappear. Your goal in each level is to clear out all the pearls that have little symbols on them, called “charms” in the game. It’s a pretty fun little casual puzzle game, and it’s available on most current consoles, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.
Moe Waifu H: BlockBlast (PS4, PS5, Switch)
Posted on November 11th, 2024 by
Well I’m not sure what the “Moe” means but “Waifu” is what you hook your internet up to, right? Nah, I’m just joking. I know it means like a pretend girlfriend or something. Anyway, in this game you can unlock pictures of anime ladies in different outfits by playing an Arkanoid and BreakOut style block breaking ball and paddle game. It’s available on PlayStation consoles and Nintendo Switch, but reviewed on PS4 here.
The Plucky Squire (Switch, PS5, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 8th, 2024 by
Jot is the Plucky Squire and the titular hero of a series of children’s books in the game. In the books, he goes on all sorts of adventures with his two best friends: an artist wizard named Violet and the rock n roll mountain troll Thrash. With guidance from the wise wizard Moonbeard, the trio are able to defeat the evil Humgrump every time. But one day, Humgrump figures out how to break the fourth wall and take over the book, sending things in from the real world and kicking things out. So now it’s up to the Plucky Squire to hop in and out of the book, manipulating the pages himself while solving puzzles and defeating enemies. The Plucky Squire is a (mostly) 2D action adventure game similar to Zelda, and it’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Super XYX (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 6th, 2024 by
Super XYX is a vertically scrolling shooter that tries to replicate the look and feel of something you’d see in arcades in the late 90s/early 2000s. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Goob N Balloons DX (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 4th, 2024 by
Goob N Balloons DX is a single screen, arcade style action game. It plays most like Buster Bros., or Pang depending on where you’re from. But it also has elements from other arcade classics like Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, etc. In the game you play as a weird alien octopus thing and you can only move left and right on the bottom of the screen. But by using the R stick, you can aim and fire shots in any direction to pop balloons before they hit you, because if they do it’s Game Over. Goob N Balloons DX is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
