Family-Friendly PC Games

Overview

Like any other form of entertainment, video games are made with specific audiences in mind. This sometimes means that a game is designed to be played by mature or adult audience, complete with content that is very inappropriate for children. To help make it a little easier to find games that the entire family can enjoy, I've put together this list of family-friendly titles.

Simply click on a game's title to view the full review.

Games in this List

0 - B C D - F G - J K - M N - R S T - Z

Kairo

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	First Person Puzzler
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This is a game about exploring a very strange, surreal environment. As you solve the puzzles scattered throughout the world, you also start reviving the alien city. The buildings that have been left behind also leave more questions than answers, creating an eerie, enigmatic feeling to the game.

Brief thoughts: You're basically reviving a lost world, and since the place is mostly empty, there's little room for objectionable content.

Katamari Damacy REROLL

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Other
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While partying, the King of All Cosmos accidentally broke the stars and moon. To help put things right, he's sent the Prince on a colorful adventure where he'll make the new stars by rolling up all sorts of weird things found on Earth.

Brief thoughts: While this game is very colorful and silly, some of the things the King of the Cosmos says come off as abusive or a little inappropriate.

Kero Blaster

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platform Shooter
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The C&F Inc. teleporters have been malfunctioning lately, and it's likely due to them becoming dirty. Thus, it's up to a little green janitor to go out into the world on one big grime fighting adventure!

Brief thoughts: Even though there's some combat, this is a fairly silly game with no real issues.

Kill It With Fire

ESRB Rating:	E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	First Person Shooter
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Kill it With Fire is what happens when you take a common phobia, first person shooter gameplay, and a whole lot of creative insanity and mix it all together. In other words, it's a very silly game about killing lots of spiders with increasingly over the top weaponry like flamethrowers and rocket powered grenades. FUN!

Brief thoughts: None of the spiders you're killing can actually harm you, so some people may view what you're doing as senseless or cruel. Another issue is that when playing in the Halloween mode, players finish the level by completing a magical ritual.

Legends of Solitaire: Curse of the Dragons

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Solitaire Card Game
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When the land comes under siege by fierce dragons, a group of noble adventurers are called upon to save the world. Meanwhile, the player spends the journey playing hands of solitaire.

Brief thoughts: The main issue with this title is its use of dragons and other fantasy characters. Even then, it's not as serious as many older Disney movies.

LEGO Worlds

ESRB Rating:	E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Adventure / Sandbox
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Each new world you explore adds new possibilities and opens new paths towards your goal of becoming a Master Builder - a near god-like entity capable of reshaping the LEGO universe to their every whim!

Brief thoughts: Perhaps the biggest issue with this game is that it rewards destructive play - ie, players are encouraged to break and smash just about everything for no real reason.

Liquidators

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Horror / Edutainment
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This game is completely free!
Based on real events, this game has players take on the roles of three braze men who prevented the Chernobyl disaster from becoming far worse. Their task was simple: drain the water from the damaged reactor before the molten debris could reach it and create a catastrophic explosion!

Brief thoughts: This game focuses on the aftermath of a real disaster, which is pretty dark stuff, but it does not make light of it and treats everything with the gravity it deserves.

Little Inferno

ESRB Rating:	T - Teenagers
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Other
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Little Inferno is exactly what it promises to be: a cozy little fireplace where you can set all manner of things on fire and watch them burn. What makes this interesting is that there's a pointed story behind all of this pyromania, and in order to progress, you need to figure out and burn specific combinations of items.

Brief thoughts: While this game is intended to be comedic with a serious message, some of the items you can destroy in your Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace are disturbing.

Examples include plush toys that react to being burned, various things advertised as belonging to someone else, different types of fake drugs, and old ladies.

LOVE

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platformer
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Love is a homage to old school computer games, and as such, it focuses solely on running through various levels as quickly as possible. There's no story or point, other than the challenge of surviving the many obstacles in your way.

Brief thoughts: One of the benefits simple games is that there isn't much room for offensive content.

LOVE 2: Kuso

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platformer
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LOVE 2 (aka Kuso) is another a loving look back at old school platform games, reminding us older gamers of a time when palettes where limited, chiptunes were the norm, and the only goal was to run to the other side of the screen as quickly as possible.

Brief thoughts: This is a simple, fun little game that doesn't feature anything nothing worth worrying about.

MarisaLand Legacy

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platformer
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In this cute and colorful platformer, Marisa is ends up getting shrunken down by a bad mushroom, and must begin a journey to find the eight golden mushrooms that will restore her to her original size!

Brief thoughts: This fan game completely ignores the fact that Marisa is a witch, making this a simple and cute platformer with no notable issues.

Marvin's Mittens

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platformer
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Marvin was quietly building a snowman when something dashed out of the trees, took a mitten off his hand, and ran away into the woods with its prize. Now you can't just steal a little boy's mitten and expect him to do nothing about it, so he sets off journey that takes him over and under lakes and mountains as he tracks down the mischievous Mitten Thief.

Brief thoughts: This is probably the sweetest game I've ever played, and the only thing that could even remotely be a concern to strict Christians is that there is a group of tiny elves living in Marvin's backyard.

Mega Man Legacy Collection

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Platformer
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This collection includes the original six Mega Man games that came out on the NES. In each game, the heroic robot Mega Man would battle a series of evil Robot Masters, obtain their weapons, and then use them to save the world from the twisted plans of Dr. Wily. Despite their age, these games are still a lot of fun, and this collection provides a great way for kids to experience the best of yesteryear.

Brief thoughts: This series focuses on battles between various human-like robots. But, no humans are ever harmed during these battles, and it's implied that the evil robots can be repaired.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2

ESRB Rating:	E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Platform Shooter
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The Mega Man series is easily one of the most remembered and beloved from yesteryear. However, while the first six games kept to a winning formula and were all on the NES, the four games that followed jumped between various consoles and tried some new things that didn't exactly work out well. Despite their issues, they're still fun games and worth replaying.

Brief thoughts: The Mega Man games are about good robots fighting evil or corrupted robots. No humans are ever harmed, and some of the games show the corrupted robots after they've been repaired.

Mega Man 11

ESRB Rating:	E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Platform Shooter
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Dr. Wily has once again decided to try and take over the world. This time he's using one of his earlier inventions - one that was declared too dangerous to research. Thus, Mega Man is once again called into action to save the day.

Brief thoughts: As usual, the Mega Man series is about robots fighting each other. No humans are harmed, and once the day is saved, the bad robots are rebuilt as good robots once again.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection Volume 2

ESRB Rating:	T - Teenagers
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Platform Shooter
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This collection concludes the story of Mega Man X and the many battles caused by Reploids infighting.

Brief thoughts: The advanced robots in these games are intended to be seen as people, which implies that destroying them is supposed to be equivalent to an execution or murder. However, by this point in the series, it's fairly common knowledge that the evil robots were reprogrammed or otherwise manipulated by someone else. The villains also tend to be more insane and power hungry in this part of the series, which makes them much less sympathetic.

Meritous

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Dungeon Crawler
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This game is completely free!
The goal of this open source dungeon crawler is to cleanse the contaminated Orcus Dome by dispelling the monsters and restoring the flow of magical energy. It's not as easy to do as it sounds, but it's definitely a fun time.

Brief thoughts: Although this game is themed after psychic powers and magical things, it really doesn't feel like either are actually involved. As there isn't anything else to worry about, this makes the game rather clean.

Microsoft Jigsaw

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Puzzle
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The free version of this game contains advertisements
While the bulk of this game is more or less your typical jigsaw puzzle, there are some alternative games modes available via the daily challenges. Regardless of which mode you play, you'll be rewarded with gold bars when you complete a level. These gold bars can then be redeemed for more puzzles from the in-game store. If you like jigsaw puzzles, then you'll probably be playing this game for a long time.

Brief thoughts: The main issue with this game is that you can spend real money on new content or perks, such as ad-free play.

Microsoft Mahjongg

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	Puzzle
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The free version of this game contains advertisements
Simple Mah Jongg games have been available for nearly every operating system out there, and it's great to see Microsoft stepped up to the plate with one of their own. They did a wonderful job on it too, making it a must have for fans of solitaire Mah Jongg games.

Brief thoughts: The only potential issue here is that the game's premium version is only available via a subscription. If you're not interested in the few benefits that offers, then there's nothing to worry about.

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Card Game
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The free version of this game contains advertisements
Windows has historically shipped with a solitaire card game or two, but nowadays everything is handled through the Windows store and you'll need to install this collection manually. However, this game comes with five different solitaire games as well as a number of other fancy features, so it's clearly worth more than the old sol.exe .

Brief thoughts: This game gives you the option of spending real money on perks like ad-free gameplay or extra wild cards for Pyramid solitaire.

Microsoft Treasure Hunt

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Puzzle / Adventure
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This game is free, but contains advertisements
Microsoft Treasure Hunt is a fancy variation of the classic Minesweeper game. You'll be sending an archeologist through a dangerous tomb, using the numbers in the grid to locate traps. Treasures and powerups also exist to give you more of an edge in your adventure, and unlike Minesweeper, you can make several mistakes before it's game over.

Brief thoughts: The biggest problem this game has is the presence of monsters or traps, both of which function like a type of locked door instead of an enemy. Otherwise, this game is supported by advertisements.

Minecraft

ESRB Rating:	E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Survival / Building
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The name really says it all: you mine resources, and then craft new things out of them. This is a game about exploring new blocky worlds, building all sorts of things, and optionally fighting monsters. The sheer plethora of mods available for it only make things more fun, so it's hard not to recommend a classic game like this one.

Brief thoughts: Although there is some very mild violence and a spooky "Hell" world for players to explore, this is a very family friendly game. However, the biggest issue with it is the way players can get addicted to the slow paced but endless creative gameplay. This can make it difficult for younger players to focus on other things.

Musaic Box

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Everyone
Genre:	Hidden Object
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Your grandfather has hidden your birthday present inside a strange device. In order to retrieve your gift, you'll need to search his house for musical patterns that serve as keys to the titular music box!

Brief thoughts: The prize you earn at the end of the game is supposedly magical, but since we never see it used on anything, it's basically a moot point.

Mystic Towers

ESRB Rating:	NR - Not Rated
My Rating:	Ages 10 and up
Genre:	Action
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A free demo is available
Taking on the role of Baron Baldric, your goal is to save the neighboring countries by exploring twelve towers, destroy their monster generators, and clearing out the remaining monsters.

Brief thoughts: There are a number of minor issues with this game that, on their own, probably wouldn't be a problem. But they do add up, and this may reach a point where some Christians are uncomfortable with them.

My Little Pony

ESRB Rating:	E - Everyone
My Rating:	Ages 6 and up
Genre:	City Building Simulator
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This game is free, but paid features exist
It's up to you to build a new Ponyville. As you complete quests and gather products from your buildings, new ponies will move in. Eventually you'll have enough Harmony Shards to reactivate the Harmony Stones and defeat Nightmare Moon. Unfortunately, the Windows version of the game hasn't updated in years, meaning that you're missing out on features, ponies, and new adventures if you play this version.

Brief thoughts: While there's a lot of magic in Equestria, the bigger issue with this game is how it's heavily reliant on players using gems, which can be purchased with real money.