Since we're here any recommendations for a two player collaborative game I can play with my 4yo son ? I would be preferably able to assist/protect him. Right now we are playing twinbee and arkanoid for snes
Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
81–90 of 452 posts
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#82My kids and I had a great time going through the first 3 Monkey Island games. The Remastered versions of 1 & 2 with full voice acting helped keep my kids engaged. They we pretty stoked to see Ron Gilbert's announcement that he's making another game in the series.
They technically have a bit of cartoon violence, but they’re very good. Portal doesn’t have guns or violence as such, but not much of a story either - quite fun.
Portal has machine gun turrets that shoot you until you are dead. The entire end is pretty violent, probably act 2-3 really.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#83Most of my choices have already been mentioned, except for The Blackwell Series.
Point-and-click adventure games are typically heavy on the story side and low on violence, and the biggest problem with them is the level of difficulty of puzzles. Blackwell doesn't have anything you're going to get stuck on, the actions follow logically.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#84I love video games, but consider reading books to you children. Much better, deeper stories and less violence!
+1 to this idea. The Halo novels are a great read and you'll do some ground work in introducing them to the lore before they play the games.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably because Undertale is not really non-violent. Even a perfect-pacifist playthrough requires the use of violence.
technically true, but the "violence" is like, pressing a button when one abstract line overlaps another. it's like playing Super Hexagon. about the only thing that makes it "violent" is the fact you have to press a button labeled Fight, once in the entire game.
I mean technically all the violence in any video game comes down to pushing a button labeled "fight" when you remove several layers of complexity and abstraction. That's why violence in games isn't such a big deal. Point being, if someone specifically asks for a 'non-violent' game, I wouldn't recommend a game where the abstraction is explicitly attacking and killing characters.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#86Earthbound snes. Yes you fight things with frying pans, yoyos, etc but the only violent scene in the whole game is a fly dies in a very dramatic way. All of the fights are turn based without violent animations. The story is great, but don't be afraid to use a guide the first time through.
I would especially playing it on a SNES emulator with both save state and fast forward features.
The game is great, but some design elements are really rough. It can be brutally difficult at times and at others cringingly slow. Both emulator features fix that - I wouldn't play it without.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#87Subnautica. Specifically designed to be nonviolent
epic game unless you have phobia from water.. i know few people that would be horrified to play it :)
Exposure therapy! There aren't really any panic moments unless you're reckless, and you're sitting in safety while confronting the deep.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#88I play a lot of games with my 6yo, our top suggestions: 1. Chuchel (point&click about a funny creature in pursuit of a cherry) 2. Donut County (drop things into a hole that gets bigger) 3. The Henry Stickmin Collection (classic multiple choice 2D animated Flash game extended, funny) 4. Superliminal (very imaginative space distortion puzzle, adult help needed)
Along the Chuchel, the rest of the production of Amanita design comes to mind: Machinarium, Botanicula and the Samorost series especially.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#89Let’s step back and look at this a bit objectively - there are various forms of “gameplay” but many involve violence of some sort as that’s one of the easiest to “figure out what to do”. But there are others - off-hand I can think of:
* puzzle solvers (Portal, Phoenix Wright, etc)
* simulations (city builders, etc)
* driving games (racing, boats, etc)
* discovery (often a form of puzzle game, but there are things like the whale petting game - Endless Ocean - Animal Crossing could be one of these)
* RPG (though most involve violence for some it is very stylized, Pokémon could go here)
* Collection (usually an aspect of another game, such as Pokémon or animal crossing - the drive to complete the sets)
* High-level army simulations (Things like Age of Empires, Heroes III et al - games that technically have violence but it’s more like chess, you’re maneuvering armies against other armies. The Heroes storyline was pretty decent and I love the gameplay)
* Sports (Madden, FIFA, many have a career or dynasty mode focusing on a player or team)
So something like a racing RPG with collection aspects might be perfect - though most have a relatively weak “story mode”.
Re: Ask HN: Non-violent video games with great stories?
#90I play a lot of games with my 6yo, our top suggestions: 1. Chuchel (point&click about a funny creature in pursuit of a cherry) 2. Donut County (drop things into a hole that gets bigger) 3. The Henry Stickmin Collection (classic multiple choice 2D animated Flash game extended, funny) 4. Superliminal (very imaginative space distortion puzzle, adult help needed)
Be a hole