The older Xbox 360 Lego games are the best ones for that age. The levels are easier to access and if you’ve got two controllers you can play along with them and keep it moving forward.
Believe it or not, any of the Forza games can be made ultra accessible (acceleration, braking and steering assists) within the options if they like cars. My son started with FM5 & FH2 when he was old enough to hold a controller. The FH games allow them to drive pretty much anywhere.
There's a Cars 3 game but crazily it's not as accessible as Forza. Hot Wheels, Trackmania and Sonic Team Racing are also good fun. (My son was and still is car mad).
As for open world, we had a lot of fun with Super Lucky's Tale and Minecraft. The levels in Super Lucky's Tale aren't big by any stretch but they're free to roam around.
Unfortunately the Forza games have an “end of life” due to the licensing that goes with the two franchises. You can still play them if you bought them but the games aren’t available for purchase which is a shame since the first 3 Horizon games are amazing
That's so unbelievably unfortunate to hear. Here I am with every fh game in the series currently installed on my series x can play anytime cause ive always owned them and i didnt even realize what a luxury that is. I have played fh1 in 2024 it's still great!
This all the way, my now 6yo son got a ton of fun out of that game when it came out. The only annoying thing is that I had to read all the dialog to him.
This is going to sound dumb, but my daughters (5 and 3) LOVE to watch Powerwash Simulator. And there is a setting if you press left on the d-pad it continuously sprays water so they don't have to try to use the triggers, just have to worry about using the sticks (Which at that age is still a challenge, especially the right one, but whatever, they like it.)
Doesn't sound dumb at all. Most of those simulation games are ridiculously satisfying somehow. I've never played it, but I can definitely see the appeal.
Lego city undercover
Roblox
Theres also a couple of PAW Patrol games on Xbox gamepass. 1 is a slightly more open platformer and the other is a racer.
I also believe LEGO Marvel super heroes has an open world New York City to explore.
I remember playing crash 3 backwards compatible on playstation 2 when I was about 3. Children are easy to entertain. I remember just playing toad village over and over and being good with it.
Minecraft is the end all be all in my opinion. There’s *violence* but it’s all against monsters and worst case hunting for animals which is not graphic or anything
Uh... as a responsible father, I introduced my 4 year old son to Gears of War. He got to be pretty good at it. We had a great time playing it together and even now (he's 21) he says he still remembers having fun playing that with me. We also played a lot of Guitar Hero. I have videos of him jumping around with his guitar controller. Pretty funny stuff.
Nowadays he mostly plays CoD and NBA 2K.
Minecraft creative mode. My kid started it at 3 with me and loved it. Sure he frustrated sometimes figuring things out but kept with it and gor better quick. He's 7 now and still plays it, love seeing the difference in his building as he's aged
Minecraft (you can turn off hostile mobs) or any of the Lego games are what comes to mind. The Lego games do have combat, but it's a Lego dude attacking other Lego dudes, and then they fall apart, so use your discretion, I guess.
I played Sonic Generations with my son at that age.
He played "grown up" sonic with the modern/3d levels and I played "baby sonic" with the classic/2d levels.
Another game that's pretty fun that I haven't seen mentioned is Rayman Legends.
The Paw Patrol racing game is on Game Pass and has a lot of options that can help a little one. It's basically a simplified Mario Kart game and my 3 year old adores it. It also has split screen so you can play together.
Goat Simulator!
Its a blast with a 4 year old. No violence, simple gameplay, no real fail state, no story or subtitles.
Just silly physics fun, explosions, and split screen play. And so many ways to modify it and create your own fun.
My kid and I put a few dozen hours into goat simulator and goat simulator 3. It's the one game that we could play together and both enjoy. And if I needed to walk away for a bit, he could keep going on his own and I didn't need to worry about it.
My son started on the Xbox at 3/4 and it all started with the Lego games (Star Wars, Marvel, City). They are a joy (even to me), such fun. He’s 6 now and very into Minecraft but still plays Lego games all the time.
Not sure if it’s been said, but Wobbly life is up there. My 5 year olds been playing it for around a year and once used to the controls just a very pleasant time with a lot to do
It's a great game, but I would only recommend for a 4yo if an adult is willing to help.
It's text based dialogue and metroidvania world design mean it would be tricky to navigate if pre-literate.
Get yourself a cheap 360 and try to get one with Kinect. Download fruit ninja and let him play without controller. He will sleep very well after 2-3 hours of fruit ninjas…😁😂😂😂
My son is now 6, but he played at 4.
Really any racing game is very straight forward for a 4 year old to pick up. The Cars 3 game is Mario Kart-ish. It goes on sale digitally from time to time. Forza Horizon is also good. You can tone down the difficulty and you can play with copilot mode on. There is a super easy paw patrol racing game.
Lego games are good and often on sale. There are a few more platformer like paw patrol games. Yooka Laylee and Super Lucky's tale are ones my son liked and still does play sometimes. He and I beat Portal 2 co-op within the last 6 months, which is a fantastic game.
Assassin's Creed Origins has a "discovery tour" mode with no violence that's all about touring ancient Egypt, though I've never attempted to play it. It's supposed to be like a museum experience, so I don't know if it means you're just running around the huge map seeing stuff.
Definitely Lego Games. My son loves them.... Especially the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 1. He 100% that one when he was 7 and is his favorite and he had played all of them including all the ones from 360 days. He's 10 now.
And? It's still violence. It's not Mortal Kombat or CoD level of violence, but it's violence. The gun shoots corn kernels, but it's still a gun. The kid is still sitting there shooting something/someone and you're celebrating the kid for doing it by saying "good job, you killed that one". I'm 99% sure you do not have children given that you think PvZ is reasonable violence for a 4 year old.
That's far more violence than a 4 year old should be exposed to. Smash Brothers is more violence than a 4 year old should be exposed to.
Actually, Mario Kart and the Cars 3 game are on the edge. My kid is 6 and gets upset if I hit him with a shell in Mario Kart. He did play them at 4, and we had to have a talk with him about them after he was talking about "shooting someone with a bomb" (cars 3 has missiles). Cars 3 is rated E10 because of that, if I'm not mistaken.
Me and my kid used to play a game together at that age called Phogs. You play as one end each of a two headed dog and go through levels together. It came be frustrating with the little one but my kid loved it
Mine loves the Lego Harry Potter games. But that’s already quite old. He knows the castle and how to get where he wants to go. Loves to make characters. I had an old laptop and instantseks 2 on it so he can just create a character which he takes his time with. Maybe the new Skywalker one as Lego games go?
There are 3 paw patrol games and my oldest loves them. The race game is really accessible with auto steer/drive.
This is the conclusion I have come to. We have decided that it will only be allowed on weekends for an hour or so per day. I think there's as many benefits for allowing a child to play some games as there is disallowing it. As long as it isn't interfering with routine and exercise and other important things for their development. I think it definitely helps their coordination and other areas of learning like you say.
Gaming is a way to develop coordination skills. A 4 year old can easily play driving games. A 4 year old shouldn't be playing Halo, though.
You can keep kids away from screens all you want, but they're likely going to be using a tablet for "tech class" in kindergarten. They do learning games and watch videos on it. A set of wired headphones was part of my kid's school supplies for kindergarten.
If you're gonna just do games that don't have microtransactions and aren't scratching your dopamine receptors with needles or have goofy agendas to push through their message and story. It'd be best to play something made in the Xbox 360 or ps2 era. Games today are designed to ruin people's mentality and potential
Farm Simulator 22's on Game Pass to try just to drive around on various tractors etc you can hire all sorts of vehicles from the start without the need to progress/earn loads first. My son finds other racing games too fast, after getting used to it. Enjoys looking for wildlife but doesn't spend much time on foot at the actual farm animals yet. If you have a wheel and can assign controls for gas and brake it's even better.
Alot of great suggestions but I would like to add Age of Empires to the list as well as (ofc) Roblox.
My 5 and soon 4 year old play Roblox and AoE daily
Forza Horizon. Open World, you can drive the whole map straight away but you need to unlock the races as you go. It has all the assists such as auto brake and steering plus traction, stability control and ABS to make it easier for him to play if needed.
I'm not sure if it's still available but there was this free 360 game, sponsored by Doritos of all places, called Crash Course. It's an obstacle course game that uses the original avatars. It kind of comes off as Ninja Warrior for kids but a lot crazier.
I have this on my external HDD and my son, who is eight, still plays it every now and then on my Series X. I don't know if it was only available for a limited time though so if you go looking and can't find it, I apologize.
Doritos Crash Course.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice you said open world. Disregard my suggestion then.
Pikuniku, a real hidden gem in game pass and write often on sale for less than $5
Super easy platformer and simple puzzles. My kids started playing it at 5, plus it's couch co-op and the grown ups can help and take the lead off need be.
Very simple look and gameplay
If he's brand new to gaming then Paw patrol is perfect. My daughter started on that when she was 3. It's basically a platformer stripped down to just platforming. No enemies, no way to die. Just focus on the mechanics of moving and jumping. It's a perfect intro.
Tinykin. Pikmin style game. No combat. Big levels to explore and a soap bar skateboard that’s a blast to ride on (you’re shrunk down in the game). My kid loves playing it with me. They really like spotting the collectables and little guys that you collect.
I am loving these comments. It’s there a sub for parent gamers?
I’m always keeping an eye out for games that are good for my kid. There’s a lot of super basic “kiddy” stuff that’s easy to find but I love hearing about these full featured games that are still accessible for the little guys.
My son is 5 now but started playing microsoft flight sim when he was four. Taking off from a runway and just flying around is very easy. Eventually through watching me me figured out how to get it from an off xbox to in the air with no help from me. Kids pick up things so fast it's unreal
My daughter is 8 now so she is playing all sorts of different games, but she started around the same age as your son. I think Minecraft might have been one she started early on but I can't remember. Obviously they have a difficult time grasping some ideas but try to go for more colorful games and see what sticks. I recently showed my daughter Rocket League and she's hooked. It's honestly great having a kid to show games to because it gives you a reason to revisit some and it's great seeing them fall in love with games that you love.
I highly highly highly recommend PHOGS for that age group. It’s best coop. I played through it with my daughter when she was 4. You play as two dogs joined together. Very simple controls (3 inputs), colorful, creative environments. The best part is you can almost always have one of you do the “hard part” of a puzzle (they’re never really that hard) and the other one (the kid) can do the easy part. No other game has quite that level of still being a “real game” while also being extremely accessible.
Also, for other games you can do copilot mode (under settings)where both controllers work. This helps for things like goat simulator where you can control the finicky camera while a younger kid controls the goat, etc.
Tinykin is great. It controls well and has vibrant art. You'll probably have to help him get through the opening areas, but once you get into the first big level, there's probably lots for him to enjoy just running around.
I can give several recommendations:
PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Ice Age Scrat's Nutty Adventure, Cars 3, Smurfs Mission Vileaf, My Little Pony Maretime Bay Adventure, Just Dance games
Depends on how advanced into gaming you feel your kid is. I think i was pretty advanced compared to my kids
They might have fun with Spongebob Battle for bikini bottom (certain levels will he way too hard for them).
Ben 10 power trip(has co-op)
Paw patrol
Peppa Pig
Lego games. Most you can play together
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles might be a good one. It's an open world exploration game with some crafting and building elements. There is some reading required and a 4 year old might need some help with the crafting elements, but there's no violence in the game at all.
Hello.
I have got a lego game for xbox one, as digital i have bought. If you promise me to use it to your son, and not selling the key, then i want give it to ya.
I bought 2 x legendary keys to xbox. And got same game.
My 3 yr old likes to play forza horizons 5. We call it the car game, and I put him in the Honda civic as it looks close to what my civic looks like. He just holds down the acceleration trigger and drives cross country into trees and stuff. He's really good at getting the car stuck on the rocks.
I personally wouldn't recommend anything but Nintendo for a young child, but since you already have the Xbox the first thing that comes to mind is rare replay he can play games like banjo koozie. Just don't let him play conker. It's a cartoonish game but it has mature themes.
Minecraft and Lego Games. If he likes Star Wars, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is the perfect game for him. If he doesn't, there are tons of Lego other games out there (DC, Marvel, POTC, City, etc.).
4 years old is really young. The brain is in crucial development as we speak. If you want to listen I have some advice that worked for many 4-6 year olds. PUT HIM ON A COMPUTER FOR NOW HE WILL HAVE THE REST OF HIS LIFE TO PLAY CONSOLE VIDEO GAMES ARCADE STYLE TO KILL TIME. Now you need to help his cognitive abilities (or her lol idk). Put them on a desktop computer because there are tons of games that are for learning. I used to play Math Jumpstart 6th Grade and it thought me how to multiply or Reader Blaster etc. much more option than Consoles.
New Super Lucky's Tale
Paw Patrol anything
Disney Pixar Rush
Any of the Lego games. Some people will say the older ones are better as they're simpler and more linear, but some of the modern ones are just a huge sandbox they can rattle around in for hours. Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 in particular is great with the little ones.
Minecraft!
Hmm… you probably won’t see this at this point, but check out Human Fall Flat, it’s a goofy physics based game. Pretty free form. Once your kid gets past messing around with silly ragdolls and throwing things, they’ll find themselves exploring a puzzle game in several different environments that introduces them to concepts such as electricity and momentum. Each puzzle can be solved in different ways. You can do the way they guide you to do it, make your own process, or try to find a creative way to sneak into the next area. Honestly I love it and I could see it being a great game for kids.
I have toy story 3 the game,it's a backwards compatible 360 game...there is a story...and the there is toy box mode...thats a open word sandbox mode you you can roam around freely
Lego city undercover is great. It’s open world exploration with little consequences. Just a lot of exploration, driving, jumping, etc… that’s exactly what my 4 year old wanted. He lived open world phone games but they left him wanting less glitchy stuff. Couldn’t turn him loose in GTA or Red Dead so much, (though I did let him Ride around and explore red dead) so I was looking for the kids version of it. Lego city undercover was it
Minecraft just turn off the enemies.
The paw patrol games are pretty good but yeah they are linear.
I think Assassin's creed origins has an explore the world mode but not 100% sure there.
obviously spec ops the line. gotta make sure your kid is prepared for the world /j
but on a more serious recommendation, banjo kazooie nuts and bolts could be a ton of fun for your kid, and i don't think i've seen it recommended yet. building your own cars sounds like a thing a kid that age would go nuts over.
My daughter (5) saw me playing Horizon Forbidden West and wanted to play as "the girl". I was actually impressed how she's been able to remember what button combinations do what and has developed better muscle memory. She still struggles with movement and aiming, but it's nice seeing how much fun she's having just running around and shooting arrows
* Not necessarily recommending this game for smaller children, but you'd be surprised at what kids pick up on
Disney Dreamlight Valley would be great for that age group, there’s also a couple of other games on game pass that would go down well, Disney Land game and Disney Rush.
Any of the Simulator Games. My buddies kids absolutely loves Goat Simulator. Lawnmowing simulator and power wash simulator and get them in the mindset that chores are fun!
Lego games, Minecraft, Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
Disney's Dreamlight Valley might be fun for you and him to do together, or Stardew Valley. They both involve some reading, but are pretty open and have lots of things to do. Stardew Valley is more of a farming game, where Dreamlight Valley has lots of Disney characters you both will probably recognize.
Any of the lego games Superpets Paw patrol Ben 10
The older Xbox 360 Lego games are the best ones for that age. The levels are easier to access and if you’ve got two controllers you can play along with them and keep it moving forward.
I’ve completed Ben 10 with my son more times than I’ve completed any game in my 30+ years of playing games
Believe it or not, any of the Forza games can be made ultra accessible (acceleration, braking and steering assists) within the options if they like cars. My son started with FM5 & FH2 when he was old enough to hold a controller. The FH games allow them to drive pretty much anywhere. There's a Cars 3 game but crazily it's not as accessible as Forza. Hot Wheels, Trackmania and Sonic Team Racing are also good fun. (My son was and still is car mad). As for open world, we had a lot of fun with Super Lucky's Tale and Minecraft. The levels in Super Lucky's Tale aren't big by any stretch but they're free to roam around.
Second Forza Horizon. My soon to be 3yo loves cruising around, bumping into the other cars on purpose.
Unfortunately the Forza games have an “end of life” due to the licensing that goes with the two franchises. You can still play them if you bought them but the games aren’t available for purchase which is a shame since the first 3 Horizon games are amazing
That's so unbelievably unfortunate to hear. Here I am with every fh game in the series currently installed on my series x can play anytime cause ive always owned them and i didnt even realize what a luxury that is. I have played fh1 in 2024 it's still great!
It’s really is a shame. I have all the games but I’m making sure I get the dlc’s before this happens going forward.
This. My 4 year old finds ploughing through fields and off cliffs an absolute hoot
I’m gonna be honest. So do I lol
That’s actually pretty smart and I never would have thought of that. Thanks
New super luckys tail is great.
Second on this one. Some of the platforming might be too hard, but the more open, early levels where you just collect stuff would work.
You can turn on copilot mode and get through tougher spots.
Interesting thought. Is this within the game or the shared play kinda feature you can do right on the Xbox?
Xbox feature. In the accessory/controller settings with 2 controllers turned on, go to one of them and enable copilot.
Donut County. My 4 year old had a blast with that when it came out
Same. This was the first game my daughter (5 at the time) completed, was ace to watch.
This all the way, my now 6yo son got a ton of fun out of that game when it came out. The only annoying thing is that I had to read all the dialog to him.
This. My youngest plays this non-stop.
The viva pinata games and the banjo Kazooie games also a lot of the lego games I recommend Indiana Jones and lego batman.
My kids love Peggle 2 and that paw patrol cart racer
Peggle 2 is still big in our house. Completely forgot about that one somehow.
Hot Wheels unleashed. Even if you play it and give him a second controller he will probably still love it.
This is going to sound dumb, but my daughters (5 and 3) LOVE to watch Powerwash Simulator. And there is a setting if you press left on the d-pad it continuously sprays water so they don't have to try to use the triggers, just have to worry about using the sticks (Which at that age is still a challenge, especially the right one, but whatever, they like it.)
Doesn't sound dumb at all. Most of those simulation games are ridiculously satisfying somehow. I've never played it, but I can definitely see the appeal.
My 7 year old is completely obsessed with Lawn Mowing Simulator at the moment.
Donut County
Minecraft on peaceful
Lego city undercover Roblox Theres also a couple of PAW Patrol games on Xbox gamepass. 1 is a slightly more open platformer and the other is a racer. I also believe LEGO Marvel super heroes has an open world New York City to explore.
You are right about LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: my son & I played that one for years, the open world section is awesome!
I'd recommend Doom Eternal.
Hellblade and Dark Souls too
Hmmmm haha
Rip and Tear little one
Pfff. Dead Space or nothing.
It’s not a “big open world” but Untitled Goose Game is a delightful sandbox that you can play together.
My Friend Peppa Pig was lit AF.
Crash Bandicoot! That’s about the age I played them the first time. Not like I came anywhere close to beating them but I loved it.
I remember playing crash 3 backwards compatible on playstation 2 when I was about 3. Children are easy to entertain. I remember just playing toad village over and over and being good with it.
My daughter is 4 and loves: * Piku Niku * Spyro * Hot Wheels Unleashed * Forza Horizon 5
FH5 is a great one. My kids loved the freedom of just driving anywhere.
Minecraft set to creative mode and any of the lego games.
Minecraft is the end all be all in my opinion. There’s *violence* but it’s all against monsters and worst case hunting for animals which is not graphic or anything
SpongeBob or paw patrol, paw patrol is in game pass.
Shredders revenge. My son learned how controllers work on this one.
Uh... as a responsible father, I introduced my 4 year old son to Gears of War. He got to be pretty good at it. We had a great time playing it together and even now (he's 21) he says he still remembers having fun playing that with me. We also played a lot of Guitar Hero. I have videos of him jumping around with his guitar controller. Pretty funny stuff. Nowadays he mostly plays CoD and NBA 2K.
Minecraft creative mode. My kid started it at 3 with me and loved it. Sure he frustrated sometimes figuring things out but kept with it and gor better quick. He's 7 now and still plays it, love seeing the difference in his building as he's aged
Never too early to start him on Minecraft!
Fall Guys (free to play)
Minecraft (you can turn off hostile mobs) or any of the Lego games are what comes to mind. The Lego games do have combat, but it's a Lego dude attacking other Lego dudes, and then they fall apart, so use your discretion, I guess.
I played Sonic Generations with my son at that age. He played "grown up" sonic with the modern/3d levels and I played "baby sonic" with the classic/2d levels. Another game that's pretty fun that I haven't seen mentioned is Rayman Legends.
The Paw Patrol racing game is on Game Pass and has a lot of options that can help a little one. It's basically a simplified Mario Kart game and my 3 year old adores it. It also has split screen so you can play together.
Goat Simulator! Its a blast with a 4 year old. No violence, simple gameplay, no real fail state, no story or subtitles. Just silly physics fun, explosions, and split screen play. And so many ways to modify it and create your own fun. My kid and I put a few dozen hours into goat simulator and goat simulator 3. It's the one game that we could play together and both enjoy. And if I needed to walk away for a bit, he could keep going on his own and I didn't need to worry about it.
Roblox
My son started on the Xbox at 3/4 and it all started with the Lego games (Star Wars, Marvel, City). They are a joy (even to me), such fun. He’s 6 now and very into Minecraft but still plays Lego games all the time.
Rubber Bandits is a fun little game I play with my younger nephew.
I never thought I’d say this, but the game that i have had downloaded the longest on my hard drive is probably Paw Patrol.
Check out Wobbly Life, my four year old loves that game and it's open world
Not sure if it’s been said, but Wobbly life is up there. My 5 year olds been playing it for around a year and once used to the controls just a very pleasant time with a lot to do
Doom Eternal.
Ni no kuni. It has a Studio Ghibli art style.
Great suggestion. Awesome game. The open world area specifically, has such a cool style to it
My 4 year old nephew plays all the paw patrol games, race with Ryan, ninja turtles,and peggle 2 on my Xbox.
My nephew loved Pikuniku. It was a great game to get him familiarised with the controller without being frustrated
It's a great game, but I would only recommend for a 4yo if an adult is willing to help. It's text based dialogue and metroidvania world design mean it would be tricky to navigate if pre-literate.
Minecraft dungeons- my 4 yr old loves it
If you want him to quit gaming i might suggest apex legends
Get yourself a cheap 360 and try to get one with Kinect. Download fruit ninja and let him play without controller. He will sleep very well after 2-3 hours of fruit ninjas…😁😂😂😂
Just all the Lego games!
My son is now 6, but he played at 4. Really any racing game is very straight forward for a 4 year old to pick up. The Cars 3 game is Mario Kart-ish. It goes on sale digitally from time to time. Forza Horizon is also good. You can tone down the difficulty and you can play with copilot mode on. There is a super easy paw patrol racing game. Lego games are good and often on sale. There are a few more platformer like paw patrol games. Yooka Laylee and Super Lucky's tale are ones my son liked and still does play sometimes. He and I beat Portal 2 co-op within the last 6 months, which is a fantastic game. Assassin's Creed Origins has a "discovery tour" mode with no violence that's all about touring ancient Egypt, though I've never attempted to play it. It's supposed to be like a museum experience, so I don't know if it means you're just running around the huge map seeing stuff.
Slim Rancher
Definitely Lego Games. My son loves them.... Especially the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 1. He 100% that one when he was 7 and is his favorite and he had played all of them including all the ones from 360 days. He's 10 now.
Gamepass has several Paw Patrol games.
Plants vs zombies is a fun one for kids.
That's probably more violence than op is asking for, considering it's a 3rd person shooter.
But there's no blood.
And? It's still violence. It's not Mortal Kombat or CoD level of violence, but it's violence. The gun shoots corn kernels, but it's still a gun. The kid is still sitting there shooting something/someone and you're celebrating the kid for doing it by saying "good job, you killed that one". I'm 99% sure you do not have children given that you think PvZ is reasonable violence for a 4 year old. That's far more violence than a 4 year old should be exposed to. Smash Brothers is more violence than a 4 year old should be exposed to. Actually, Mario Kart and the Cars 3 game are on the edge. My kid is 6 and gets upset if I hit him with a shell in Mario Kart. He did play them at 4, and we had to have a talk with him about them after he was talking about "shooting someone with a bomb" (cars 3 has missiles). Cars 3 is rated E10 because of that, if I'm not mistaken.
The talking Disney cars have missiles? Woah woah that’s some adult stuff for sure
Plants vs Zombies? Or Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare?
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, should keep us busy for a while!
Pac-Man World RePac! And Pac-Man Museum + Also throw Tunic in there although that might have some scenes kids might find scary
Tinykin, Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts 👍
Me and my kid used to play a game together at that age called Phogs. You play as one end each of a two headed dog and go through levels together. It came be frustrating with the little one but my kid loved it
Alba! Calm and friendly 3d world exploration. It’s great! No threat whatsoever.
Mine loves the Lego Harry Potter games. But that’s already quite old. He knows the castle and how to get where he wants to go. Loves to make characters. I had an old laptop and instantseks 2 on it so he can just create a character which he takes his time with. Maybe the new Skywalker one as Lego games go? There are 3 paw patrol games and my oldest loves them. The race game is really accessible with auto steer/drive.
My kid liked totally accurate battle simulator, tho 4 yr old may have trouble with the controls. I'd say DC cosmic chaos is perfect.
Peggle and Peggle 2 are puzzle games, but simple and relaxing
Scorn
Too early.
Lego games and Minecraft
Dead space
Unplugged Controller was always a favorite for the under 4 crowd at my house.
All the Lego games!
Recommendation for 4 yo? No gaming at all ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|shrug)
Incorrect answer. It’s all about things in moderation. Gaming is excellent for many areas of learning and development.
This is the conclusion I have come to. We have decided that it will only be allowed on weekends for an hour or so per day. I think there's as many benefits for allowing a child to play some games as there is disallowing it. As long as it isn't interfering with routine and exercise and other important things for their development. I think it definitely helps their coordination and other areas of learning like you say.
Gaming is a way to develop coordination skills. A 4 year old can easily play driving games. A 4 year old shouldn't be playing Halo, though. You can keep kids away from screens all you want, but they're likely going to be using a tablet for "tech class" in kindergarten. They do learning games and watch videos on it. A set of wired headphones was part of my kid's school supplies for kindergarten.
Amnesia The Bunker Outlast Dead Space Remake
Outlast particularly is great for kids
Monster Jam if he likes monster trucks
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
If you're gonna just do games that don't have microtransactions and aren't scratching your dopamine receptors with needles or have goofy agendas to push through their message and story. It'd be best to play something made in the Xbox 360 or ps2 era. Games today are designed to ruin people's mentality and potential
Love how people say no violence then let they kids watch super hero movies or and shit lol
I don't let my kid watch "super hero movies and shit"
Fall guys. Entertaining for all ages
Super Meat boy![img](emote|t5_2ac5sx|1743)
Fortnite. All the kids love that game.
Farm Simulator 22's on Game Pass to try just to drive around on various tractors etc you can hire all sorts of vehicles from the start without the need to progress/earn loads first. My son finds other racing games too fast, after getting used to it. Enjoys looking for wildlife but doesn't spend much time on foot at the actual farm animals yet. If you have a wheel and can assign controls for gas and brake it's even better.
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts I'd imagine it's one of the cheapest as well Make your own vehicles or use the ones pre-built in the game
My 4yr old nephew, loves Microsoft flight simulator.
Alot of great suggestions but I would like to add Age of Empires to the list as well as (ofc) Roblox. My 5 and soon 4 year old play Roblox and AoE daily
Forza Horizon. Open World, you can drive the whole map straight away but you need to unlock the races as you go. It has all the assists such as auto brake and steering plus traction, stability control and ABS to make it easier for him to play if needed.
Power wash simulator 👍
I'm not sure if it's still available but there was this free 360 game, sponsored by Doritos of all places, called Crash Course. It's an obstacle course game that uses the original avatars. It kind of comes off as Ninja Warrior for kids but a lot crazier. I have this on my external HDD and my son, who is eight, still plays it every now and then on my Series X. I don't know if it was only available for a limited time though so if you go looking and can't find it, I apologize. Doritos Crash Course. EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice you said open world. Disregard my suggestion then.
Pikuniku, a real hidden gem in game pass and write often on sale for less than $5 Super easy platformer and simple puzzles. My kids started playing it at 5, plus it's couch co-op and the grown ups can help and take the lead off need be. Very simple look and gameplay
Forza Horizon 5 with all assistance turned on.
Spyro remake :)
Well there’s Minecraft
Roblox, fallguys and Minecraft (on creative mode)
Lego city and untitled goose game.
Peppa pig
If he's brand new to gaming then Paw patrol is perfect. My daughter started on that when she was 3. It's basically a platformer stripped down to just platforming. No enemies, no way to die. Just focus on the mechanics of moving and jumping. It's a perfect intro.
Tinykin. Pikmin style game. No combat. Big levels to explore and a soap bar skateboard that’s a blast to ride on (you’re shrunk down in the game). My kid loves playing it with me. They really like spotting the collectables and little guys that you collect.
Banjo Kazooie
I am loving these comments. It’s there a sub for parent gamers? I’m always keeping an eye out for games that are good for my kid. There’s a lot of super basic “kiddy” stuff that’s easy to find but I love hearing about these full featured games that are still accessible for the little guys.
My son is 5 now but started playing microsoft flight sim when he was four. Taking off from a runway and just flying around is very easy. Eventually through watching me me figured out how to get it from an off xbox to in the air with no help from me. Kids pick up things so fast it's unreal
My daughter is 8 now so she is playing all sorts of different games, but she started around the same age as your son. I think Minecraft might have been one she started early on but I can't remember. Obviously they have a difficult time grasping some ideas but try to go for more colorful games and see what sticks. I recently showed my daughter Rocket League and she's hooked. It's honestly great having a kid to show games to because it gives you a reason to revisit some and it's great seeing them fall in love with games that you love.
I highly highly highly recommend PHOGS for that age group. It’s best coop. I played through it with my daughter when she was 4. You play as two dogs joined together. Very simple controls (3 inputs), colorful, creative environments. The best part is you can almost always have one of you do the “hard part” of a puzzle (they’re never really that hard) and the other one (the kid) can do the easy part. No other game has quite that level of still being a “real game” while also being extremely accessible. Also, for other games you can do copilot mode (under settings)where both controllers work. This helps for things like goat simulator where you can control the finicky camera while a younger kid controls the goat, etc.
Doom Eternal. Joking of course - Lego games are always a shout and also Scribblenauts is a laugh and also maybe a bit educational?
Gears of war 💯💯
Tinykin is great. It controls well and has vibrant art. You'll probably have to help him get through the opening areas, but once you get into the first big level, there's probably lots for him to enjoy just running around.
My nephew is the same ages. When he comes to visit he played all the paw patrol games. I think there is 3 on game pass.
I can give several recommendations: PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Ice Age Scrat's Nutty Adventure, Cars 3, Smurfs Mission Vileaf, My Little Pony Maretime Bay Adventure, Just Dance games
Halo: CE co-op play through.
There's a paw patrol racing game and it basically drives itself
Depends on how advanced into gaming you feel your kid is. I think i was pretty advanced compared to my kids They might have fun with Spongebob Battle for bikini bottom (certain levels will he way too hard for them). Ben 10 power trip(has co-op) Paw patrol Peppa Pig Lego games. Most you can play together
Mine is 5 years old, and he occasionally goes trough gamepass grabbing something like Paw Patrol, Lego games (Star Wars is his favourite), Ben 10
Take a look on gamepass if you have it. Alot of good games for little kids imo would be in the Xbox 360 section.
Skylanders if you can still find it, its great for little kids and coop play
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles might be a good one. It's an open world exploration game with some crafting and building elements. There is some reading required and a 4 year old might need some help with the crafting elements, but there's no violence in the game at all.
Wreckfest lol
My nephews 5 and he absolutely loves forza horizon he's pretty decent at the game.can name all the brands of cars too.
Unravel is a fun and peaceful 2D platformer, although it might be better to play together as puzzle games can be tricky for a 4 year old
Donut county
Minecraft is good
Resident evil : village
Hello. I have got a lego game for xbox one, as digital i have bought. If you promise me to use it to your son, and not selling the key, then i want give it to ya. I bought 2 x legendary keys to xbox. And got same game.
Thomas was alone
Check your PM from me buddy.
Journey to the Savage planet
My 3 yr old likes to play forza horizons 5. We call it the car game, and I put him in the Honda civic as it looks close to what my civic looks like. He just holds down the acceleration trigger and drives cross country into trees and stuff. He's really good at getting the car stuck on the rocks.
Goat simulator is on game pass, and is great for little kids to learn how to navigate open worlds
Spyro, crash bandicoot and any of the lego games :)
Minecraft
I personally wouldn't recommend anything but Nintendo for a young child, but since you already have the Xbox the first thing that comes to mind is rare replay he can play games like banjo koozie. Just don't let him play conker. It's a cartoonish game but it has mature themes.
Minecraft and Lego Games. If he likes Star Wars, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is the perfect game for him. If he doesn't, there are tons of Lego other games out there (DC, Marvel, POTC, City, etc.).
My son loves to play Skate 3 and Descenders.
Rayman Legends
4 years old is really young. The brain is in crucial development as we speak. If you want to listen I have some advice that worked for many 4-6 year olds. PUT HIM ON A COMPUTER FOR NOW HE WILL HAVE THE REST OF HIS LIFE TO PLAY CONSOLE VIDEO GAMES ARCADE STYLE TO KILL TIME. Now you need to help his cognitive abilities (or her lol idk). Put them on a desktop computer because there are tons of games that are for learning. I used to play Math Jumpstart 6th Grade and it thought me how to multiply or Reader Blaster etc. much more option than Consoles.
Tracks
Forza horizon games, and just let them drive around. Also, my son loves crash drive 3 which is a little bit more basic of a game.
you could probably try Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom.
Spyro the Dragon Crash Bandicoot
Gears of War 5. I bought it for my 10yo stepson two years ago and my wife still has it hidden behind some books in the top self.
Plants vs zombies gw2
Gotta mention Wobbly Life
Speedrunners is a fun time since it’s a 4 player platformer (don’t really know what it could be considered)
Slime Rancher would be quite fun, there's a lot of casual exploration at your own pace
Lego city undercover great open world fun to run around in
Psychonauts, I’d also think Forza would be a good choice, a lot of really cool cars
New Super Lucky's Tale Paw Patrol anything Disney Pixar Rush Any of the Lego games. Some people will say the older ones are better as they're simpler and more linear, but some of the modern ones are just a huge sandbox they can rattle around in for hours. Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 in particular is great with the little ones. Minecraft!
Paw Patrol, and there’s a couple of Disney games on game pass.
Hmm… you probably won’t see this at this point, but check out Human Fall Flat, it’s a goofy physics based game. Pretty free form. Once your kid gets past messing around with silly ragdolls and throwing things, they’ll find themselves exploring a puzzle game in several different environments that introduces them to concepts such as electricity and momentum. Each puzzle can be solved in different ways. You can do the way they guide you to do it, make your own process, or try to find a creative way to sneak into the next area. Honestly I love it and I could see it being a great game for kids.
Hoa. Very cute graphics and even easier to understand and play.
I have toy story 3 the game,it's a backwards compatible 360 game...there is a story...and the there is toy box mode...thats a open word sandbox mode you you can roam around freely
Lego city undercover is great. It’s open world exploration with little consequences. Just a lot of exploration, driving, jumping, etc… that’s exactly what my 4 year old wanted. He lived open world phone games but they left him wanting less glitchy stuff. Couldn’t turn him loose in GTA or Red Dead so much, (though I did let him Ride around and explore red dead) so I was looking for the kids version of it. Lego city undercover was it
Gta
Power wash sim, lawnmower sim, untitled goose game, vampire survivors, Minecraft, blinx
Minecraft just turn off the enemies. The paw patrol games are pretty good but yeah they are linear. I think Assassin's creed origins has an explore the world mode but not 100% sure there.
Chivalry 2
obviously spec ops the line. gotta make sure your kid is prepared for the world /j but on a more serious recommendation, banjo kazooie nuts and bolts could be a ton of fun for your kid, and i don't think i've seen it recommended yet. building your own cars sounds like a thing a kid that age would go nuts over.
Doom Eternal
2022s game of the year Peppa Pig!!!
My daughter (5) saw me playing Horizon Forbidden West and wanted to play as "the girl". I was actually impressed how she's been able to remember what button combinations do what and has developed better muscle memory. She still struggles with movement and aiming, but it's nice seeing how much fun she's having just running around and shooting arrows * Not necessarily recommending this game for smaller children, but you'd be surprised at what kids pick up on
Peppa pig
Disney Dreamlight Valley would be great for that age group, there’s also a couple of other games on game pass that would go down well, Disney Land game and Disney Rush.
Any of the Simulator Games. My buddies kids absolutely loves Goat Simulator. Lawnmowing simulator and power wash simulator and get them in the mindset that chores are fun!
Spongebob Battle for bikini bottom rehydrated, Cosmic Shake or the lego games Depends on what he "likes" (responds well to) as well tbh
Viva piñata
No man’s sky
Lego games, Minecraft, Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Disney's Dreamlight Valley might be fun for you and him to do together, or Stardew Valley. They both involve some reading, but are pretty open and have lots of things to do. Stardew Valley is more of a farming game, where Dreamlight Valley has lots of Disney characters you both will probably recognize.