Best PS4 Games for Kids: 2025 Picks

For younger players, “Little Big Planet 3” is a whimsical delight. It strikes the perfect balance between accessible fun and platforming challenges. Players control Sackboy and his adorable knit friends in a handcrafted world full of zippers, stickers, and fabric.

The game is famous for its creativity. Your child can customize their character with funny costumes and explore a vibrant world that looks like a craft store came to life.

While the online servers for this game have been taken offline, the local adventure mode is still fantastic. It supports couch co-op, meaning you can grab a controller and help your child navigate the trickier jumps.

If you have a teen in the house, this is the definitive superhero experience. “Marvel’s Spider-Man” lets players step into the suit of Peter Parker to swing through a stunningly realistic New York City.

The story is cinematic and engaging, balancing Peter’s awkward personal life with his responsibilities as Spider-Man. The combat is fast and fluid, focusing on dodging, webs, and acrobatics rather than brutal violence.

Visually, it is one of the best-looking games on the system. Your teen will spend hours just exploring the city, finding backpacks, and stopping crime. It’s rated T for Teen due to some violence and language, so it is best for the middle school crowd and up.

“Minecraft” is more than a game; it’s a creative phenomenon. This digital sandbox allows kids to build anything they can imagine, from simple mud huts to complex functional computers made of redstone.

The Starter Collection is great because it includes the base game plus some extra currency and skins to get started. The “Bedrock” version on PS4 allows cross-play, so your child can play online with friends who are on Xbox, Switch, or PC.

It offers two main modes: Creative, where resources are unlimited and you can’t die, and Survival, where players must gather food and fight off blocky zombies at night. It is brilliant for teaching resource management and geometry.

Cast spells and explore the halls of Hogwarts in the “Lego Harry Potter Collection.” This high-value disc combines two games remastered for the PS4, covering all seven years of Harry’s schooling.

The game retells the movie stories with the classic pantomime humor Lego games are known for. It removes the darker, scarier edges of the later films, making the story accessible for younger fans.

Gameplay revolves around solving magical puzzles, collecting studs, and unlocking hundreds of characters. It features drop-in/drop-out local co-op, which is perfect for parents who want to play with their kids without needing a second console.

The Force is strong with this one. “Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens” takes the hit movie and injects it with slapstick comedy and plastic bricks.

This entry introduced new mechanics to the Lego series, such as “multi-builds” where you can choose different objects to construct to solve puzzles, and exciting blaster battles. Players can pilot iconic ships like the Millennium Falcon and X-Wings in dogfights that look surprisingly cinematic.

The Deluxe Edition is a nice bonus, often including the Season Pass content with extra characters and levels. It’s a fantastic way to experience the Star Wars galaxy without the intensity of the films.

Join the Parr family in an open-world adventure that covers both “Incredibles” movies. This game is particularly special because it focuses heavily on teamwork, requiring players to combine different powers to overcome obstacles.

The game features a colorful open-world city where your kids can run around stopping crimes, collecting “Incredibricks,” and unlocking other famous Pixar characters from movies like Toy Story and Cars.

It is one of the easier Lego games, making it ideal for younger children or beginners who are just learning how to use a controller. The family dynamic in the game mirrors the couch co-op experience perfectly.

“Rayman Legends” is widely considered one of the best platformers ever made. It features gorgeous, hand-drawn 2D art that looks like an interactive cartoon.

Up to four players can jump in simultaneously, running, slapping, and gliding through musical levels where actions are timed to the beat of songs like “Black Betty.” It’s chaotic, hilarious, and incredibly satisfying.

The game is generous with content, including remastered levels from the previous game, Rayman Origins. While it starts easy, the difficulty ramps up, offering a genuine challenge for skilled players while remaining forgiving enough for casual fun thanks to infinite lives.

The beloved purple dragon is back in stunning HD. The “Spyro Reignited Trilogy” completely remakes the first three PlayStation 1 classics from the ground up, making them look like a modern animated movie.

It’s an incredible value proposition: you get three full games on one disc. Players guide Spyro through magical realms, roasting enemies, collecting gems, and rescuing frozen dragons.

The gameplay is simple 3D platforming that focuses on exploration and collecting rather than difficult combat. It’s perfect for kids who love to explore every nook and cranny of a level. Note that a download is required to play the second and third games, even with the disc.

It’s soccer, but with rocket-powered cars. “Rocket League” is a chaotic, high-speed sports game that is easy to pick up but impossible to put down. Players drive fast cars, perform flips, and try to knock a giant ball into the opponent’s goal.

While the base game is now free-to-play digitally, this physical “Collector’s Edition” is still popular for collectors or those who want immediate access to specific DLC cars and cosmetics included on the disc (or via code).

The game supports up to four players in split-screen, making it a staple for sleepovers and sibling rivalries. The matches are short (5 minutes), making it easy to manage screen time.

Imagine if Disney characters met Final Fantasy heroes. That’s “Kingdom Hearts.” In this massive collection, players join Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy as they travel to different Disney worlds, from The Lion King to Frozen, to fight the darkness.

“The Story So Far” is an insane value, packing multiple full-length games into one bundle. It offers hundreds of hours of gameplay.

The combat is real-time and flashy, using a magical “Keyblade” to fight enemies. While the storyline is notoriously confusing (even for adults), the charm of interacting with beloved Disney characters keeps kids hooked.

This is the perfect “first shooter” for kids. Instead of soldiers and gore, “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2” features goofy zombies fighting weaponized flora like corn cobs and oranges.

It’s a third-person shooter that is genuinely funny and surprisingly deep. Players can choose to be plants or zombies, each with unique abilities. The “Backyard Battleground” acts as an interactive hub where kids can explore and complete missions solo or with friends.

It supports split-screen co-op and online multiplayer. Despite being an older title, the community is still active, and the cartoonish chaos holds up well.

Start your engines with Lightning McQueen and friends. “Cars 3: Driven to Win” is a surprisingly competent racing game that extends the story of the movie.

It isn’t just about driving fast; players need to master drifting, driving on two wheels, and using power-ups to win. The game features 20 customizable characters and over 20 tracks set in iconic locations from the films.

The “Playground” mode is a standout feature, letting kids drive around freely to practice stunts without the pressure of a race. It’s perfect for younger fans of the franchise who just want to be a car for a while.

Since Mario Kart isn’t on PlayStation, “Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled” is the king of kart racers on PS4. It’s a beautiful remaster of the 90s classic, packed with personality and speed.

Players race as Crash Bandicoot and villains from the series, using rockets, bombs, and TNT crates to slow down opponents. The “power slide” boosting mechanic adds a layer of skill that older kids will love mastering.

It features a full “Adventure Mode” story, which is rare for racing games, alongside standard arcade races. Be warned: this game is faster and slightly more difficult than other kart racers, so expect a learning curve.

Bring the county fair to your living room without the sticky cotton candy fingers. “Carnival Games” is a collection of 20 mini-games designed for quick bursts of fun.

From Skee-Ball and ring toss to horse racing, it covers all the classics. It’s built for multiplayer party play, allowing up to four people to compete for high scores.

Winning games earns “tickets” which can be exchanged for goofy outfits for your in-game avatar. It’s not a deep game with a story, but for a family game night where you want something simple that everyone can understand instantly, it’s a solid pick.

Save shelf space and play your favorite board games digitally. The “Hasbro Family Fun Pack” includes four heavy hitters: Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit Live!, Scrabble, and Risk.

The game brings the boards to life with 3D animations. For example, in “Monopoly Plus,” the city evolves as you buy property. “Trivial Pursuit” is presented like a flashy TV game show, making it more engaging for kids than the traditional board version.

It supports local multiplayer, so you can pass the controller around. It’s a great way to introduce kids to classic strategy and word games without worrying about losing the dice or game pieces under the couch.