3 kiddie games that grown-ups will love

By

LittleBigPlanet 3 is made of smiles. Photo: Sony
LittleBigPlanet 3 is made of smiles. Photo: Sony

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (read our review) isn’t the only adorable game we’ve had our eye on this month. An assortment of recently released and equally endearing titles are available on every platform you might own. And the best news is that they’re so good you don’t have to worry about anyone catching you playing them.

Here are three fun ways to get your cute on without anyone laughing at you.

LittleBigPlanet 3

Price: $59.99
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3

The latest in the adorable platformer franchise for Sony consoles is the biggest yet. In addition to the iconic Sackpeople, players can now also play as three brand-new characters, each with its own special abilities. And I don’t just mean their capacity to steal your heart. I mean that one of them can run really fast, and another can fly.

LittleBigPlanet 3 includes an approximately five-hour story mode, but the real star is the creator, a system that lets players build and share their own custom-made levels. And because the third game is compatible with everything made in the previous two, it comes with millions of stages to check out.

— — —

Costume Quest 2 captures the essence of the Halloween of your childhood. Photo: Double Fine Productions
Costume Quest 2 captures the essence of the Halloween of your childhood. Photo: Double Fine Productions

Costume Quest 2

Price: $14.99
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux

Halloween is still one of my favorite days of the year, but my current devotion is nothing next to the excitement I felt about the holiday when I was a kid. It was the one time all year that I could walk around declaring that I was a Ghostbuster, and not only would people not roll their eyes, but they would give me candy.

That’s powerful, and it creates memories. Although this one time, I was at this Halloween thing at the zoo, and they started playing the movie theme by Ray Parker Jr., and some dude in an elephant costume saw me and started running over to get me to dance or something, and then I was instantly traumatized.

Anyway, the two entries in the Costume Quest series are role-playing games in which children gain the powers of their paper-and-cardboard suits to fight monsters and save the day. They’ll remind you how much you used to love Halloween while still letting you punch stuff until it explodes into a rain of sweets.

— — —

LEGO has a game for every fanhood. Photo: Warner Bros.
LEGO has a game for every fanhood. Photo: Warner Bros.

‘LEGO’ Anything

Price: Varies
Availability: Everything that plays games, basically

It doesn’t matter how old you are — LEGO is cool. And the games based on their film-licensed building sets combine the fun of construction with the blind devotion of fandom. Whether you like Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, DC, or Marvel, a fun, block-based title exists that will drop you into the plastic world of your nerdy choosing.

While most of these games take you through the plots and settings of specific movies, ones like the LEGO Batman series and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes tell original stories set in their respective universes. And they’re all so charming and fun that you don’t even have to worry that you are, in fact, playing with digital versions of building blocks.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.