Best Games to Gift This Christmas

Finding the right gift for your children can be challenging, particularly if their hobby is video games. What do you buy the child who just wants to play Fortnite all day? What do stocking fillers look like for a child who just loves Roblox?

Steer clear of the gaming-themed socks and plastic gaming tat that will be forgotten by Boxing Day. We have some great gift ideas for your child that they will enjoy for months, maybe even years.

Before we go through the specific game suggestions for each of the different PEGI age groups, it’s worth noting that some general gifts can be warmly received. Gift cards that offer in-game currency for a favourite game are a safe option. Some gaming controllers like these Purple and Orange Joy-Cons, or Pearl PS5 dual sense are a great way to bring fresh life into old gaming gear.

However, nothing beats unwrapping a new and exciting game on the big day so here are our suggestions of games for each age of child. These are classic games and forgotten gems that are amazing for each age group but also work for the family as a whole.

PEGI 3 Games For The 3-6 Year Olds

All You Need Is Help: A cooperative puzzle game where each player controls a fluffy Tetris-style character. Play involves coordinating with each other to manoeuvre into position because you can't rotate without help from your teammates. It stands out for the simple pattern-matching premise, cute characters and the requirement to communicate clearly in order to progress.

Mouse & Crane: A cooperative puzzle game about three unlikely friends who live in a harbour and fix machines. You collect junk materials and use them to make useful tools, then control Crane and Electryna to help Mouse by completing challenges. It stands out for its handmade storybook feel and how it accommodates really young players with help from adults.

Go Vacation: A resort exploration adventure where 50 mini-games can be discovered and played. The mini-golf, skating, surfing, volleyball, car racing, tennis and other games use the Wii and Switch motion-sensitive controllers and are simple fun for youngsters. But the real excitement is exploring the resorts and collecting treasure: Marine, City, Snow and Mountain. Each requires different ways to get around, including horseback, motorbike and kayak.

PEGI 7 Games For The 7-11 Year Olds

Astro Bot: A running and jumping game where you are a robot exploring distant worlds to rescue your crew, returning from Astro's Playroom. You traverse vibrant levels to fight enemies with novel controller interactions. It's a celebration of PlayStation, but it is much larger than previous games in the series, offering considerable substance and tight platforming that fully uses the DualSense controller.

Lost In Play: A feel-good adventure about a brother and sister exploring their dreams. Lost in their imagination, Toto and Gal must solve puzzles to journey back home. It's a point-and-click adventure inspired in style by Gravity Falls, Hilda, and Over the Garden Wall. The play combines point-and-click item collecting and puzzle solving along with neat minigames. It stands out for the quality of characters, puzzles and storytelling.

Astro Duel 2: A six-player space battle that combines spaceship dogfights with on-foot fights. Play starts with piloting your spaceship but instantly transitions to on-foot battles when you enter gravity zones. It stands out for this mix of spaceship shooting and pilot platforming both of which are frantic and highly skilled.

PEGI 12 Games For The 12-15 Year Olds

Sea of Thieves: An online game where you play a pirate searching for treasure and adventure. Cast into a large open sea, you work with other online players to crew your ship and find treasure. The game has a main story but really focuses on creating opportunities for emergent gameplay where players team up and go on adventures together.

Hades: A fighting game where you battle your way through dungeons to escape hell and the clutches of Hades. You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades and as you shoot your way through the game, you'll meet many recognisable Greek gods like Zeus, Athena and Poseidon who try to help you escape and give you new skills. It stands out for the combination of organic narrative and pixel-perfect shooting required to progress.

Star Wars Outlaws: An open-world action-adventure about a smuggler, Kay Vess, attempting to pull off the galaxy's biggest heist. You explore vast planets, engage in shootouts, steal and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates. It's the first Star Wars game to offer a huge open world and works hard to build its narrative which reflects your choices and actions.

PEGI 16 Games For The 16-Year-Olds

Funko Fusion: An action-adventure game where you play popular movie and TV franchise heroes in a universe that combines their worlds. Play is similar to the Lego video games, where you explore, fight and solve simple puzzles tied to the abilities of specific characters. However, it stands out for taking things in a more challenging and mature direction - blood, guns and decapitation from many films and TV shows that a younger-rated game wouldn't include.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2: The action-adventure sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales where you shoot webs to swing around New York and defeat supervillains. Along with the usual fast-paced, fluid action and web-slinging traversal, this game adds a flight suit for rapid movement through the skyline, an expanded map, and broadened combat abilities. Add to this a well-told and engaging story questioning the nature of heroism and friendship, and it makes for an exciting superhero adventure.

Horizon Zero Dawn: A post-apocalyptic action adventure where you explore an overgrown landscape with now-crumbling remnants of modern life. Play involves exploring the world, learning your new abilities as the story unfolds and using them to defeat the robotic dinosaurs. It stands out for the scale and scope of its open world, along with a compelling story about parent-child relationships and the survival of civilisation.

Wrapping It Up

With these tips in mind, you are all set for an exciting and playful time this holiday. Also, don’t forget to get any new technology set up and updated ahead of the big day.

Find these games, or credit to purchase them on the EE Game Store

Author: Andy Robertson, is a family gaming expert who appears in The Guardian, BBC and national broadcasts. He wrote the Taming Gaming book for families.