PS5 games for 13yo who wants 18 games

[enteratyourperil]

I’m being badgered for various 18 rated games by my 13yo, Call of Duty Red Dead Redemption, GTA etc

I’ve said no.

I’m willing to consider 15 games or below.

Any recommendations of games 15 cert or below that might have the vibe of the above without the 18 content?

It'll be pegi 16 and below.

If you use AI you could compile a list for him to look at.

Halo is coming to PS5 which I would say was pretty tame but even that's rated 17+.

You might struggle to find combat games for under 16s. Even a bit of blood splatter tends to bump it up

Fortnite maybe but I personally think it turns kids into demons for some reason. Despite the pegi rating.

The spiderman games are pretty good. They're 16+ I think. They're more like Red Dead than COD.

Fortnite will be seen as a kiddies game by a 13yr old.

If this is a red line for you then ask him to suggest what other games he might like. He will probably only be interested in the ones his mates are playing, it's a bit dull playing on your own. When you look at the gaming chart, most are 18 rated or aimed at much younger kids.

My son used to play Battlefield which is 16. Also Final Fantasy might be an option.

Give him the money or a voucher for what you can afford and let him source his own games. They hae can buy what he likes within that budget, Kids need to learn that they cant have everything they want in life and its a good lesson to learn.

I played 18s at that age and I turned out fine 😂

My son did have Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption at a younger age but we also said PlayStation must be in conservatory where someone could keep an eye on what he was doing / accessing in the game - this was the compromise as lots of his friends were ‘allowed’ and he felt he was missing out. GTA was a no go until he was a little older - maybe 16/17 but definitely not 13.

I'm a big gamer. Is he wanting to play online more than offline? At his age it'll most likely be online with his mates than offline I would imagine which does change things with content.

CoD isn't that bad it's just a shoot em up, there's minimal gore factor. It's fun to play online against others and there A LOT of kids his age on there.

RDR2 story mode is unsuitable, there's rape, murders, torture, druggings etc etc (amazing game though). Online is fine, there's none of that. You do hunting and collecting missions, bounty hunting etc. You can come up against other players but there's no too many online now, you can seek out opposition play matches for quick draw challenges etc if you want.

Halo is good and that's coming out soon. Again a shoot em up but against aliens. Very tame for the most part. I don't know if it's online, I've never played it online anyway.

You're going to struggle with a combat game that's pegi 16 that's any good imo. A bit of blood or bad language bumps it up to 18 pretty fast.

Fortnite is okay but a bit kiddish, it's free though.

Gta is fun online, it's just kids shooting eachother with bazookas, planes and tanks nowadays. No gore.
Story mode is sketchy in places but not too bad, it's mostly nicking cars and robberies but it depends on what your violence limit is. There are quite a few sex jokes and references, usually comedic and taking the mick out of someone. There is prostitution but you really have to seek that out.

DS school friends seem to play GTA. I've said no for know we used to play it though. From what I can remember it's mainly the prostitutes strip.. so I have said no. They are only 10/11.

DS has a spiderman game. He also likes the simulator games and racing games.

Gaming was relatively new when my son was at that age and I had no idea they had ratings. He was fine with all games

I think they mean age rating 18. Not 18 separate games. I thought the same.

I would let him play cod. My 13 year old plays it. I also played it when I was younger and it’s not affected me negatively at all. At 13 gaming is a time to socialise with friends and if that’s what his friends are playing he will want to play with them.

Thanks everyone. Yes I meant rating 18 not 18x games. 🤦‍♀️

I’ll ask AI but maybe give in and allow CoD if it’s not too bad. I’m sticking with no GTA.

Funny, I was just talking to my 13 year old about this today. We were both saying that some of the rules seem a bit drastic - he is more than capable of understanding that video game are not real, and they have no impact on him or his behaviour.

i don’t know that it’s really worth drawing a hard line in the sand. They’re games.

13 year old boy here. Has battlefield and halo. Sticking to no GTA because of drugs, strippers etc. Straight forward shoot ups I think are OK and he plays Battlefield online with friends. For me rather than game content it's about time on the games and addiction. He has friends who turn down meets in real life because they prefer to game.
So we are trying to be strict that when it's time for him to do swimming, karate! Gym or football he comes off without moaning.
Also at weekends homework must be done before gaming.
We find it more difficult with timings he has a couple of friends who are allowed to game till midnight Friday and Saturday and we're holding to 9pm limit.
He also knows if he moans, has aggressive tone when asked to come off time is reduced the next day.
It's not my favourite thing but so far at least he is still doing all his sports and enjoying them and doesn't seem addicted to the extent of turning stuff down.

Mostly it’s simple content bumping it up so wouldn’t do a blanket no. Research each game and verify the story and content. Some may just have a couple of swear words or light gore, but not too bad.

The real risk is also them being online and chats and being exposed to strangers in those interactions and those threats are there in any online game regardless of age rating.

The Horizon Zero Dawn franchise is cool and is a 16 but it’s offline only and not sure whether it’d appeal to a 13 year old. Ratchet and Clank and Astrobot would be suitable and are amazing games but I think it’s likely a 13 year old would feel they’re too babyish if they’re friends are playing COD or Red dead.