DS (10) loves his gaming (mostly on Xbox). But it feels like we've hit a bit of an awkward age/stage, a no-man's-land between little kids' games and the horrors of Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, etc, which are definitely off-limits for years yet.
DS raced through the LEGO games from age six and now finds them boring and too easy and for a year or so, hasn't bothered getting the new releases. He's enjoyed Forza racing games and FIFA but has taken these about about as far as he can. He likes Minecraft, but not all the time. He's chomping at the bit for a new game.
What he's craving is an immersive adventure game, a real challenge, with lots of problem-solving and strategy, rich story lines, maybe some interesting history/themes, plenty of creativity, and having to make some brain-aching choices. He wants to feel stretched. And we're stumped.
He wants to play Skyrim and on the basis of what I've read about it, I think he's too young, although I think this is the kind of game concept he's hungry for. The usual shooter suspects with 18 ratings that are full of gratuitous violence are off-limits and DS accepts this. I like a game with a bit of depth.
Although DS is 10, he started puberty two years ago, is the size of a young teenager and is working at level 6 across the board at primary school with a year still to go, so physically and cognitively, in a way, he's older than his years. But I'm acutely aware that he still is just 10.
We're after a game (or games) that's suitable for the emotional/social development and world awareness level of a 10-year-old, but which is nonetheless richly challenging and stimulating.
Any ideas? Thanks.