Have secretly bought a PS4 for DH and DD

[Knobblybobbly]

DH is 40 and DD is 6. They have absolutely no idea that I’ve been stashing money away for a rainy day and they will be thrilled!! I’ve bought my husband a few boring (IMO) man sport games like golf, F1 and FIFA. Sonic and crash bandicoot for both of them (and me!) and that sack boy game and Lego worlds and paw patrol for my DD.

Any other must haves?? And will my DD be able to link up and play with friends?

I’m wondering if mine craft is an essential??

Do you mean PS5?
Or did you get PS4 cheaper as it is an older console?
Has she played Minecraft before ?

There's a subscription on ps4 that's about £7.99 a month and has hundreds of games on it, this would allow your DD to try games before she (you) buys them. Also on the ps4 there is a download store where the sale prices are often lower than physical copies of the games

Minecraft is great for that age group. If they are new to games then it had the advantage of being pretty easy to get the hang of, especially in creative mode you can't "lose" at it.

do you mean a ps5? I was gutted I didn't manage to get one for ds?

She can play with her friends online if you subscribe to PlayStation + she'll need a pair of headphones (gaming headphones generally one ear with a mic)

I would keep very close control of this at 6. dS didn't really start playing online til 10 and even then closely supervised! At 13 this has been his main form of socialisation this year!

I wouldn't buy more PS4 games in advance, you can download them cheaply from the store or buy second hand, sometimes you can try before you buy too

The Lego game are really good for younger dc.
I agree that the PlayStation plus subscription is a really good idea.

DD is 6 and we've had a PS4 for a couple of years. She loves the Lego games (esp Lego Movie but that's her favourite film) and Spyro Reignited (which we used to play on PS2 and then PS3). She plays Minecraft on PC but she did enjoy it when she tried it on the PS4 as well.

Have you bought a second controller so they can play two player games? I'd buy second hand, not off of the app store, you'll be able to resell a game disk when you're finished and use the money to buy another game through CEX or game but you can't do that with a digital download. I don't know what games would be good for a six year old though D: most kids seem to see Minecraft as an essential and you'll need a PlayStation plus account that you pay monthly or yearly for to be able to play online games with friends.

Great advice thank you everyone!

It’s a PS4 not a 5 as I just couldn’t find a 5 in stock anywhere! This 4 was pretty hard to track down too. I realise it’s older tech but they’ll be chuffed with it anyway.

Ok I won’t buy any more physical games and will pay for that subscription I think.

I will keep a close eye on hours spent playing. Currently my daughter has virtually no screen time at all so this will be a huge novelty and hopefully a way of staying in touch with friends during any further lockdowns.

It’s highly possible that this present is also partly for me

Lego games are very good. Especially jurassic Park, it's several films in one big game. You play the main storyline but it's a big world adventure so plenty to explore and collect. We spent a long time having fun with this one.

Get Spyro the dragon trilogy remastered.
We have ps4s and they're so much fun. Just bought a VR headset this Christmas

Just came back to thank everyone for the recommendations.

Lego worlds has been an absolute hit! I can see us getting all of them eventually!

Which crash bandicoot did you get?

We have the trilogy and I got 4 for my birthday this year- it's very hard!!!! But I love it

We got the trilogy one and its really hard! I'm rubbish at any games which involve speed or accuracy which is why I prefer lego worlds because its a bit more like a puzzle.

I read that as 'the Health Secretary' had bought them for your family for some reason.

Now that WOULD be a christmas surprise!! lol

I second the lego games recommendation, they are perfect for anyone aged 5-70, plus you can play them for 10 mins and save progress, or for HOURS.

Lego City Undercover is amazing too, it's our favourite of the Lego games on the PS4. Me, DH, DS and DD (primary school age) have all taken it in turns to play it and unlock everything. Took ages and really enjoyed it. DD still plays it, she just likes changing the characters and driving/crashing the cars round the city and different locations.

Looking forward to trying more Lego games!

Glad it was a hit!

Definitely Lego City Undercover! It goes on sale every now and then on the store. DD likes driving around and I'm working on collecting everything. It's taking ages, it's a huge game. We're playing it on the Switch but it's the same game.

We also enjoyed Lego Movie1&2 as I said, and Lego Harry Potter. DD and DH are currently playing Jurassic World, which DD is enjoying despite having never seen the films! We do have to help her out with some of the trickier puzzles but she can play it with us.

We've bought but haven't tried Lego Incredibles, DC Villians and Marvel Superheroes. Hoping she likes those too!