Role-playing games (RPGs) have been thriving in the video game community for generations, now, and every day more and more people are introduced to some of the best RPGs that we have to offer.

Hoping to get a kid in your life hooked on RPGs? These games are some of the best, child-friendly ones available right now! We've sorted them by age for your convenience and listed their ESRB rating, but take all of that with a grain of salt; only you know your child and your comfort level, and it's especially worth noting that games for younger kids are often still enjoyed by older kids.

Updated November 3, 2023, by Gabrielle Huston: There's no reason not to let your kids experience the glory of RPGs! We've included a few extra entries to help you find the perfect game for the kid in your life.

Video Games For Kids Age 2-4+

Miitopia

The key characteristics of an RPG game (inventory management, experience gathering and skills, interesting stories, etc) aren't easy for a really young kid to grasp. It's just an unfortunate circumstance of the genre.

Miitopia is the exception that proves the rule! In it, the player is walked through all the dumbed-down elements of an RPG - the big bad guy, the classes with various roles in the group setting, combat, and more. Plus, you use your own Miis in the game, so an entire family can play out in the story as the heroes or villain! An adult might need to help them a little, but this game is quite simplistic and they'll undoubtedly enjoy getting to know the genre better!

Wilderless

Wilderless is a walking/photography simulator in early access. That means that it's not totally finished yet, but it's completely playable; the developers want feedback from the community so that they can put the finishing touches on their work.

You play as a hiker, exploring a procedurally generated open world. There are no enemies to compete with or quests to complete; only a wonderful natural world to take pictures of. If you spend enough time here, you may discover things that you never could have imagined.

Video Games For Kids Age 5-7+

Disney Dreamlight Valley

In Disney Dreamlight Valley, you play as a human character in a dream valley populated by Disney and Pixar characters. Everything seems to be lovely and happy... except that the deadly Night Thorns began to grow, and the residents began to lose their memories. It's a wonderful simulation game that a kid in your life is undoubtedly going to enjoy.

Like Wilderless, Disney Dreamlight Valley is in early access. It's mostly finished, and plays just fine, but they're finalizing the last of the details! It's a good chance to get the game at a slightly cheaper price. People have really been enjoying it, including us at TheGamer.

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Bug Fables is a puzzler RPG that is a spiritual successor to the Paper Mario games. There are three bug protagonists to control, a beetle, a bee, and a moth, as you adventure through the world and search for a very special sapling that gives immortality.

We at TheGamer really enjoyed it, and we think the kid in your life will, too! Don't worry - the puzzling and light combat isn't hard enough to stump them forever (though a good head-scratcher is helpful for any developing brain, of course).

Golf Story

If it surprises you that a game called Golf Story is actually an RPG, we don't blame you! While there's plenty of golfing to be had here, there's also a dedicated story about a man trying to rekindle his love of the sport that he'd fostered in childhood.

As you play, you'll golf your way through a number of different regions and earn upgrades and special abilities as you go. If you ever get bored with that, though, there are also golf-like mini-games to enjoy, including mini golf, disc golf, and lawn bowling. You should definitely take some time to enjoy this underrated RPG.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Most Mario franchise games are not role-playing ones, but Paper Mario: The Origami King is an exception. It's a game from 2020, developed exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, that features Mario, Princess Peach, and a host of other popular characters as little paper drawings. This allows the game to play with fun mechanics like switching perspectives to get around obstacles.

The gameplay is puzzle-based; Mario will spend his time trying to get through the puzzles to find and destroy five origami streamers that were created by the antagonist: King Olly. Yes, you read that right - Bowser is not the antagonist, and that's because he's been folded into a square and stapled.

Soccer Story

Soccer Story takes place in a world where a disaster has ruined the sport for everyone! Soccer is banned across the world. Then, a magical soccer ball chooses you to be its savior!

There's a single-player story to get through and a world to explore, which is full of puzzles and secrets for you to discover. Plus, up to four people can join local multiplayer soccer matches together!

Pokemon Games

If you're not aware, Pokemon games involve catching animals in the wild, called Pokemon, and battling them against other people's Pokemon. This beloved franchise is familiar to generations of gamers, so it's a great way to introduce the kid in your life to the RPG genre!

The Pokemon Company is very careful to keep these games kid-friendly. Pokemon don't die if you lose in a battle, they just "faint" (fall unconscious). There's also no blood, gore, or lewd content. You're safe putting these games in the hands of any child!

Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey

Letter Quest calls on you to defeat your enemies with the power of words. Literally, you do a lot of word-searching. As long as you don't present this as an "educational" game to your kids, they're bound to love it (and do a little learning on the side anyway).

The story of the game follows a pair of grim reapers named Grimm and Rose. This indie game has a memorable art style, a goofy sense of humor, and a sense of direction. There are forty stages to get through and special bosses to defeat to prove your talents! No one is bound to get bored.

Video Games For Kids Age 8-9+

Coral Island

Coral Island is a farm simulator RPG where you build up your own plot of land on, you guessed it, Coral Island! It's often been compared to Stardew Valley, thanks to a lot of similar mechanics; there are local villagers to befriend, mines to explore, your farm to build up, and gifts to give.

Right now it's in early access, which means it's still not quite finished, and they're putting the final touches on it with the help of player feedback. It also often means you can pick it up a little cheaper than it will sell for when it's complete.

Dragon Quest Builders 2

Though there's a "2" in the title of Dragon Quest Builders 2, your kid doesn't need to have played the first game to enjoy this one. It's completely standalone! The game asks the player to become the "Master Builder" by creating new buildings for your friends to inhabit in the open-world.

If you're familiar with Minecraft, the gameplay is a little like that, in which the player decorates with blocks. Don't get us wrong, though - there's more than enough to set this game apart from Minecraft. Dragon Quest Builders 2 expertly blends story, combat, construction, and crafting into this one game!

Kitaria Fables

Kitaria Fables is an adorable action RPG where you are tasked with a very special task by the Emperor: keep Paw Village safe! You'll journey there and stay at your Uncle's home while you work.

You'll spend your time getting to know your neighbors, gathering all the resources you need for the journey, and perfecting your skills. It's a perfect starter RPG for anyone!

Dredge

Dredge is a stunning indie RPG where you play as a fishing boat captain. There's a mystery to get to the bottom of on the remote islands that you'll navigate, getting to know the natives as you go.

Otherwise, you'll become a more and more advanced fisher, upgrading your boat and getting new equipment. Catching better fish will score you more cash to work with, and you'll be able to navigate to places you never thought possible before. Of course, don't forget, things get a little different when you sail out after dark.

My Time At Portia

The titular Portia in My Time At Portia is a quaint town in a post-apocalyptic world where the player takes over an old workshop and restores it. They can spend time talking to the locals, farming, building, raising animals, and more! It's a bit like Animal Crossing: New Horizons crossed with Stardew Valley.

My Time At Portia includes tons of different activities to do, so it's bound to fit any kid's particular interests. Want to make friends? Easy. Rather spend time with animals? Done. More interested in combat? There's no shortage.

Ghost Of A Tale

There's no denying it - that is one cute mouse. In Ghost of a Tale, you play as a minstrel mouse who has been thrown into a dungeon by rats and must rely on his wits to help him escape.

Ghost of a Tale is such an adorable and easy-to-play experience that we'd recommend it to RPG beginners of any age. The game was made almost entirely by one man: Lionel Gallat. Gallat is a veteran of Universal Pictures and Dreamworks; he worked on fan-favourite movies like The Prince of Egypt and The Road To El Dorado.

Calico

Calico is a casual RPG and life simulator where you run the local cat cafe! Every player's dream cafe will be something completely unique, and that's the beauty of the game. The decorations, the animals, the treats you serve, it's all up to you!

This is a game that takes animals seriously; every creature you come across is interactable! You can befriend them, then send them to the cafe or have them join your party. Plus, of course, you can play with and pet all your furry friends once you've acquired them.

Child of Light

Child of Light is a platforming RPG from Ubisoft Montreal and Milan! It's a stunning game that was purposefully written like a fairytale, complete with poetry-like prose and characters designed to look like watercolour pictures.

It takes place in Lemuria - a theorized lost city that has been long debunked but is now often used in fiction - where the main character, Aurora, must bring back the moon, sun, and stars. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews and critical acclaim after release, so you've got a pretty safe choice on your hands.

Video Games For Kids Age 10-12+

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is as much an RPG as it is a farming simulator. In it, you'll play as a young person whose grandfather has left them his farm to take care of. When you arrive in Stardew Valley, you're introduced to all the locals who live in the nearby town and the surrounding land.

Players spend their time in Stardew Valley raising animals and seasonal crops, exploring nearby caves, and getting to know the locals! It is possible to romance the NPCs, but it's all very tame.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Remastered

If you or the kids in your life are Studio Ghibli fans, this is the game for you. Not only is the game's entire art style inspired by the whimsical films, but the cutscenes were also produced by Studio Ghibli themselves!

In this adventure, you'll play as Oliver who, alongside his fairy friend named Drippy, must attempt to save his mother's soulmate from an evil wizard named Shadar. Tanner Fox, who reviewed it for TheGamer, praised the game's heart, charm, and simplicity.

For The King

For The King is a strategic RPG that poses an enticing challenge to any gamer. It's a strategic RPG where you (or you and a couple friends) control a party of adventurers. Your goal is to assist the queen of the land, who is in desperate need of someone to calm the chaos spreading across her land.

As an added bonus, no two experiences of For The King will be quite the same! The games are procedurally generated at the start, so you're always on an unfamiliar map. Don't get discouraged if you're defeated on your first few tries; the goal is just to get a little bit better each time.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

Raising a progressive, forward-thinking child to one day dismantle entrenched systems of oppression? Then Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is for you!

Seriously, though, this adorable game has you take on the role of a friendly turnip who solves puzzles and defeats enemies. It just so happens that you're doing that because the turnip refused to pay its taxes and must go on a quest to pay back its debt. Ultimately, you rally the garden community and destroy its corrupt government altogether!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Whether The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a true RPG is hotly debated among gamers (especially hard-core Zelda fans). At the very least, they all agree that it's the most RPG-like Zelda game ever to be made. In it, the player controls Link, a young man who must help the princess, Zelda, who is holding off a great evil with her magic all alone.

It's an enormous open-world game that the child in your life is bound to enjoy. You're more than welcome - hell, even encouraged - to ignore the main story and just travel around the world chopping down or climbing trees, cooking meals with the things you forage, and talking to the locals in the towns you find. There's always something to do, and any player could easily pour hundreds of hours into it!

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

If the kid in your life enjoyed Breath of the Wild, they're bound to love its brand-new sequel: Tears of the Kingdom! We at TheGamer thought that it improved on everything that made Breath of the Wild such a hit. You'll pick back up as the protagonist, Link, but this time with some help from Zelda.

If you thought Breath of the Wild had exceptional opportunities for creativity, you won't believe the way that's been expanded on here. Link has new powers, there are new armor sets and weapons, new shrines to solve, and more!

Little Witch in the Woods

Little Witch in the Woods is a wholesome simulation game that boasts lots of players on Steam and Xbox. You play as Ellie, a witch who is trying to complete her apprenticeship.

Part of a witch's responsibility is to help the nearby villagers and keep them safe. Along the way you can form new friendships, learn new abilities, craft special potions, and more! You'll be a master witch in no time!

NEXT: The Best MMORPGs With Little To No PvP