Recommend platformers for tween that are not as hard as Hollow Knight

October 23, 2021 10:15 AM

Tchozz the Younger, age 11, is getting pretty frustrated with trying to play Hollow Knight. There are some good life lessons being learned about dealing with such frustrations, the right mindset for games, persistence, when to be persistent, etc., but the Parents Tchozz and Tchozz the Younger also agree that maybe we should have a few other games to try. Can you recommend Nintendo Switch platformers that aren't quite so difficult and frustrating as Hollow Knight? Or maybe that have adjustable difficulty settings?

Tchozz the Younger has Cookie Run, Roblox, and Genshin Impact on an iPad and loves those, if that helps at all with recommendations.

posted by Tchozz to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

I can't speak to difficulty, but... Metroid Dread is the new hot platformer for Switch and is supposed to be very good. It's rated T for Teen: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence.

Celeste is widely considered the best platform game in the last few years. Also very hard, but then it has a adjustable difficulty system that is supposed to make it accessible.

Fez is an old but great platformish game. It's a bit puzzle oriented and I'm not sure how that'd work with the average 11 year old, but for the right kind of kid I bet it'd be a hit.

There's some more ideas in this article. I think Super Mario Odyssey shoudl be accessible.
posted by Nelson at 11:05 AM on October 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

I loved both Ori games, same concept, but def not as frustrating (I gave up on Hollow Knight as well) and are beautiful to boot.

The term you might search is metroidvania.
posted by pyro979 at 11:09 AM on October 23, 2021 [6 favorites]

I'm working on Metroid right now and it's really good but I'm finding its hard parts REALLY hard and would not recommend it to anyone working to fight frustration.
posted by Tomorrowful at 11:09 AM on October 23, 2021 [5 favorites]

I had a similar experience with Hollow Knight, and went from Hollow Knight to the two Ori games - Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Both are easier than Hollow Knight.

Both are excellent games, but I'd particularly recommend Ori and the Will of the Wisps after playing Hollow Knight - it has abilities you can swap in and out similar to HK, better combat, and more traditional savegames. Blind Forest felt a bit limited after the experience of Hollow Knight.
posted by siskin at 11:21 AM on October 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Just going to mention about Ori, I would play the games in order since there is an overarching story (I played them in reverse order, so it's doable, but I think takes away from the experience a bit)
posted by pyro979 at 11:39 AM on October 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

Dust: an Elysian Tail is almost 10 years old now so somewhat inexpensive. I bought it because it was made almost entirely by literally one guy over years. It’s quite good. I do remember it being quite easy especially as you get to the end of the game because you just get really powerful attacks.
posted by cali59 at 12:10 PM on October 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

Gato Roboto is a short, fun little metroidvania-type game on the Switch. Not as easy as it might look, but easier than Hollow Knight.
posted by Polycarp at 1:17 PM on October 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Repeating a rec I saw here on MetaFilter: Yoku's Island Express! I haven't played Hollow Knight but having watched a clip I'd say Yoku's Island is probably at the right level. It reminded me of playing Sonic the Hedgehog when I was a kid and the thrill of looping through all those rings. Definitely tests the reflexes, which might be easier for an 11-yr old than this old lady. Certainly there were no challenges with the main plot where I thought - I'm NEVER going to get this. And no dark and scaries, just great gameplay.
posted by trotzdem_kunst at 2:37 PM on October 23, 2021

Nintendo Online has some classics that are much easier, too. Super Metroid is the granddaddy of the exploration genre Hollow Knight is in; it's fun to explore, and not difficult to beat. Super Mario World can be completed quite easily if you find the right warps.
posted by billjings at 2:38 PM on October 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Um, all the Mario games?

Metroid Dread is the opposite of what you want. It's receiving strong criticism for being TOO hard, but it might be worth trying the original Super Metroid with a walkthrough/guide on hand for assistance.
posted by knapah at 4:12 PM on October 23, 2021

I am terrible at platformers but did enjoy what I played of the most recent Donkey Kong on a friend’s switch. It was very slick and a visual feast and the music was pretty good too. I think the only platformer I’ve ever beaten was the first Ori, which is definitely worth getting through the frustrating parts, though I stalled out on the sequel which for me was more difficult. It’s beautiful, tells a compelling story, has interesting navigation mechanics and upgrades. He might like Fez, which is a now-classic puzzle platformer and really hits a sweet spot of seems deep but not that deep which plays well with the tween crowd. Celeste does have good methods of dialing the difficulty down, but I still found it not worth playing - evidently everyone else disagrees with me and I will admit that the soundtrack is outstanding.

For a 3D platform experience Mario Odyssey is truly fun, I’ve played it numerous times, but he might not really get a lot of the references and nods to older games if he isn’t some kind of retro gaming aficionado tween. Apparently there are a lot of 3D platformers coming out this year (Er, have come out this year? Yeesh) so he might be interested in one of those. I’m not sure why but I personally find 3D platformers to be more forgiving and enjoyable to play than 2D, as someone who generally avoids the genre.
posted by Mizu at 5:35 PM on October 23, 2021

It's more like Ori than Super Mario (aka not really a "platformer" I guess), but I've played hundreds of hours of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and I have no regrets. There are lots of mini-puzzles that require strategy and dexterity, and lots of mini-battles for fighty. All the kids I know around that age also loved it.
posted by nkknkk at 6:17 AM on October 24, 2021

New Super Lucky's Tale is a fantastic 3D platformer for Switch. Just about anyone with thumbs can finish the story with few or no problems, and there are completion and collection achievements (some quite challenging) for those who want to 100% it, too. The controls are forgiving, and while there is combat, it is of the light/cartoonish jump on their head type, rather than weapons.

Axiom Verge 2 is very much in the Metroidvania genre of platforming/item collection & upgrades/re-visiting previously explored areas, much like Hollow Knight.
posted by xedrik at 8:21 AM on October 24, 2021

Response by poster: Thank you to everyone for these terrific recommendations! I bought Gato Roboto and the first Ori game to try, and might add a few of these other suggestions in later months, or as a holiday gift. Thank everyone so much! That was super helpful!
posted by Tchozz at 9:02 AM on October 24, 2021

My son (12) in the same situation suggests Shovel Knight.
posted by gideonfrog at 3:34 PM on October 24, 2021 [1 favorite]