Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Tears of the Kingdom amiibo
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Posted on July 18th, 2025 by
Alongside the release of the Switch 2, Nintendo made some more amiibo figures based on the Champion successor characters from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I got them all so let’s take a look at them.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on July 16th, 2025 by
The 16-bit Super Nintendo is my favorite home game console, but my favorite handheld is the Game Boy Advance (it was pretty much a souped up SNES, so that’s why). So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this game tries to imitate that GBA style. When you first turn on the game, it even shows a mock GBA handheld system with a cartridge entering it! Anyway. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo is a top down viewed action adventure game. You play as Pippit, a bat who lives in the big city and is the nephew of the biggest mafia leader in town. But Pippit has no interest in that. He just wants to enter yo-yo competitions. But one night on the way home, Pippit finds his aunt, the leader of the Pipistrello mafia family, trapped by four other mafia bosses. Turns out they want revenge for her running the city’s power unfairly, so they try to trap her soul into four batteries using a machine. Luckily Pippit appears in time and tosses his yo-yo into the soul stealing beam. Now his aunt is trapped inside the yo-yo and they must work together to get the batteries back. This game is a lot like a 2D Zelda title, except the overworld is the city streets, and the dungeons are sewers, shopping malls, construction sites, and soccer stadiums! And because of the emphasis on top down platforming and yo-yo mechanics, this game also makes me think of Startropics as well! The very definition of a “hidden gem,” the game is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Exo-Calibre (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on July 14th, 2025 by
Save the world and play as one of three anime ladies with flying suits in this 16-bit styled 2D vertically scrolling bullet hell shooter. Exo-Calibre is available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cary’s Best Games of 2025 SO FAR Awards Show!
Posted on July 11th, 2025 by
Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten. So here’s when those games get their due. Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
Instants (Switch, PC)
Posted on July 9th, 2025 by
Back in the mid-2000s, I remember scrapbooking being a pretty trendy and popular hobby. And I don’t know, maybe it still is? And now you can play a game about it with Instants. Yeah they’ll make a game out of pretty much anything, won’t they? In the game you’re tasked with placing family photos in sequential order in a scrapbook you can then decorate. It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Ashwood Valley (Switch)
Posted on July 7th, 2025 by
One day a brother and sister were messing around in an attic and opened a door to another world. Upon entering, your sibling changes into a cat, and you as the other sibling must farm and make friends, and tame animals to change your brother or sister back in this farming sim for Switch.
Irem Collection Volume 3 (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S)
Posted on July 4th, 2025 by
Irem was a video game publisher who made a lot of arcade classics like Moon Patrol, Kid Niki: Radical Ninja, Kung Fu Master, and R-Type. They also made a lot of console games, including a couple of my favorites: Kickle Cubicle on NES and Steambot Chronicles on PS2. Sadly they went out of business in 2011, but now you can play a handful of their arcade games in this collection. There’s nothing that really ties any of these games together except they are all 2D shooters that march to the beat of their own drum. This collection is available on most current consoles but reviewed on Switch here. Let’s take a look at the games on this collection!
Nice Day for Fishing (Switch, PS5, PC)
Posted on July 2nd, 2025 by
Nice Day for Fishing combines two very different game genres. Fishing and…an RPG? Yeah and you know, it’s not the first time this has happened! I remember playing a Game Boy game called Legend of the River King that combined those styles, too! Anyway, in this game, you are a non-playable character (NPC) in a typical RPG, who can only say “Nice Day for Fishing,” and “Mornin’!” But one day you accidentally open a box that sets an evil monster on your world, kicking out all the regular players and letting you control this fisherman NPC. Now it’s up to you to use your fishing skills to save the day! Nice Day for Fishing is available on Switch, PS5, and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Bunny Cubed (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on June 30th, 2025 by
Help a cube shaped bunny push blocks into the right spaces on a carrot patch in Bunny Cubed. It’s another example of the “Sokoban” genre of block pushing puzzle games. It’s available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Street Fighter 6 amiibo
Posted on June 27th, 2025 by
For the debut of Street Fighter 6 on the Switch 2, they’ve released some amiibo figures of characters I’ve never heard of. But I got the amiibo figures of them anyway because I’m a freak. So let’s take a look at them.
