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.
Cary’s Best Games of 2025 Awards Show!
Add Comment
Posted on January 16th, 2026 by
It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2025 Awards Show!” 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!
Gridz Keeper (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on January 14th, 2026 by
Zombies are invading, and you must turn on the generators to fend them off in Gridz Keeper. You know those puzzles, usually found in mini-games, where you must turn on all the lights, but when you turn one on, the others turn off? Yeah that’s basically what this is. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Go Kart Island (Switch, PC)
Posted on January 12th, 2026 by
Explore a giant open world island from the seat of your go kart in Go Kart Island. In the game’s story mode, you play as a young steer (ha) who wants to win the Big Race, but the mayor charges you 1000 coins to enter. So now you must enter smaller races and challenges to earn the money you need. Hmmm, an open world kart racer where you can play as a cow? Where have I seen that before? You may think this is just a run of the mill kart racer, but it does have one thing that sets it apart. You view the action from a more top down perspective. Anyway, Go Kart Island is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond amiibo
Posted on January 9th, 2026 by
After almost a decade, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond was finally recently released. And of course they have amiibo figures and I got them so let’s take a look!
Bob the Brick Breaker (Switch, PS4, PS5)
Posted on January 7th, 2026 by
Help Bob the Brick Breaker (as opposed to Bob the Builder), break bricks by bouncing a wrecking ball with a girder. Yup, it’s a BreakOut or Arkanoid clone. But is it as good as those classics? You’ll just have to read on to find out! The game is available on Switch and PlayStation consoles, but reviewed on Switch here.
Milano’s Odd Job Collection (PS4, PS5, Switch 1 & 2, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on January 5th, 2026 by
My two favorite video game consoles are the Super Nintendo and PlayStation. I played so many great games on those systems, and there were so many more that never came out overseas! That’s why I like when a company snags a Japan only classic and brings it over here. Such is the case with Milano’s Odd Job Collection. Big thanks to XSEED for bringing it to the US and translating it, as well as just being supportive of me pretty much their entire existence. Anyway, this game was originally a Japan only PlayStation title. Interestingly enough, Westone made it, and they’re best known for the Wonder Boy series. In this game, you play as young girl Milano. It’s summer vacation, but Milano’s mom will be in the hospital for 40 days, and her dad has to work. So they send Milano to live with her uncle during that time. But when she gets there, a note on the door says that her uncle has gone away and to watch the house for him. Man what kind of parents are they? Anyway, Milano decides to do odd jobs around town for the summer to earn a lot of money and make her parents proud. This game is a mini-game collection where you perform job themed activities. Now before you say, “Oh great, another mini-game collection,” keep in mind this game came out in 1999 or so, nearly half a decade before WarioWare and the glut of mini-game collections on the Wii. So it was probably pretty innovative back then. Anyway, it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Kirby at Kura Sushi
Posted on January 2nd, 2026 by
Did you know that in Japan, they have café restaurants with a Kirby theme? You can get Kirby themed food, get Kirby souvenirs at the gift shop, and even the music in the background is remixed music from the game! I would totally go to one of those if I ever went to Japan, but I don’t think I could afford to go there in the foreseeable future. So it’s lucky that Kura Sushi is doing a promotion as of this writing with Kirby! Kura Sushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants. When you go there, if you eat enough sushi plates, you can get little prizes! Most of the time, the prizes are anime related, so I’m usually not interested in that. But a few years ago, they had Pac-Man prizes so you know I had to go to that and I even wrote an article about it here. A little while later they had Tetris prizes, but I didn’t like any of those so I didn’t go then. But a couple of years later they did have Pikmin prizes so I wrote an article about that, too. So now let’s take a look at the Kirby stuff they have this time. The promotion lasts until the end of January, so depending on when you read this, you might be able to check it out yourself, too!
Montezuma’s Revenge: The 40th Anniversary Edition (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 31st, 2025 by
Seeing as though I’m old enough to have experienced Pac-Man when it first came out, I’m pretty familiar with most retro games. However, sometimes one comes along that just flew under the radar for me. Montezuma’s Revenge was one such game. I remember seeing it back then, but never playing it. Many years later, at one of the first E3 shows I went to, they showed a 3D version and I remember the bouncing skulls, but that’s it. And now, 40 years later, we have a new remake of the classic game and I finally get to play it and review it! Montezuma’s Revenge: the 40th Anniversary Edition is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Samurai Academy: Paws of Fury (Switch, PS5, Xbox X/S, PC)
Posted on December 29th, 2025 by
Paws of Fury was a movie released in theaters a couple of years ago. I never bothered with it then, as it looked like a Kung-Fu Panda rip-off. But before writing this review, I did manage to watch the movie on Netflix. I found it interesting that Mel Brooks did one of the voices and the plot of the movie is pretty much the same as Blazing Saddles (I wonder if Mel Brooks had anything more to do with Paws of Fury because of that). Anyway, the game is kind of a spinoff/sequel. Hank the samurai dog must defend his town from ninja cats and other baddies while trying to figure out why the Shogun is attacking the village. It’s a 3D action platformer and is available on most current consoles but reviewed on Switch here.
Sonic the Hedgehog Toys in Burger King Kids Meals
Posted on December 26th, 2025 by
Back in November, Burger King was doing Sonic the Hedgehog toys in their kids meals. They’re not doing it now, as of this writing it’s now SpongeBob. But I managed to snag a few of the Sonic toys in November so I thought I’d show them to you.
