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.
Psyvariar 3 (Switch 1 & 2, PS5, X/S, PC)
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Posted on June 10th, 2026 by
Psyvariar was a vertically scrolling bullet hell shooter series in the arcades around the late 90s/early 2000s. It had a sequel soon after, but I’ve never heard of these games, or don’t remember them. But then, shooters like these were a dime a dozen back then. And now, more than two decades later, here’s a third game in the series. Psyvariar 3 is available on current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.
Unbox the Room (Switch, PC)
Posted on June 8th, 2026 by
Last year I reviewed a game about packing things in boxes in a house. It wasn’t very much fun, just like in real life. But what about unpacking things from boxes once you move into a new home? Would that make a better game? (turns out, yes it does) Unbox the Room lets you unpack boxes and arrange the items in little rooms. It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
LEGO Animal Crossing: Tom Nook With Balloon Present
Posted on June 5th, 2026 by
Animal Crossing is one of my favorite video game series of all time (second only to Pac-Man), so I love the LEGO sets they have for it. We’ve talked about them here at GamerDad.com in the past, with a few of the smaller sets and mini-packs. They’re the only ones I can afford as LEGO sets are very expensive. Plus with my vision disability, it’s hard for me to put them together myself. Luckily there’s another mini pack that just came out that I’ll show you all today: Tom Nook with a balloon present!
Nero & Sci: Integral Edition (Switch, PC)
Posted on June 3rd, 2026 by
Here’s a fact about me. I’ve never liked math. If I ever became a super villain, there are two ways you could defeat me. My only two weaknesses are country music and math. So when I get a press release claiming a game will make me like math, I’m like, “OK, challenge accepted.” So here’s Nero & Sci. Nero is a shy lonely little alien who works at a library, and one day while dusting off some old books in the basement, Nero knocks off one of the books and it opens up and all heck breaks loose. Then Nero meets a little flying jellyfish thing named Sci. Together they must save the day in this 2D puzzle platformer. It’s available on Switch and PC but reviewed on Switch here.
Atomic Owl (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on June 1st, 2026 by
In the mythical land of Judanest inhabited by bird people, an owl prince and his band of warriors protect the kingdom. One day an evil crow named Omega Wing releases all the Tengu and uses a Dark Feather to hypnotize the prince’s troops. Now it’s up to the owl prince to stop him in this 2D hack and slash platformer. Atomic Owl is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
R-Type Dimensions III (Switch 1 & 2, PS5, PC)
Posted on May 29th, 2026 by
Even though they’re no longer around, game maker Irem made some of the most popular games in the arcades back in the 80s. Some of these include Moon Patrol and Kung Fu Master, but probably their most famous was the shooter series R-Type. Consoles back then would often times show off their version of R-Type for its graphical prowess, and it was one of the most challenging shooters back then. It’s so popular they still make R-Type games today, and I even reviewed one a few years ago (R-Type Final 2). And here’s another one with R-Type Dimensions III. I reviewed the first R-Type Dimensions, which was a remake of R-Type 1 and 2. And this one has R-Type 3, which was originally on the SNES and later on the GBA. It’s available on some current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.
LumenTale: Memories of Trey (Switch, PC)
Posted on May 27th, 2026 by
Back when I was writing game reviews for The Dallas Morning News in the late 90s, I was designated as the resident Pokémon expert. This was back during the initial boom, so I was writing Pokémon articles left and right. I’d like to say that Pokémon helped pay my way through college. But it also meant that I was reviewing a lot of similar games, too, such as Digimon, Monster Rancher, etc. So it’s always interesting when I get to review another monster battler. In LumenTale, Memories of Trey, you play as Trey, a young man who has lost his memory. A kid finds you passed out in the woods and carries you back to professor’s house. They decide that to help you get your memories back, you should become a Lumen, who captures and trains monsters (called Animon) to fight and help out people. And so that’s what you do! The game is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype Definitive Edition (Switch, PS4)
Posted on May 25th, 2026 by
Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen (Switch 1 & 2, PS4, PS5, X/S, PC, Mobile)
Posted on May 22nd, 2026 by
Bluey is one of the most popular shows streaming right now, and it’s no wonder why. It may be a preschool show on the surface, but it deals with subject matter that any age can enjoy. The show is about Blue Heeler dog Bluey, her sister Bingo, and their parents, family, and friends as they learn life lessons through imagination and play. I’m a huge fan of the show, and we’ve already seen plenty of Bluey on GamerDad.com with another video game review, a board game, and podcast. And now there is a second video game with a story written by Joe Brumm, the show’s creator! In the game, Bluey and Bingo and their parents are amusing themselves inside on a rainy day by drawing and coloring pictures and making up stories. Bluey tells a story about a poor girl who can’t afford to repair her cottage. So she calls upon Bingoose (her sister Bingo) to lay a golden egg for her. But their dad has the gold pen for the egg and won’t give it back! Now Bluey and Bingoose must go on a quest in their imagination to get the gold pen. The game is presented with crayon styled drawings, similar to Bluey episodes like “Escape” and “Dragon.” Gameplay is viewed in a top down perspective and you’ll solve Zelda dungeon styled puzzles to progress. Bluey and the Quest for the Gold Pen is available on all current consoles and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.
Elementallis (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on May 20th, 2026 by
The 16-bit Super Nintendo is my favorite game console, and one of my favorite genres on that console were top down action RPGs. These include obvious ones like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, as well as more obscure ones, like Soul Blazer. So when I heard about Elementallis, which takes major cues from 16-bit classics like A Link to the Past, I was all into reviewing that! So in this game, you live in a world inhabited by elementals. Your parents were elementalists who could control the elements, but they got greedy and started ransacking the sacred temples. Now that you are old enough, you befriend a floating elemental creature and go off on the quest to undo the wrongs of your parents. You’ll explore a big overworld and tackle dungeon mazes, acquiring elemental powers to help you defeat enemies and solve puzzles. The game is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
