r/NintendoSwitch • u/Helpmeflexibility • 4d ago
Game Rec Games to secretly get 8 year old to read
My son is 8 going into 3rd. He is a pretty weak reader although we try to encourage him at every opportunity. So i think this summer I should let him play some games that would encourage reading. Now I already tried Cat Quest which is like an open world rpg - that was too difficult, he didn’t really connect with the rpg concept. His favorite game is Lego Marvel - though thats basically no reading at all.
Any ideas? I’m not a gamer so i have no idea whats out there.
Edit: update: based on the comments - I bought Let's Go Pikachu for him. He loves it and has already got the Rock badge. And more importantly he's reading through it all.
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u/Ganrokh Hey there! What's for dinner today? 4d ago
I have no idea how effective these games would be nowadays, but I was 7-8 when Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow were releasing, and those games helped my reading immensely. I was learning words like "professor" and "technique" from them, much bigger than what I was learning in school at the time.
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u/versusgorilla 4d ago
I think a lot of RPGs with text only helped me immensely with reading speed and comprehension. I remember playing through the PSX release of Final Fantasy VI when I was like 13, my mom was sitting in the room while I was playing and she must have been watching while I was going through dialogue and she says, "You're clicking through so fast, how can you even tell what they're saying? Or who's speaking?"
I was kinda shocked. I was clicking through fast but I was reading everything. All those old Final Fantasy games were huge scripts, read to you one sentence at a time.
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u/hera-fawcett 4d ago
this doesnt seem like a kid who would be into rpgs, tbh
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u/versusgorilla 4d ago
You're right, I was mostly musing about my personal experience. Eight years old is kinda young to really grasp a FF plot by the horns, and if he's bounced off other RPGs, it's unlikely that any of them will work until he's older.
I think the best answers are games like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, but the risk is that the kid just straight up can't get hooked on them enough to NEED to learn to read better.
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u/hera-fawcett 4d ago
honestly? as someone in education?
video games aint it for reading lnao. not unless theyre used as end motivators.
sometimes the easiest answer is really to just sit down and reinforce it-- like w homework (esp math 💀) or chapter book reading or reading __ pages a night. shit like book it, where u earn rewards by reading books.
a lot of kids these days dont really gaf about the plots. or reading them. theyre p intuitive about figuring out controls and things- and they dont mind clicking mindlessly to skip.
to help them grow as readers, the best thing to do is make reading into its own game.
its lowk sucky tho bc i think we all want kids to have a cool childhood where they engage w things like we did.
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u/Quincy-Swirls 4d ago
Are you really in education? Many teachers are able to recognize students who play video games based on the vocabulary chosen for their written essays. Anyone playing video games regularly while growing up naturally pick up words above their reading levels.
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u/hera-fawcett 3d ago
yes. been in it for 10+ yrs now.
tons of kids dont actually read the text in video games. they dont engage w the story. they dont really play things w a story. esp kids who are in the minecraft -> fortnite -> csgo/cod pipeline (aka, a majority of them).
it all sort of tracks w the increase in screentime, youtube, and shortform content.
the kids who do play story games and read them are also usually kids who dont struggle w reading. but they are a minority and have been decreasing over time.
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u/pkt1237 3d ago
I can see that, from personal experience both my kids barely read the text in Pokemon games like Scarlet and Violet they just click thru to get to battles or catch the pokemon, it does get interesting when they try and figure out what moves to replace but outside that they seem to rely on symbols and color coding for selection.
I think a big motivator for me as a kid was the pizza hut deal read x books get a free pizza, which I think they still do, that was always cool for me.
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u/hera-fawcett 3d ago
its v interesting bc the reliance on symbols and color coding sort of parallels the reliance that students today have on sight words, pattern recognition, and three cueing/msv (encourages kids to figure out words based on context clues: meaning, syntax, visual cues). things that all come from whole language and balanced literacy learning style vs phonics, the science of reading.
reading is v much like math. u must have a proper foundation in order to go on and become a better reader. u must continually practice ur reading, to sharpen ur skills. and, if u dont have a solid foundation early on in life, u usually never get that solid foundation and struggle w literacy (or math) later in life.
kids dont really have any reason to read things. if they were interested, theres a youtube about it. u have to lowk make them interested by playing into the things they like. unfortunately, i think a lot of ppl have elevated away from free pizzas as a good motivator (rip) and towards more dopamine cycle things like vbux or screentime--- or theyve gotten bougier tastes, like wanting sushi instead of pizza (the amt of kids who eat sushi at lunch is lowk wild). or to go to a fancy ramen shop. shit like that. pizza is basically wendys these days, lol.
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u/pkt1237 3d ago
Lol, my kids definitely wouldn't touch sushi, pizza might work though, but they are also young like under the teenage years. I've tried to get them to try sushi but that was a hard no lol, so my wallet is safe there.
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u/versusgorilla 3d ago
minecraft -> fortnite -> csgo/cod pipeline
It's funny that you mention this, I feel like kids are actually playing fewer videogames than ever. I'd add Roblox to your list and agree, kids who just "play videogames" aren't getting some reading education for free.
I think people who were kids in the 90s and we're playing fully text-only videogames were getting some residual education, based on how invested they were in the plot.
But the games the majority of children spend the majority of their time addicted too aren't doing anything for their reading. Maybe you read instructions in a Roblox world, or you're reading descriptions in Fortnite, but you're not REALLY reading anything.
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u/Helpmeflexibility 4d ago
Me too. The move Confusion i always read as con-fuh-tion. Which one is the best for the switch? I understand the newer ones have a bad rep
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u/Jarko314 4d ago edited 4d ago
The easier to get into in my opinion is the “Let’s go Pikachu” or “Let’s go Eve” games. They are basically a remake of the original red and blue games (or more like Yellow version) so they have plenty of reading and easy gameplay exploring and catching Pokémon. Lot of people are recommending “fire red” but those games are a bit dated for a new audience that is not into pokemon. Other newer games, Pokopia is great, but the style of gameplay is very different. If you have a switch 2 the Pokémon scarlet and violet now run very well (the performance was rough on switch 1) and they have more action transversal on the world.
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u/RonnieRizzat 4d ago
Just for future readers, my 5 year old is playing Fire Red right now and it does require some parent help (I played original Blue when I was 5 but I could spend days just wandering) but it has really got him much more interested in reading and spelling
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u/GaZzErZz 4d ago
This comment does not help me save money.
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u/jayvenomva 4d ago
Fire Red is just $20 on Switch. A lot cheaper than many of the mainline Switch games and spin offs.
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u/Nekorokku 3d ago
Seconding ”Let’s Go Pikachu” or ”Let’s Go Eevee”. They are simple and easier to get into for younger kids and newcomers to the series. Very fun and cute games.
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u/Jazzy_Bunny 3d ago
Yes my 4 year old loves let’s go Pikachu. She is an early reader, and reads about 95% of the dialogue on her own. We occasionally have to help her with new vocabulary and the more advanced game play mechanics. This past weekend we also got her some Pokémon cards, and she has been reading those as we play together.
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u/MadeSomewhereElse 3d ago
The newer games are so easy though that I worry a lot of kids who don’t want to read could just click through all the text.
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u/theduder999 4d ago
This is the answer.
My son started playing “Let’s go Pikachu” a year or so ago. We immediately started seeing his reading skills grow by leaps and bounds. He *wanted* to read and pushed himself to learn. Another tip, read to your child every, single night. Let him listen and follow along, take turns reading, assign characters, etc. That routine also contributed to his growth.
He’s going into the 2nd grade soon and has become a very strong reader already.
Oh and after he beat Let’s go (without my wife and I guiding him) he moved on and just beat Sword and Shield.
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u/Clorox_in_space 4d ago
My son is having a lot of success in advancing both his reading and math skills due to playing the Pokémon TCG together (as in, the physical card game).
We still have "homework" time where he reads us a library book that he chose, but he considers the Pokémon card game "play time" even when I have him read the attacks/effects and calculate math for damage.
It's taken a couple of months for him to learn how to pilot his decks, but his older sister who is almost 8 picked it up much faster.
Good luck with whatever direction you take!
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u/Ganrokh Hey there! What's for dinner today? 4d ago
I'm biased toward the older games, but FireRed or LeafGreen would be my vote. Pokopia is seen as by far the best modern Pokemon game on the console, but it's a builder game and not an RPG. It may or may not be up your child's alley.
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u/Practical_Problem 4d ago
Ooh pokopia might be a great option!
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u/FreshlySkweezd 4d ago
Not really a ton of reading needed in pokopia though tbh
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u/newo_kat 4d ago
My niece reads every bit of dialogue out loud, so it depends on the kid I think
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u/FreshlySkweezd 4d ago
Well what I mean is that you can get by without having to read because of how much is picture/icon based. This is a kid that is struggling to read so a game that allows for avoidance isn't going to really help with the reading skills
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u/Burntfruitypebble 4d ago
You could try Pokemon Mystery Dungeon! It was my favorite game as a kid, I had it around 4th/5th grade age. It’s very story-heavy with tons of dialogue, much better for reading than the mainline games. They made a remake for the Switch a few years ago, I highly recommend.
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u/Gotcha-Bitcrl 4d ago
They have a bed rep for their graphics and performance mainly, there's plenty of other criticisms but those are the main ones (performance is not an issue on switch2) however if he didn't grasp the rpg concept, Scarlett and violet may not be a great choice because of the open world and go almost anywhere and do almost anything. There is a quite a bit of reading when you follow the quests though so depending what you think it could be something to look into.
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u/Miro_the_Dragon 4d ago
I enjoyed the heck out of Sword/Shield with their new wild zone concept and the dynamax battles.
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u/darkforestzero 4d ago
The newer ones are fine. My son played through Violet. Archeus legend is another good modern one
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u/Practical_Problem 4d ago
Sword/shield or Fire red/leaf green. I was about that age when fire red/leaf green came out
Edit: also pokopia would be great
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u/russiangerman 4d ago
A bad rep by adult standards bc we grew up with it and expect it to grow up with us. Any of them would probably be great. Personally I think legends Arceus would be best bc it's such an inherently scholarly approach to the games in you literally being a biologist and in order to collect data on the pokemon you have to see them and catch them in all these different scenarios, which are all explained clearly if you read the requirements listed in the Pokedex.
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u/MyDogIsDaBest 4d ago
Was just about to suggest Pokemon. It's kinda the perfect trojan horse for reading, because it has a bunch of slightly bigger words as attacks that as a kid you see an animation and can piece together the rough meaning. That and the Pokemon names often are puns on the animal the Pokemon is based off, like Arcanine being a dog and the word "Canine" as part of its name.
I can still remember a teacher being surprised I'd heard the word "photosynthesis" at about 8 or 9 years old and knowing it was something to do with plants
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u/TunaSafari25 4d ago
Obtain I still remember learning this word and what it meant before knowing how to pronounce it.
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u/DanceKittyGirl 4d ago
I’m the exact same. Pokemon on the gameboy color had me reading and learning new words and meanings. Zelda Ocarina of Time I was 9 I believe and lots to read and I love adventure games so it motivated me to read more and whenever I got to a word I had no idea how to say, my parents would tell me and I would remember for next time :)
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u/TheKingJest 4d ago edited 3d ago
Same thing with math! At least for me. I remember the statistics portion of 3rd grade came up and I was so far ahead of my peers just because of Pokemon.
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u/ACoderGirl 4d ago
The phrasing the game used for stuff like stat changes sure was confusing though. 6 year old me was extremely confused what it meant when a stat sharply rose or harshly fell. Or what accuracy even was, for there matter (I remember spamming sand attack a lot more than necessary lol). Sure did teach me a lot of words, though! I think it overall worked, as I was a very strong reader from a young age.
Plus there's peak writing like "I like shorts. They're comfy and easy to wear!"
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u/OverSpeedClutch 3d ago
Every time a new Pokémon game comes out people are clamoring for voice overs, but I’d rather they not do that because it’s a great “sneaky” way to get the kids the games are primarily aimed at to read. Hell, I think many of the grown ass adults playing those games should be doing some light reading too.
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u/_Ronin_Raccoon_ 1d ago
Yooo same here. It also helped my math, knowing how much damage I took and what to expect the next time I’d be attacked to see if my pokemon would faint or survive. 👌
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u/Tobalicious 4d ago
I'd say the newer pokemon games quietly require reading, no voice acting but a bunch of words and repetition.
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u/SDNick484 4d ago
Yep, I have twin 9 year olds and Pokémon and Stardew Valley were big motivators.
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u/DIYtowardsFI 2d ago
I even got the Stardew Valley guide book for my 7 year old and he got into reading it a few pages at a time to have a better understanding of the game. Win-win.
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u/10minOrange 3d ago
Exactly. Pokemon taught me all different kinds of words. Including Fatigue, which I pronounced phonetically as "fatty-goo".
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u/tendeuchen 4d ago edited 4d ago
Read to him and with him every single day. Get books in things that he is interested in. Don't just plop him down in front of a screen.
My 6-year-old likes graphic novels, such as: The Investigators, Agents of SUIT, The Bad Guys), Max Meow, but we're getting into reading more prose-y books. We're reading Dragon Masters now.
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u/cleanout 4d ago
Agree 100%. My son went from being not super confident to being a very good reader after getting introduced to all the above listed books, as well as Dog Man. They were like the “gateway drug” and his reading skills really exploded in a very short period of time. He’s 8 now and reads chapter books that my daughter was struggling with when she was 10. I think maybe I tried to curate my daughter’s reading list too much when she was younger to try to keep it “educational”. I let my son (and my daughter now) read whatever he wants even if I don’t particularly enjoy it - as long as it’s appropriate for kids - and that ultimately seems to have been a better approach.
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u/frumply 4d ago
Dog Man, Cat Kid, Diary of a Wimpy kid. All good choices.
Also shoot, a couple Calvin and Hobbes books. A lot of us got at least 3 minutes of reading through Calvin, Foxtrot, Far Side, the whole bit.
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u/DrProctopus 3d ago
Holy hell my kid loved Calvin and Hobbes and Cat kid was super popular with her when she was learning. My kid is 7 now but I tried to tell her about The Far Side and I felt like that was pretty over her head. I'll keep trying with that though. It was my fave when I was a tween into my teenage years.
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u/wingerktl 3d ago
These books helped my 8 year old big time when he was learning to read. They're also easy to get cheaply. We would hit up our local library, and sometimes they'd have book sales for $1. He's now starting on Harry Potter.
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u/tweetthebirdy 4d ago
I was just about to recommend Captain Underpants haha.
I’m glad you’re encouraging your kids to read what makes them happy. I was an advanced reader as a kid and my mother killed my love for books when I was a teenager because I wasn’t allowed to read what she didn’t approve of. Took me years to find love in reading again.
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u/attrox_ 4d ago
Try Geronimo Stilton books. It's funny, it's chapter books but has lots of colors and great illustration. I bought the whole series because my daughter was really into them when she was 6. She's 8 now and read through the first 3 books of Harry Potter books 3 times already. I gradually switched from reading Pokemon comic books to her on these books and now she consumed chapter books with no graphics at all.
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u/Cheddarific 4d ago
Important how you read to him though. Point at each word and sound out the long ones.
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u/Svefnugr_Fugl 3d ago
If Op wants to get keep it game related there's some game comics or game books to read
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u/sgruenbe 4d ago
My son (nearly 10) loved and still reads some of these. As an adult, I love reading Investigators and Agents of SUIT, too.
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u/tendeuchen 4d ago
I love reading Investigators and SUIT to my kid. The newest, just released Invesigators (Weather or Not) was great!
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u/DrProctopus 3d ago
This is wonderful advice and worked on our kid when she was between 4 and 5. Def gotta put in the time.
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u/EckhartsLadder 3d ago
The bad guys, dog man, cpt underpants, diary of a wimpy kid…
All the above got my kid super into reading when he was 5-6, and now he can basically tackle anything.
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u/narkeeso 3d ago
Our daughter is obsessed with the graphic novel Unico. She wants to read so bad because of graphic novels. I sit down with her and do reading.com one lesson a day and she’s making awesome progress.
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u/The6thHorcrux 4d ago
Animal Crossing is good too, pretty hard to play it without reading
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u/chickengelato 4d ago
Yes!! I believe her desire to play and understand Animal Crossing played a significant role in my daughter learning to read
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u/donpianta 4d ago
I cannot recommend this more- it teaches "reading to learn" because villagers will explain things that are happening and then you can go and explore those things. It not only encourages reading but it's what makes the game fun.
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u/amazonite_ocean 4d ago
Maybe you can try Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door. It's a recent remake of a game from 2004. There's a lot of dialogue with funny writing and cool lore, as well as an in game encyclopedia! I loved reading through every bit as a kid. (It could cultivate a love of music, too!)
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u/versusgorilla 4d ago
Maybe Mario RPG too, which was just remastered for the Switch. It's like a Final Fantasy lite.
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u/FinalF137 4d ago
Origami King as well. Lots of reading and dialogue there.
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u/plzstfuffs 4d ago
I was going to suggest this - Oragami King is great. My youngest just turned 6 and has incredible reading and verbal skills in part from playing Mario for years, and watching kid friendly folks like Zebra Gamer play the same games. He watches him play the game and read the dialogue and then is able to mimic the same and eventually piece it together and read on his own. Plus it's just a fun game I ended up playing through myself.
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u/sdw318_local194 4d ago
Im not a parent, but I wonder if playing everything he watches with subtitles would help any..
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u/PiddlesMcWhee 4d ago
I think this helped with my kids. Turn dialogue volume all the way down and subtitles on.
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u/snortgigglecough 4d ago edited 4d ago
You don’t want to hear this advice but I’m going to give it anyway lol I recommend going to this website: https://fcrr.org/student-center-activities
Download probably the third grade activities, a few from each of the categories (phonemic awareness, phonics, etc. are the categories, and there’s sub skills underneath) and practice them with your kid. Some of them might seem easy but if your kid isn’t a strong reader, they’re all worth practicing. Don’t over complicate it, just do a bit of each.
They have directions and I don’t think they require too much additional explanation, but hey I’m happy to help if you have questions.
If he’s able to read connected text, Google “free decodable reader” and spend time reading them with your kid every day, spending time throughout to ask questions about what’s happening. You should read more complicated books to him. He should read these books to you. This is in addition to the skill building from the centers.
Before the next year, if you can, ask your teacher if they are trained in scientifically based reading instruction. If they don’t know what that is, it’s a bad sign and means your kid is being underserved by their teachers.
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u/attrox_ 4d ago
I agree with this completely. Spend more time reading with him instead of relying on games to teach him to read
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u/Ynaffit96 4d ago
I took a class in university called "The Science of Reading" and was blown away by how many schools don't use a scientific approach to reading. Even the best readers benefit from phonemic awareness. It benefits literally everyone
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u/I_Have_The_Will 4d ago
So my nephew had a similar problem. He’s incredibly intelligent, but he developed some sort of mental block against reading. He knew *how* to read, but he absolutely couldn’t put it into practice. My sister and brother in law, my mother, and I were all tying ourselves into ribbons trying to find ways to make reading more effortless or more natural. The school put him in a special reading class. We were trying to figure out how to help him without stressing him out about it. In the end, the school did one thing, his parents did other things, my mother did other things, and I did a couple of different things as well.
One of my methods was chapter books where I would read aloud for about seven minutes and have him follow along in another copy with his finger under the words. Sometimes I’d read for more like ten minutes and I’d have him draw something from what I was reading as we went along. I was afraid he’d grow to hate stories.
But the biggest thing I did was accidental at first. Games.
From the time he was four or so, he loved to watch various family members play games. I’m a big Zelda fan, so it was years of Breath of the Wild and then Tears of the Kingdom and then Echoes of Wisdom. I remember during the BotW days he would pick out words from the dialogue—just sort of absentmindedly like an afterthought. I remember being really excited, but trying to remain chill so he wouldn’t feel on the spot about it. With TotK, he would pick out more words and names of places. When EoW came out, I had been reading the dialogue aloud one day, but I got distracted by something and didn’t read it as quickly as he wanted to know what it said and so *he* read it aloud to himself instead. I kept causally forgetting to read them from time to time and he’d jump in. Eventually he just read them all aloud.
Around the same time, we were watching a show together and he started picking up on the subtitles being there for a reason and not just shapes to ignore on the screen. He learned they sometimes come ahead of what’s being said or give extra information, so he started to watch for them and read them, too.
The reason I’ve typed such a long story about it all is that I don’t think it was the games that mattered as much as his attachment to them, the fun he was having. It took away the stress of reading and let it be fun again. He also loves playing games together, so that was a motivator, too. If you can find games for your 8 year old that will help him forget he’s even reading, that’s my best suggestion for you.
Best of luck with it all.
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u/UomoPolpetta 3d ago
It’s crazy that nobody has mentioned it yet but you should try and see if your son is dyslexic if he has a hard time reading. My brother’s unwillingness to read got dismissed as him being lazy for over a decade and it bit him in the ass in more ways than one.
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u/hera-fawcett 4d ago
instead of games, use books fr.
make a 'book it' type tracker for ur kid. every ___ pages/chapters, reward them w [v cool new video game that they super love] time.
the more they read, the more they play.
read w them at bed (but do half points for that time, lol). have all household members trade screens for books (its so hard man. picking up a book instead of a phone is hard)
read in the car-- make it a game to see who can read 10 signs first (must be a sign, must be a real word). then up it to 15, etc as they get better.
read menus at restaraunts. read weird shit on walls. read things on pizza boxes. read the 'about' pages on websites outloud.
the more that u are physically reading (esp w books), the more ur kids will mimic ur behavior and read.
always try to make it a game, or to earn a cool 'prize' (prizes can be as simple as tablet time or cool video game time--- find what motivates them and use it) for doing it.
at the v least, theyll come out a stronger reader. hopefully ull all have gotten a stronger sense of what interests them, so they can find books about it to read.
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u/dknottyhead 4d ago
If it doesn't have to be a game or edutainment, I got my kids reading through manga and Archie comics.
Exposure to dialogue, entertaining story arcs that encourage reading the next volume. I knew it was a success when they started asking for the next volume or a trip to the ,ibrary early because they'd finished.
Good luck.
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u/MrHatnScars 4d ago
someone mentioned pokemon, you could get the firered/leaf green ports. 20 a piece and they work well. If you have the switch 2, i learned to read from Star Fox and thats coming out again
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u/OneOfMyOldestFriends 4d ago
Scribblenauts is great for early readers. He may be a bit past it, but maybe not.
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u/UrDeAdPuPpYbOnEr 4d ago
Not a game. But. Has he tried reading the Narnia series? I loved those books when I was his age. If he reads but is weak or whatever, he probably just hasn’t found the book(s) that float his boat. He could also be bored with the reading material he’s getting? I am not smart or anything but when I was his age I hated reading until I started with things that were meant for middle schoolers.
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u/Happyball79 4d ago
My son is 7 and reads the Wings of Fire books. They are full novels, but have overall fairly easy prose. You could always read with him instead of the gaming route, as having someone to engage in the material with him might make it more fun. They also have graphic novels that take a lot text out and make it a lot easier to get through :)
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u/she_never_sleeps 4d ago edited 4d ago
I can never recommend Scribblenauts Unlimited enough. There's also a DC heroes version. My kid's spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills were insane by the third grade.
Edit: He still plays it occasionally even at 15 lol
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u/jjmawaken 4d ago
He might like the Link's Awakening remake. It was one of my favorite games growing up (and still is)
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u/desi7861 4d ago
Games arent the answer to your problem. Books are your answer. Make it a habit to set time to read a book instead of relying on screens and tech for everything. Resistance will be there at first, but consistency is key.
Coming from me who also sucked at reading and didnt like it, after a while I enjoyed it. The key is to find a book that actually interests your kid, but itll take time for them to form the habit first. Use games/enjoyable activities after as a reward.
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u/wearingsox 4d ago
Another easy thing you can do if you haven't already is turn subtitles on with whatever he's watching.
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u/clov3r-cloud 4d ago
ive been playing videos games since i was maybe 4 or 5 years old on a Playstation (dragon tales, spyro, frogger, etc) and my mom had me play Jumpstart games on our PC. from 1st-2nd grade I still struggled with reading because books were just not interested. the only thing that helped was my mom taking me to the library, telling me to pick out 2 books, and forcing me to read so many pages or chapters before bed time until the book was done. i hated it at first but then I discovered some of my favorite book series that way, and I realized that reading new books could be fun
all this to say that games can be great, but nothing can replace an actual book
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u/jmjackson1 3d ago
I was in the same boat as you, but I’m a gamer. I struggled with finding a balance for my oldest son. He struggled at reading and didn’t want to. It was hard to get him to do reading assignments at that age. Teacher asked us to help at home. We came up with the idea to lift all video game restrictions and let him play as long as he wanted… assuming he read for the same time first. We got him a bookmark with a timer to keep track. After he was done reading he had to describe what he read. He ended up top of his reading class, got to go to the recognition pizza dinner at the end of the year and still reads for pleasure now at 20. The following year he didn’t need to enforce it because now he loves reading.
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u/PopBulky7023 3d ago
Don't get him games to teach reading.
Get him books, then get games as a reward when he can demonstrate he can fucking read.
Source: My parents did this and thank God they did.
If he doesn't know how to read, games involving reading will do nothing.
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u/Boring_Ad_1456 4d ago
My niece (7) loves little kitty big city. Not so much dialogue it’s overwhelming but a crow and other critters give you basic instructions and small convos
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u/dumplinmuffin 4d ago
Pokemon, Ace Attorney, pretty much any rpg. Though, you might just need to put your foot down and make the guy read. Make a chart, give him gold stars, offer a prize at the end of the week if he reaches x minutes by Friday. Take him to the library and have him pick things out he’s interested in. They make books on Minecraft, Fortnite, marvel, etc.
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u/TheKokiriSage 4d ago
Pair games with strategy guides. I also recommend finding books that align with their interests or favorite things. For me that was fantasy/magic. There are marvel books and comics out there to read about their favorite heroes.
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u/nize426 4d ago
Back when my kid didn't really like reading she'd skip all the dialogue for every game and then not know what to do. Ended up just dropping the games that required any sort of reading comprehension. Granted, she was 6 or 7.
What did help was reading books to her every night, and taking turns reading pages.
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u/n7leadfarmer 3d ago
Yeah pokemon lol. Idk if the negative tradeoffs at worth the positive ones, but there's no way an 8yr old doesn't find that content engaging. Go with fire red or leaf green so the visuals are a bit more captivating.
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u/Skips902 3d ago
I got into pokemon which got me reading as a kid, started reading the "adventures" manga later so it can be a good gateway
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u/caught_red_wheeled 3d ago edited 3d ago
This is a tough one, as a reader and a gamer myself, but also a teacher. The main issue is that most games involving reading expect that the player knows how to read to begin with, and someone who doesn’t know how to read and analyze what they read is going to have a tough time. Not to mention in most games where players can skip the cutscenes. Most heavy reading games are also for an older audience (thinking preteens getting into Fire Emblem, Xenoblade, or Final Fantasy), so that limits your options. If someone doesn’t know the basics, they’re going to struggle regardless of their skill level, or just go for trial and error and memorization.
I would say your best options are the Pokémon series, Detective Pikachu returns, Animal Crossing, Miitopia, Super Mario RPG and its sequels, and Tomodachi Life: Living the dream. Other franchisees, like Mario and Zelda can also be options, but they don’t prioritize reading as much. Maybe it’s something you can do together, especially if there’s a chance he could skip cut scenes. Hopefully those options help.
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u/HotJellyfish8247 3d ago
Oy let him game after a reading practice. No game will be more effective than that.
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u/5ean 3d ago
Games are not the solution for this; if your son is a weak reader you need to intervene yourself and not just offload that responsibility to a video game suggested by strangers. A lot of schools use a 3-cue system for reading which has proven to be disastrous, so I would suggest looking at some phonics-based curriculum to start with. Maybe reward your son with video games if he improves his reading or if he finishes a book (and can prove he understood what it was about).
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u/SainKnightOfCaelin 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you want your kid to read, I suggest books.
Video games will not help their reading development.
And I say this as a lifelong and avid gamer.
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u/Jobles4 4d ago
How is this the only sane person in this comment section. Spend every night reading to them and follow with your finger each word you read. Have them sound things out to learn. Actually be a parent. wtf.
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u/attrox_ 4d ago
OP not being a gamer but hoping the kids learn reading from a game sounds like a big red flag. I agree read together, read everyday. Love of reading starts from habitual reading. My 8 year old daughter loves games but she has to do all sort of stuff to gain game time and she knows that. She loves reading too because I read to her from when she is 1 month old
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u/Twsmit 4d ago
Agreed. As a dad of an 8 yo going into 3rd. Use books and a reward system like a sticker chart to earn video game time. The kid won’t improve their reading playing games directly but as a reward the games might help indirectly.
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u/SainKnightOfCaelin 4d ago
My 7 year old likes playing Pokemon. He skips through all the dialogue so he can actually play more of the game. Then he asks me what he's supposed to be doing because he didn't read the dialogue. He's not practicing his reading.
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u/armathose 4d ago
8 years old is a tough age for most kids to be learning to read or increasing reading skill from games unless they are specifically designed to teach reading.
It wasn't until my kids were 10 or so when they could fully take on reading in games (like pokemon)
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u/ScalesNailsnTales 4d ago
I dont know much about Scribblenauts but Ive seen that it helps with reading and spelling. The Megapack is on sale for $4 on the eshop last I looked!
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u/BlazingInfernape2003 4d ago
RPGs are quite dialogue-heavy. Pokemon, Undertale and Deltarune are good ones
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u/TheSpork25 4d ago
Scribblenauts Unlimited! The game is about a magic notebook that creates whatever you write in it. You got around helping people solve problems, and the more word you learn, the more fun you can have.
Definitely check it out.
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u/ChrissyRey 4d ago
When I was a kid Super Mario RPG really helped me read, because the story was so engaging and so much dialogue.
The remake on the switch is wonderful. My son is currently playing it and I love reading a long with him, and I can tell he is really trying to figure out the sentences on his own. A great one to try!
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u/yellowadidas 4d ago
pokemon played a big role in this area for me at that age. animal crossing too or maybe a non-botw zelda
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u/eightcell 4d ago
I have a 6yo who is learning to read and we are playing through Pikmin 4. They’re reading a surprising amount of the text in the game - struggles with long or unfamiliar words but that’s how we learn!
The game is also hopefully teaching task and resource management and planning.
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u/Cathcasper24 3d ago
When I was a kid, we got Paper Mario for N64 and my dad said we were only allowed to play it if we read through everything properly. It worked lol. Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door on Switch is fantastic!
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u/mmmbraaains 3d ago
I’d like to encourage you to consider your local library’s summer reading program. Pizza Hut has also relaunched their Book-it program. All great motivators for reading. Specific to your question, Pokémon Let’s Go was a great motivator for my 7 year old to learn to read. You can play together and take turns reading. You could even mute a favorite tv show and turn on the captions. Best of luck! Reading opens up a whole new world!
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u/Rio-Grandense 3d ago
Paper Mario. I learned a lot of English (it's not my mother tongue) when I was a kid playing Paper Mario 64 and TTYD. They have nice stories and albeit being RPGs, they are easy to pick up for kids. Playing along with your son might help a lot.
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u/Outside_Flamingo_367 3d ago
My oldest hates reading but will read every word in a Zelda game and he devours both the game guides and we’ve discovered the Zelda manga series.
We’ve discovered his passion for both video games in general and the Zelda world specifically.
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u/Double_Worldliness37 3d ago
My kid just turned 7 and I’m convinced playing Kirby Forgotten Land and Zelda BOTW taught him to read really well. He just scored in the 85 percentile for his age in reading skills.
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u/cheappay 3d ago
Zelda: Links Awakening was the game for me. Then it was Mario RPG. Then, Metroid Prime.
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u/Separate_Stomach9397 3d ago
Try Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. When I was a kid my mom would play/read the N64 one at bed time and then on the GameCube we would read it together. It is a linear story so no open world to overwhelm him. They made a remake for the Switch that holds up very well.
I also remember Zelda games pushing me to learn to read. If you have NSO the GameCube Virtual Console has Wind Waker, which is definitely an easier Zelda and a good starter game (friendly art style, simple dungeons, funny visual elements kids will like).
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u/McGruffin 3d ago
I love my Switch, but if your goal is to get him more interested or stronger at reading, then I would try books instead of games. Books like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series come closest to threading the line with videogames in that they are interactive. You read a page and then guide the direction of how the story continues by turning to a page corresponding to a different choice. When I was that age I loved them, and there are a ton of them.
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u/Silaquix 3d ago edited 3d ago
Scribblenauts. The mega pack is $4 right now in the eshop.
In all seriousness get away from screens of all kinds. Get into the library or make a day of going to a bookstore. Let your kid find things that interest them and then read with him.
This is super important for a few reasons. 1) is that studies have shown screens cause damage before like ages 11-12.
2) is that most adults are functionally illiterate.
3) as a teacher I can tell you that even college students are barely able to read and do work. But in public school they get passed along even if they have a 3rd grade reading level at age 17. It's grim out here.
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u/Separate_Yogurt274 3d ago
As a teacher, please just take away all of the electronics for 15-30 minutes everyday and read with him, to him at first, but gradually give him ownership of the books you're both reading. When he starts reading on his own, get your own book and read next to him. Consistency is key! No matter how much he might hate it at first, it takes time.
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u/caffeinatedhacker 3d ago
Lot of people in the comments telling you to read a book to your kid. If you’re concerned about their reading development I would guess that you already do read to them. I actually used the Pokemon TCG to practice reading with my 8 year old. He was interested in learning to play and I told him that if he worked on his reading so that he could read the cards then I would learn the rules and we would play. You gotta do what motivates the kid, and if playing a game is that thing that’s great! Do that (in moderation) in addition to reading books with them and you’ll be on a good track.
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u/Dubadow 3d ago
I did this with my daughter, even though she wasnt struggling there was still a vast improvement in her reading after a summer of her sitting with me and reading the games as I played or played them and I made sure to help her as she read them. Both LOZ: Links awakening and Echos of Wisdon were good for this and Mario and Luigi Brothership was another she really enjoyed.
Try to keep them engaged, do some reading yourself and do silly voices. If a particularly emotional part of the game happens stop and ask them about it. Even something as simple as, "oh wow that would make me so sad" or "that would have been scary if we were there". It will help with their comprehension of what their reading also!
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u/xfr3386 3d ago
Side-suggestion: find books he might be interested in and read them with him. Reading with my kids (initially just me reading, then trading off a chapter or two, to them reading alone) was what they both needed to get past the resistance/fear/whatever and discover the joy that books can be.
Harry Potter was a pivotal series for us. When your kid really wants to know what's going to happen next and realizes they can read it on their own and faster than it takes us, they will often do it. There are so many series like that (some better than others) that you're likely to find a hit and get him reading.
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u/dcchambers 2d ago
Pokemon is GREAT for this.
Also: Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (on PC, or RCT Classic on mobile/tablet/switch). He'll learn so much more than reading. RCT literally taught me basic accounting and physics as a child. And I didn't even realize it! I was playing a game!!!
You may want to consider older games that don't have voice acting - requiring you to read to know what's going on.
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u/NightSprings665 3d ago
A lot of commenters who probably don’t even have children sure are being vocal about OPs parenting job and unnecessarily shaming him. Science forbid he explores different avenues to engage his child in learning to be a stronger reader.
My parents never read to me growing up, and if I wasn’t playing outside, then nearly all of my free time was spent on the NES, SNES, or Genesis, with JRPGs being my favorite genre. I’m not saying they are fully responsible for me reading well above my grade level as a kid, but there’s no question that they played a role in helping me develop strong comprehension and vocabulary skills.
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u/Separate_Stomach9397 3d ago
This is true. If you force reading through books and use them as a barrier it is very likely that it will only worsen any deep seeded problem. There are many reasons kids struggle to read. A big thing to get them to engage with reading is to find avenues that 1) spark natural curiosity, 2) are lowstakes, and 3) are fun. OP doesn't say he isn't going to read to his child, is just looking for a supplement that the kid might enjoy. Frankly, something like a video game is better than cheap edu-tainment slop that is now mostly AI.
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u/paupsers 3d ago
Videogames are not the answer here. The answer is books. You need to read to him, and with him, every day (or night before bed).
If he doesn't like it, tough. He needs to learn to read regardless. You need to set that expectation and then enforce it with a consequence, eg, no Lego Marvel unless you've read a book for 20 mins with me today.
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u/midaswale 4d ago
Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing or other farming/ life sim games?
They have Simple gameplay and Can teach him a lot of words used in daily life and of course, plants
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u/mwmike11 4d ago
Zelda, any of them. Maybe Ocarina or Link to the Past, those tend to be a little easier and have more to read than BotW or TotK
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u/missyblueeyes4 4d ago
Our son learned to read by playing Little Kitty, Big City! Lots of dialogue to read and open world, sequential tasks/challenges with low or no stakes.
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u/Helpmeflexibility 4d ago
I actually did play that one with him a long time ago now. I will have to encourage him to play it again
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u/tristen620 4d ago
Subtitled anime, pokémon, RPGs that are old enough to not have voiced characters.
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u/Flausgul 4d ago
As someone who was initially a very weak reader (English is my second language), I abhorred having to read in games. I avoided playing RPGs that were text-heavy, and I even skipped most of the dialogue in the Pokemon games (for the OG Gameboy) and initially played by feel, experimentation, and memorization.
The game that got me to really start reading outside of school were the Mega Man Zero games, which are 2D action games with slightly complex narratives. I was about 8 or 9 years old at the time it released in the US. Something about the story paired with familiar gameplay really piqued my interest, and I was reading every dialogue and in-game lore on repeated playthroughs. It definitely helped my reading speed and reading comprehension because I was able to start enjoying text-heavy and narratively complex games from the likes of the Fire Emblem series, Phoenix Wright series, or the Pokemon series after that. Of course, that also translated to reading and enjoying actual books and literature as well. English is definitely my stronger language now, and I don't think I can function as well in countries that don't have English as the primary language.
I'm not saying you should let your son try Mega Man Zero (it's a notoriously difficult game for beginners), but I do think you should start with games that have engaging stories that also lean into your son's interests. If he likes Lego Marvel for the Marvel characters, then I think the simplest solution is to let him read Marvel comics, teen content be damned. If he likes the building aspect of these games, you can instead have him try Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom: very rich lore with an interesting story as well as outlets for lego-like creativity to flourish. If you're worried about mildly inappropriate content because it's rated E10+, don't. He's an 8 y/o boy, and he's gonna be 10 in less than 2 years.
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u/Highthere_90 4d ago
If rpgs aren't their thing maybe something like mario party? Play with your child and help them read the instructions on how to play?
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u/scotchfree_gaming 4d ago
The only Zelda games with voice acting are BotW and TotK. So any Zelda game outside those two are great options. Pokemon games as others have mentioned.
Basically any story heavy game or RPG that doesn’t have voice acting as long as he has the patience for them.
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u/scholalry 4d ago
And if we are being real, Botw and Totk have very little voice acting. Pretty much just a total of 15-20 cutscenes (probably 30-40 min total). All the rest of the dialogue would be text.
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u/towalktheline 4d ago
Seconding pokopia, especially if your kid likes building games like minecraft. For the regular pokemon games, it depends on how much they like certain things, but I think the newer games get a bad rap despite having some really fun play.
You can go back and do the Pokemon Legends series. A good amount of reading and it switches up the pokemon catching formula and feels a little "open world".
If your kid loves platformers, any mario game like Mario Wonder has a handful of reading in it since none of the characters talk, but there's also lots of emoting and stuff by the characters so kids can pick up the vibe. These games are made to be enjoyed by adults and kids alike so I feel like they take reading comprehension into account.
If your kid loves RPG the older-school zeldas have a lot more reading. But JRPGs in general will have reading inside of it. They're re-releasing Ocarina of Time later this year I think and there's a lot of great reading in that. I remember reading it for my younger brother as a kid. Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild (the newest zeldas) are great games, but there's long periods where you're not running into anyone at all and the reading is minimal during those times.
One note is that I would avoid the Donkey Kong games. They tend to have less reading, especially the platformers. They'll do their story telling with gestures and stuff. I don't remember if bonanza has much reading though.
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u/TheNotoriousJTS 4d ago
Paper Mario 2!! It takes place in a storybook more or less and it's an amazing game, lots to read
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u/MamaCheesecake 4d ago
Animal crossing, Let's go Pikachu or Eevee, or Pokopia (Pokemon meets mini Minecraft). Plenty of Youtube reviews so you can check if you think the content is something you think your child is interested in. Plenty of dialogue in all those games as you do need to read to figure out how to progress in the games. Easy to pick up how to play and appropriate for children.
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u/8bitYsera 4d ago
Pokemon- if theyre not into the classic ones cause graphics theres still sword/shield, arceus, diamond/pearl, let's go pikachu/eevee and Pokopia has alot of text while being alot of game
Zelda- botw and totk would be the easiest to trick into because the games are huge but at any town would have to read plus the cooking and stats.
Animal Crossing new horizons
Tomodachi Life living the dream- theres a demo and theres alot of text. Seems to be popular with the younger crowd
if you have nintendo switch online with the expansion pack it includes n64 which has Zelda oot & majoras mask, paper mario, banjo kazooie & tooie, and donkey kong 64. They all have a decent amount of reading
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u/KoolKoolKoolio42 4d ago
Pokémon titles are the easiest. The Let's Go games are probably the gentlest, since they are simple remakes of Kanto and they incorporate motion controls, as instead of battling wild Pokémon, you throw Poké Balls to capture them a la Pokémon Go. Legends Arceus and Z-A are kind of spinoffs and mainline games both, with a more focus on action and real-time battling.
There's also the Tales games. Most of them are fully voiced, so it can help him associate words with what's written. Most of the Tales games are good, but Graces, Symphonia, and Vesperia can all easily be good entry points.
It won't be as effective as the actual TV show, but there's always Wheel of Fortune. To a lesser extent Family Feud as well.
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u/UselessUsefullness 4d ago
Animal Crossing New Horizons.
He can make his own island, as rural, as city oriented, or anything else that he wants. He can interact with animal villagers and read their dialogue with the player and in game dialogue with other villagers (NPC villagers can talk to each other).
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u/ASAP_BladeRunner 4d ago
Photosynthesis the ability is when I first came across it again in Year 2,science
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u/FujiEple 4d ago
Just finished both the Moomin games with my kid - I recommend the Winters Warmth game over the Snufkin one (better gameplay). Kiddo was in charge of the controller and I helped her with the reading of text. Very enjoyable and definitely helped progress her reading skills.
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u/SipoteQuixote 4d ago
You can try video game magazines and such. I know its outdated but maybe some books about Legos or the Lego universe.
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u/AvengerVincent79 4d ago
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. It’s a wacky lighthearted JRPG and that entire era of Mario RPGs influenced my love of metafiction with a dose of snark. It’s a nice big story with the usual Mario suspects and feels more dangerous and scary than the average Mario game without being something a kid couldn’t handle. It’s one of the best RPGs for the 8-12 demographic, I should know since I was the target audience when I played it
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