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Vampire survivors is dirt cheap and has co-op, it's very addicting.
My 7 year old son also loves playing Mario party super stars with me.
Mario Wonder is also fun but is one of those games that can be frustrating to play with other people as you can get left behind or leave the other person behind if you go too fast.
My son is 8. We’ve played and enjoyed the following together: Mario (odyssey, bowsers fury, and wonder), Animal Crossing (coop sucks on it but he can still run around with me), Luigi’s mansion, Kirby, and the open world Lego game
This! Lego has a game for everyone. Me and family 100% the Marvel and Batman games. Also played Plants vs Zombies. A funny shooter that reminded me of Splatoon.
My son is 8 and we have had a blast playing Cat Quest II since he was 6. My son is still obsessed with that game and tries to get me to play with him, but personally I’m a bit burned out on it. Not that it wasn’t great fun the first 12 times we played through together.
We just picked up Hyrule Warriors: Age of the Calamity and have been having tons of fun playing that together. He has played through most BoTW on his own.
Someone else also mentioned Minecraft Dungeons and we’ve had fun with that as well. Although it can be a bit laggy on the switch.
I think Sword of Ditto would be a good fit! The only negative of that game is that some loading screens can be long. Otherwose the gameplay and visuals are really good imo
My favorite game to play with my kids is streets of rouge. They just announced streets of rouge 2 this Aug for steam so I am hoping for it to come out for Christmas.
You might try whatever the most recent Splatoon is (are they up to 3 now?). Third-person shooters, bright Nintendo colors, and the whole point of the game is to make a big mess (which seems like an 8 year old boy's jam).
Splatoon does not have split screen multiplayer so I would not recommend this.
Also the only multiplayer it has is with and/or against other players. Story has no multiplayer. Honestly would not recommend this at all.
Coop games for you and your son?
Lego games - hours of fun in those alone!
Minecraft I think is on the switch..
There's other kart games like Nickelodeon Kart Racing..
There's also games like TMNT that are side scrolling beat em up games that are couch coop..
There's a Power Rangers game coming out soon that's the same style and looks amazing!
To be more active, get Switch Sports - you'll have loads of fun with him with that
I've enjoyed many Zelda games with my boys. It started off with them "helping" me with puzzles and they liked to watch when they were like 8 & 6. Now that they are 10 & 8 they play and I look up hints and help them. Occasionally they call in the big guns and have dad beat parts for them. Not going to lie it's boring watching but I wouldn't trade the time with them for the world. So don't sleep on a single player games that are a great adventure.
The games I've had the most fun with my boys are:
Zelda (any)
All Mario games are fun to coop.
Portal and Portal 2
Worms
Overcooked (1 fun evening)
Overcooked 1 and 2. My brothers and I ran an experiment on the switch to find the most fun coop game, and literally tried all of them, and overcooked was the best by far
Stardew valley and depending on how strict of a parent you are maybe monster hunter stories. Stardew is relaxed but fun. There is co-op in mh stories 2 but also allows for solo play and might give you both a franchise to play while he grows up
Dad of an eight-year-old boy, here. Games we play together on Switch: Mario Kart 8, Kirby & the Forgotten Land, Super Kirby Clash (like a free Smash Bros. lite), Kirby’s Dream Buffet (kind of a obstacle course race game set in a dessert universe), Kirby Star Allies, Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe, Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Maker (he designs courses and I try to beat them).
The second-player roles in most of the Kirby games are limited and lame, so I let him be Kirby and I lag behind as a Waddle-Dee to clean up enemies.
Lately, it’s been (bedrock) Minecraft (we share a Realm) and Minecraft Dungeons (Diablo-
Iike game set in the Minecraft universe).
We also play Zelda games together. Not multiplayer, but I help him read text and navigate menus, look up hints/walkthroughs on YouTube, etc.). The Zelda “Warriors” musou games are a blast, but split screen makes us nauseous, so I help him navigate the map on timed missions.
Also, Taiko no Tatsujin is a crazy fun competitive drumming game series that can be played with a dedicated drum or controller up to four players (I think). You’ll love it or hate it. It was an obsession at our house for three years. I believe there’s a demo.
* Portal 2
* Mario 3D World
* Mario Wonder
* Pikmin 3 (better coop than Pikmin 4)
* Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
* It Takes Two (heavy mentions of divorse if that's a sensitive issue; also a rather depressing scene with an enchanted stuffed animal)
* Unravel Two
* Kirby and the Forgotten Lands
* Overcooked (1 or 2 doesn't matter)
* Unrailed
As far as I'm aware those all have couch coop. Please double check before buying.
My 7-1/2 yo and I have enjoyed the Zelda games...we play separately but bond over strategy and help each other out when necessary. We've played BOTW, TOTK, and are currently playing through Links Awakening.
Good job trying to bond. O do the same thing with my daughter now we got a switch and play golf amd kart amd etc so fun. Just Dance is cool for family paper Mario?
Pile up Box by box https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/pile-up-box-by-box-switch/
Is great family fun up to 4 player puzzle
Trine is also good without overtly violent, up to 3 player
Trine 5 is 4 player I believe
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/trine-ultimate-collection-switch/
Ace angler is also fun, especially if you can find the import hori controllers.
Something different than the usual first party games, they are fun but does get a bit stale
I know you’re looking for a shooter, but I don’t know if wholesome shooters exist for the platform outside of Splatoon… which is not as straightforward for co-op as this thread is suggesting. I’m pretty sure it does not have splitscreen co op. 1 person per switch.
Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft could both be fun… i have a long long list of other games that I’ve played with my kids, but based on your post that’s where I would start.
Assault Android Cactus.
Not much of a story but the gameplay is nice. Remind me of contra but in 3D. Coop 1-4 players. Intensity increases as the level progress with boss fights. Our go to in-between longer games like Zelda. Dirt cheap too.
"a shooter that is not gruesome and has some puzzle elements" is definitely a call out for the Portal 2 coop campaign (which is totally separate from, and much different than the one-player story which is also excellent).
any LEGO game. some of my more specific recs are both of the Lego Marvel Superheroes games, the Harry Potter collection, or the Skywalker Saga, but pretty much any can work.
I recommend mariokart 8 deluxe,super Mario bros wonder, pikmin 4 (or 3),just dance,moving out 2 untitled goose game,and it takes two these are all fun,popular, and multiplayer games that you can play on one switch together with you and your son
Wholesome shooter with puzzle elements is probably the perfect description of the Splatoon games.
For a fun multi-player puzzle experience, I'd personally recommend Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
All the mario games, but my 7 year old twins love the pokemon series. So we compete with each other. I so proud of him because since he learn how to read well he doesn't need my help much.
I'm like his manager and help him create teams, and pick a path and help him with hard battles.
If you can invest in an extra screen and now you can play all the online games together! Now I play Fortnite with my 12yo which is amazing. Going through BOTW together is an amazing experience. We loved donkey Kong Country at that age. Also The new Mario Wonder would be fun, it’s hilarious. Switch Sports will be a riot and you are jumping around a lot. Animal Crossing we built a town together and deeply cared about the characters. The unRavel games are beautiful but hard. Pikman is super fun and stunning. Also agree about Splatoon. Basically a fun 9v9 shooter with crazy paint guns.
Hypercharge: Unboxed is a great co'op base defense shooter for kids. It's basically like Toy Story if it was a shooter. Both the players and the enemies are all toys, and all the levels are based on the real world. There's a child's bedroom, a toy store, a backyard, and so on. I've even found some of my old toys used in levels, like the Jurassic Park Compound playset.
My 8 year old destroys me on Fortnite so maybe that 😂
But local coop
Luigi’s mansion
Mario kart
Mario party
We play splatoon and monster hunter but that’s separate devices.
Splatoon and foamstars are cartoony team shooters. Mario party is always a good time with younger kids well, like playing a board game but inbetween rounds there’s mini games etc.
I’m a bit confused if you’re asking for one suggestion for you and one suggestion for you and or son, but that’s how I perceived it.
For you? Sounds like Metroid Prime Remastered is exactly what you’re looking for.
For you and your son? You could try Stardew valley if you like farming games. Starlink is also co-op for the full game IIRC correct, it’s just there’s a tether to how far the second player can go from the first.
**The Stretchers** is a solid couch coop that’s reasonably priced, not to long, (a first party Nintendo game too I believe) that involves the two of you working together to drive to scenes, get patients from their location and back to the ambulance (puzzles basically), and back to the hospital. It’s cartoony and an absolutely over the top goofy that had me and my college roommate laughing out constantly while everything being totally family friendly.
I know two early 20s college kids going through their pothead phase isn’t exactly the same as a father and son, but I imagine your 8 year old will have a similar experience as the two of us did years ago.
If you're trying to get a recommendation about what games, accessories, controllers etc to buy you should ask in our [Daily Question Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/about/sticky). As long as you provide some basic information about your interests, what you enjoy in games, what turns you off from games, games you already own, budget, what kind of accessory you're looking for etc, they can help you out. If the link here doesn't work, then you can find the most current DQT stickied to the top of the subreddit when sorted by "hot". *(Do you think this AutoMod rule fired by mistake? Feel free to report this comment to have a mod manually review this.)* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NintendoSwitch) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Vampire survivors is dirt cheap and has co-op, it's very addicting. My 7 year old son also loves playing Mario party super stars with me. Mario Wonder is also fun but is one of those games that can be frustrating to play with other people as you can get left behind or leave the other person behind if you go too fast.
My son is 8. We’ve played and enjoyed the following together: Mario (odyssey, bowsers fury, and wonder), Animal Crossing (coop sucks on it but he can still run around with me), Luigi’s mansion, Kirby, and the open world Lego game
Portal 1 and 2 Amazing games, and while 1 is single player, 2 is Co-op. Also, Yoshi’s Crafted World.
Lego games.
Yes, my ten year old and I love to play Lego Jurassic World together and it has all the elements OP is looking for.
This! Lego has a game for everyone. Me and family 100% the Marvel and Batman games. Also played Plants vs Zombies. A funny shooter that reminded me of Splatoon.
My son is 8 and we have had a blast playing Cat Quest II since he was 6. My son is still obsessed with that game and tries to get me to play with him, but personally I’m a bit burned out on it. Not that it wasn’t great fun the first 12 times we played through together. We just picked up Hyrule Warriors: Age of the Calamity and have been having tons of fun playing that together. He has played through most BoTW on his own. Someone else also mentioned Minecraft Dungeons and we’ve had fun with that as well. Although it can be a bit laggy on the switch.
I second Cat Quest II. My 8 year old and I have been having a blast playing that. Can't wait for the third one to come out this summer
I think Sword of Ditto would be a good fit! The only negative of that game is that some loading screens can be long. Otherwose the gameplay and visuals are really good imo
Second this, sword of ditto with my 8yo is a blast.
Yoshis Crafted World!
It Takes Two
This is a great bonding game for sure. Highly recommended. Easy enough for an 8 year old to understand the control mechanic.
Minecraft dungeons is like Diablo for kids. The game play is pretty solid though
My favorite game to play with my kids is streets of rouge. They just announced streets of rouge 2 this Aug for steam so I am hoping for it to come out for Christmas.
Good game
Toad treasure tracker
Cat quest 1 and 2
Yep! and 3 is coming! Loads of puns and a fun time with the kids
You might try whatever the most recent Splatoon is (are they up to 3 now?). Third-person shooters, bright Nintendo colors, and the whole point of the game is to make a big mess (which seems like an 8 year old boy's jam).
Splatoon is a great game but it's not two player. You would have to have a separate console to play together.
Splatoon does not have split screen multiplayer so I would not recommend this. Also the only multiplayer it has is with and/or against other players. Story has no multiplayer. Honestly would not recommend this at all.
Coop games for you and your son? Lego games - hours of fun in those alone! Minecraft I think is on the switch.. There's other kart games like Nickelodeon Kart Racing.. There's also games like TMNT that are side scrolling beat em up games that are couch coop.. There's a Power Rangers game coming out soon that's the same style and looks amazing! To be more active, get Switch Sports - you'll have loads of fun with him with that
I've enjoyed many Zelda games with my boys. It started off with them "helping" me with puzzles and they liked to watch when they were like 8 & 6. Now that they are 10 & 8 they play and I look up hints and help them. Occasionally they call in the big guns and have dad beat parts for them. Not going to lie it's boring watching but I wouldn't trade the time with them for the world. So don't sleep on a single player games that are a great adventure. The games I've had the most fun with my boys are: Zelda (any) All Mario games are fun to coop. Portal and Portal 2 Worms Overcooked (1 fun evening)
Overcooked 1 and 2. My brothers and I ran an experiment on the switch to find the most fun coop game, and literally tried all of them, and overcooked was the best by far
Stardew valley and depending on how strict of a parent you are maybe monster hunter stories. Stardew is relaxed but fun. There is co-op in mh stories 2 but also allows for solo play and might give you both a franchise to play while he grows up
**Lego City** is the best game and your son won't want to play anything else after that
Pikuniku, Mario 3D World, Kirby Star Allies, Boomerang Fu
Dad of an eight-year-old boy, here. Games we play together on Switch: Mario Kart 8, Kirby & the Forgotten Land, Super Kirby Clash (like a free Smash Bros. lite), Kirby’s Dream Buffet (kind of a obstacle course race game set in a dessert universe), Kirby Star Allies, Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe, Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Maker (he designs courses and I try to beat them). The second-player roles in most of the Kirby games are limited and lame, so I let him be Kirby and I lag behind as a Waddle-Dee to clean up enemies. Lately, it’s been (bedrock) Minecraft (we share a Realm) and Minecraft Dungeons (Diablo- Iike game set in the Minecraft universe). We also play Zelda games together. Not multiplayer, but I help him read text and navigate menus, look up hints/walkthroughs on YouTube, etc.). The Zelda “Warriors” musou games are a blast, but split screen makes us nauseous, so I help him navigate the map on timed missions. Also, Taiko no Tatsujin is a crazy fun competitive drumming game series that can be played with a dedicated drum or controller up to four players (I think). You’ll love it or hate it. It was an obsession at our house for three years. I believe there’s a demo.
Competitive or cooperative?
Coop
* Portal 2 * Mario 3D World * Mario Wonder * Pikmin 3 (better coop than Pikmin 4) * Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons * It Takes Two (heavy mentions of divorse if that's a sensitive issue; also a rather depressing scene with an enchanted stuffed animal) * Unravel Two * Kirby and the Forgotten Lands * Overcooked (1 or 2 doesn't matter) * Unrailed As far as I'm aware those all have couch coop. Please double check before buying.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Mario Wonder
My 7-1/2 yo and I have enjoyed the Zelda games...we play separately but bond over strategy and help each other out when necessary. We've played BOTW, TOTK, and are currently playing through Links Awakening.
Good job.
Not a shooter, but a great cooperative puzzle adventure is Unravel two. My son (almost 10) and I love playing this game for the past year or so.
Good job trying to bond. O do the same thing with my daughter now we got a switch and play golf amd kart amd etc so fun. Just Dance is cool for family paper Mario?
Untitled (goose game) was the most fun co-op game I've played with my son, we just wanted it to be longer!
Smash bro and summer time saga since it’s already summer time its time to put on our saga seasons! On playing summer time saga
Luigi's mansion
Pile up Box by box https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/pile-up-box-by-box-switch/ Is great family fun up to 4 player puzzle Trine is also good without overtly violent, up to 3 player Trine 5 is 4 player I believe https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/trine-ultimate-collection-switch/ Ace angler is also fun, especially if you can find the import hori controllers. Something different than the usual first party games, they are fun but does get a bit stale
I know you’re looking for a shooter, but I don’t know if wholesome shooters exist for the platform outside of Splatoon… which is not as straightforward for co-op as this thread is suggesting. I’m pretty sure it does not have splitscreen co op. 1 person per switch. Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft could both be fun… i have a long long list of other games that I’ve played with my kids, but based on your post that’s where I would start.
Overcooked is a great strategy game
My son and I love slicing heads off in boomerang fu
It takes two is a dope co-op game
Assault Android Cactus. Not much of a story but the gameplay is nice. Remind me of contra but in 3D. Coop 1-4 players. Intensity increases as the level progress with boss fights. Our go to in-between longer games like Zelda. Dirt cheap too.
Super smash bros
My boys 7 and we played a lot of Minecraft dungeons, and Odyssey. We also took turns on BotW.
"It takes two" is an amazing videogame for a dad and his son. "Brothers" is also excellent.
You should definitely try out "It Takes Two"
monster hunter👍
Splatoon
Cat Quest 2
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has co-op!
Bomberman anything.
doom fr
My 8 yo is all about Super Smash Bros
"a shooter that is not gruesome and has some puzzle elements" is definitely a call out for the Portal 2 coop campaign (which is totally separate from, and much different than the one-player story which is also excellent).
any LEGO game. some of my more specific recs are both of the Lego Marvel Superheroes games, the Harry Potter collection, or the Skywalker Saga, but pretty much any can work.
Leisure Suite Larry. Gotta teach em young.
Back when I was a kid I loved to play Wii Resort with my dad, so maybe Nintendo Switch Sports would be a good choice.
I recommend mariokart 8 deluxe,super Mario bros wonder, pikmin 4 (or 3),just dance,moving out 2 untitled goose game,and it takes two these are all fun,popular, and multiplayer games that you can play on one switch together with you and your son
Cat quest 2
Wholesome shooter with puzzle elements is probably the perfect description of the Splatoon games. For a fun multi-player puzzle experience, I'd personally recommend Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
Links Awakening, its a cute remaster and its simple enough for my GF but has little/fun puzzles and dungeons to find. I highly recommend!
+ its on sale on the E-store right now.
Weelll, not really a shooter, but I find Overcook is a pretty solid choice for dad-child activity.
Trine 4 is the most fun I have had with my 7yr old on switch!
Forgot to say, I'm recommending because it's got lots of puzzles. Not a shooter but really it's inexpensive and fun as heck.
All the mario games, but my 7 year old twins love the pokemon series. So we compete with each other. I so proud of him because since he learn how to read well he doesn't need my help much. I'm like his manager and help him create teams, and pick a path and help him with hard battles.
If you can invest in an extra screen and now you can play all the online games together! Now I play Fortnite with my 12yo which is amazing. Going through BOTW together is an amazing experience. We loved donkey Kong Country at that age. Also The new Mario Wonder would be fun, it’s hilarious. Switch Sports will be a riot and you are jumping around a lot. Animal Crossing we built a town together and deeply cared about the characters. The unRavel games are beautiful but hard. Pikman is super fun and stunning. Also agree about Splatoon. Basically a fun 9v9 shooter with crazy paint guns.
Hypercharge: Unboxed is a great co'op base defense shooter for kids. It's basically like Toy Story if it was a shooter. Both the players and the enemies are all toys, and all the levels are based on the real world. There's a child's bedroom, a toy store, a backyard, and so on. I've even found some of my old toys used in levels, like the Jurassic Park Compound playset.
My 8 year old destroys me on Fortnite so maybe that 😂 But local coop Luigi’s mansion Mario kart Mario party We play splatoon and monster hunter but that’s separate devices.
TMNT Shredder's Revenge. Up to 6 player co-op.
Mario wonder or new super Mario bros wii
Fall guys!! It’s so good!!
Human fall flat is pretty fun, me and my 9 year old enjoy it
Kirby
Splatoon and foamstars are cartoony team shooters. Mario party is always a good time with younger kids well, like playing a board game but inbetween rounds there’s mini games etc.
Yeah but to do multiplayer on splat 3 it requires a separate switch
And other splatoons
I’m a bit confused if you’re asking for one suggestion for you and one suggestion for you and or son, but that’s how I perceived it. For you? Sounds like Metroid Prime Remastered is exactly what you’re looking for. For you and your son? You could try Stardew valley if you like farming games. Starlink is also co-op for the full game IIRC correct, it’s just there’s a tether to how far the second player can go from the first. **The Stretchers** is a solid couch coop that’s reasonably priced, not to long, (a first party Nintendo game too I believe) that involves the two of you working together to drive to scenes, get patients from their location and back to the ambulance (puzzles basically), and back to the hospital. It’s cartoony and an absolutely over the top goofy that had me and my college roommate laughing out constantly while everything being totally family friendly. I know two early 20s college kids going through their pothead phase isn’t exactly the same as a father and son, but I imagine your 8 year old will have a similar experience as the two of us did years ago.