The confinement due to coronavirus continues and we hope that for the moment everything is going well with you. But for certain families, it is necessary to find occupations for the children, activities to be shared in harmony. And when you can't get out of your house, perhaps for several weeks, on the interactive leisure side, there are board games of course, and video games. On console or on PC, they allow to play with others and to pass the time while having fun. That's good, Europe 1 has selected five video games for you to share between young and old.
Luigi's Mansion 3 , for a parent-child team
We start with the Nintendo Switch, THE family console par excellence. There is one of the nicest games of recent months: Luigi's Mansion 3 . Luigi, Mario's funky brother, finds himself locked up, not at home, but in a haunted hotel! To save his friends, you have to face the ghosts that populate the many floors, armed with a ... vacuum cleaner!
It is a super fun game, very accessible for the youngest. And above all, it can be played by two, in cooperation. Each one controls a character (Luigi or his sticky double Gluigi, with special abilities) and you go on an adventure by helping each other, it's easier. Perfect for a parent-child combo!
TEST - With Luigi's Mansion 3, Nintendo reopens its funny haunted house
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games , to play sports
From one brother to another, from Luigi to Mario, there is only one step. Mario swapping his plumber's outfit for a variety of sportsmen to face another video game star, Sonic, in Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games . The sixth installment in the Nintendo sports series was released in late 2019, in anticipation of the biggest sporting event of the year. But, there is a strong risk of not having an OJ this year because of the coronavirus, so as much to take advantage of it on console.
So we find Mario, Sonic and all their friends (and enemies) on the track for about twenty events of the Tokyo Olympics, from 100 meters to archery through swimming and new events like karate and skateboard. You can play up to four at home and in addition it makes you play sports since you have to reproduce the movements, for example swing your arms to run! Ideal therefore for families confined to apartments.
Just Dance , for fun in music
If you don't have the Switch, no problem, there are plenty of games on the PS4 and Xbox One too. There is one in particular that has been a hit since the beginning of containment, it's Just Dance 2020 . The last installment in the series was released last year. The principle is always the same: reproduce in front of your TV choreographies that appear in the game, well in rhythm with the hits of the moment.
Just Dance 2020 contains around forty songs, more or less recent, from Ed Sheeran to Ariana Grande through Billie Eilish and the Black Eyed Peas. And a subscription service (Just Dance Unlimited) allows you to unlock a catalog of more than 500 titles. Children love this game with flashy colors and inventive choreographies. And there too it is rather sporty!
Bee Simulator , to raise awareness of the environment
Change of register with an educational video game: Bee Simulator , a game in which we embody a bee. We must save the apiary threatened by humans in a breathtaking adventure: at insect height, everything seems immense! Harvesting pollen, defending the hive for wasps and hornets, speed races with other bees, exploring the world, there is plenty to do.
It is also an opportunity to teach his children a lot of things about bees, a species essential to life on Earth but threatened, because Bee Simulator adopts a scientific approach, very realistic, with a lot of information scattered in the game. We saw it for ourselves: playing a bee fascinates children.
TEST - Bee Simulator , a game to educate children (and adults) about the disappearance of bees
Assassin's Creed Odyssey , good plan for adults
And for parents who want a game of their own after all this? Or adults who have no children? How about a grand epic in Ancient Greece? Ubisoft offers an exceptional offer on its Assassin's Creed Odyssey game, released at the end of 2018: it is completely free from today and until Sunday evening, on all platforms. The opportunity to walk the streets of Athens, take part in epic battles against the Spartans and sail between the islands of the Peloponnese, all perfectly reconstructed.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the culmination of what game consoles can offer today: a huge game, with an addictive scenario and an open world full of details, side quests. Count a hundred hours to go around from top to bottom. Note that a "Discovery" mode exists within the game: forget the objectives and the violence, it is an immersion visit to the historic places reconstructed in the game using historians. Here too, you can play with the family. And if you like the game and want to continue playing it after Sunday, you will have to pay but it will be on sale for a while at a very reduced price: 25 € instead of 70 €. What escape you in large within your TV, failing to be able to do it in real life.