Survival Kids
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Survival Kids Media
Survival Kids - Reveal Trailer
Survival Kids – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2
Survival Kids – Announcement trailer (Nintendo Switch 2)
Critic Reviews for Survival Kids
Nintendo Switch 2 launch exclusive co-op game Survival Kids is one of the most tedious and repetitive games on the market today.
The experience is usually pretty smooth as a result, but that also means challenge is kept to a minimum. It's an experience with very few highs, but also almost no lows, and as such is perfect for playing with a young relative – or, if you prefer, to play as a relaxing low-stakes adventure by yourself.
Survival Kids is a thoroughly competent, cosy game of cooperative gathering and crafting. It's not much of a looker, and its ideas aren't mind-blowing, but it's all good stuff thanks to its robust controls and easy-to-grasp loop. I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck with it on a desert island, but it's good company for several happy hours with a friend – especially a less experienced gamer. If you plan to get shipwrecked with a little one and giggle your way through it, go ahead and add a point to the score.
Survival Kids is an interesting take on a popular genre, one meant for a much younger audience. At the same time, kids have been growing up on Minecraft for over a decade, so Survival Kids may not be giving the gaming youth enough credit.
While 'Survival' part of the title is clearly wrong, the 'Kids' bit is on the money. Survival Kids is a good option if you're looking for a chill game with a less-experienced partner or your kid when they get home from school. It's a colourful, amusing but altogether simple game that gets pretty samey if you're looking for even a semblance of challenge.
Survival Kids doesn't take any big risks in its kid-friendly approach to survival games. Yes, it is technically kid-friendly in mood and scope, but that's also underselling the maturity and capability of children playing games. Its level-based approach doesn't evoke a sense of wonder and exciting exploration that its counterparts are known and beloved for. Its tasks are monotonous and very quickly become repetitive, almost as if they're not trusting you to understand the same thing they're teaching and showing you every few minutes. With only nine levels, but with rough pacing in those missions, it's an experience that somehow passes you by in a flash, but also feels like a slog. There's fun to be had if you're with friends in the silly and chaotic gameplay moments, also working together as a refined, well-oiled survival production machine. Still, at the end of the day, Survival Kids isn't all that much of a successful return, remaining hardly a splash in the ocean.
Survival Kids on Switch 2 is a middling game — not because it doesn't follow the template of the Game Boy original exactly, but because it fails to leverage its rules and mechanics in interesting, engaging, and dangerous ways. As it stands now, it's fine for younger and less experienced players, but not ideal for those seeking something more involved, challenging, and long-lasting.
Survival Kids will be a hard sell for long-time fans of the series, especially since it’s the same price as Clair Obscur. If you get it on sale and have children, this is a wonderful and underrated Switch 2 exclusive that’s hard to put down. Its cozy and low-stakes ambiance, combined with fun puzzles, will make it a hit with young gamers.
