Top 10 Kids Games Too Disturbing for Kids

Parents probably should have looked these games up before giving them out as gifts. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our "Top 10 Kids Games Too Disturbing for Kids."

For this list, we’re looking at games that don’t live up to their kid-friendly appearance. You all know the style. Colorful, happy, bright-eyed characters saving the day from lovable bad guys. It’s what we all grew up with. Well, as it turns out, a lot of those games aren’t exactly kid-friendly. This list is focusing on those titles that have many recurring, disturbing moments, rather than just one or two isolated scares.

Kirby is known for starring in games that make great gifts from grandma, but the developers often manage to toss in one or two bosses that raise a few eyebrows. It was this Nintendo 64 title that really pushed the limits though by introducing gamers to Zero2, the flying eye that spews misty blood whenever hit by our lovable pink puffball. Not content to hold him back until the end of the game, however, Hal Laboratory made sure that his presence was felt throughout, thanks to the use of weird, oddball enemies and the possession of our beloved friends. Maybe this is why we have so many trust issues.

We know what you’re thinking: “Really? What could be disturbing about a storybook-inspired Yoshi game?” Well, a lot, as it turns out. From the infamous, invincible Attacky Sack that torments players with its murderous grin to the lurking Blurps that try to knock Yoshi into the pool of water below to be devoured, Yoshi’s Story is chockfull of PTSD-inducing enemy encounters. Add that to a few of the creepier tunes that play over some of the castle stages, and you’ve got plenty of nightmare fuel to keep kids up at night.

This is one of those games that seems innocent enough at first, but gets progressively more disturbing the further you dive into it. At its core, Lemmings is a puzzle-platformer centered on the simple premise of trying to guide your titular characters to the goal. However, when you fail do so, the game punishes you by murdering them in sadistic ways. Whether burning alive in fires or suicidally jumping off of cliffs, these adorable little creatures were probably, for many kids with an Amiga, their first encounter with death.

#7: Monster Party

When gamers think of the NES, chances are they’re thinking of the many family-friendly classics. Mario Bros., Ice Climber, and Bubble Bobble were all great games that parents could feel comfortable giving to their children. Then came Monster Party, a game about a child named Mark which changed up the rules by introducing kids around the world to the gruesome concept of Hell. Sure, it’s pretty tame by today’s standards, but when you’re used to 8-bit graphics, bosses like Death, or the many bloody environments, are enough to keep you up at night.

Aside from its Halloween aesthetic that features cartoonish monsters and giant evil houses, Maniac Mansion doesn’t seem so different from other adventure titles of the time such as King’s Quest. Well, looks can be deceiving because the further players get into the game, the more twisted it becomes. There are plenty of scenes depicting torture, corpses, and blood, but what really puts this one over the edge is the microwavable hamster. Yes, you heard correctly; and no, we still haven’t recovered from those emotional scars.

From your first steps into Termina, you know that you’re in for a very different gameplay experience than one might have expected from a follow-up to Ocarina of Time. Everything from the grotesque appearance of the moon to the erratic movements of the Happy Mask Salesman is extremely unsettling, and it only gets worse the more you play. Gamers soon get introduced to the maimed Darmani, creepy alien invasions, and disfigured parents in a house surrounded by corpses. By the time you hit Ikana Canyon, you’re so familiar with the concept of suffering that you almost become immune to it.

#4: A Hat in Time

This delightfully stylized throwback to Nintendo 64 collect-a-thons garnered rave reviews from players and press around the world, and rightfully so. After all, it perfectly captured the childhood magic of the older titles, such as mirror messages written in blood, murder mysteries, and the mafia. Wait, either we’re misremembering Nintendo 64 games, or developer Gears for Breakfast really cranked up the creepiness to eleven. Well, after experiencing the very real horror of Queen Vanessa’s Manor, we’re probably going to go with the latter. Hell, we don’t even want to play that section as adults, so we can’t even imagine what Hat Kid is going through.

This one can’t possibly be creepy, right? After all, you’re controlling one of the most adorable creatures in the sea in a thrilling time-travelling adventure. What a wholesome game! Or so it seems, until you start experiencing the crushing sense of loneliness as you traverse the creepy ocean to depressing little tunes. That should have been our first clue that something was amiss, but it only really hits you when you encountered the Lovecraftian tentacle monsters that are hell-bent on killing the lovable little Ecco. The result of us getting past them? The Vortex Queen, which belongs in a freaking Alien movie, and not in our dolphin game. Thanks Novotrade International!

You all knew it would be here, and yes, Giygas was absolutely a factor in our decision, but he’s not the only reason Earthbound nabs such a high spot on our list. We focused on the aesthetics in most games up to this point, but this title earns its place thanks to its story, which often delves into some really questionable material. After all, Ness and his friends spend countless hours in graveyards, dealing with brainwashed children, and in Happy Happy Village, a town populated by literal cultists. That’s some surprisingly heavy stuff for a RPG that seems, at first glance, to be simple and accessible enough to be anyone’s introduction to the genre.

In hindsight, we probably should have guessed, given the name, that this would be anything but a fun little adventure. The plot centers on a boy named Andy who goes on a quest through various terrains to save his dog from evil shadow demons. It’s a noble goal, but if you make any mistake throughout the game, you’ll bear witness to some very subtle, very disturbing death scenes. You can drown, get crushed, murdered, and so much more. We still can’t get the image of limp, dangling limbs out of our mind, and we’re perfectly comfortable admitting that we abandoned the dog to go play a happier game.