Best Games About Parenting

It is not easy being a parent, and that holds for both real life and gaming. Be it raising sims or more story-driven projects, games about parenthood are not extremely common, but there are enough of them to keep people busy (with their kids) for a while. That said, these releases are rarely mainstream successes, except for something like The Sims, where raising a family is not going to be everyone’s focus.

If you are looking to dip your toes into this side of gaming, you might struggle to find places to start, so let’s put together some recommendations that cover different subcategories. All the upcoming games are about parents and children, and they are relatively different from each other. Variety is the real focus here, and we’ll include a couple of honorable mentions to give you similar games to try.

Really, The Sims 3 and The Sims 4: Parenthood are the most popular family sims of all time, and they both have plenty of depth. While they have been left out to focus on games that are primarily/solely about parenthood (and are not as widely known as The Sims), Maxim’s projects are easy recommendations for pretty much anyone.

Camille and Laura

A Game About A Single Mother

Starting with one of the more grounded parenthood games, Camille and Laura is the definition of a slice of life story. What does that mean? Well, you are mostly just living through the protagonist’s normal existence, where nothing major happens beyond just dealing with the everyday stress of being a single parent raising a young child who is just entering school age. Besides making sure that Camille has everything that she needs, Laura also goes to her desk job, which offers her absolutely no entertainment but allows her to keep providing for the person that matters the most to her.

Covering a week in the mother’s life, Camille and Laura is a minimalistic point-and-click adventure that does not overstay its welcome or seek to deliver any major life lessons. It has a charming art style that captures the child’s innocence while still being surprisingly expressive, and the gameplay is very simple but works for the type of story being told.

There aren’t too many games like Camille and Laura, but honestly, life sims are probably the best route to go since they offer some degree of slice of life normality.

Volcano Princess

A Modern Take On A Classic Daughter Raising Sim Formula

Arguably the most famous new raising sim of the 2020s so far, Volcano Princess takes pretty obvious inspiration from a classic (which will be named as an honorable mention). “Raising My Daughter” games are relatively numerous within the parenting genre, and Volcano Princess provides arguably the most well-rounded and accessible take on the concept. You are cast as the father of a girl who is set to become the Volcano Kingdom’s ruler, raising her from a young child to an adult. You will not go through her entire life, but you will guide her to the point where she can walk completely on her own.

Volcano Princess packs a lot of mechanics, delivering RPG stat upgrades, multiple endings, plenty of romanceable partners, combat systems, and social elements. The visual novel sections have clean and detailed art, typically utilizing warm colors that echo the game’s relatively relaxing tone. While not completely free of tension, Volcano Princess is mostly just cozy and cute.

Volcano Princess is clearly inspired by Princess Maker, which set the stage for daughter-raising sims. The original game has not aged that well, but the first sequel is quite good and has a couple of modern versions.

• Ciel Fledge: A Daughter Raising Simulator
• Long Live the Queen (You are the daughter and not a parent, but the game is somewhat similar)

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Maintain A Farm, Raise A Family, and Live A Low-Key Life

Quite a few Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games incorporate family mechanics, although their importance tends to vary wildly. Animal Parade is one of the better examples in the franchise, but A Wonderful Life is the entry that emphasizes the family dynamic. Originally released on the GameCube and PS2, the game received a modern remake in 2023, which is likely the version that most people will try nowadays.

After giving you a farm, A Wonderful Life very quickly establishes that you must start mingling, find a partner, and start raising a child. The life sim bases its structure around raising a family over decades, so it is central to the experience. Due to being based on a 2003 game, A Wonderful Life is quite simplistic and does not really try to challenge you all that much, offering easy-to-grasp mechanics and straightforward relationships that are fairly simple to develop. The pacing is slow, but you will gradually get to influence your children, impacting things like their interests.

The Sims 4: Parenthood…yes, I know we mentioned it in the intro, but it deserves another shout-out here. Stardew Valley is inspired by Harvest Moon and allows you to have kids. Otherwise, generational games are probably the way to go, with stuff like Echoes of Plum Grove​​​​​​ and Chinese Parents.

Endling – Extinction is Forever

Survive And Protect Your Cubs

Hey, nobody said a parenting game needs to center around humans. Animal-focused versions are not exactly plentiful, but they certainly exist; Endling is one of the more recent additions to this unique subgenre, and it adds a survival element to proceedings. Set in a devastated world, you take charge of a mama fox who has just given birth to four adorable babies, only for one of them to be stolen from her. Along with trying to save your kidnapped child, you also have to make smart decisions to ensure the safety of your other offspring, keeping them fed and away from awful, awful humans.

Endling is quite a basic survival game, albeit done fairly well. It works as an entry point into the genre, just because it only has a couple of strict mechanics and features a fairly short campaign compared to other projects. As a game about parenting, Endling forces you to constantly examine the full picture, making decisions that should benefit the group while, in the short term, potentially putting one or two cubs in discomfort. You will become protective of your babies quickly, too.

The Shelter series is like the definitive animal child-raising sim series. We went with Endling for something a bit different, but Shelter is all-around fantastic. Also, not animal-based, but This War of Mine: The Little Ones is kind of similar.

My Child Lebensborn

A Heavy Story About Bullying And Isolation

For the most part, raising sim games are relatively light. I’m not saying they never touch upon mature themes, but they tend to focus primarily on gameplay mechanics, with their story mostly echoing that journey. My Child Lebensborn is different, as you are very much reacting to your new adoptive child’s circumstances rather than molding them. As hinted at by the title, you are the caregiver of a Lebensborn child, who was stolen from their original parents by the Nazis. Your child heads off to school, where they face widespread bullying and ostracization. It is then your responsibility to guide them through this difficult time, while also keeping their basic needs met.

My Child Lebensborn is not for everyone. If you are looking for a detailed and extensive raising sim, where you can influence your son/daughter’s entire existence, this game will not offer that. However, if you are craving a dark and insightful experience that tackles a unique situation, there is nothing else quite like it. The game originally came out in 2018, but a remaster was released in 2023.