BOOK SPOTLIGHT - The Best Non-Violent Video Games
James Batchelor (2023); Pen & Sword Books - White Owl; Non-Fiction
Let me start by saying this: I love a good FPS. RPGs are my favorite genre. And while I’m absolutely terrible at them, I grew up on Fighting games. Violence in video games has never bothered me, and I don’t subscribe to the idea that games cause real-world violence. This isn’t a soapbox, it’s a spotlight for anyone looking for some genuinely family-friendly fun.
I’ve had this book on my mind a lot lately. I recently added it to my collection, and after finishing Noah Wardrip-Fruin’s book on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, where he talks about finding games to share with his kids during the pandemic, it felt like the perfect follow-up.
At first glance, The Sims on the cover is enough to raise some eyebrows, or elicit a cynical response of “well, akshually” (as proven many times over in the social media comments I received when praising the book). Even my wife, who doesn’t usually play games, remembers pulling the ladder out of the pool and watching her Sim meet a grim fate. But through a more thoughtful and mature lens, this book becomes a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to explore games alongside the younger players in their lives.
Batchelor smartly opens with something crucial: a definition. With the inconsistency of industry boards like ESRB and PEGI, it’s clear that there’s a lot of subjectivity on the notion, so setting the stage validates the games that follow. This is a collection of titles that “don’t rely on harm as the primary verb”. No jumping on Goombas. No blasting ducks out of the sky. But non-violent doesn’t (at all) mean “boring, childish, or shallow”. Page after page proves just how rich and varied these experiences can be.
What follows is an alphabetical journey through decades of gaming history, across consoles and genres. From Pong to mobile, PC indies, cozy sims, puzzle classics, rhythm games, narrative experiments, even economic management oddities. Each spread is neatly laid out with title, platform list, year, developer, a concise explanation of the experience, and the case for why it belongs in the non-violent canon. What I thought would be a quick flip-through turned into a growing wishlist of games I now can’t wait to play.
Batchelor is not just curating, but advocating. Even when a game has fail-states or “death” equivalents, he reframes them through player intent and consequence, not hostility. It’s gentle without being sanitized. That nuance is what makes the book work. It’s not pushing pacifism; it’s about what interaction can mean beyond harm. And that makes it exciting. These aren’t just “safe” games for kids; they’re clever, inventive, and often deeply emotional experiences.
Ultimately, this is not a book about the absence of something, it’s a celebration of everything games can be when they don’t default to harm as meaning. It spans generations, platforms, genres, input paradigms and business models. Whether you’re a parent, a designer, a critic, or just a player burnt out on endless combat loops, this is a great tool to have on hand.
You can find more about the book right here in The Video Game Library.
This article arrives at the perfect moment, and I truly wonder at your insight to consistently illuminate such genuinly thoughtful subjects.
The Sims, the most potentially violent non-violent video game ever. I love that it teeters on that edge of “Made for Everyone” and “Made for Sadists.”