Knights And Bikes!
Posted: 9 months ago, last updated 13 days ago.
Author: Andy Robertson.
Overview
The chance to play in an imaginative and gleeful childhood world makes this a perfect game to share. The retro-modern Stranger Things-feel is ideal for parents and children playing together. It's a tale that keeps things light but also includes a moving backstory of the passing of one of the characters mother and the journey to come to terms with that in the family.
The two-player cooperative play suits parents and children working together. This, combined with the visual style, gives the game the feel of a Saturday-morning cartoon show. Taking charge of either Nessa or Demelza and exploring the island on their bike is an entertaining and well-observed recreation of backwater holiday destinations.
The game also has a series of books by Gabrielle Kent that expand the world and character of the island, while taking Nessa and Demelza on new adventures. In addition there is an animated cartoon in the works and you can download a recipe to make the cream tea you have in the game.
Details
Release Date: August 2019, updated in 2020
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Tips
Commitment
Costs
You will need Xbox Live Gold (must be 18 to create, then configure family accounts for younger players) to play online with Xbox One. You will need Nintendo Online (must be 18 to purchase, but can be any age to use) to play online with Nintendo Switch. You will need PlayStation Plus (must be 18 to create, then create sub-accounts for younger players who need be set as 13 or older) to play online with PlayStation 4.
Age Ratings
In addition to the rating advice parents should note that at one point players throw water on live electrics to make a connection and progress the game.
This game has been rated ESRB EVERYONE 10+.
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Accessibility
Difficulty
How you can adjust the challenge of play, and assistance the game offers when you fail or get stuck.
Cognitive Pressure
Low Pressure: Game tasks aren’t time-limited or with a high emphasis on performance. Or there is a low pressure play-mode available.
Save Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time, and not lose progress.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials, instructions and tips.
Reading
How much reading or listening comprehension is required, and how accessible this is.
Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required.
Text Visibility
Large Clear Text: Text is large and clear, or can be adjusted to be.
High Text Contrast: Text colour contrasts to background.
Subtitles
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large and clear, or can be adjusted to be.
Any spoken content has subtitles: All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game.
Speaker Indicator and their Tone: Captions indicate who is speaking and their tone.
Controls
How you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
Rapid Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing not required or can be skipped or disabled.
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Image
How you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Visibility
Bright Colourful Palette: Game uses bright colours and is generally high contrast.
High Contrast Mode: You can adjust the contrast of the game to be high-contrast.
Audio
How you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events.
Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well
System Settings
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games. PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping). Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games... read more about system accessibility settings.
Supported by PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors: @GeekDadGamer and Andy Robertson
Similar Games
The following games are like Knights And Bikes!. They address a similar topic or offer a similar way to play. They are good options to play next and also good alternatives to Knights And Bikes! for younger age ratings.
Knights And Bikes! is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Knights And Bikes! in the following lists:
Work Together to Thrive
Along with teamwork, the games I’ve selected here use the fact that players are all sitting next to each other.
These are games where players take on different roles in order to complete unusual tasks. The fun is often as much about the conversations (and arguments) that happen in the room as what’s happening on the screen.
BAFTA Nominated Games
The awards started in 2004 and are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). For parents, they are a great way of discovering brilliant games to play in their family. The games included here are from the:
- The Family Games award highlights games that will work really well for parents and children. These often include multiplayer features and feature a cast of family-friendly characters.
- The Games Beyond Entertainment award is also of interest as this highlights more unusual games with an emphasis on storytelling that addresses topics that parents may find appealing themselves.
Hope Through Play
There is something innocent and childlike in play, and video games each have a slice of that in different ways. Sometimes simple and sometimes complex, games can help us return to the hope we had as children, or call us on to the wisdom and perspective of older years.
Great Games Without In-App Purchases
The games in this list are really good for families but have all been selected because they don't include any in-app purchase costs. You either pay a single up-front cost or they enable you to play them for free.
Space For Grief
I've come up with some games that explore this topic, along with help and suggestions from Gaming The Mind (Twitter), an organisation of UK-based mental health professionals who aim to promote positive mental health within the gaming community. By focusing on the intersection between gaming and mental health, they want to raise awareness of mental health challenges and reduce the stigma surrounding these issues. "We express grief in different ways depending on our age," they said. "To help children cope with loss, it is important that they receive honest explanations about death, appropriate to their level of understanding. With these games, players may find valuable space in which to acknowledge grief as a completely normal reaction to bereavement."
"The games we have selected don't necessarily offer an ideal way to cope with death but tackle the topic of death openly and with a positive attitude. They can help show the player that they are not alone in what they are going through. Playing these games with young people, and answering questions they might have along the way, can be a useful starting point for important conversations about grief."
Ease Loneliness With Intergenerational Games
Video games are one way that we can reconnect with each other, without needing to be in the same place. Finding games to play online with grandparents and carers is not only a good way to keep in touch but a lot of fun.
The games on this page are part of the PLAY&TALK Weekend, which has launched in time for National Loneliness Awareness Week, aims to reduce feelings of isolation by getting people to talk with friends or family safely online. Backed by over 30 companies in the games industry, the Play&Talk weekend hopes to initiate 10,000 extra conversations across the UK through the power of games.- Co-operative: Some of the games are good ways to connect and play co-operatively online (like Feather, Overcooked 2, Ibb and Obb, Skylanders Children of Light).
- Competitive: With some practice there are easy and fun online competitive games (like Tricky Towers, Videoball)
- Asynchronous: Other games are a way to connect and play without being online at the same time (like Horizon Chase Turbo, Worms, Words With Friends, Wargroove, Animal Crossing).
- Community: Then there are games that connect you with a wider player community in a gentle non-invasive way (like The First Tree, Journey, Lost Words, The Endless Forrest).
Get Children Reading
We have partnered with the National Literacy Trust to create this resource of video games that encourage and enable reading and writing skills. The National Literacy Trust is a charity dedicated to improving the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills of children and young people who need it most, giving them the best possible chance of success in school, work and life.
Video games have significant benefits for children who are reluctant or struggling readers. They give them access to stories through interaction and world building which they may not have been able to read in print. Video games also have benefits for families where parents may not be confident readers, meaning that sharing stories as a family is still accessible to all. The rise of video games on smartphones and tablets, as well as more affordable game consoles has made the sharing of interactive stories easier.
There are different ways that video games create this kind of collateral reading and aid literacy:- Reading In Games: Video games offer all sorts of reading at all levels. This can be from simple narrative in a game like Florence to dialogue in a game like Mutazione or even just identifying useful items and game mechanics with in-game descriptions in a game like Zelda Breath of the Wild. Then there are games like Thousand Threads that help players think about the power and the consequence of words.
- Reading Around Games: Video games create worlds that often spawn secondary texts. This can be official novels that expand the world or guide books that offer instructions and help. Knights and Bikes, for example, has spin off books, a cartoon series and recipes to read.
- Routes Into Books: Many popular book series, such as Beast Quest, offer a range of video games as an easy first step into those worlds that lead to then reading the books themselves.
- Communication Around Games: As well as reading, games encourage all sorts of creative output. This can be to contribute to the many online forums and message boards to talk about the game. This can also be to write fan-fiction after being inspired about a game world or character. The Sims, for example, has an avid community writing and creating all kinds of content online.
Thank you for using our resource, supported by AskAboutGames, ParentZone and PlayAbility Initiative. We are editorially independent, written by parents for parents, but welcome sponsorship, partnership and suggestions. Email our editor for details on these opportunities.The information on this database is designed to support and complement the in-depth discussion and advice about video game "addiction", violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. If you have any concerns or questions in these areas, email our editor who is quick to respond or can arrange for a one-to-one conversation.