The effects of childhood and adolescent exposure to mature video games has been a recurring topic in popular culture as well as academic research for many years. While many studies have been conducted, a consensus has not been reached. Video games have been shown, however, to play a positive role in family
togetherness and act as an opportunity space to encourage family discussion. Through a review of the literature, this article argues that mature video games can serve as opportunity spaces for families with older children and teens. A case study in which the M-rated video games, Life is Strange: Before the Storm (2017)
and God of War (2018) were played in a parent-child context is then presented to demonstrate how these games were able to stimulate discussion of important developmental topics.
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