Like Super Meat boy... In what way?

I started playing The Adventures of Shuggy a few days ago and have been liking it. The game is a puzzle platformer. Some of the later levels can be annoying, but early on the game is fairly easy. There is a demo you can try to see if your son likes it.

http://www.desura.com/games/the-adventures-of-shuggy

Edit: The game works great with the 360 controller as it is an xbox live port.

If you mean platformers, you could get him Jazz Jackrabbit (It's pretty old and can't be found now outside of abandonia but I recall having played it lots as a kid). As for more modern platformers, I don't know much of many of them sadly :(

Games that are similar, or seem to me anyways: Dustforce, They Bleed Pixels. Both are precisionish platformers, but seem less crazy than Meat Boy.

He really likes all the characters, the story, it being retro and humor.

I second Shuggy. There is even a set of 2-player levels so you could play together!

Would recommend VVVVVV, but you'd need joy2key or xpadder or something to set up the controller for it.

Try Out There Somewhere from this bundle: http://www.thegreenlightbundle.com/ - it's more puzzly though, and pretty short. But for PWYW, the price is right :)

Thanks everyone for the input.

Well, I loved the Commander Keen games when I was his age. And they're not that complicated either.

I showed him the video for Adventures of Shuggy and asked him if he wanted it and he gave a big YEA

Offspring Fling might be up his street. You may need to explain the principle to him, but a five-year-old should be able to understand it.

One I would definitely recommend is Give Up, Robot. It's free, browser-based and located either on FB or the much-preferable Adult Swim website (the FB one lags and when trying for top scores it's a problem).

I would recommend it to anyone, and once you beat the first 50 levels, there are 50 challenge levels that are more in-tune with the difficulty of SMB.



http://games.adultswim.com/give-up-robot-twitchy-puzzle-online-game.html

Probably my fav browser game of all-time.

I have a stepson that recently turned 8. If you're looking for platformer games (or sidescrollers), there are a few that he may/may not like, depending on his attention span, interest, etc...

Tommy Tronic is an easy game, much like the old platformers... kinda reminds me of Commander Keen. It's fairly pretty, but simplistic in application. It was fun, and I got it on sale for $5 or less during a sale on steam. It allows the player to have a lot of hit points, so it's not discouraging to really young players. It's also slower paced so it has less of the "twitch gaming" like super meat boy does.

Here's my number 1 recommendation:

Rayman Origins. This game is a sidescroller, beautiful art, and tons of fun for the whole family. It has challenges (like time trials, get X number of points, etc) for the older players, as well as allowing normal gameplay for kids playing through.

The art is fantastic, cartoony, and fast paced. It keeps the attention of our 8 year old for an hour or two at a time (which he'd rather go outside and skateboard or ride bike than play most games). The story is minimalist in concept, as most platformers are.

It has various different styles of stages, which challenge you in different ways. Some levels become flying shooters (on the back of a spitting misquito), others are timing sensitive so you have to run fast, typical platformer levels, and Boss levels. They mix it up so it seems refreshing in the 60+ levels in the game.

And here's why I recommend it the most for you... Multiplayer! It allows you to jump in/jump out of a game at any time. You can hop in and help your kid with a level he's having trouble with, then hop out if you want. It also makes some areas easier, and you have "infinite lives". When you "Die" and someone else is on the screen, you simply turn into a bubble. Steer your bubble over to the other character and they "pop" you, and you're back into play. It's that simple. And if everyone dies, the stage is designed so you just start a little way back, rather than needing to start the whole level over.

You could try out these free games to see if some of them suit your taste.

Stealth Bastard (Full game)
http://www.stealthbastard.com/

Freedom planet (Playable demo atm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMZRy5KH3Ac&feature=relmfu
http://freedomplanet.galaxytrail.com/

Sonic Before the sequel (Full game)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ybXlcCNa0
http://sonicbts.webs.com/

Sonic Axiom (full game)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtBvE-Fkb3I&feature=relmfu
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?0rcb97g9d1dyvxn

Sonic After the sequel (Playable demo atm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLci6wFI_w&feature=player_embedded#!
http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=27561&st=0

The Iconoclasts (Playable demo atm)
http://www.konjak.org/index.php?folder=4&file=30

Frogatto (full game)
http://www.frogatto.com/

Gianas return (full game)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdwveX_iUiU&feature=relmfu
http://www.gianas-return.de/

Or you could take a closer look at Giana sisters: twisted dreams and Pid here at gog.com.

+1. I enjoyed VVVVVV way more than SMB. If your kid enjoys SMB, he'll probably like VVVVVV too, though it may not necessarily be easier.