Review: NEX Playground

Product provided for review

Cost $249.99

The story of the Holiday 2025 season was the NEX Playground, which grabbed headlines as the console that outsold Xbox in the timeframe. While a lot of that could be attributed to the price comparison, there is a reason the NEX Playground caught the eye of customers in 2025. We are going to provide our thoughts on the unique console that is designed for kids and families.

Immediately, the NEX Playground reminds me of the Kinect that Xbox once had for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In fact, it’s pretty much just a “Kinect Console” as it’s a hands-free console that forces the player to move while playing fairly entertaining games.

What Comes With The NEX Playground?

There are a few items that come with the NEX Playground, and that’s the console itself, but also a remote to be able to select what games you want to play and to fill out any information you need to start up. Other items included are the power supply and the HDMI cable, and that is it.

Gameplay Impressions

Playing the handful of games the NEX Playground comes with is fun. Fruit Ninja is a great first game to play on this console, but my favorite game is Go Keeper. In this game, you play as a goalie, trying to stop as many soccer balls as possible within a set time limit. The other game that is worth a mention is Whac-a-Mole, which is also included in the starter pack. 

The NEX Playground was greatly responsive, with no delays. As usual with devices like this, is that you need to have a large enough space to play in, and the console has to be from a good distance so the camera can see the players from head to toe.

One of my negatives for the NEX Playground is that you don’t get many options to choose from game-wise. You’ll have to purchase the Play Pass that includes over 45 different games. It’s hard to compare to other consoles because the games you get with the NEX are shorter experiences.

I like to view the NEX Playground as a VR console without a headset. There are definitely more possibilities for it to keep kids more active. I like the idea of partnering with all the major leagues, like the NBA, NHL, NFL, and others.

Parental controls are at the forefront of this console, which is a huge plus for many parents who want this console. From the moment it’s set up, and to consider doing anything else, it’s up to the parent to approve everything and help control what their kid is playing.

Verdict

The NEX Playground is a perfect console to keep kids active and to bring families together in the living room. Something we lack in today’s world of gaming is gathering together in the living room, and the NEX does that. 

It’s hard for me to see the NEX Playground as a console you play frequently. For its cost, I would like to see more games that come with it right away because these aren’t long-hour experiences. Most times, they can be short-lived. Having at least another five games to choose from when you buy it could make it feel worth it. 

The Play Pass will unlock more fun with the NEX Playground.