I'll preface this by saying that I haven't really tried very hard to explore options that will work. I'm just going straight to you all because I know I'll get good ideas...

So I'm playing Zelda BotW and my son (11) and daughter (8) have been watching. The boy plays his own game and is just as into it as I am. My daughter desperately wants to play, and has tried, but she doesn't like the combat at all. She loves the exploration, finding ingredients, cooking, and talking to people. Maybe the hunting.

Awhile ago I set her up with Harvest Moon on GBC (a game I've never played) and she didn't really take to it. We tried Animal Crossing (Wide World?) on DS and after having fun doing a few things in that, she doesn't know what to do next. Again, a game I haven't played myself. An obvious answer is for me to get more involved to be able to guide her more, but maybe there's a game where it would be fun for both of us to make that happen?

As for why she doesn't like doesn't like Zelda combat? Well, first off I'm okay with it, not that big of deal. I think she doesn't like to 'die' in that game. However, she'll play Minecraft or Roblox and happily walk to her death time and time again. So that's frustrating, but I also get it... she gets really emotionally invested in characters, and she's seen enough of the cutscenes that she's invested in Link. To put it in perspective, she's only seen 3 or 4 movies all the way through, including the original Grinch (her favorite), and there were tears during all of them.

So, any games like Zelda BotW, but without fighting? Honestly, when I put it like that, I think BotW could have an Explorer's Mode where there just aren't any monsters and it would still be a nice game.

p.s. I know this or similar thread must have been done before, but if its all the same, I'd like to hear from you, now. (briefly, if you like, and point me to more if you've written it before)