It’s fall, and we want pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and candy corn. So, what are the video game equivalents of those foods? Why do some games feel familiar or nostalgic even if you’ve never played them before? What makes a game feel like putting on a favorite sweatshirt on a brisk autumn day? From Pokémon to Elden Ring, we discuss and debate.
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Note: This episode includes swearing.
Timestamps
- 0:00 – Intros: Fave Fall Snacks
- 4:40 – Defining Video Game Comfort Food
- 10:40 – “Empty Calories” and Genre
- 29:25 – Comfort vs. Discomfort
- 48:28 – Skill Mastery
- 53:07 – Recommendations: If You Like X, Try Y
- 1:02:28 – Outro: Whatcha Playing/Reading/Watching?
Credits and Notes
- Podcast Co-Hosts: David Silbert, Sam Martinelli, Amanda Tien
- Podcast Audio & Graphics Editor: Amanda Tien
- Podcast Distributor: David Silbert
- Theme Song Composer: Jason Hulse
Excerpt
Amanda: What makes a game work as emotional comfort food?
Sam: I think it has something to do with familiarity. It doesn’t have to be something I’ve played multiple times, necessarily, but for me, there must be some familiarity to the gameplay loop. It’s not something totally passive, but it’s something where I can get into a flow state. It could be something I’ve played a million times, like Donkey Kong Country 2 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Or something like the Dragon Quest games, even if I haven’t played it before, because they all kind of have the same vibes and gameplay loop. Obviously each one has their differences, but none of those feel daunting or new — I know already what these spells are, what these character attributes are. So for me, it has to be this right balance of familiarity and newness.
Amanda: Yeah, listening to you talk, it reminds me of returning to a mainline Pokémon game for the first time in like a decade. And even though it was a new game, new graphics, new ‘mon, it was also deeply familiar right away and instantly felt like this warm blanket.
Ben: When I think of “comfort food games,” I think most of that category is, “What games can I second screen while I’m watching a movie with my wife or while she’s reading a book?” So it might be a nostalgic game. Like Chrono Trigger is a big one for me, or Elden Ring, which I’ve only beaten once, but I spent 400 hours doing it so it’s memory-palaced in my stupid brain, or Stardew Valley where the loops are well-defined and well-trod in my mind.
David: For me, it doesn’t have to necessarily be repetitive or a replay or familiar, but I do think it has to be something low-cognition. I joke about this with my partner often, that whenever we’re sitting on the couch together, I’m playing these unbelievably difficult games that require like pin-point precision. I don’t seek them out. But it’s funny how often I get to play these very hard games, often for review, and that’s not comfort food. Comfort food is like Marvel Snap on my phone, or Hearthstone; I love card games. Or turn-based RPGs, if nothing else because you can take it at your own pace. Anything where I can turn my brain off to an extent and just vibe.
Amanda: Totally. I think what we’re all kind of saying here is that it’s both the what, the gameplay loop, perhaps, and the how, the story or experience, relates to the when of when you choose to play that game as comfort food.
Ben: I’m curious — what do you guys think of the line between “comfort food games” and “empty calories?”
Listen to the podcast for the rest of the conversation!
Recommendations
At 53:07, we do a section of “comfort food recommendations” — e.g., if you like mashed potatoes, you should try mac and cheese. We give more detailed context for the recs in the podcast, but here are the highlights:
- Amanda says: If you like the Fire Emblem series, you should try the Banner Saga trilogy.
- Sam says: If you love classic 2D platformers like the old Mario and Donkey Kong Country games, you should try Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.
- David says: If you are a fan of old-school arcade games like Pac-Man or Galaga, you should try UFO 50.
- Ben says: If you like the gradual progression of Stardew Valley, you should try Dredge. If you’re into the nostalgia/90’s RPG vibe like Chrono Trigger, try Sea of Stars. If you like the mindless relaxing of PowerWash Simulator, try Hole Digging Master. If you are someone who is weird enough to think of Elden Ring as “comfort food,” try Caves of Qud.
Amanda hyped up an upcoming virtual book launch event she’s hosting for Beyond the Baths of Stars by Schneider K. Rancy. Join her on Monday, November 2, 2026!
As always, thanks for reading and listening!
Further Reading
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Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, solve mysteries, punch bad guys, play as a cool female character, and/or have a good cry. She began writing with The Punished Backlog in 2020 and became an Editor in Fall 2021. Amanda also does a lot of the site's graphic designs and podcast editing. Amanda's work has been published in Mothership, Unwinnable Monthly, Poets.org, Salt Hill Journal, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Learn more about her writing, visual art, teaching, graphic design, and marketing consulting at www.amandatien.com.
Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He joined The Punished Backlog in 2017 and became an Editor in Fall 2021. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between.
A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes through critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand the medium's artistic merit.
Bluesky: @sam-martinelli.bsky.social
David is the founder of The Punished Backlog. He has a problem finishing games he starts.
Just beat: GTA V.
Working on: Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.
Can't wait for: Ocarina of Time (2026), GTA VI.
Follow David on Twitter at @David_Silbert to keep up to date with all things The Punished Backlog.
Ben is a lawyer by day, gamer by night, and overactive board game Kickstarter backer by dusk/dawn/witching hour. He loves metroidvanias and Soulslikes, pixelated RPGs, and games about games. He's also passionate about board games and tabletop role-playing games, and is fascinated in a mega-nerd sort of way by academic theories about play. He’s got a new Twitter account for writing at @BenRashkovich.
