My 6 Favorite Video Games

I will never claim to be a queen of games, but I do love them in all the forms that they come in. I was born at the perfect time to grow up with them and love them, which I think is especially true of video games. From having my cousin’s Game Boy Color as a kid to inheriting someone’s Dreamcast system at some point, I have been lucky enough to have grown up with access to a variety of them.

With today being National Video Game Day, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite video games. These are current, and I have picked two games per device that I use so I can stick to my thing of six things on a list. With full transparency, I will not claim to be good at any of these games, but I can definitely say that I always have fun playing them, especially with my sisters.

1. Overcooked on Nintendo Switch

I’m starting with my Nintendo Switch Device, and it should be no surprise that Overcooked is my favorite. In this game, you are a chef who must protect a kingdom from the rotten food threatening the land. The land is run by an onion, who is the king, and he has a dog named Kevin.

The caveat here is that I don’t play this game alone. It is more fun as a multiplayer game, and I always play with my sisters. The best part is typically the reaction I have when something in the game is about to catch on fire or I’ve fallen through a random crack that I wasn’t aware existed.

2. Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch

This game probably peaked in the pandemic, but I still have fun checking into it from time to time. It’s a game where you move to an island and have to build upon it as the game progresses. Other characters will show up, and you are welcome to invite them to live on the island and be your neighbor. It makes sense that this game had a height during the pandemic, because it reminds me of existing in a pod in the pandemic.

What I will say is that this game is probably more fun if you play it regularly. Since my gameplay is so sporadic, I feel like I log on, and then the only things I’m able to do are check the mail, talk to a few neighbors, and then deal with my overfilled pockets before I am tired or my console is going to die. This isn’t something that everyone experiences, and it probably has more to do with my personal gameplay and mentality.

Honorable Mention: Pikmin 3 on Nintendo Switch

This game is the only scenario where I would be the slightest bit interested in exploring space, and even then it starts out scarily. You are a space explorer who has a ship malfunction and ends up on a foreign planet. On this planet are little creatures, called Pikmin, who you can befriend and command. This is what allows you to survive and complete tasks to eventually get you back home.

It’s fitting that I picked Pikmin 3 since it’s third on the list, but that’s not the only reason I picked it. I haven’t had a chance to play Pikmin 4 much, but it isn’t as fun in two-player mode as Pikmin 3. In Pikmin 3, each person can play a character, whereas the second player in Pikmin 4 is restricted to just throwing rocks at threats. So I named Pikmin 3 because it’s fun to play individually, but it is also fun to play with a partner.

3. League of Legends on Computer

This is probably the first computer game I played as a young adult, so it has a special place in my heart. What probably endears me to it more is that I got my sister Jasmine to also start playing it, so it is something we share. Obviously, she has grown to a place where she is better at it than I am, but that can be said about every game that I play.

League of Legends is the digital and mystical version of Capture the Flag. The goal is to work as a team to take over a map. You pick a character to play as, and there are plenty from a pyro girl who can turn her teddy bear into a grizzly bear to a tiny water creature who is a trickster. Your character will have specific powers and disadvantages, so choose wisely.

4. Crystal Maze on Computer

When my mom got me my first laptop at a Black Friday sale, this was one of the games that had been preloaded into it. Maybe it doesn’t stand the test of time, especially with all the technological advancements that exist, but it is a game of nostalgia for me. I can also say that I still haven’t beaten this game to this day.

In the game, you are a treasure hunter. Each level is a race against the clock to collect all the crystals. As time starts to run out, the grim reaper will appear, who you also have to outrun. Honestly, it is a very basic game and sounds like an elevated Pac-Man, but a classic game is a classic for a reason.

Honorable Mention: Neopets on Computer

Honestly, Neopets was out of my mind until I had a conversation with my friend Nina about it recently. She is a nostalgic queen, and Neopets is a topic of nostalgia for her. It reminded me that I got locked out of my own account, but I would like to play again soon.

For those of you who don’t know Neopets, it is a website where you can raise your own digital pet. You can take it out to the market and dress it up. To do that, you can play different games to earn coins and rewards. It is a game that I played in elementary school, so it is one of those websites of nostalgia for me.

5. Pikmin Bloom on My Phone

The feeling that people who wear their technology-advanced watches that count their steps have is the equivalent feeling that I get playing Pikmin Bloom. It is a game that syncs to your location, and plants flowers as you take steps and explore new places. As you do these things, you grow digital Pikmin, who walk with you.

While some people like to disconnect on their walks, I have a dog who likes to take long breaks. Pikmin gives me something to check while I wait for him in the heat. I also love earning the special decor Pikmin that decorate themselves for special events.

6. Hay Day on My Phone

This is a very task-oriented game, and there are a lot of those that exist in the world. Hay Day is just the one that I happened to grow attached to, and I am pretty loyal. So my sister got me to start it, and I continue to play it from time to time.

In Hay Day, you are given a farm that you need to raise. From planting crops to fishing in a lake, you are able to earn money, which allows you to do things like decorate and expand your farm. Sometimes, I think about what life would be like on a farm, so this game lets me indulge a little in that fantasy.

Honorable Mention: Different Merge Games

I’m not going to name a specific merge game, because I think they’re all pretty similar. I think the one a lot of people know is Candy Crush, and the one I’m going to share a photo of is Gardenscapes. The other part is that I only turn to merge games when I have time to kill, like when I’m waiting in a long line and don’t want to scroll through social media. I keep a few on my phone for those times when I have nothing else to do but wait.

What are some of your favorite video games? Do you have a console you prefer using? Or is there a better way you prefer to waste your time? Let me know in the comments below!

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post. If you enjoyed what you read, please let me know by liking this post and commenting your thoughts down below. And of course, if you want to make my day, make sure to subscribe to the blog, which means you’ll get an update every time I put out another post like this one.

Love Always,

Kristi My