The best books to relive playing video games from your childhood

Of course, I have to recommend Davis’s book; we have similar titles! But in all seriousness, Davis takes a much different approach to the “gamer memoir” by focusing more on the games themselves. He reminisces about his favorite childhood games and/or games that were culturally important and does a great job highlighting what made them work (or not work) without letting modern-day feelings get in the way. Occasionally, Davis will tie the game into some real-world lesson he learned. It’s that aspect that I appreciate the most. I also try to reflect on certain games as being more than just “something fun at the time.”

This one’s an intentionally short read, fast-forwarding through Leith’s life at breakneck speed, only stopping to check in every few years to see what game he was into then. The whole thing feels like a strange fever dream or stream of consciousness, particularly in the first few chapters when his childhood memories are probably as fuzzy as the TV he played Planetoid on. Still, it’s a fascinating look at how certain games stick with you over the years. I have my own collection of games that don’t necessarily reflect my favorites of all time but certainly define key moments in my life.

Sudnow’s book isn’t so much a memoir as it is a very specific, detailed snapshot of what happened when he discovered and became obsessed with the game, Breakout. It’s almost like reading someone’s descent into madness. Sudnow dives deeper into the mechanics and psychology of Breakout than I think anybody thought possible, including the developers themselves. Amusingly enough, Sudnow even tracked down the original Breakout developers for help on how to master the game. I can’t say I’ve ever become quite this obsessed with any one game myself, but I can still relate to that innate desire to “beat” a game. It’s definitely interesting to see what happens when that is taken to the extreme.

Gamelife is a true memoir, reliving moments from Clune’s childhood in vivid detail. He turns his rocky journey through elementary and middle school into painfully relatable stories, where his younger self often rushes home to find solace in computer games. It’s amusing, also, how young Clune tries to find deeper meaning in these games and extend those meanings to his social and school life. Of course, his classmates usually don’t understand where he’s coming from. I’ve been there, my friend. If you’ve ever felt like an outcast growing up and/or used games as a coping mechanism, Gamelife will hit you hard. 

Yes, this is technically a “celebrity memoir,” but Day is in a unique position of not only growing up in gaming culture but rising to fame because of it. While only two of the chapters in her book are about specific games she played, one of those games does become the basis for the show that launched her career. It’s interesting to read how she navigated the early days of YouTube and created and marketed the show with basically no budget. As someone who has frequently tried (and failed) to create game-related content of my own, it was nice to see what a self-made success story can look like.