Food has been a core aspect of video games almost as far back as their creation. One need look no further than our yellow friend with the bottomless stomach, Pac-Man. The entire concept of the game is to eat the dots laid out in the level, along with various bonus foods that pop up, power pellets, and even the enemies themselves. The idea of food in games has been a popular one with many iterations, spanning across the years and every video game system. And why not? It is something that every gamer can relate to, because everybody eats.
In a lot of side-scrollers, food is the only way you can recover health. Now, how you find that food has become a bit of a running joke over the years, one of the most popular ones being the wall-turkey found in Castlevania.
Simply brush off the cobwebs and that's finger-lickin' good!
Then there it's equally disgusting cousin, the trash can turkey that can be found in various games like Streets of Rage. But then again, anyone caught in the middle of such ragey streets probably can't hope for a four-star dinner anytime soon. While such foods may seem unpalatable, they are often a welcome sight if your health meter is getting low.
At least with all that rain the turkey should be moist...
We also have games that your character is basically the food. Zombies have been hugely popular for years now, from the slow-shufflers to the wall-climbing variety, and all of them usually have a single goal in mind; to take a big chunk out of you! The idea that you are mearly thought of as a tasty morsel can be a frighting and tense one, especially in games where you have limited means to deal with such enemies. Sometimes it's better to run and live another day than become a afternoon snack.
That's not blood, he just shot the zombie's ketchup bottle.
Like Pac-Man, there are many games where the core focus is for you to eat enemies, and another great example that has evolved over the years is Kirby. It seems anything with a circular shape has a black hole for a stomach, and Kirby proves it by consuming foe after foe. This enables Kirby to wield the powers of his enemies and defeat them in various and creative ways. It can be a little disturbing to think of all of these enemies as simply food and to eat them alive, but who has such thoughts when such an adorable little puffball is running around saving Dream World?
I AM KIRBY, I WILL CONSUME ALL!
One of the more recent (and absolutely delicious looking) examples of food in games can be found in Final Fantasy XV. Ignis is a talented chef who will cook for his bros, as long as you have the proper ingredients. One of my favorite things to do in the game was to cook a new dish and drool over it when it was presented on screen. How can video game food look THIS good?! They also provided various useful buffs to the party that made your adventuring easier.
Ignore me while I drool all over my keyboard.
Food will always be a factor in many of the games we play, and I can only imagine how food will continue to evolve in games, especially with virtual reality. Anyone else looking forward to a game where you have to twirl spaghetti onto a fork? Or sit down at a fancy restuarant and use correct table manners? What are some of your favorite food-related games or moments in games? Feel free to share below, and thanks for reading!