{"id":1150990,"date":"2026-02-08T01:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=541112"},"modified":"2026-02-08T01:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:19:00","slug":"brandon-sanderson-shared-a-list-of-his-10-favorite-games-and-they-make-perfect-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/brandon-sanderson-shared-a-list-of-his-10-favorite-games-and-they-make-perfect-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Sanderson shared a list of his 10 favorite games, and they make perfect sense"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prolific and popular fantasy authors working today<\/a>. But between his several ongoing series, his Kickstarter book projects<\/a>, adaptations<\/a> of his work<\/a>, and everything else he\u2019s working on, he\u2019s always made time for a few video games every now and then. In fact, just last week he released a list of his top 10 games of all time on his personal website<\/a>, and they fit his work and personality perfectly.<\/p>\n

First thing\u2019s first, here is Sanderson\u2019s top 10: <\/p>\n

10. Katamari Damacy <\/em>
9. Undertale<\/em>
8. Fallout: New Vegas<\/em>
7. Super Mario World<\/em>
6. The Curse of Monkey Island<\/em>
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/em>
4. Halo 2<\/em>
3. Final Fantasy X<\/em>
2. Bloodborne<\/em>
1. Civilization VI<\/em><\/p>\n

You can go to Sanderson\u2019s original blog post to read a few of his thoughts on each game, but we have a few thoughts on this list (and how it ties into his work) that you won\u2019t get from Brandon himself.<\/p>\n

Before we even get into the individual games, one thing that stands out right away is just how diverse it is. There\u2019s practically a game for every genre in here \u2014 4X strategy, first-person shooters, action games, RPGs, and even Katamari \u2014 which, it\u2019s fair to say, is a genre unto itself<\/a>. No one would have expected Sanderson\u2019s list to stay beholden to his chosen literary genres of fantasy and science fiction, but it\u2019s fun to image the ways that games like Undertale <\/em>or Super Mario World<\/em> have seeped into his work.<\/p>\n

There are, of course, a few entries on this list that seem a lot more related to his literary work, and even a few that help explain his worlds and writing. Games like Bloodborne <\/em>and Breath of the Wild<\/em> seem like natural companions for Sanderson\u2019s fantasy worlds and work, fraternal twins tied together by the thoroughness of vision in their settings and the sense of adventure and experimental challenge they offer players. Meanwhile, games like Curse of Monkey Island<\/em> and Fallout: New Vegas<\/em> seem like perfect indicators of Sanderson\u2019s sense of humor and the kind of irreverence he occasionally brings to his books as well.<\/p>\n

But the real skeleton keys to his work on this list are Final Fantasy X<\/em> and Civilization VI<\/em>. Anyone who\u2019s read Sanderson\u2019s Stormlight Archives series and encountered the way he blends together dozens of cultures and countries in its world should recognize the fact that it comes from someone who\u2019s clearly spent hundreds of hours in Civilization, pushing the borders of their country\u2019s influence through trade, culture, or simple warfare. Meanwhile, the blog post mentions that Sanderson is a lifelong fan of the Final Fantasy series, and it\u2019s clearly shaped the way he views magic in his written worlds. It would take hundreds of pages to fully unpack the relationship between his Cosmere and the worlds of Final Fantasy, but for now, it\u2019s enough to know that X<\/em> is his favorite entry.<\/p>\n

Sanderson has never been particularly private about the art he loves, or the ways it\u2019s influenced his writing. But with this list of favorite games as a starting point, let\u2019s hope he delves more into how these games have influenced him sometime in the future.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prolific and popular fantasy authors working today. But between his several ongoing series, his Kickstarter book projects, adaptations of his work, and everything else he\u2019s working on, he\u2019s always made time for a few video games every now and then. In fact, just last week he released a list of his top 10 games of all time on his personal website, and they fit his work and personality perfectly. First thing\u2019s first, here is Sanderson\u2019s top 10: 10. Katamari Damacy 9. Undertale8. Fallout: New Vegas7. Super Mario World6. The Curse of Monkey Island5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 4. Halo 2 3. Final Fantasy X2. Bloodborne1. Civilization VI You can go to Sanderson\u2019s original blog…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1150991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1150990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nBrandon Sanderson shared a list of his 10 favorite games, and they make perfect sense | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prolific and popular fantasy authors working today. 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