Here is a closer look at the fascinating history of food in gaming and its role in shaping games made by today's biggest companies. 

Food in its various forms has been a staple of entertainment and has appeared in many video games over the past few decades.

Food has been used as weapons, inventory items, mechanics, or setting/scenery elements. Characters can collect it to restore energy levels, boost points to get the highest score, or even unlock secret powers.

Sometimes, food plays a pivotal role in games; other times, it's just there for decoration and has no real function.

For example, some games are dedicated to simulating what it's like to cook certain recipes; in other games, it's just a minor component with little significance.

Let's dive straight in and take a fascinating look at the history of how food has been used across many gaming genres.

What is the role of food in video games, and when did it first appear in games?

The first time food was used in a major video arcade game that took the world by storm was in the original 1980 game Pacman. The concept was simple: Pac-Man had to devour all the dots in the maze to reach the next level without getting eaten by any ghosts.

Other games followed, such as BurgerTime, which featured Chef Peter Pepper, who had to climb up and down ladders, building burgers while trying to avoid evil characters like Mr. Hot Dog, M. Egg, and Mr. Pickle.

The next big video game featuring food players couldn't get enough of was Cooking Mama, which focused entirely on food and wasn't just used as an element or component.

You had to apply real-world cooking skills and perform various kitchen tasks to prepare meals based on Mama's instructions. The game was a huge success.

Food has a rich cultural, social, and highly symbolic meaning across the planet, and so it always seems to fit easily into most narratives and storylines.

It's familiar to us on many levels, and different types of food naturally convey a broad range of emotions, which is why it is often a perfect component/mechanic/element to add to games. Certain types of food can even evoke a sense of nostalgia and enhance the gaming experience.

The depictions of food often presented to us in games, whether it's the crude games of the 1980s with basic graphics or the latest high-end, more graphically demanding triple-a games, generally look delicious and appetising.

What are the best food games to play in 2024?

It all depends on what type of game you're looking for. For example, if you want to play games that are centred around cooking, where the objective is to gather ingredients and simulate cooking meals, then you may like to try Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon from 2018, Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3 from 2020, or Cooking Simulator from 2019.

Others include 2017's Battle Chef Brigade, and Overcooked 2 from 2018. That's not forgetting other hit titles, such as Godlike Burger, Cooking Dash, Cooking Fever, Good Pizza, Great Pizza, Dungeon Munchies, Overcooked, Bakery Simulator, Cake Mania, Don't Starve, Ravenous Devils, and Lemon Cake.

If you want to play cooking-themed games and enhance your chances of winning real money, then you may like to try the following feature-rich online slot machines from various multi-award-winning game development studios. Popular food-themed slots to check out in 2024 include:

1. Game: Yum Yum PowerWays. Company: Pragmatic Play

2. Game: Extra Chilli Megaways. Company: Big Time Gaming

3. Game: Big Chef. Company: Microgaming/Games Global

4. Game: Sizzling Spins. Company: Play'n GO

5. Game: Chocolates. Company: Big Time Gaming

6. Game: Royal Potato. Company: Print Studios

7. Game: Hot Hot Chilli Pot. Company: Red Tiger Gaming

8. Game: Spicy Meatballs Megaways. Company: Big Time Gaming

9. Game: Wild Donuts. Company: Relax Gaming

10. Game: Gordon Ramsay: Hell's Kitchen. Company: NetEnt

There's also Games Global's Win Sum Dim Sum, Red Tiger Gaming's Cake & Ice Cream slot, Just for the Win (JFTW) Studios' Chili Pepe Hot Stacks, and Iron Dog Studios' Candy Cash Megaways, to name just a few.

You can also find a few other video games where certain scenes involve cooking, such as Final Fantasy XV, Minecraft, The Sims 4, Yakuza 5, Job Simulator, Quest for Glory V, Kings Quest III, and Stardew Valley.

Final thoughts

The many uses of food in video games have come on leaps and bounds since Pac-Man first arrived in 1980. Food has become a common element found in games, and it will undoubtedly play a huge role in future games.

Take virtual reality technology, for example. You can now find some amazing VR cooking apps that have taken cooking in the digital realm to a new level. If you are looking for a unique cooking experience in 2024, remember to check out Cook-Out, Clash of Chefs VR, Cooking Simulator, Lost Recipes, The Cooking Game BVR, or Planet Pizza, which work well on certain cutting-edge VR devices.