Video games can be utterly engrossing experiences — but sometimes you just want to chill out and play something while listening to a podcast or marathoning a TV show in the background. Unfortunately, not every game makes for a good “podcast game.” You don’t want to watching long cutscenes, read tons of text, or pay attention to crucial in-game audio cues while watching or listening to something else.
Luckily, there are plenty of great podcast games out there, and we picked a selection of our favourites. Our list covers a variety of genres, but they’re all easy to play with something else on in the background.
Also, we stuck to single-player games for our recommendations. While grindy co-op multiplayer games and MMOs like Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and World of Warcraft can be great podcast games, we stuck to titles you can play entirely by yourself just to keep things simple. Of course, this is just a small batch of recommendations, so be sure to suggest any we missed in the comment.
(And if you’re looking for a new podcast to listen to while you play, check out these 20 new podcasts to add to your queue in 2023.)
No Man’s Sky
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect podcast accompaniment than cruising around No Man’s Sky’s endless galaxy, exploring colourful planets populated by unique creatures. The game’s ambient post-rock soundtrack and immersive sci-fi soundscape are low-key and won’t overpower whatever you’re listening to in the background, and the open-ended nature of this galactic sandbox is perfect for when you wanna chill out for a few hours and play at your own pace.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Seriex X/S, Xbox One
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is another massive, open-world sandbox you can explore on your own. The game is packed with so much to see and do that you could easily spend dozens — even hundreds — of hours adventuring through the land of Hyrule. The minimalist soundtrack isn’t distracting or overbearing, and while there’s some dialogue, the vast majority of it is short text conversations, and voice acting and plot-important cutscenes are minimal, so you won’t have to pause your podcast or show very often. And chances are the upcoming sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, will be another solid podcast gaming choice.
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Pokémon
Few video game activities are better suited for podcast accompaniment than grinding in an RPG, and the Pokémon series features lots of grinding. You can spend hours battling rival trainers to level up your team, catching every Pokémon to fill out your Pokédex, or hunting for those hyper-rare shiny Pokémon.
There are several Pokémon games currently available on the Nintendo Switch — all of which require a fair amount of grinding — but the recent Pokémon Scarlet/Violet versions and the Legend Arceus spinoff all feature large open worlds and more free-form gameplay structures that are more conducive to background listening.
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Halo Infinite (Campaign)
Halo Infinite’s single-player campaign took the long-running sci-fi shooter series open-world, setting players loose on a new Halo ring occupied by The Banished — a splinter group of the now-defeated Covenant alien army.
Like other modern open-world games, Halo Infinite offers many activities in its large-scale environments. While there can be a lot of dialogue in the main missions that mark your main progress through the campaign, you can often ignore them and just tackle the many side objectives or explore the world instead and still make meaningful progress.
Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass
Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition
Despite its reputation as a hardcore game for die-hard aviation aficionados, Microsoft Flight Simulator is actually a lot more relaxing — and a lot easier to get into — than you might assume. Sure, many fans go all-out with expensive flight sticks, VR headsets, and other peripherals to emulate real-world flight controls, but you can play it just fine with a standard controller and TV. Regardless of your control setup, flying various aircraft around highly realistic maps of real-world locations is a great way to chill out with a podcast.
Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass
Euro Truck Simulator 2
If you like the idea of playing a detailed vehicle simulator while listening to your podcasts, but are interested in a more terrestrial experience, we recommend Euro Truck Simulator 2. Players get behind the wheel of a big rig hauling cargo across Europe. While there’s plenty of opportunity to kit out your truck between treks, the bulk of the gameplay is on the road. You have to obey traffic laws, stay on your route, and make sure your cargo safely arrives at its destination.
Available on: PC
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is perfect for those who prefer a more arcadey experience over simulation-style driving games. There are several gameplay modes in Forza Horizon 5, including traditional races and obstacle course-style challenges, but its main appeal as a podcast game is its open-world driving mode. You simply pick your car and your starting location, and hit the road, cruising the game’s highly-detailed recreations of the Mexican countryside. The landscapes (and cars) are stunning to look at, but most importantly: it just feels good to drive around the world, and there are virtually no distractions to interrupt your podcast listening (just make sure you turn down the in-game radio and background music).
Available on: PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Game Pass
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is yet another open-world adventure packed with amazing environments to explore, but unlike other games on this list, it can be a much more challenging experience — one that often requires patience to take on the game’s difficult dungeons and bosses. And while Elden Ring’s difficult bosses may necessitate pausing your podcast to stay focused (and hear the awesome background music during these fights), we still think this action RPG is a great podcast game.
Much of the open world can be explored casually, and grinding for levels or upgrade materials is less tedious when you have something else to pay attention to. And, like other FromSoftware games, Elden Ring’s story is famously obtuse and treated as secondary to the combat and exploration, so don’t worry too much about missing out on what’s happening in the story while listening to something else (besides, that’s what VaatiVidya’s videos are for).
Available on: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition
It was inevitable. Open-world RPGs are some of the best games to play while listening to a podcast, so of course The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has to make an appearance. Our reasoning for including it is the same for just about every other open-world game we’ve included: Skyrim has tons to explore, gear grind for, and endless sidequests to complete, and most of it can be done with something else on in the background.
In fact, that’s true of Bethesda’s other Elder Scrolls and Fallout RPGs, too. So if you’ve had your fill of Skyrim’s numerous re-releases over the last 12 years, maybe try out Oblivion, Fallout 3 and 4, or (my personal favourite) Morrowind instead, which are available on PC and backward-compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Available on: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
OlliOlli World
OK, so there are lots of open-world games on this list — the hands-off, player-driven exploration these games offer is perfect for zoning out to a show, video essay, or podcast. But what if you’re not into shooters, crafting games, RPGs, and even vehicle sims — what should you play instead? Our suggestion is OlliOlliworld, a side-scrolling sandbox skateboarding game where you create your own skater and strike out on your own in a large cartoon world. Like other sandbox games, OlliOlli World has sidequests and secrets, but the real draw is simply pulling off tricks and exploring the open-ended levels.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Minecraft
Minecraft is the epitome of a podcast game. The only real objectives are what you want to do at a given moment, the chill background music is never intrusive, and the gameplay is engaging but never overwhelming. The main survival mode requires more attention than the creative mode, but it’s quick to jump into either option and begin building, mining, and crafting whatever strikes your imagination. And since you can play offline, and don’t need to worry about NPCs constantly bugging you, you can easily keep up with whatever the weekly topic is in the podcast you’re listening to.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Game Pass
Animal Crossing
Arguably one of the most chill vibes game series ever, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch is full of little daily tasks to keep you occupied while catching up on podcasts. Tidying up your island, expanding your town, and decorating your home is fun, but they don’t require intense focus and reaction times. You can just mill around, checking out what’s going on in town that day and marking off items on your list without needing to pause your podcast to make sure you don’t miss out on story cutscenes or intense gameplay segments.
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Slime Rancher
In this cute first-person farming-puzzler-adventure game, you control Beatrix LeBeau, an interstellar explorer investigating a colourful planet populated by squishy slime creatures. Players explore the planet’s many biomes, collecting slimes and hauling them back to your home base.
As you collect and tame more slime, you earn money to expand your sci-fi homestead and upgrade your gear with new abilities that unlock more zones to explore. It’s all very adorable and simple to play while working through your podcast playlist or latest streaming obsession
If you’ve already played this one and want to continue Beatrix’s adventure, Slime Rancher 2 is also available as an Early Access game on Steam, and will eventually roll out to other platforms in the future once it’s finished.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Powerwash Simulator
Powerwash Simulator is one of the most zen gaming experiences you can have. Sure, the premise is mundane, but it’s satisfying to clean dust, rust, and grime off virtual objects — it’s simple and monotonous, but in a good way. The game starts out with simple challenges like stripping paint off walls or deep-cleaning muddy cars, but eventually tasks you with power-washing entire amusement parks, subway stations, and even ancient ruins. And, just like manual labour in real life, you can pop on your headphones and listen to a podcast while you clean.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Tetris
Our final pick for the best games to play while listening to a podcast is arguably also the best video game ever made: Tetris. Chances are you’ve played Tetris in some form — whether that’s the mind-bending Tetris Effect on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, or the classic GameBoy version that was just added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. This simple puzzle game remains one of the most compelling gameplay loops ever devised, and its ubiquitous availability on most platforms makes it an obvious pick as a podcast game.
Tetris Effect is available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Oculus Quest
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Tetris 99 is available on: Nintendo Switch (via Nintendo Switch Online service)
Tetris (GameBoy) is available on: Nintendo Switch (via Nintendo Switch Online service)
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