Every gamer has a shelf somewhere — real or imagined — where the games that shaped them still live. Polygon’s new video series Shelf Quest turns that idea into a monthly pilgrimage.
In each episode, we’ll invite a celebrity or creator to wander the aisles of a video game store, pick up the boxes, and revisit the games that defined their lives. It’s part nostalgia trip, part oral history, and part reminder that so many of us of a certain age started somewhere with a controller or a few precious quarters.
For Polygon, the obvious home base is Videogamesnewyork, the legendary East Village shop whose narrow aisles feel like a physical archive of gaming culture. Fact: A bunch of us went recently to bask in the glow of cult PS2 games as if we were gazing at Vermeers at the Met Museum. It was awesome.
Our very first Shelf Quest guest understood the assignment. When Matthew Lillard — known for roles in Scream, Scooby-Doo, Hackers, Twin Peaks season 3, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Wing Commander — walked into the shop, he immediately began time-traveling.
“I was born in 1970, so I am a product of video games,” Lillard says in the episode. “I was literally the age where Pong came into existence.”
That generational timing means Lillard’s memories trace the entire early history of gaming, from arcade cabinets to home consoles. After years spent gaming at the local pizza shop, Lillard remembers the thrill of finally seeing something like Donkey Kong available at home. “It was a privilege to play,” he says. “You didn’t get to play very often.”
Lillard eventually catches up to the present, talking about gaming with his son, getting destroyed in modern online shooters, and the one series he still plays obsessively today: FIFA. “I’ve bought every iteration,” he laughs while pointing to a wall of soccer games. “It’s my one thing that I will purchase every year.”
Along the way, the actor also reflects on how games have evolved as a social space — something he saw firsthand during the pandemic while listening to his son laugh with friends online for hours. For Lillard, gaming has always been about connection more than competition. “Let’s keep gaming a place for joy,” he says. But also… “I will kick your ass in FIFA.”
Enjoy the premiere of Shelf Life. There’s more to come.
