From Duck Hunt to Dream Job: A Review of Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker
If you were born in the ‘80s and came of age in the fondly titled “golden age” of video games, you’ll find yourself right at home in Mike Drucker’s Good Game, No Rematch. More than just a memoir, this book is a love letter to the evolution of gaming culture, an introspective dive into how video games shaped his identity, and a riotous exploration of the sheer absurdity of life, complemented by Drucker’s almost unbelievable career journey from college stand-up comedian, to SNL intern, to Nintendo writer, and beyond. Drucker’s sharp wit and heartfelt nostalgia make this a must-read for anyone who’s ever blown into an NES cartridge, preordered a game with allowance money, or spent an irresponsible amount of time customizing their Animal Crossing home.
The Story: A Life Told in Pixels
Drucker structures the book as a series of essays, each touching on a different moment in his life where gaming wasn’t just a pastime, but a defining element of his personal journey. He kicks off with his childhood introduction to video games via the Nintendo Entertainment System - a console that, for many of us born in the mid-80s, was the gateway to our journey into gaming obsession. He describes the unboxing of his family’s NES with the reverence of a religious experience, before recounting how Duck Hunt was his first interest…but Mario soon became his entire identity.
From there, Good Game, No Rematch follows Drucker through the major phases of his life, each anchored by the games that defined those moments. His childhood is marked by an obsession with Super Mario Bros. 3 and a failed attempt to impress a crush with a handmade Mario costume (complete with a duct-taped raccoon tail). The book moves seamlessly into the ‘90s and early 2000s, where Drucker navigates high school and college, spending countless hours with RPGs, fighting games, and late-night rounds of Super Smash Bros. that forged (and occasionally tested) friendships.
Drucker’s style is a mix of razor-sharp humor and deeply personal storytelling. He has an uncanny ability to balance self-deprecating comedy with moments of genuine vulnerability. One moment he’s cracking jokes about the impracticality of the Power Glove (“a peripheral that hated you”), and the next he’s reflecting on the importance of being honest with potential partners to avoid the pain of divorce. Also interspersed are humorous “one-shot” pieces, such as what your favorite arcade game says about you, or a facetious re-creation of “Every negative Steam review ever”. Mike Drucker is a very funny guy, and these comedic asides remind you of this regularly.
They also act as salves when the book lands unexpected emotional gut-punches on you. Case in point: one of the most powerful entries in the book comes in the chapter Nier and Far, where Drucker connects Nier’s themes of survival, existential dread, and fleeting meaning to the struggles of his friend Sara. Sara’s life was marked by hardship, and Drucker’s reflections on how Nier mirrors the relentless grind of existence make this chapter stand out. Games often give us a sense of control and purpose, but as Nier shows, sometimes that purpose is hollow, a grim mirror of real life. His discussion of Sara’s resilience, the ways in which she found hope in unexpected places, and how games helped process those emotions make this one of the most poignant sections in the book.
Another fascinating chapter is The Great StarCraft Conspiracy, which dives into the shift in how gamers were perceived following the Columbine shootings. Drucker recalls how, almost overnight, socially awkward kids who found solace in gaming went from being harmless nerds to potential threats in the eyes of parents, teachers, and the media. He explores the paranoia surrounding strategy games, online communities, and the fear that games like StarCraft were warping young minds - after all, it encouraged “race-wars”! It’s a sharp critique of moral panic, one that many gamers of our generation (and younger) will relate to all too well. This chapter captures the alienation that many feel, as well as the resilience of the gaming community in the face of public scrutiny.
What makes Good Game, No Rematch stand out is how seamlessly it weaves gaming history into personal anecdotes. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of Aidan Moher’s Fight, Magic, Items, which explores the impact of RPGs on a generation. However, I would argue that Moher captured more of the nuts-and-bolts of the industry and its major players, Drucker keeps the narrative circling back to his own journey and how gaming influenced him directly. From the simplicity of 8-bit platformers to the vast open worlds of today - he celebrates gaming’s evolution at each major milestone of his life, while recognizing the unique magic of different eras.
Notably, Drucker does not shy away from the less glamorous parts of gaming life as it related to him personally - the social awkwardness, the misplaced priorities, the times when a virtual world felt more welcoming than the real one. His reflections on gaming as a form of escapism hit particularly hard, especially when he discusses how it provided comfort during periods of personal struggle. His honesty about mental health, self-doubt, and the way video games offered both distraction and catharsis (particularly in the Nier and Far chapter, as indicated earlier) makes the book more than just a nostalgic romp; it’s a deeply relatable, and moving, human story.
Final Thoughts: Game Over, Insert Coin
Good Game, No Rematch is an absolute joy from start to finish. It’s hilarious, heartfelt, and packed with the kind of nostalgia that doesn’t just make you reminisce: you feel something. Drucker doesn’t just recount his experiences - he invites us to reflect on our own. It’s a reminder of why so many of us fell in love with gaming in the first place, and why, even as adults, we keep coming back.
If you’ve ever shouted “one more round” at 2 AM, laughed at a terrible E3 presentation, or felt the deep existential dread of a Steam backlog you’ll never complete, Good Game, No Rematch deserves a spot on your shelf. Mike Drucker gets it. And in reading this book, you’ll realize that, maybe, you always got it too.
Make sure to tune into our upcoming episode of “GG, Everybody!” where Alan and I will get a chance to interview Mike Drucker about this book, and make sure to pre-order the book before it comes out on April 1st!
