Yeah, there's nothing more relaxing for me than putting on a comedy podcast and working through a 2D metroidvania game on DS or my hacked Switch. For some reason the two parts of my brain that process audio and that style of game are completely independent.

It's no different than knitting or solving a crossword while listening to the radio 100 years ago.

The only problem is that I only have one more DS and GBA Castlevania game before I've beaten all of them. I've already worked through every Metroid and 2D Zelda game as well as Hollow Knight.

The pickings are getting slim.

Comparison to knitting and crosswords seems fair for stimuli, I think the difference is during a dinner conversation your knitting wouldn’t be vibrating in your pocket luring you into a “bathroom break” to work on it.

I speedsolve Rubik's cubes. For the longest time I listened to podcasts while solve; two different parts of my brain. But recently I've noticed that in order to break the next big time barrier for me, I need to dedicate my full attention. No more podcasts. Two different parts of the brain still, but now it's only one active part.

I did nearly the same thing for a long while, except it was Dynasty Warriors 3 on the TV and Mr. Show reruns on my computer. Although Newsradio is a show I rewatch and use as a background show often.

I felt very similar, like it was a zen feeling. I didn't get a similar feeling with another game until Minecraft, where I could just carve out giant holes in the land while watching TV shows.

I've done similar with MST3K and I find it sort of fills a social need. It's like hanging out with familiar friends.