[Photo by: Avenged Sevenfold/Facebook]

Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows is a huge gamer, and some of his favorite games include The Legend of Zelda and Mortal Kombat. In an episode of Glixel’s How I Play video series, Shadows takes us through his video game collection, gaming highlights, and how the hobby helped him through one of the most painful parts of A7X history.

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Shadows has been playing games as long as he can remember, back during childhood when the Nintendo Entertainment System made its debut.

“Games first came into being when I was a kid. The first Nintendo was made… when I first got those things, I couldn't believe they existed. And I can see the same thing with my son when he plays,” gushed Shadows in the clip as he introduced his little boy, who’s enamored with his own Lego game while his dad prefers shooters like Call of Duty, which he and the rest of Avenged Sevenfold made an appearance in. They’re an important part of his life, to the point where he takes a gaming console rig he lovingly refers to as “Fort Knox” with him on the road.

But gaming proved more than just a distraction when Avenged Sevenfold’s drummer and vocalist Rev passed away.

“Games helped me a lot when Rev died,” Shadows said. “It was something I was able to do and not go outside and deal with people. I also found a community online where I was able to escape all the feelings I was having of losing my best friend. For a couple of years, I just played video games online.”

It’s great to see Shadows touting the entertainment value and healing properties that video games can provide, and while we all miss Rev, it’s good to see how some of his favorite games have helped him deal with the death of his best friend.

Have video games helped you overcome something difficult? Let us know in the comments below!