Retro News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Game preservation is a topic close to my heart. For me, video games never age. I spend just as much time playing games from decades ago as I do with modern titles. My favorite games are the ones I’ve never played before, and that isn’t exclusive to the future.

Furi, indie studio The Game Bakers' action shoot-'em-up, made a rainbow-shaded splash when it released in 2016. It lured players in by being small, but as mighty as a redwood trunk, offering up boss fights, neon projectiles, and quick sword combos in its packed six-ish hour runtime. But despite its spectacle, Furi has ducked under the radar over the years. If you haven't yet checked it out, the '90s-style demake that The Game Bakers just released for free on Steam is a great place to start.  

In the time of always-online requirements, game-ruining microtransactions, and DLC, sometimes players may be left yearning for the days when things were a lot more simple. That's something that HyperMegaTech! is certainly aiming to help with, thanks to the extremely portable Super Pocket handheld consoles.

Every layoff tells its own story, but with so many layoffs this year, there's one version of the story that is getting beaten into the ground.

Legendary super-soldier squad G.I. Joe made a surprise appearance at the PC Gaming Show today in a new trailer for G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra, a retro-style beat-em-up that pits Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and other members of the team against the nefarious forces of Cobra.

«This is a labour of love,» says Atari CEO Wade Rosen, gazing lovingly at the Atari 2600+ retro console on the table in front of him. (You can see this moment and many other highlights from this interview in the video embedded above!)

Atari has been considered a retro brand for decades now, but it hasn't always leaned into that designation. While licensed T-shirts and plug-and-play consoles have been a fairly consistent offering, the company's growth plans focused less on its own games and more on branching out to wearables, movies, gambling, blockchain, and hotels.

In the PC Gamer hardware office, we've been looking forward to Ayaneo's sweet looking Retro Mini PC for a while now. The portable and handheld computer maker has been promoting it on its site but initially kept the hardware specifications under wraps. Once it went live with its crowdsourced funding project, though, the mysterious innards were no longer…well…mysterious. Powering the PC is one of two APUs and they're both kinda meh: AMD's Ryzen 3 3200U and Ryzen 7 5700U.

By David Pierce, editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

Retro-bit has announced what they have next in their line of retro re-issues; Eliminate Down for the Genesis/Mega Drive. Pre-orders will run from today November 28, 2023 to January 2, 2024.

The ESA has commissioned a new survey for what younger gamers want, and the results are once again, very surprising.

Being born late into the ‘80s, the Atari 2600 was an intriguing mystery to me. By the time the N64 hit, the NES felt old to me, so the idea of a console even older than that was exciting. This was before you could jump onto YouTube to look up gameplay. I wanted to see it for myself.

I'm 40 years old (that's somewhere around 260 in gamer years) which means I grew up in the '80s and '90s, the height of what we now call retro-gaming. And I've got my bona fides - I grew up playing a classic old school Atari console, much like the Atari 2600 that LEGO has recreated as a building set complete with cartridges, controllers, and even some buildable characters from some of the most iconic Atari games, which is currently on sale for Cyber Monday.

I love retro controllers, but even I'm eager to get my hands on 8bitdo's Retro Receiver for PS1 and PS2. As much as I'm into hardware preservation, I can't blame anyone for wanting to play retro PlayStation games with a modern gamepad. So, rather than trying to use a pad that has been the victim of FIFA rage throughout the years, you'll want to pick the receiver up while it's cheaper for Cyber Monday.

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Get ready for a sixth-scale arcade blast from the past with this Black Friday deal on the adorable Sega Astro City Mini.

Black Friday PS Plus deals offer up a rare chance to save on Sony's subscription service. Not only that, but we're seeing Black Friday PS5 deals bringing that price point down even lower - and it's all thanks to gift cards. Luckily, these gift card deals appear to be sticking around for Cyber Monday, so there's still time to make the most of this bargain.

Here's my best pick of the Nintendo switch accessories for Black Friday 2023 under $25. You know, it's been a great year for the system thanks to awesome new games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, and so many more. That means it's likely that there's plenty of new Switch owners out there right now looking for some great quality accessories that won't rupture a hole in your bank balance. 

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A new rating has emerged for the most unlikely retro video game revival: Felix The Cat.

The Nintendo Switch is known for its robust library of first-party games that prioritize fun and cooperative experiences for audiences of all ages. But what about games for grown-ups? Sure, it’s fun and all to somersault around as a mustachioed plumber who can transform into an elephant, but sometimes all you want is something a little more… challenging; more adult, for lack of a better word.

Elden Ring — Standard Edition Vinyl | Marble-effect | $49.99$34.99 at Bandai Namco (save $15)This Vinyl set features 17 tracks that were selected as fan faves across Elden Ring's complete original soundtrack, and it's only available on the official store.

Chet Faliszek, the lead on Left 4 Dead—who is now making his own retro sci-fi version called The Anacrusis—says that Gabe Newell had some pretty strong opinions on the game during its troubled development.

If you are anything like me, Black Friday is the time of year to pick up any stone-cold bangers that you didn't play during the year. Games go on sale all the time, but the discounts are typically steepest during the Black Friday season and GOG has just kicked their sale off, with tons of games on sale, from CD Projekt, PlayStation, Bethesda, Blizzard, and more on offer.

By Sheena Vasani, a writer covering commerce, e-readers, and tech news. She previously wrote about everything from web development to AI at Inside.

Extend or upgrade your Nintendo Switch Online membership for cheap.

From some of the biggest games of the year to indies that might have escaped your attention, Fanatical is offering great discounts in its Black Friday sale.

45 years after Space Invaders first, ahem, invaded arcades, Numskull Designs has gifted a quarter-scale playable replica to the game's creator, Tomohiro Nishikado.

After nearly three decades, the classic Super Mario RPG is back and as quirky as ever. This one-of-a-kind take on both the Super Mario universe and RPG genre is packed with unique mechanics, secrets, and puzzles that may be a bit perplexing for new players at first, but we’re here to help you.

Dan Jurgens, the writer behind The Death of Superman - not to mention the creator of great characters like Jon Kent, Doomsday and Booster Gold - is uniting with artist Mike Perkins for The Bat-Man: First Knight. The new DC Black Label comic is a modern retelling of some of the Caped Crusader's earliest adventures.

2023 has been kind to fans of cyberpunk action games. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider touted retro character-action sword slashing in January, Turbo Overkill brought over-the-top gunplay and chainsaw leg attacks in August, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty introduced a brand-new district to one of the coolest dystopian cities in modern gaming in September. Players searching for a neon-lit futuristic dystopia to run, gun, hack, and slash through certainly haven’t lacked for options this year.

I think a crucial test of a game's visual identity is how well it holds up to a demaster. Bloodborne, for instance, manages to remain recognisably and wonderfully itself when you turn it into some kind of PS1-style kart racer, and it's in no small part down to the talent of both the demaster's makers and FromSoft's art team. And hey, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that applies to other games in the studio's catalogue too.

An indie developer is paying tribute to his late daughter with an incredibly heartfelt action RPG inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Earthbound.

After a particularly strong October, it will be slightly less exciting November for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers in terms of additions to the service’s Game Catalog — although it’s definitely not without highlights. There’s a rare day one drop, a big RPG arriving at just the right moment, and a better-than-usual selection of retro games arriving in the Classics library for Premium members.

After a successful turn in Mortal Kombat 1, Omni-Man from Robert Kirkman’s Invincible is headed to Fortnite, according to leaked images of upcoming skins for Epic Games’ battle royale.

Analogue has announced a new range of Analogue Pocket handheld console variants but, as ever, they won't be sticking around for very long.

The Atari 2600 is one of the first systems that often comes to mind with the thought of retro video games. Now the original console has been recreated in exquisite detail by PLAION and Atari with their updated version, the Atari 2600+. It is an exact 1:1 replica of the original machine and even the same CX40+ Joystick, but now offers USB power connectors, HDMI output, multiple screen resolutions, and is backwards compatible with both the Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges of the past. It is a beautiful console that is incredibly fun for nostalgic purposes, but even after more than fifty years, it is not flawless in its gameplay mechanics.

I’m becoming increasingly aware that a lot of my articles are about retro or classic games. Well, I am monstrously old, after all. And on that note, if you want a more modern version of the beloved 90s RTS game Dungeon Keeper, look no further.

As a longtime Larian fan, it pleases me to no end to see the studio finally getting major, worldwide recognition for its RPG work. Baldur's Gate 3 is a success beyond what anyone could reasonably have imagined: Along with being a huge critical and commercial hit, it cleaned up at the Golden Joystick Awards last week and leads the pack (along with Alan Wake 2) in nominations for the upcoming Game Awards.

Netflix announced several new games coming to its in-app platform as part of its Geeked Week celebrations. The new game announcements have trickled in over the course of the week, but today Netflix finally revealed the list of 10 games that are coming to its platform, with some already being available. The list includes both original titles and classic games.

Alan Wake 2 has won the Critics' Choice Award at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 powered by Intel. 

The first thing to know about the Steam Deck OLED is that it’s not the Steam Deck 2. The Steam Deck OLED is a mid-cycle refresh from Valve, similar to the Switch OLED upgrade, but there’s a lot more going on internally here. Its screen is better, its battery life is better, its thumbsticks are better, the haptics are better, and its chip and thermals are better. One thing that hasn’t changed is its form factor — this is still one of the biggest babies on the handheld block.

The beloved Retro Bowl College game within the gaming community has released a massive update for Android on Google Play, generating considerable excitement. The game’s creators have responded to player feedback, addressing persistent issues and making the game even more captivating. Let’s delve into the latest changes:

The Invincible, a retro futuristic sci-fi adventure game based on motifs created by Polish author and futurologist Stainslaw Lem for a novel by the same name, is out now. 11bit Studios and Starward Industries released a brand new trailer to celebrate the occasion.

Retro Drive Revamped is an arcade racer that puts you at the heart of an 80s movie, replete with slacker dudes, American high school and words like ‘bodacious’. It does so while dripping neon-infused visuals and pumping out a soundtrack that feels resolutely authentic, almost crying out for you to drive with sunglasses on at night. Maybe your name is Ferris?

Surrounded by a sizable, colorful cascade of plushies — largely Nintendo-themed — and an impressive retro game collection, Ash goes live on Twitch five days a week. She’s played everything from Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion to Sierra Entertainment’s Quest for Glory,focusing on games that evoke a sense of nostalgia. The one thing that stays the same each stream is the way Ash ends them, with a message to her viewers: “Don’t forget to tell your friends Ash said hi!”

I’m a bit strange with my keyboards. I spend more time touching one than I do touching absolutely anything else. However, I couldn’t tell you what makes one mechanical keyboard better than the other.

The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem is one of those books that helped lay the foundations of sci-fi tropes when it was written in the 1960s. Elements like artificial swarm intelligence and microbots owe some of their conception to the works of Lem. Adapting the novel into a video game provides an interesting opportunity, with Starward Industries aiming to bringing this iconic work to a completely new audience.

You probably don't need me to tell you that Super Mario RPG is good. It's one of the best SNES games ever made, and while it never got the direct sequel it deserved, it did lay the foundations for series like Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi to continue offering colorfully charming takes on the RPG formula in the Mushroom Kingdom for decades to come. That's why, after an early look at the upcoming Switch remake, I don't really want to talk about the game in general terms - I want to show you just how well it compares against that original classic.

Industry icon Atari is acquiring retro developer Digital Eclipse.

39 years after its original Famicom launch, the demon-themed Pac-Man clone Nintendo was afraid to release for NES has just gotten its first North American launch courtesy of the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Atari has announced it has reached an agreement to buy Digital Eclipse, a studio based in Emeryville, California that specialises in «digital restoration of classic games.» The move follows Atari's acquisition of Nightdive Studios in May this year, another studio with a retro focus that most recently developed the System Shock remake, and is all part of what the press release calls Atari's «retro-focused growth strategy.»

Get ready for a deep dive into the unknown, because the 1992 NEC PC-9801 visual novel, Dead of the Brain has received a fan translation.

Atari has entered into an agreement to acquire Digital Eclipse, the retro-focused studio behind the likes of 2022's acclaimed Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and this year's The Making of Karateka.

Atari has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire legendary port/remaster house Digital Eclipse. This is the latest of a long string of acquisitions made by the company.

Atari has announced an agreement to acquire Digital Eclipse. The studio is known for its expertise in digitally restoring and preserving retro titles such as Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

Nintendo has unveiled the next games getting added to the Switch Online Service. The NES service gets The Mysterious Murasame Castle (Nazo no Murasame-Jou) and Devil World, while the Game Boy gets Castlevania: Legends.

By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.

Nintendo has added three more games to its retro library for Switch Online subscribers, each with its own spooky theme for Halloween.

This morning, Atari announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Digital Eclipse, the Californian game developer focused on the digital preservation of classic videogames. Following the acquisition of Nightdive Studios earlier this year, it's another step in Atari's retro-focused strategy.

Atari has entered into an agreement to acquire Digital Eclipse, with the deal expected to be completed in the coming days.

Nintendo has added three more games to its Nintendo Switch Online service.

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If you're old enough to remember flip phones, there are probably a few that stand out in your mind. The Motorola Razr, the Nokia 3310, and the Samsung SGH-E700 are three such examples, and that last one is coming back—in the form of an updated Galaxy Z Flip 5.

We’re about to gain access to even more retro classics on Switch (and several other platforms) come January. The Top Racer Collection features remastered SNES racing games to play, and it’s set to launch on January 11, 2024 on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One/Series S|X, and Steam.

Craig Stitt, a game artist who worked on some of the original Spyro and Sonic the Hedgehog titles back in the ‘90s, says that Mario and Sonic are now "embedded in our subconscious".

You almost have to wonder if Masahiro Sakurai will ever run out of things to discuss with his “Creating Games” channel. After doing a very fun crossover series with the Retro Game Master, where they played various arcade titles from history, he returned to his “standard formula” of making videos about certain “game essences” and mechanics. In today’s video, he pulled back the curtain behind the legendary “Shoryuken” attack that was made famous by Street Fighter. What would he have to talk about with that attack? Well, a lot more than you think when you look at its history and how it’s evolved throughout the franchise.

Licensed games have tried their damnedest to nail the original theme songs and other aspects of film scores. Horror games are no different, and we’ve seen plenty of successful examples over the years. 

Speedrunning is a catch-all term that, as games themselves have grown in audience and scale, now applies to everything from fastest completion times on 2D platformers to slightly unhinged self-imposed challenges with any game going. This Fallout 4 speedrun certainly falls into the latter category, to the extent you may find yourself wondering how the heroic Vrexia ever came up with the idea in the first place.

As food prices rise around the world, it’s more important than ever to save money on games. There are a few things you may not consider, which we’ll dive into right now.

Madden’s stranglehold on the digital rendition of American Football has been near-complete for several years, but 2023 has seen the arrival of an impressive array of indie offerings that are willing to offer a different view of gridiron. After Retro Bowl and Legend Bowl gave us a pack of 16-bit pixel-art plays, Wild Card Football is here to return us to the NFL Blitz era, making American Football games fun again. It does a pretty good job of it too.

Snatch one of these adorable pocket-sized Nintendo handheld consoles before they're gone for good.

Some of the best arcade games of yesteryear--but with some modern enhancements--are now on sale at Amazon.

Many indie titles in the past several years have taken visual inspiration from previous generations. Some draw from the NES and SNES eras, but lately more are taking cues from the PS1/N64 generation.

Slayaway Camp 2 has just stalked its way onto the Netflix gaming roster! Netflix continues to expand its empire as both a streaming and casual gaming platform, with the addition of Slayaway Camp 2 coming just in time for Halloween! The game features a fitting 80’s retro murder-horror theme, kitted with puzzle tiles and a squishy chibi-like 3D style.

Retro gaming is definitely having a moment right now, with October 2023 proving to be a huge month for classic characters and beloved franchises, and this week's episode of the One More Life podcast is a celebration of that.

A composer has brought two titans of the ’90s together into one essential JRPG – Final Fantasy and Frasier.

A demo has been released for retro survival horror game Crow Country.

Newly launched game Sonic Superstars, Sega's latest platformer in the retro 2D side-scrolling mould, hits all the nostalgia points that you may associate with the blue blur, from ingenious ideas to absolute controller-throwing rage.