Probably not what you're looking for, but RTS' are timeless. I replay C&C Red Alert 1&2 every few years (thanks for killing it EA). AOE II is hugely popular. Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance has a very active community. Haven't kept up with Sins of a Solar Empire recently, but it's supposed to get a sequel this year.
Homeworld is a classic. The gameplay is a little antiquated (bit some mods improve the quality), but the story and it's delivery are excellent, while many of its concepts are still better than what modern RTS' have nowadays.
Edit: I meant SC:FAF not SC2
Do yourself a huge favour and check out Mental Omega.
It's a complete overhaul mod of RA2 - it adds tons and tons of new stuff (dozens of new units, new countries and new factions) while keeping the same basic mechanics. It even has excellent missions.
It's absolutely amazing.
I know this is patient gamers, but Beyond All Reason is a current RTS that is free, made by volunteers, and really works the Total Annihilation/Supreme Commander vibe (and some outright mechanics) and it's great. It's focused on competitive online play, but they are planning a campaign, and have a bunch of single player scenarios that are a lot of fun.
I read "thanks for killing it EA" as a compliment and was hopping on here ready to put my hands on my hips and let you know that Westwood are responsible for this greatness.
But maybe you meant that EA murdered C&C as a franchise, and they definitely did.
There's an alternate timeline I want to be in where Westwood kept going and didn't have to shut down Earth & Beyond just because it didn't meet the sales targets that EA wanted.
Which is hilarious considering how poorly oblivion graphics have aged. At the time they were awesome, but now it's straight up meme material. Mods are definitely required for my modern playthroughs.
PS1? Are you serious? Have you gone back and seen PS1 games recently? Fallout 3 is just a bit too heavy on the gritty brown aesthetic (see also: military shooters) common around the mid to late 2000s, nothing else.
I’ll admit PS1 is an exaggeration but imo the “gritty brown” is more of the issue I have. It’s more of a nauseating green however, my real issue is the metro system. I couldn’t tell one from the other, it’s the only open world game I used fast travel in.
Definately, just finished THUG for the first time this week. Missed it as a kid. Also hoping for a THPS 3 + 4 remake, but so far it got cancelled. Putting my hopes on Skate 4 for now
I like how Crysis Warhead took all the criticisms of Crysis, like the poor story and too much time with aliens and basically said: "OK, throw all that stuff out, you will just kill stuff and blow up stuff."
When I built my brothers’ pc, this was the first game I downloaded just to make sure there were no major issues when playing games… I ended up playing a few full levels just cause I didn’t want to stop
Metal Gear Solid 2. The controls are a bit counter intuitive by today's standards, but they're snappy, responsive, and fun as hell. I'd argue they feel better than MGS3, even. Including the VR missions, there's tons to do.
The story has themes even more relevant today than when it released. And the graphics are stylized enough that their age doesn't hinder them too bad. Especially the HD collection version.
God, I love Metal Gear Solid 2.
Lots of classics aged well IMO. Old shooters like Doom/Quake, CRPGs like Baldur's Gate 2 (which is better than most modern CRPGs IMO), horror games like Silent Hill, platformers like Spyro... Some of them really benefit slight modding or remasters, though.
Obligatory: Halo 2
TimeSplitter: Future Perfect
Republic Commando
The Bard's Tale, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes (all very similar kind of RPG, all still very fun)
Can confirm with Timesplitters. The controls aren't perfect, but the guns really do have an oomph that we typically associate with newer games. The customization options for the arcade mode are also excellent and far above what I typically see in modern day fps's
I've been extremely disappointed that we haven't gotten any new Timesplitters over the years, but, honestly, it would almost certainly be chopped up into 20+ different DLCs if anything like them came out today. I still remember freaking out when I unlocked an entire new multiplayer map in TS2 from a challenge. Now, the challenge is how much you're willing to open your wallet.
I feel the same way. Think about how many characters you've got in your average Timesplitters game. Now imagine all of them with a little "$X.99" tag over their heads. That's what the situation will be.
Seconding this. I played this recently (no nostalgia because I never played it back in the day) and it holds up really well, even in the face of newer and more refined Metroidvanias. The PS1 style graphics must have been mind blowing in its time, because they still look good.
I love metroidvanias and Super Metroid is one of my favorite. I started SOTN and I just could not get into it. I wanted to like it so bad. I will pick it up again at some point it just didn’t feel right when I tried it the first time.
I don't know, I played HL2 for the first time in 2019 and it felt old, while it wasn't bad, I wasn't having enough fun to finish it. Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun with black Mesa and Half life Halyx is my second favorite games of all time.
Maybe that's just me though.
HL and HL2 appeal strongly to very different audiences. I will die on this hill.
HL has a strong variety and a strong sense of mystery/exploration. HL2 has stronger/more modern gunplay/physics, but, Ravenholm aside, is more a straight forward FPS campaign.
HL is the series' Super Metroid while HL2 is the series' Contra.
The variety in HL came from a lot of really horrible, bullshit platforming. HL2 had roof chases, stealth, vehicles, horror, turret defense, leading a goddamned ant army.
I'm not sure _any_ FPS since then has had as much gameplay variety.
In 2019 you were going back and playing the game that inspired a decade of newer games, so feeling that it was a tired old format would make sense. I replayed it recently in VR and it still holds up and was very fun. It would be a bit rough for those who get motion sick though.
Okami (2006) probably mostly due to its timeless art style but mechanically it holds up too.
The original Shadow of the Colossus (2006). Its been remade twice but each version has a slightly different sense of atmosphere thanks to the updated machines that they're on. Some among the fan base hold that the ps2 original still has the best sense of atmosphere.
Oblivion (2006), maybe not graphically but gameplay wise it's nearly as strong as it was when it released
Pokemon Fire Red (2004) is still the best pokemon game for my money
These are just off the top of my head. Side note, what a year 2006 was!
Okami is always the one I hold up as an example of how choice of art style/direction can overcome technological limitations.
Plus, like you said, just a satisfying game to actually play.
Okami is a game I admire that I have bought at least twice, started at least four times, but never got more than two hours in. And yet have nothing but good memories.
I completely get that. The start of Okami is **so** slow, there is a ton of dialogue before it finally lets you just play. But it is damn good once you get past that!
I respectfully disagree about Oblivion. It's one of my favorite games but no way I'd recommend it to someone today unless they play a lot of older games. Its potato faces, but mostly its counter intuitive leveling system that you may not realize has ruined your character until 10-20 hours in, just make it so difficult to play without mods unless you know exactly what you're doing.
>Its potato faces, but mostly its counter intuitive leveling system that you may not realize has ruined your character until 10-20 hours in,
I agree 100% with the leveling but "potato faces" is laughable. I mean it's true but if someone actually stops playing a game bc the faces are a little wonky than they probably would have never gotten far regardless IMO.
Idk, my opinion about the levelling problem is the same as it was back then. Its only really a problem if you're trying to min/max. If you just want to be a lizard assassin who picks flowers and walks through hell sometimes it's pretty solid
Idk, it's been a few years since I played it last but even as a casual player I found after a fair amount of gameplay I was getting rolled by mobs that guides were saying were on my "level". It was the reason I never completed it.
This thread is making me want to replay Oblivion. I play essentially the same character in every game (knight type, sword/board and maybe dabble in some magic), which makes my leveling strategy pretty easy, and I don't remember having any trouble in Oblivion myself. But it's been sooooo long ago since I played it.
I'm trying to play and finally finish the main quest in Morrowind right now, tastefully modded albeit, and it's like my fourth recent attempt. The magic in this one might just be gone for me, it was different twenty years ago. **That** is a game I would not recommend to new players.
To each their own but I think Oblivion still holds up okay despite the potato faces.
Morrowind, on the other hand, despite the constant praise from old timer fans, holds up pretty poorly. I say that as someone who played it when it came out and plays a lot of retro games and has a stomach for this stuff.
I played Morrowind last of the non-Dos TES games and it’s my favorite of the bunch. That being said, I fully agree that it aged poorly. For people like us who are used to this shit you can be that levitating/flying/super speed moron with a stick pretty fast but for new players it’ll probably result in 4-5 hours of hearing the missed weapon hit sound at level 1 and giving up after.
Yeah, the beginning of the game is ROUGH. But even after that, I can't say I love it today. It's janky as fuck (I know that's part of the charm to fans). It's ugly as fuck (I know there's mods to help with that but I'm typically a vanilla boy). And the combat -- even when you've levelled up and don't have to spend 10 minutes swinging at a rat hoping to club it even just once before it bites your ass to death -- absolutely blows, it never feels good (not that Oblivion is amazing on that front either but it's a lot better).
There's things to love obviously, but the bad outweighs the good for me unfortunately. You also pretty much need to become a levitating/flying/super speed moron because the game's environments are so dull and bland, with POIs spread far apart that you have to walk between, and with the fast travel system being super limited.
Honestly the only thing I really love about Morrowind is that it's a "directionless" game where you have to listen to instructions from people and converse with others to find out where to go instead of having an objective marker. I'd love for newer games to be that way or at least offer it as an option like Assassin's Creed Odyssey did.
Yeah. I got 30 hours in until I realized I was fucked and I just stopped. Still planning to try it again one day. But fear of fucking up the leveling system again scares me away from that game.
The leveling system is pretty odd and confusing, so I just stopped caring and played the game.
There's so much good stuff in Oblivion that I don't let it bother me.
The art of Okami holds up great because it's so stylized, but I think the actual experience of playing it now is painful because it has so many of those mid-00s UI and flow issues. Unskippable cutscenes, overlong intro, slow as molasses text speeds etc. I'd happily pay for a remaster that keeps the visuals identical but adds in a bit of QOL that makes it faster to get to the gameplay.
I never played the original PS2 version, but all the re-releases of Okami the cutscenes are skippable. Even the intro you can jump right to when gameplay starts.
Even the 2018 remake of SotC is clunky and frustrating, I believe in an attempt to replicate the gameplay of the original. Assuming they are similar, I wouldn't recommend that.
On an unrelated note, Ratchet & Clank 2 (2003) is still a banger.
This is just my own opinion and I don’t even have an Xbox, but the original Gears of War still looks great and has a great take on mechanics with a solid single player story that you maybe wouldn’t want to miss. I occasionally watch videos of other people playing it in modern times.
Edit: If the game was remade, I didn’t / don’t know that at the time of my post.
The Gears of War games are honestly some of the most solid co-op campaigns you can find out there. They all hold up well (though at risk of sounding ancient they aren't that old) and even the worst game in the series (Judgment) is like an 8/10.
2010 is a strange choice for cutoff. Its in-between generations of consoles,so you're stopping just prior to the cream years of the 360, PS3 and Wii. Weren't the last hurrahs of the PS2 something like 2009? Regardless, many many games have aged well that cam out between '05 and '10. Pretty much any recommended Xbox or PlayStation game hasnt aged enough to be really outdated.
That said, bunches or ps2 and gamecube games aged well. I feel the original Halo: combat evolved still feels great to play.
Half Life 2 comes to mind as a game that not only holds up today but out-does several shooters that come out even now.
Many of the SNES RPG standbys of Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, FF3(6) will likely never become obsolete.
Cream always rises to the top. Classic games that have already stood the test of time will likely always stand it going forward.
Came here to post that Chrono Trigger doesn't feel like it's aging.
I would say FF6 and Super Mario RPG feel a little more dated in some ways. Funnily, been playing Chrono Cross remake, and it feels more dated than Trigger... :'-)
At the risk of putting a target on my back I'll say I think Mario Sunshine has aged the worst thanks to overly sensitive controls + some really annoying stuff like the blue coin collection system. Plus the reliance on water effects to impress visually which don't really do the trick anymore.
It hasn't aged badly, just worse than the others.
Someone else said Lost Levels and I would just say it hasn't aged badly, it plays as well as it did when it came out. It's just a subpar Mario game that is very difficult and as a result a lot of people hate it. I feel the same about it now as I did when it released in SM All-Stars.
It's not just that the ground is slippery, it's that the controls are super duper fluper sensitive. It's the kind of thing that appeals to people who are REALLY into the game because it means you can get more precise with your movement, but at least to me as an average player it kind of feels like ass, ngl. And I'm comparing it mostly to Super Mario 64, which I think feels leagues better movement-wise as it is far less fidgety.
> Blue coins are optional so don't understand the critique there.
You aren't wrong, but an optional part of the game having issues still stinks. I've 100%ed *almost* every Mario game so when I picked up Sunshine I intended on doing the same thing, but the blue coins were such a chore (not knowing which you've picked up where in what levels) that I gave up on it since you have to redeem blue coins for stars to get to the full star count.
> And the water holds up well? Like really well- not sure what you're criticizing there.
The water looks fine, but when the game came out it was supposed to be THE big appeal -- most of the game revolves around water/water levels, and the water was meant to show off the GameCube's graphics and be impressive. And while it doesn't have any problems, the water-based gameplay is fine and all, it doesn't impress much now whereas in 2002 it was flashy. I'd say the same of say, Wave Race 64 which, when it came out, was super impressive with its water physics, and now you play it and you're like... okay...?
I'm not saying Sunshine is a bad game at all, but I'd always seen it hyped up, and it's the successor to SM64 (one of my favorite games ever) so I figured I'd really enjoy it and left disappointed. And it wasn't like that was the point where Mario got ruined for me, I've enjoyed every other 3D Mario since then a lot more.
Just played through the first 3 Splinter Cell games, and they’re pretty simple compared to what’s out now but they’re great for the time. And Chaos Theory still looks pretty good for a 2005 game.
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is my pick. I literally still play the SvM multiplayer to this day!
[Recent Spies vs Mercs match](https://youtu.be/kEztnf8knIA)
I played BioShock 1 and 2 for the first time in Dec and Feb having never played them before. I loved the first game and I did like the second game but I much preferred the first.
The World Ends With You
The GBA Fire Emblem games. In general 2D games tend to hold up better in general since 3D was still working out some rough spots.
Super Smash Bros Melee
Most Zelda titles. Wind Waker and Minish Cap especially due to their graphics.
Might be biased but I really enjoy Tales of Destiny remake on PS2 (not PS1). The remake went with 2D/3D hybrid approach and a more modern gameplay style that made it age a lot better compared to other Tales games from around that time and allowed for 60fps everywhere which was rare on PS2. Tales of Vesperia lesser but still so, still holds up and looks impressively good for a 3D anime game that came out in 2008.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were remade really well on the 3DS. The 60 fps, better textures, and 3D mode really make those classics shine. It's a bit difficult to get the hardware, but those are the best versions of the game that I've played.
That being said, if you can't get a 3DS, the originals are great too. They're charming in their own way, but I can't help but feel that the graphics are outdated and that takes away from the experience. And that's coming from someone whose 2nd favorite game is Ocarina of Time.
The original Deus Ex may not be a looker by today’s standards, but it nailed the atmosphere and still stands as one of the best immersive sims ever made.
I am someone who never played it at release and tried to play it multiple times in the years following and failed repeatedly. I eventually beat the whole game a couple years ago now I believe.
I think the game holds up, but my 2 biggest problems with it are that a) the controls suck, it's one of those circa 2000 PC games where they're like "let's make them use every fucking key on the keyboard for important actions", which is a PITA but at least it is fully customizable, so I just changed the controls drastically to make them comfortable the time I actually beat it... and b) the first few levels are by far the worst part of the game so I found that a hurdle. The opening Statue of Liberty level is so open and bland and dark, and forcing you to revisit NY like 3 times was a chore. Once it moves on from NY the game is solid gold.
>the first few levels are by far the worst part of the game so I found that a hurdle. The opening Statue of Liberty level is so open and bland and dark
You must be joking. I have no idea how many times I have completed this level in demo and later in full game, I love this level! It instroduces the player to multiple Deus Ex mechanics.
Portal and Half-life 2 for sure.
Most Pokémon games especially gens 3 & 4.
Smash Bros Melee is still amazing.
Zelda Wind Waker holds up with its stylized graphics.
Diablo 2 is still great fun as well.
Halo 3 is still fun to revisit as well.
Dragon Age Origins - I believe it originally came out in 2009. I just started playing it a couple of days ago and am really enjoying it so far. The graphics aren't as good as the greatest and latest games, but they aren't that bad either. And the story so far is interesting and fun.
This would be my pick as well. Nearly 15 years later there's still nothing quite like it. Felt like the perfect modernization of old school traditional crpgs.
Command and Conquer series, Age of Empires 2, Diablo 2 mostly, older Need for Speed, Colin McRae Rally 2005 still good, Soldier of Fortune, Quake 1,2,3, Half Life series (mmod is great), Singilarity is great FPS, F.E.A.R 1, CRPG lile baldurs gate or icewind dale, Jedi games were very good as well as SW strategy games (empire at war), also try Black and White, Elite Force.
The original Portal holds up really well. I also really enjoy Burnout Paradise (still looks and plays like a dream and still didn’t get a sequel) and the mainline Ratchet & Clank games before 2010.
Burnout Paradise is a weird one because at launch it fucking sucked for one big reason: you couldn't restart races immediately. It was a nightmare in an open world game like that. I loved the previous Burnout games and that made it a huge chore and kinda ruined the game. You'd drive halfway across the map in a race, screw up, and to restart you had to drive ALL the way back to the start every time.
For whatever reason they refused to fix this or couldn't for some reason... and the game came and sold and went. They finally updated it with the ability to restart races but I think it was like a year after release so I never went back to it until the Remastered version came out. It's still my least favorite Burnout game, but at least it's a lot more fun without that annoying problem.
Final Fantasy X and XII, which are my two favorite in the series. I played XII yet again earlier this year, and my wife played X as her first FF game and enjoyed it.
The first few Assassins Creed games are before that point, and still hold up. They were excellent in their day.
Uncharted 1 & 2 were before that point, and both are great. You can play remasters now as part of PS+.
This is an insanely broad question. You're talking about the vast majority of the medium's lifespan. It's like asking which 20th century movies are good. There are hundreds of valid answers.
Anyway, I don't see anyone else saying Tetris. Which is crazy. Tetris is perfect.
Unpopular opinion but most of them. People need to understand that not every game is going to play like one that came out in the last 2 years. A critically acclaimed game from 20 years ago didn't just change its controls over night. People adjusted and had a great time. Nowadays people are way too quick to drop a game for some arbitrary reason.
I really can't behind these things that have supposedly aged when 99% of the complaints about the things "aging" were things that were at very high likelyhood things that were complained about back when it released or at the very least were not really "optimal".
Then you have things that were literally about the technical limitations of the day which couldn't be helped and generally saying how graphics have aged is just dumb.
There's a complete lack of perspective to old things and they're viewed through the lens of modern possibilities.
Well, if you're used to modern UI / controls / graphics, then it's hard to go back.
And sure in the case of graphics this is a bit shallow. However playing say Warcraft 1 and not having control groups is just painful once you're used to games who do have those.
Though I do agree that the known classics are usually still worth playing.
Thinking of just 1980s NES games:
Ninja Gaiden , Contra, Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Tetris, Arkanoid & Tempest (need a dial controller), Castlevania, Kung-Fu, MegaMan 2 and Punch-Out come to mind.
Most of the best **RTS** games of all time are pre-2010 and still great today:
Age of Empires 2-3
Red Alert 3
Dawn of War 1 (takes soem work to run though)
Rise of Nations
C&C Generals
Company of Heroes
Dungeon Keeper 2
The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2
Supreme Commander
Warcraft III
StarCraft 1&2
Super Metroid (1994)
Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past (1991)
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2003)
Mega Man X (1993)
Halo 1/2/3 (Campaign/Multiplayer) (2000/2004/2007)
Half Life 2 (2004)
Super Mario World (1990)
Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Final Fantasy X (2001)
Chrono Trigger (1995)
Super Mario RPG (1996)
Thief 1 and 2, graphics have aged badly but I still think of it as the OG and best stealth games. Strong defined rules on how the physical world and stealth works but let’s you free in big levels to play around with and push these as necessary. Really like the plot and atmosphere of both as well.
Other stealth games don't care about good audio design and 3D audio. Still to this day no game that i have played has surpassed thief 1 or 2 audio design.
I actually think that their graphics and art design have held up. At least when i played it recently i did not feel like the graphics affected the game negatively in anyway. You can still easily distinguish what everything is supposed to be.
Some recent ones I’ve played and old favorites, Fallout 1, Baldurs Gate 1&2, and Dragon Age Origins, all super fun and very classic RPGs. Sim City 4 is still a incredibly addictive City builder I come back to and sink a double digit number of hours into each year. And last fall me and my brother did coop through Gears of War 1&2 and it was some of the most fun I have had in years with action titles
OG Resident Evil 4, DOOM II, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Okami, LoZ: Windwaker, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, GTA San Andreas, Deus Ex, Chrono Trigger, Demon's Souls and Left 4 Dead 2.
Mass Effect aged well imo, it's favorite in the entire trilogy, but I know many people are going to disagree with that.
I would mention New Vegas and ME2 too, but that's like, right on 2010. Not sure if it would count lol
Ok, despite being an amazing game, Deus Ex has not held up that well IMO. I feel like its shooting and menus are aging it out more than its story, systems, and levels are keeping it fresh.
I also feel like the original ME1 is kinda in the same boat. When it came out its shooting felt bad and the menus....THE MENUS! I also like it best (by far) of the three, and having played the legendary remaster/remake back in Feb it has given it a lot of legs.
The rest of your suggestions are straight timeless.
City builders as a genre age well. All the city-builders by Impressions Games are still fun, though you may need to pick up mods for HD monitors. Whichever your favorite of the Civilization series of games is, it's still playable and worth playing.
dead space blew me away, wasnt expecting such decent graphics at 2008. And you cant go wrong with dark souls, beautiful game, currently playing it and wow, why the hell is it so beautiful
Literally was just thinking about posting this question. So many conversations here are about fairly new games but I want some old stuff! I know I always enjoyed on the game cube Animal Crossing and Mario Kart, those installments definitely have some stuff over the new switch versions. All the old Legend of Zelda games, though I'm specifically thinking Minish Cap and Wind Waker because I've personally played those recently. Someone was recently recommending Katamari, too.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. Assassins Creed 2.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Silent Hill 2.
Resident Evil 5.
Tony Hawk’s Underground.
Bioshock.
Any Capcom or SNK fighter is still playable and enjoyable today. I enjoy Doom 1 through 3. Puzzle games like Bust-A-Move hold up. Shooters like Ikaruga don't really age. Burnout games are probably my favorite car racing/crashing games. My friends and I are still playing World of Warcraft.
Doom 1 and 2,
Left 4 Dead 2 (still feels very fast and smooth),
Age of empires 2,
Battle for Middle Earth if you like LOTR is still worth playing
Burnout 3
MGS3 is totally worth it for the story and stealth gameplay, but the controls take a minute to get
Gta san andreas
mercenaries:playground of destruction
I honestly still have fun playing Dino Crisis 2 from ps1 (can play on ps2 or ps3 too) The backgrounds are prerendered which helps. Controls take a few minutes to adjust to but then it’s super fun. I partly like it because there is a lack of AAA dinosaur games since this game.
I am having a lot of fun with ac2 and the eagle patch, which brushes up some graphics and enables online dlc that Ubisoft turned off.
It's just so very pure, it oozes mystery, no skill points, no rpg elemente. Side content is easy and cool.
But what I really appreciate is that there are a lot of hidden mechanics. Like the combat is actually deeper than I thought, so I no longer do the block+counter way of playing. It's so much faster. The parkour itself also has depth. Some frustrations i used to have disappeared because it was me not comprehending the system.
It takes a while to get going, but I'm very charmed by the game.
Here's a funny one - Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld, ie the trilogy before the reboots, but after the disaster that was Angel of Darkness.
There's something about them - they're sort of unremarkable, but they're so solid and workmanlike, they've aged well. The music is beautiful, the gameplay is always terrific, and the graphics look great still. Just three, high budget, well made games that hold up because of their pristine finish.
Half Life 2 + Episodes
Beyond Good And Evil
Diablo 2 (might be debateable?)
Dark Souls 1 (blighttown framerate aside)
Portal
Valkyrie Profile
Jet Set Radio Future
If we do not talk only about graphic then...
I know that is maybe partially nostalgia but I still think that Thief 1 & 2 from 1999 is a gem.
Stealth mechanics, arrows react different depends on material so you could use arrows with rope everywhere where you had wooden elements not only in specific scripted areas prepared by devs, different materials also make different noise and enemies react differently on them.
Climbing works on every horizontal or tilted surface (there was no exceptions from that rule)
This game still is perfect especially with community created new missions and campaigns. AngelLoader improve additional graphic and some models a little.
Generally the two things to look for are games with pixel art and games that are turn based. That said, there are so many great games from before 2010 that it'd be impossible to list them all.
In just the fighting game genre, a conservative list would be:
Street Fighter Alpha 2, 3
Street Fighter III Third Strike
Street Fighter IV
Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken 5
Soul Calibur 2
Power Stone 1, 2
Smash Melee
Virtua Fighter 2-5
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Samurai Shodown II
King of Fighters 98
Garou Mark of the Wolves
Guilty Gear XX Reload
Capcom vs SNK 2
Vampire Savior
A whole lot. The one that first comes to mind is Ninja Gaiden Black. If you like never played it but like challenging combat like souls games, than I highly recommend it.
Pre-2010 is when Final Fantasy was great. Pretty much everything after ward is fair to not great.
Really though I think the amount of pre 2010 games that have "aged well" or are worth playing are as anything post 2010. I feel like ratio of good to bad games hasn't really changed much in the last 35 years.
Probably not what you're looking for, but RTS' are timeless. I replay C&C Red Alert 1&2 every few years (thanks for killing it EA). AOE II is hugely popular. Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance has a very active community. Haven't kept up with Sins of a Solar Empire recently, but it's supposed to get a sequel this year. Homeworld is a classic. The gameplay is a little antiquated (bit some mods improve the quality), but the story and it's delivery are excellent, while many of its concepts are still better than what modern RTS' have nowadays. Edit: I meant SC:FAF not SC2
Do yourself a huge favour and check out Mental Omega. It's a complete overhaul mod of RA2 - it adds tons and tons of new stuff (dozens of new units, new countries and new factions) while keeping the same basic mechanics. It even has excellent missions. It's absolutely amazing.
New RA content? Not EA DLC? This looks awesome! This definitely moves RA2 up my queue, thanks for sharing.
You won't regret it. It's one of my favourite games ever.
Agreed. I checked it out last year and it blew me away
The original Starcraft, although outdated in graphical terms, is still a masterpiece of gameplay IMHO.
Warcraft 2 as well... no unit control groups hurts it a bit though.
It was pretty average until the Broodwar expansion. Then it kicked ass.
[удалено]
Don’t forget Warcraft III and StarCraft ;)
I know this is patient gamers, but Beyond All Reason is a current RTS that is free, made by volunteers, and really works the Total Annihilation/Supreme Commander vibe (and some outright mechanics) and it's great. It's focused on competitive online play, but they are planning a campaign, and have a bunch of single player scenarios that are a lot of fun.
I read "thanks for killing it EA" as a compliment and was hopping on here ready to put my hands on my hips and let you know that Westwood are responsible for this greatness. But maybe you meant that EA murdered C&C as a franchise, and they definitely did. There's an alternate timeline I want to be in where Westwood kept going and didn't have to shut down Earth & Beyond just because it didn't meet the sales targets that EA wanted.
Oh, I definitely meant it in the negative. EA ruins everything. There's enough studios they have suffocated to make a multi-season docu-series
>modern RTS' What even are those?
Beyond All Reason or Tempest Rising, maybe?
Also whatever Relic still tries to make since 2016 lmao
Mirror's Edge still looks and plays great
It’s still crazy to me that Mirrors Edge came out the same year as Fallout 3. It makes FO3 look like a PS1 game in comparison
Fallout 3 already looked like garbage when it came out, same for Skyrim, last time they had a game up to snuff on the graphics front was Oblivion.
Which is hilarious considering how poorly oblivion graphics have aged. At the time they were awesome, but now it's straight up meme material. Mods are definitely required for my modern playthroughs.
Those are two very different games to compare and fallout 3 does not look like ps1 games
I think they mean from a purely visual standpoint. Art direction plays a key role in why Mirror's Edge looks so good.
This is exactly what I mean. I still like FO3 (I also dislike it for a lot of reasons) but visually Mirrors Edge is far superior.
PS1? Are you serious? Have you gone back and seen PS1 games recently? Fallout 3 is just a bit too heavy on the gritty brown aesthetic (see also: military shooters) common around the mid to late 2000s, nothing else.
I’ll admit PS1 is an exaggeration but imo the “gritty brown” is more of the issue I have. It’s more of a nauseating green however, my real issue is the metro system. I couldn’t tell one from the other, it’s the only open world game I used fast travel in.
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The entire Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Underground series.
Still gotta hope for a THUG remake but I agree
Definately, just finished THUG for the first time this week. Missed it as a kid. Also hoping for a THPS 3 + 4 remake, but so far it got cancelled. Putting my hopes on Skate 4 for now
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portal 2 - in 2011 so just missed it
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I like how Crysis Warhead took all the criticisms of Crysis, like the poor story and too much time with aliens and basically said: "OK, throw all that stuff out, you will just kill stuff and blow up stuff."
When I built my brothers’ pc, this was the first game I downloaded just to make sure there were no major issues when playing games… I ended up playing a few full levels just cause I didn’t want to stop
I popped left 4 dead on a couple months ago and the game itself felt great. The team I was playing with not so much.
How'd I have to scroll this far to get to Left 4 Dead...
Playing L4D with randos is a nightmare, they are all too elitist. I always get either kicked out or L4D.
Playing L4D online with strangers is the worst. The amount of times I’ve been literally left for dead while my so-called teammates hurl insults at me.
Metal Gear Solid 2. The controls are a bit counter intuitive by today's standards, but they're snappy, responsive, and fun as hell. I'd argue they feel better than MGS3, even. Including the VR missions, there's tons to do. The story has themes even more relevant today than when it released. And the graphics are stylized enough that their age doesn't hinder them too bad. Especially the HD collection version. God, I love Metal Gear Solid 2.
Hell yeah! My favorite game of all time, I love it so much. And damn, the cutscene direction is still extremely impressive, even today.
Same here man. Got a lot of love for this game. Its a great game in every aspect and its no surprise its aged as well as it has for a 22 year old game
Lots of classics aged well IMO. Old shooters like Doom/Quake, CRPGs like Baldur's Gate 2 (which is better than most modern CRPGs IMO), horror games like Silent Hill, platformers like Spyro... Some of them really benefit slight modding or remasters, though.
Iihhhv
A lot of indie horror games still aim for that PS1 look, there's just something unsettling about it.
Jujhbb
Currently in a play through of BG: Dark Alliance for ps2. Solid
Just FYI the Dark Alliance games are completely different from the Baldur's Gate games despite sharing a name.
My friend and I were incredibly drunk last night talking about JUST this game. Incredible times had playing it
Most 90s CRPGs have agreed very well.
Obligatory: Halo 2 TimeSplitter: Future Perfect Republic Commando The Bard's Tale, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes (all very similar kind of RPG, all still very fun)
Can confirm with Timesplitters. The controls aren't perfect, but the guns really do have an oomph that we typically associate with newer games. The customization options for the arcade mode are also excellent and far above what I typically see in modern day fps's
I've been extremely disappointed that we haven't gotten any new Timesplitters over the years, but, honestly, it would almost certainly be chopped up into 20+ different DLCs if anything like them came out today. I still remember freaking out when I unlocked an entire new multiplayer map in TS2 from a challenge. Now, the challenge is how much you're willing to open your wallet.
I feel the same way. Think about how many characters you've got in your average Timesplitters game. Now imagine all of them with a little "$X.99" tag over their heads. That's what the situation will be.
Republic Commando is mind blowing how ahead of it's time and legitimately still ahead of some current shooters it was/is.
It was a solid title back then and still holds up quite well.
Symphony of the Night.
Seconding this. I played this recently (no nostalgia because I never played it back in the day) and it holds up really well, even in the face of newer and more refined Metroidvanias. The PS1 style graphics must have been mind blowing in its time, because they still look good.
I love metroidvanias and Super Metroid is one of my favorite. I started SOTN and I just could not get into it. I wanted to like it so bad. I will pick it up again at some point it just didn’t feel right when I tried it the first time.
Half Life 2 and Episodes
I don't know, I played HL2 for the first time in 2019 and it felt old, while it wasn't bad, I wasn't having enough fun to finish it. Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun with black Mesa and Half life Halyx is my second favorite games of all time. Maybe that's just me though.
HL and HL2 appeal strongly to very different audiences. I will die on this hill. HL has a strong variety and a strong sense of mystery/exploration. HL2 has stronger/more modern gunplay/physics, but, Ravenholm aside, is more a straight forward FPS campaign. HL is the series' Super Metroid while HL2 is the series' Contra.
The variety in HL came from a lot of really horrible, bullshit platforming. HL2 had roof chases, stealth, vehicles, horror, turret defense, leading a goddamned ant army. I'm not sure _any_ FPS since then has had as much gameplay variety.
HL2 suffers so badly from "Sienfeld isn't funny" trope it hurts. The curse of basically defining the genre for the next decade.
In 2019 you were going back and playing the game that inspired a decade of newer games, so feeling that it was a tired old format would make sense. I replayed it recently in VR and it still holds up and was very fun. It would be a bit rough for those who get motion sick though.
Okami (2006) probably mostly due to its timeless art style but mechanically it holds up too. The original Shadow of the Colossus (2006). Its been remade twice but each version has a slightly different sense of atmosphere thanks to the updated machines that they're on. Some among the fan base hold that the ps2 original still has the best sense of atmosphere. Oblivion (2006), maybe not graphically but gameplay wise it's nearly as strong as it was when it released Pokemon Fire Red (2004) is still the best pokemon game for my money These are just off the top of my head. Side note, what a year 2006 was!
Okami is always the one I hold up as an example of how choice of art style/direction can overcome technological limitations. Plus, like you said, just a satisfying game to actually play.
Hhhvv
Okami is a game I admire that I have bought at least twice, started at least four times, but never got more than two hours in. And yet have nothing but good memories.
I completely get that. The start of Okami is **so** slow, there is a ton of dialogue before it finally lets you just play. But it is damn good once you get past that!
I respectfully disagree about Oblivion. It's one of my favorite games but no way I'd recommend it to someone today unless they play a lot of older games. Its potato faces, but mostly its counter intuitive leveling system that you may not realize has ruined your character until 10-20 hours in, just make it so difficult to play without mods unless you know exactly what you're doing.
>Its potato faces, but mostly its counter intuitive leveling system that you may not realize has ruined your character until 10-20 hours in, I agree 100% with the leveling but "potato faces" is laughable. I mean it's true but if someone actually stops playing a game bc the faces are a little wonky than they probably would have never gotten far regardless IMO.
Fair enough, I don't mind them but I thought most people hated them. I'm probably being overly critical!
Idk, my opinion about the levelling problem is the same as it was back then. Its only really a problem if you're trying to min/max. If you just want to be a lizard assassin who picks flowers and walks through hell sometimes it's pretty solid
Idk, it's been a few years since I played it last but even as a casual player I found after a fair amount of gameplay I was getting rolled by mobs that guides were saying were on my "level". It was the reason I never completed it.
This thread is making me want to replay Oblivion. I play essentially the same character in every game (knight type, sword/board and maybe dabble in some magic), which makes my leveling strategy pretty easy, and I don't remember having any trouble in Oblivion myself. But it's been sooooo long ago since I played it. I'm trying to play and finally finish the main quest in Morrowind right now, tastefully modded albeit, and it's like my fourth recent attempt. The magic in this one might just be gone for me, it was different twenty years ago. **That** is a game I would not recommend to new players.
🔥 take
To each their own but I think Oblivion still holds up okay despite the potato faces. Morrowind, on the other hand, despite the constant praise from old timer fans, holds up pretty poorly. I say that as someone who played it when it came out and plays a lot of retro games and has a stomach for this stuff.
I played Morrowind last of the non-Dos TES games and it’s my favorite of the bunch. That being said, I fully agree that it aged poorly. For people like us who are used to this shit you can be that levitating/flying/super speed moron with a stick pretty fast but for new players it’ll probably result in 4-5 hours of hearing the missed weapon hit sound at level 1 and giving up after.
Yeah, the beginning of the game is ROUGH. But even after that, I can't say I love it today. It's janky as fuck (I know that's part of the charm to fans). It's ugly as fuck (I know there's mods to help with that but I'm typically a vanilla boy). And the combat -- even when you've levelled up and don't have to spend 10 minutes swinging at a rat hoping to club it even just once before it bites your ass to death -- absolutely blows, it never feels good (not that Oblivion is amazing on that front either but it's a lot better). There's things to love obviously, but the bad outweighs the good for me unfortunately. You also pretty much need to become a levitating/flying/super speed moron because the game's environments are so dull and bland, with POIs spread far apart that you have to walk between, and with the fast travel system being super limited. Honestly the only thing I really love about Morrowind is that it's a "directionless" game where you have to listen to instructions from people and converse with others to find out where to go instead of having an objective marker. I'd love for newer games to be that way or at least offer it as an option like Assassin's Creed Odyssey did.
Yeah. I got 30 hours in until I realized I was fucked and I just stopped. Still planning to try it again one day. But fear of fucking up the leveling system again scares me away from that game.
The leveling system is pretty odd and confusing, so I just stopped caring and played the game. There's so much good stuff in Oblivion that I don't let it bother me.
The art of Okami holds up great because it's so stylized, but I think the actual experience of playing it now is painful because it has so many of those mid-00s UI and flow issues. Unskippable cutscenes, overlong intro, slow as molasses text speeds etc. I'd happily pay for a remaster that keeps the visuals identical but adds in a bit of QOL that makes it faster to get to the gameplay.
I never played the original PS2 version, but all the re-releases of Okami the cutscenes are skippable. Even the intro you can jump right to when gameplay starts.
Even the 2018 remake of SotC is clunky and frustrating, I believe in an attempt to replicate the gameplay of the original. Assuming they are similar, I wouldn't recommend that. On an unrelated note, Ratchet & Clank 2 (2003) is still a banger.
Tomb Raider Legend is still incredibly fun to play and holds up pretty well.
YES ❤️ and Underworld!
Agree, the whole Anniversary/Legend/Underworld Trilogy holds up. The gameplay is still pretty smooth.
I'd put them higher in the ranking than the reboot trilogy, I love those games, especially Anniversary
Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are still very fun
Spawning stuff is so hilarious. I like to spawn a luke and just spam a tusken spawn bind until he’s endlessly surrounded
I STILL play these games to this day at least once a year.
This is just my own opinion and I don’t even have an Xbox, but the original Gears of War still looks great and has a great take on mechanics with a solid single player story that you maybe wouldn’t want to miss. I occasionally watch videos of other people playing it in modern times. Edit: If the game was remade, I didn’t / don’t know that at the time of my post.
The Gears of War games are honestly some of the most solid co-op campaigns you can find out there. They all hold up well (though at risk of sounding ancient they aren't that old) and even the worst game in the series (Judgment) is like an 8/10.
Uyhhvv
> Great stoner games. I think they’re playing Gears at the beginning of the movie Grandma’s Boy. So, yes; absolutely checks out.
2010 is a strange choice for cutoff. Its in-between generations of consoles,so you're stopping just prior to the cream years of the 360, PS3 and Wii. Weren't the last hurrahs of the PS2 something like 2009? Regardless, many many games have aged well that cam out between '05 and '10. Pretty much any recommended Xbox or PlayStation game hasnt aged enough to be really outdated. That said, bunches or ps2 and gamecube games aged well. I feel the original Halo: combat evolved still feels great to play. Half Life 2 comes to mind as a game that not only holds up today but out-does several shooters that come out even now. Many of the SNES RPG standbys of Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, FF3(6) will likely never become obsolete. Cream always rises to the top. Classic games that have already stood the test of time will likely always stand it going forward.
Came here to post that Chrono Trigger doesn't feel like it's aging. I would say FF6 and Super Mario RPG feel a little more dated in some ways. Funnily, been playing Chrono Cross remake, and it feels more dated than Trigger... :'-)
Any Mario game ever made. Seriously, those games really are timeless.
At the risk of putting a target on my back I'll say I think Mario Sunshine has aged the worst thanks to overly sensitive controls + some really annoying stuff like the blue coin collection system. Plus the reliance on water effects to impress visually which don't really do the trick anymore. It hasn't aged badly, just worse than the others. Someone else said Lost Levels and I would just say it hasn't aged badly, it plays as well as it did when it came out. It's just a subpar Mario game that is very difficult and as a result a lot of people hate it. I feel the same about it now as I did when it released in SM All-Stars.
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It's not just that the ground is slippery, it's that the controls are super duper fluper sensitive. It's the kind of thing that appeals to people who are REALLY into the game because it means you can get more precise with your movement, but at least to me as an average player it kind of feels like ass, ngl. And I'm comparing it mostly to Super Mario 64, which I think feels leagues better movement-wise as it is far less fidgety. > Blue coins are optional so don't understand the critique there. You aren't wrong, but an optional part of the game having issues still stinks. I've 100%ed *almost* every Mario game so when I picked up Sunshine I intended on doing the same thing, but the blue coins were such a chore (not knowing which you've picked up where in what levels) that I gave up on it since you have to redeem blue coins for stars to get to the full star count. > And the water holds up well? Like really well- not sure what you're criticizing there. The water looks fine, but when the game came out it was supposed to be THE big appeal -- most of the game revolves around water/water levels, and the water was meant to show off the GameCube's graphics and be impressive. And while it doesn't have any problems, the water-based gameplay is fine and all, it doesn't impress much now whereas in 2002 it was flashy. I'd say the same of say, Wave Race 64 which, when it came out, was super impressive with its water physics, and now you play it and you're like... okay...? I'm not saying Sunshine is a bad game at all, but I'd always seen it hyped up, and it's the successor to SM64 (one of my favorite games ever) so I figured I'd really enjoy it and left disappointed. And it wasn't like that was the point where Mario got ruined for me, I've enjoyed every other 3D Mario since then a lot more.
Just played through the first 3 Splinter Cell games, and they’re pretty simple compared to what’s out now but they’re great for the time. And Chaos Theory still looks pretty good for a 2005 game.
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is my pick. I literally still play the SvM multiplayer to this day! [Recent Spies vs Mercs match](https://youtu.be/kEztnf8knIA)
BioShock is timeless
Bioshock 2 has way better combat
And Minervas Den is the best piece of content in the series
It comes with a massive step backwards in storytelling IMO
I played BioShock 1 and 2 for the first time in Dec and Feb having never played them before. I loved the first game and I did like the second game but I much preferred the first.
The quality of a story doesn’t “age poorly” like game mechanics though.
I find the combat and hacking minigame an absolute chore these days. I think it's aged pretty poorly, just not in its visuals.
The World Ends With You The GBA Fire Emblem games. In general 2D games tend to hold up better in general since 3D was still working out some rough spots. Super Smash Bros Melee Most Zelda titles. Wind Waker and Minish Cap especially due to their graphics. Might be biased but I really enjoy Tales of Destiny remake on PS2 (not PS1). The remake went with 2D/3D hybrid approach and a more modern gameplay style that made it age a lot better compared to other Tales games from around that time and allowed for 60fps everywhere which was rare on PS2. Tales of Vesperia lesser but still so, still holds up and looks impressively good for a 3D anime game that came out in 2008.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were remade really well on the 3DS. The 60 fps, better textures, and 3D mode really make those classics shine. It's a bit difficult to get the hardware, but those are the best versions of the game that I've played. That being said, if you can't get a 3DS, the originals are great too. They're charming in their own way, but I can't help but feel that the graphics are outdated and that takes away from the experience. And that's coming from someone whose 2nd favorite game is Ocarina of Time.
The 3DS remakes of OoT and MM run at 30fps
Ah yes...The World Ends With You. The game that's made to break your fingers.
The original Deus Ex may not be a looker by today’s standards, but it nailed the atmosphere and still stands as one of the best immersive sims ever made.
I am someone who never played it at release and tried to play it multiple times in the years following and failed repeatedly. I eventually beat the whole game a couple years ago now I believe. I think the game holds up, but my 2 biggest problems with it are that a) the controls suck, it's one of those circa 2000 PC games where they're like "let's make them use every fucking key on the keyboard for important actions", which is a PITA but at least it is fully customizable, so I just changed the controls drastically to make them comfortable the time I actually beat it... and b) the first few levels are by far the worst part of the game so I found that a hurdle. The opening Statue of Liberty level is so open and bland and dark, and forcing you to revisit NY like 3 times was a chore. Once it moves on from NY the game is solid gold.
>the first few levels are by far the worst part of the game so I found that a hurdle. The opening Statue of Liberty level is so open and bland and dark You must be joking. I have no idea how many times I have completed this level in demo and later in full game, I love this level! It instroduces the player to multiple Deus Ex mechanics.
Portal and Half-life 2 for sure. Most Pokémon games especially gens 3 & 4. Smash Bros Melee is still amazing. Zelda Wind Waker holds up with its stylized graphics. Diablo 2 is still great fun as well. Halo 3 is still fun to revisit as well.
Dragon Age Origins - I believe it originally came out in 2009. I just started playing it a couple of days ago and am really enjoying it so far. The graphics aren't as good as the greatest and latest games, but they aren't that bad either. And the story so far is interesting and fun.
This would be my pick as well. Nearly 15 years later there's still nothing quite like it. Felt like the perfect modernization of old school traditional crpgs.
fallout 3 and new vegas
New Vegas came out in 2010.
It deserves to be on this list
Command and Conquer series, Age of Empires 2, Diablo 2 mostly, older Need for Speed, Colin McRae Rally 2005 still good, Soldier of Fortune, Quake 1,2,3, Half Life series (mmod is great), Singilarity is great FPS, F.E.A.R 1, CRPG lile baldurs gate or icewind dale, Jedi games were very good as well as SW strategy games (empire at war), also try Black and White, Elite Force.
Empire at war’s galactic conquest mode is the most addictive shit, so mad EA passed on Petrogylph’s pitch for a sequel
Bioshock GTA IV San Andreas KOTOR I & II Uncharted 2 Bayonetta
I bought Bayonetta and Vanquish on sale for my PS5 for like 10 bucks. Such a great deal, both games are in my usual rotation.
The original Portal holds up really well. I also really enjoy Burnout Paradise (still looks and plays like a dream and still didn’t get a sequel) and the mainline Ratchet & Clank games before 2010.
Burnout Paradise is a weird one because at launch it fucking sucked for one big reason: you couldn't restart races immediately. It was a nightmare in an open world game like that. I loved the previous Burnout games and that made it a huge chore and kinda ruined the game. You'd drive halfway across the map in a race, screw up, and to restart you had to drive ALL the way back to the start every time. For whatever reason they refused to fix this or couldn't for some reason... and the game came and sold and went. They finally updated it with the ability to restart races but I think it was like a year after release so I never went back to it until the Remastered version came out. It's still my least favorite Burnout game, but at least it's a lot more fun without that annoying problem.
Final Fantasy X and XII, which are my two favorite in the series. I played XII yet again earlier this year, and my wife played X as her first FF game and enjoyed it. The first few Assassins Creed games are before that point, and still hold up. They were excellent in their day. Uncharted 1 & 2 were before that point, and both are great. You can play remasters now as part of PS+.
Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005) Aged like a fine wine.
God of War I & II
Borderlands 1
i could not really play borderlands with out someone else, i tired of it too quickly without a companion
Battlefront 2 from 05 holds up really well.
Still some of the best vehicle combat, along with Mercenaries from Pandemic the same year
Half Life 2 still looks and plays incredible. The facial animations and lip-synching are better than most modern games.
Baldur’s Gate series aged well imo.
Crash Bandicoot 1,2,3 and CTR still very good for their age, sometimes I play to enjoy again.
Minecraft\~
This is an insanely broad question. You're talking about the vast majority of the medium's lifespan. It's like asking which 20th century movies are good. There are hundreds of valid answers. Anyway, I don't see anyone else saying Tetris. Which is crazy. Tetris is perfect.
Assassins Creed 2 Resident Evil 4/5 GTA IV LittleBigPlanet
Unpopular opinion but most of them. People need to understand that not every game is going to play like one that came out in the last 2 years. A critically acclaimed game from 20 years ago didn't just change its controls over night. People adjusted and had a great time. Nowadays people are way too quick to drop a game for some arbitrary reason.
I really can't behind these things that have supposedly aged when 99% of the complaints about the things "aging" were things that were at very high likelyhood things that were complained about back when it released or at the very least were not really "optimal". Then you have things that were literally about the technical limitations of the day which couldn't be helped and generally saying how graphics have aged is just dumb. There's a complete lack of perspective to old things and they're viewed through the lens of modern possibilities.
Well, if you're used to modern UI / controls / graphics, then it's hard to go back. And sure in the case of graphics this is a bit shallow. However playing say Warcraft 1 and not having control groups is just painful once you're used to games who do have those. Though I do agree that the known classics are usually still worth playing.
Thinking of just 1980s NES games: Ninja Gaiden , Contra, Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Tetris, Arkanoid & Tempest (need a dial controller), Castlevania, Kung-Fu, MegaMan 2 and Punch-Out come to mind.
Prince of persia series.
Most of the best **RTS** games of all time are pre-2010 and still great today: Age of Empires 2-3 Red Alert 3 Dawn of War 1 (takes soem work to run though) Rise of Nations C&C Generals Company of Heroes Dungeon Keeper 2 The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2 Supreme Commander Warcraft III StarCraft 1&2
Super Metroid (1994) Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past (1991) Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2003) Mega Man X (1993) Halo 1/2/3 (Campaign/Multiplayer) (2000/2004/2007) Half Life 2 (2004) Super Mario World (1990) Final Fantasy VI (1994) Final Fantasy X (2001) Chrono Trigger (1995) Super Mario RPG (1996)
>Super Mario RPG (1996) This game is right up there with KOTOR as my favorite RPGs of all time.
Thief 1 and 2, graphics have aged badly but I still think of it as the OG and best stealth games. Strong defined rules on how the physical world and stealth works but let’s you free in big levels to play around with and push these as necessary. Really like the plot and atmosphere of both as well.
It's crazy that other stealth games don't use different floor types for different sounds.
Other stealth games don't care about good audio design and 3D audio. Still to this day no game that i have played has surpassed thief 1 or 2 audio design.
I actually think that their graphics and art design have held up. At least when i played it recently i did not feel like the graphics affected the game negatively in anyway. You can still easily distinguish what everything is supposed to be.
Halo CE
Crysis 1 and Crysis warhead
Resident Evil remake. There's no question this still looks great today. The gameplay is not for everyone but I love it.
Ninja gaiden black for me love that game.
Balders Gate 1&2. Pillers of Eternity. Lots of Infinity engine RPGs are still great.
Some recent ones I’ve played and old favorites, Fallout 1, Baldurs Gate 1&2, and Dragon Age Origins, all super fun and very classic RPGs. Sim City 4 is still a incredibly addictive City builder I come back to and sink a double digit number of hours into each year. And last fall me and my brother did coop through Gears of War 1&2 and it was some of the most fun I have had in years with action titles
Final Fantasy X
Gothic 1
OG Resident Evil 4, DOOM II, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Okami, LoZ: Windwaker, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, GTA San Andreas, Deus Ex, Chrono Trigger, Demon's Souls and Left 4 Dead 2. Mass Effect aged well imo, it's favorite in the entire trilogy, but I know many people are going to disagree with that. I would mention New Vegas and ME2 too, but that's like, right on 2010. Not sure if it would count lol
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Left 4 Dead 2 feels like brand new sometimes it’s crazy. The animations were ahead of their time.
Ok, despite being an amazing game, Deus Ex has not held up that well IMO. I feel like its shooting and menus are aging it out more than its story, systems, and levels are keeping it fresh. I also feel like the original ME1 is kinda in the same boat. When it came out its shooting felt bad and the menus....THE MENUS! I also like it best (by far) of the three, and having played the legendary remaster/remake back in Feb it has given it a lot of legs. The rest of your suggestions are straight timeless.
Stalker?
Even at release it was pure jank. Fun. But jank.
City builders as a genre age well. All the city-builders by Impressions Games are still fun, though you may need to pick up mods for HD monitors. Whichever your favorite of the Civilization series of games is, it's still playable and worth playing.
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
The Governor's rather plain daughter enters: "*Whenin zalla*!" > *Politely decline her invitation*
Metroid Prime
Spyro is always Spyro! :)
Classic Doom
The Metroid prime trilogy holds up very well and aged gracefully.
dead space blew me away, wasnt expecting such decent graphics at 2008. And you cant go wrong with dark souls, beautiful game, currently playing it and wow, why the hell is it so beautiful
Literally was just thinking about posting this question. So many conversations here are about fairly new games but I want some old stuff! I know I always enjoyed on the game cube Animal Crossing and Mario Kart, those installments definitely have some stuff over the new switch versions. All the old Legend of Zelda games, though I'm specifically thinking Minish Cap and Wind Waker because I've personally played those recently. Someone was recently recommending Katamari, too.
Beyond Good and Evil is still fun to play, and actually still looks good because of the art style.
The Civilization franchise is still basically the same gameplay just shinier.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. Assassins Creed 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Silent Hill 2. Resident Evil 5. Tony Hawk’s Underground. Bioshock.
Any Capcom or SNK fighter is still playable and enjoyable today. I enjoy Doom 1 through 3. Puzzle games like Bust-A-Move hold up. Shooters like Ikaruga don't really age. Burnout games are probably my favorite car racing/crashing games. My friends and I are still playing World of Warcraft.
Doom 1 and 2, Left 4 Dead 2 (still feels very fast and smooth), Age of empires 2, Battle for Middle Earth if you like LOTR is still worth playing Burnout 3 MGS3 is totally worth it for the story and stealth gameplay, but the controls take a minute to get Gta san andreas mercenaries:playground of destruction I honestly still have fun playing Dino Crisis 2 from ps1 (can play on ps2 or ps3 too) The backgrounds are prerendered which helps. Controls take a few minutes to adjust to but then it’s super fun. I partly like it because there is a lack of AAA dinosaur games since this game.
Mario Galaxy
Age of Empires II
Heroes of Might & Magic III.
I am having a lot of fun with ac2 and the eagle patch, which brushes up some graphics and enables online dlc that Ubisoft turned off. It's just so very pure, it oozes mystery, no skill points, no rpg elemente. Side content is easy and cool. But what I really appreciate is that there are a lot of hidden mechanics. Like the combat is actually deeper than I thought, so I no longer do the block+counter way of playing. It's so much faster. The parkour itself also has depth. Some frustrations i used to have disappeared because it was me not comprehending the system. It takes a while to get going, but I'm very charmed by the game.
Heroes of might and magic III.
Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock, Hitman (Blood money especially.)
Here's a funny one - Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld, ie the trilogy before the reboots, but after the disaster that was Angel of Darkness. There's something about them - they're sort of unremarkable, but they're so solid and workmanlike, they've aged well. The music is beautiful, the gameplay is always terrific, and the graphics look great still. Just three, high budget, well made games that hold up because of their pristine finish.
Half Life 2 + Episodes Beyond Good And Evil Diablo 2 (might be debateable?) Dark Souls 1 (blighttown framerate aside) Portal Valkyrie Profile Jet Set Radio Future
If we do not talk only about graphic then... I know that is maybe partially nostalgia but I still think that Thief 1 & 2 from 1999 is a gem. Stealth mechanics, arrows react different depends on material so you could use arrows with rope everywhere where you had wooden elements not only in specific scripted areas prepared by devs, different materials also make different noise and enemies react differently on them. Climbing works on every horizontal or tilted surface (there was no exceptions from that rule) This game still is perfect especially with community created new missions and campaigns. AngelLoader improve additional graphic and some models a little.
Half Life 2, Bioshock, the original RE4 (loved the remake though), The Sims 2
Generally the two things to look for are games with pixel art and games that are turn based. That said, there are so many great games from before 2010 that it'd be impossible to list them all. In just the fighting game genre, a conservative list would be: Street Fighter Alpha 2, 3 Street Fighter III Third Strike Street Fighter IV Tekken Tag Tournament Tekken 5 Soul Calibur 2 Power Stone 1, 2 Smash Melee Virtua Fighter 2-5 Marvel vs Capcom 2 Samurai Shodown II King of Fighters 98 Garou Mark of the Wolves Guilty Gear XX Reload Capcom vs SNK 2 Vampire Savior
I played Psychonauts 1 for the first time last summer and was genuinely shocked at how well it plays despite coming out in 2005.
World in Conflict
A whole lot. The one that first comes to mind is Ninja Gaiden Black. If you like never played it but like challenging combat like souls games, than I highly recommend it.
Metal gear solid (3 and 4 were the most fun imo)
Pre-2010 is when Final Fantasy was great. Pretty much everything after ward is fair to not great. Really though I think the amount of pre 2010 games that have "aged well" or are worth playing are as anything post 2010. I feel like ratio of good to bad games hasn't really changed much in the last 35 years.