Why Do We Still Play Retro Games?

Each year, video game developers and publishers release massive blockbusters that promise the best graphics you’ve ever set your eyes on, new features that make playing even more fun, and new maps that add some variety to your gaming. 

Even existing releases continue to receive updates that add to the experience. For example, CS:GO is a game that’s 10 years old, but thanks to the constant conveyor belt of content that Valve creates for it, players continue to enjoy it just as much as they did when it was new. 

On top of all these big-budget releases, indie developers are also constantly working hard on new games, often pushing the boundaries and experimenting with new ideas. 

Thanks to these three different sources of content, there is always something new for players to enjoy. But despite there being an endless supply of new gaming content, many of us still prefer to play the retro titles we enjoyed years or even decades ago. 

Objectively, these games are generally smaller, have less up-to-date graphics, and may not have all the same online features. Yet, despite this, many continue to enjoy these popular retro titles as well as (or in addition to) more contemporary options. Here’s why. 

Retro Games Have Been Brought Up to Date

While some gamers are still playing the original 1980s releases of some of their favorite games, many retro titles have been updated, remastered, and re-released. By being repackaged in this way, a new generation of gamers gets the opportunity to enjoy these classic titles on modern hardware.

Some popular examples of this include Nintendo’s Super Mario 64, which was re-released for a short period on the DS and Switch consoles, the mobile and remastered versions of the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Online casinos have also helped to bring retro table games to a whole new generation of players. In addition to the standard version of blackjack, they typically offer other modern variants to their players, allowing the casinos to cater to just about every type of player imaginable. 

Retro Games are Still Incredibly Fun

Retro games were successful when they were first released because they were fun. In almost every case, games that were fun in 1982 or 1992, are still fun today in 2022. Sure, the graphics won’t be comparable, but modern titles like Minecraft have helped us to realize that you don’t need to have photorealistic visuals to create a great game. 

Some great examples of this include PAC-MAN, a game that’s been released on just about every platform ever created, and Super Mario, a retro side-scroller that continues to enjoy near-universal acclaim, more than four decades after the mustachioed plumber first appeared in a video game. 

Retro Games Offer More Single-Player Options

Most modern video games are focused primarily on online multiplayer modes. There are good reasons for this, most notably because a large group of gamers prefers playing against other humans over the internet and because the publishers can generate more revenue through the sale of monthly passes and in-game content. 

However, there are still many players that enjoy single-player modes, and they can often feel left out of modern games. In titles like Grand Theft Auto, where the focus has always traditionally been on offline storytelling, retro releases from the franchise can be more appealing. This can be seen from the fact that the Definitive Edition remastered versions were so popular when they were first released back in late 2021. 

Most retro games were not designed to push players through a microtransaction sales funnel packed with wait times and ads, so the players that find this modern approach to monetization frustrating are much more likely to enjoy retro games. 

Ultimately, video games from years gone by remain just as fun to play as they were back when they were first released. They offer a different type of playing experience, even when they’re updated for a modern audience, and that can give them a very broad appeal.