Summary
- Classic games set high standards for their genres, inspiring modern titles like Crow Country and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.
- Crow Country offers a nostalgic survival-horror experience with classic visuals and gameplay reminiscent of the genre's classics like Resident Evil.
- CULTIC revitalizes old-school shooters like DOOM, adding a touch of horror for a fast-paced, intense gaming experience inspired by Blood and Resident Evil.
Video games have been around for decades now. Although it took them a while to find their feet, there have been several stand-out titles across most if not all genres. These classic titles encompass everything from Mario 64 and DOOM, all the way to Resident Evil and, later, Halo: Combat Evolved.
Classic games tend to have pushed the boundaries, setting the bar for their respective genres. While many of these games can be enjoyed today thanks to modern remasters and ports, there are a variety of modern titles that have managed to capture the magic of the games they're inspired by.
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5 Crow Country
Old-School Survival-Horror And Modern Quality Of Life
Crow Country
- Released
- May 9, 2024
- Developer(s)
- SFB Games
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
This old-school survival-horror game features environments that have been lovingly crafted with rose-tinted glasses and a modern flair, giving players a pre-rendered look that's fully realized, allowing for the rotation of the camera. The 3D models that move around the creepy, retro theme park of Crow Country are almost reminiscent of old 3D Final Fantasy games, adding an extra level of charm.
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It's not just the visuals of this nostalgic survival-horror game that are reminiscent of classics such as Resident Evil, though. The gameplay itself takes on a slower pace and features limited resources, designated saving points, and similar gunplay. All in all, Crow Country is one of the better survival-horror throwbacks around, a well-crafted homage that also stands on its own two feet.
4 Caves Of Qud
A Classic Rogue-Like In An Imaginative Retro-Futuristic World
Caves Of Qud
Harkening back to the unforgiving turn-based adventures of Rogue and its many successors, Caves Of Qud is traditional in many senses. Tactical turn-based combat, mechanics and progression inspired by dungeon-crawling tabletop RPGs, and tile-based graphics make Caves Of Qud a remarkably nostalgic experience. However, it also brings a veritable truck-load of new ideas to the table.
Caves Of Qud is a traditional rogue-like, but it can be played as a straightforward RPG using its "roleplay" mode, making it much more accessible right out of the gate. What's most unique about Caves Of Qud, however, is its imaginative sci-fi fantasy world and the NPCs, locations, and items that can be found within it. Like the classics that inspired it, Caves Of Qud features procedural generation, but it also mixes in hand-crafted content to offer players a more novel experience. It may play like a classic, but Caves Of Qud is a modern experience, complete with a memorable, retro-futuristic world.
3 Gloomwood
A Dark Victorian Immersive-Sim
Gloomwood
While the classics of more popular genres such as the 3D platformer or the first-person shooter may be better known, the immersive-sim is an old genre full to the brim with iconic games. From Deus Ex and Thief: The Dark Project to System Shock and Arx Fatalis, this genre is niche, but rich with stand-out titles. With such a wealth of acclaimed design to draw from, modern immersive-sims, however few, have been able to bring the charm and wonder of the classics into the modern era.
Gloomwood, despite being in Early Access at the time of writing, is a superb example of bringing a classic design to the modern day. Gloomwood is a dark, Victorian-themed immersive-sim that takes heavy inspiration from classics of the genre, predominantly from titles such as the aforementioned Thief: The Dark Project. However, Gloomwood is its own beast, not only with its twisted Victorian fantasy theme, but with its survival-horror elements that are influenced by classics such as Resident Evil.
2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
A Love Letter To Old-School Beat 'Em Ups
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
- Released
- June 16, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Tribute Games Inc.
- Platform(s)
- Android, iOS, PC, PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Beat 'Em Up
Arcade games are some of the most beloved and fondly remembered games in the industry, despite their tendency to drain pockets of coins. One of the core genres of any arcade is the beat 'em up. Of the many beat 'em ups floating around in the late 80s and early 90s, 1991's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time was perhaps the best, though an argument could be made for 1992's Streets Of Rage 2. Though these games eventually died out, modern games such as Streets Of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge are keeping the nostalgic gameplay of these classic titles alive.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge features single-player and co-operative play across a brisk series of short but lovingly crafted missions. Each of these missions has players brawling their way through a variety of enemies as one of many iconic characters, taking in affectionate homages to both the classic arcade game and the source material itself.
1 CULTIC
A Refreshing Take On Classic Shooters
Cultic
Since the release of David Szymanski's DUSK, indie games have experienced a resurgence of old-school shooters that take inspiration from classics such as DOOM and Quake. Fast, fluid movement controls, constant action, and expressive combat arenas make up most of their DNA, making for a very specific kind of shooter that was, for a time, lost.
Thankfully, the aforementioned DUSK, along with ULTRAKILL and Ion Fury, brought the genre back to life with an indie charm and modern quality-of-life. CULTIC, however, is arguably one of the best games to come out of this revival. It takes inspiration from classic shooters such as Blood and injecting it with a dose of Resident Evil 4 horror. What follows is a non-stop, guns-blazing, gore-filled adventure through cultist-ridden territory.
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