old-school gaming is back and better
than ever
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
modern retro-styled games for this list
we’re looking at games released in
current years that have taken retro
themes such as a more rustic art style
or classic characters and have managed
to create a thrilling gaming experience
that modern audiences can rally behind
keep in mind that we won’t be including
indie games that don’t have any retro
elements to them so braid and Fez will
be making the cut number 10 Retro City
Rampage imagine everything that you
loved about the 1980s and 90s crammed
into one video game in the style of an
early Grand Theft Auto type game that’s
pretty much this title in a nutshell and
it takes every opportunity to pay
tribute to not only iconic games such as
Metal Gear and the NES Ninja Turtles
even going so far as to create that damn
level but every cheesy one-liner you can
think of is also here incorporating a
top-down bird’s-eye view along with some
2d platformer elements players will find
themselves assuming control of the
player as he causes chaos around an
8-bit city with a companion that looks
suspiciously like Doc Brown old-school
gamers eat your hearts out
number nine Scott Pilgrim vs. the world
the game
did you enjoy Michael Sarah’s awkward
quest to win the girl of his dreams and
defeat her evil axis were you a fan of
the original graphic novels or do you
just want to play a good brawler and
relive the days of final fight or
Streets of Rage well in all cases this
games got you covered
taking the art style of its original
incarnation up to four players can
battle together as they punch their way
through seven levels packed with enemies
and Ramona scorned lovers waiting for
them at the end of each
whether you want to power through it
solo or grab somebody’s and take on a
boss rush Scott and the gang will not
disappoint
number eight Mega Man 9
much to the jubilation of longtime fans
the ninth entry in the extensive
franchise took the blue bomber back to
his roots omitting some of the more
recent features such as sliding in
charged shots
it was a definite return to form with
the classic setup of eight robot masters
in need of a serious beatdown it not
only provided nostalgic gameplay some of
the best boss battles of the series such
as galaxy man but also added new
features such as Time Attack and
optional missions for those who needed
their megaman fix it’s no wonder it was
received so well number seven the legend
of grimrock you won’t find a better
tribute to the fantasy RPG dungeon
crawlers of old than this inspired by
the likes of Dungeon Master and I of the
beholder
players control a party of up to four
characters as they attempt to escape the
titular Rimrock
combat and puzzle-solving go hand in
hand
as each triumph yields experience points
and of course harder challenges the 3d
grid based realtime element captures the
retro feel of classic 80s fantasy games
but if that’s not authentic enough for
you the game does include the option to
go old-school where the map system is
deactivated leaving navigation
completely up to your memory
number six cave story
inspired by the games he played in his
youth developer Daisuke Amaya gave us a
2d platformer that fans of the genre
could really get behind set on a
floating island players took on the role
of an amnesiac protagonist as they
battled their way through the seemingly
endless caves and hordes of enemies that
inhabited them mechanics berry
reminiscent of the Metroid series make
for a simplistic but fun shooter with an
engrossing narrative providing the icing
on the cake
all in all we’d say it’s five years in
development was well worth the wait
number five axiom berge if samus is
early adventures were your jam then
between this and the last entry you’re
pretty much spoiled trapped on an alien
world surrounded by hostile
extraterrestrials players were treated
to the best of what games such as
Metroid and blaster master had to offer
a massive amount of weapons and
power-ups blended with vast 8-bit
exploration as well as the occasional
monstrous alien boss capturing the rush
that gave the iconic titles that are
immortal appeal the variety of ways in
which you can dispatch the
ever-increasing amount of enemies is
just something that really never seems
to get old
number four super meatboy do you have
what it takes to conquer all 300 levels
inspired by the likes of platformers
such as Super Mario Brothers and ghosts
and goblins players take on the role of
the titular meat boy as he runs and
jumps over various very lethal obstacles
in order to save his beloved bandage
girl
crumbling walls saw blades and an
abundance of boss battle steadily
increased the difficulty to the point
where you’ll no doubt end up screaming
at the cute red cube for slipping
getting decapitated and ruining your
chances of scoring that A+ grade with
its lengthy set of stages addictive
gameplay and retro style
it’s no wonder Super Meat Boy was so
widely praised
number three hotline Miami top-down
games have never been so manic tasked
with carrying out a series of massacres
against the local Russian mafia players
have to employ either stealth or
crushing violence plus stealth in order
to kill all their targets and make it
out alive of course due to the
unpredictability of the enemy AI things
can very easily turn into a bloodbath of
hysterical proportions with its variety
of mission locales visuals that just
scream the 1980s and use of animal masks
to act as both handicaps and power-ups
assassinations have never been this much
fun or bloody
number two undertale who would have
guessed that this indie title would end
up redefining our perceptions of what
videogames could do glazed with a retro
look and heavily inspired by earthbound
and various other bullet hell shooter
mops toby fox is gaming magnum opus not
only made us fall in love with a pair of
pixelated skeletons but also pushed the
envelope of what it meant to make real
choices with in-game consequences
combining a deeply investing story with
bullet-hell combat and puzzle solving
mechanics if there was ever a game to
not judge by its cover it would be
undertale we dare you to just try and
find another game where you can end up
shipping a badass fish lady with an
adorable she lizard come on just try
before we reveal our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
number one shovel knight
grab your treasure arm yourself with
your trusty shovel and prepare to battle
with the order of no quarter
taking the classic elements from the
likes of ducktales Megaman Zelda 2 and
Mario 3 players must take up the mantle
of the eponymous Knight and dig their
way to victory despite the quirky
premise the heartfelt nature of the game
will have you switching between laughing
and adding bash to boss’s brains in with
your shovel to shedding a tear over the
chivalrous romance between shovel knight
and shield Knight
with additional features such as new
game+ and free dlc featuring the dubious
but investing play ignite to keep
players occupied this is one modern
retro game not to be missed
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite modern retro styled game with
new top 10s published every day be sure
to subscribe to watchmojo.com
than ever
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
modern retro-styled games for this list
we’re looking at games released in
current years that have taken retro
themes such as a more rustic art style
or classic characters and have managed
to create a thrilling gaming experience
that modern audiences can rally behind
keep in mind that we won’t be including
indie games that don’t have any retro
elements to them so braid and Fez will
be making the cut number 10 Retro City
Rampage imagine everything that you
loved about the 1980s and 90s crammed
into one video game in the style of an
early Grand Theft Auto type game that’s
pretty much this title in a nutshell and
it takes every opportunity to pay
tribute to not only iconic games such as
Metal Gear and the NES Ninja Turtles
even going so far as to create that damn
level but every cheesy one-liner you can
think of is also here incorporating a
top-down bird’s-eye view along with some
2d platformer elements players will find
themselves assuming control of the
player as he causes chaos around an
8-bit city with a companion that looks
suspiciously like Doc Brown old-school
gamers eat your hearts out
number nine Scott Pilgrim vs. the world
the game
did you enjoy Michael Sarah’s awkward
quest to win the girl of his dreams and
defeat her evil axis were you a fan of
the original graphic novels or do you
just want to play a good brawler and
relive the days of final fight or
Streets of Rage well in all cases this
games got you covered
taking the art style of its original
incarnation up to four players can
battle together as they punch their way
through seven levels packed with enemies
and Ramona scorned lovers waiting for
them at the end of each
whether you want to power through it
solo or grab somebody’s and take on a
boss rush Scott and the gang will not
disappoint
number eight Mega Man 9
much to the jubilation of longtime fans
the ninth entry in the extensive
franchise took the blue bomber back to
his roots omitting some of the more
recent features such as sliding in
charged shots
it was a definite return to form with
the classic setup of eight robot masters
in need of a serious beatdown it not
only provided nostalgic gameplay some of
the best boss battles of the series such
as galaxy man but also added new
features such as Time Attack and
optional missions for those who needed
their megaman fix it’s no wonder it was
received so well number seven the legend
of grimrock you won’t find a better
tribute to the fantasy RPG dungeon
crawlers of old than this inspired by
the likes of Dungeon Master and I of the
beholder
players control a party of up to four
characters as they attempt to escape the
titular Rimrock
combat and puzzle-solving go hand in
hand
as each triumph yields experience points
and of course harder challenges the 3d
grid based realtime element captures the
retro feel of classic 80s fantasy games
but if that’s not authentic enough for
you the game does include the option to
go old-school where the map system is
deactivated leaving navigation
completely up to your memory
number six cave story
inspired by the games he played in his
youth developer Daisuke Amaya gave us a
2d platformer that fans of the genre
could really get behind set on a
floating island players took on the role
of an amnesiac protagonist as they
battled their way through the seemingly
endless caves and hordes of enemies that
inhabited them mechanics berry
reminiscent of the Metroid series make
for a simplistic but fun shooter with an
engrossing narrative providing the icing
on the cake
all in all we’d say it’s five years in
development was well worth the wait
number five axiom berge if samus is
early adventures were your jam then
between this and the last entry you’re
pretty much spoiled trapped on an alien
world surrounded by hostile
extraterrestrials players were treated
to the best of what games such as
Metroid and blaster master had to offer
a massive amount of weapons and
power-ups blended with vast 8-bit
exploration as well as the occasional
monstrous alien boss capturing the rush
that gave the iconic titles that are
immortal appeal the variety of ways in
which you can dispatch the
ever-increasing amount of enemies is
just something that really never seems
to get old
number four super meatboy do you have
what it takes to conquer all 300 levels
inspired by the likes of platformers
such as Super Mario Brothers and ghosts
and goblins players take on the role of
the titular meat boy as he runs and
jumps over various very lethal obstacles
in order to save his beloved bandage
girl
crumbling walls saw blades and an
abundance of boss battle steadily
increased the difficulty to the point
where you’ll no doubt end up screaming
at the cute red cube for slipping
getting decapitated and ruining your
chances of scoring that A+ grade with
its lengthy set of stages addictive
gameplay and retro style
it’s no wonder Super Meat Boy was so
widely praised
number three hotline Miami top-down
games have never been so manic tasked
with carrying out a series of massacres
against the local Russian mafia players
have to employ either stealth or
crushing violence plus stealth in order
to kill all their targets and make it
out alive of course due to the
unpredictability of the enemy AI things
can very easily turn into a bloodbath of
hysterical proportions with its variety
of mission locales visuals that just
scream the 1980s and use of animal masks
to act as both handicaps and power-ups
assassinations have never been this much
fun or bloody
number two undertale who would have
guessed that this indie title would end
up redefining our perceptions of what
videogames could do glazed with a retro
look and heavily inspired by earthbound
and various other bullet hell shooter
mops toby fox is gaming magnum opus not
only made us fall in love with a pair of
pixelated skeletons but also pushed the
envelope of what it meant to make real
choices with in-game consequences
combining a deeply investing story with
bullet-hell combat and puzzle solving
mechanics if there was ever a game to
not judge by its cover it would be
undertale we dare you to just try and
find another game where you can end up
shipping a badass fish lady with an
adorable she lizard come on just try
before we reveal our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
number one shovel knight
grab your treasure arm yourself with
your trusty shovel and prepare to battle
with the order of no quarter
taking the classic elements from the
likes of ducktales Megaman Zelda 2 and
Mario 3 players must take up the mantle
of the eponymous Knight and dig their
way to victory despite the quirky
premise the heartfelt nature of the game
will have you switching between laughing
and adding bash to boss’s brains in with
your shovel to shedding a tear over the
chivalrous romance between shovel knight
and shield Knight
with additional features such as new
game+ and free dlc featuring the dubious
but investing play ignite to keep
players occupied this is one modern
retro game not to be missed
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite modern retro styled game with
new top 10s published every day be sure
to subscribe to watchmojo.com
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