Genres go in and out of fashion. When I was a kid, 2D platformers were everything. Then they were nothing. Then it was all about 3D fighters. Then it was first person shooters.
Now it feels like there’s a niche for everything, but there are still genres that are underrepresented or, worse, aren’t represented at all.
Like the ‘Olympic’ games — Daley Thompson’s Decathalon. The type that totally destroyed your joystick from real button bashing. Or text adventures. Or side-scrolling blast ’em ups. Man, whatever happened to those?
It got me wondering. What genres do you guys and girls miss? What would you like to see make a comeback?
Comments
74 responses to “Tell Us Dammit: Weird Video Games You Miss?”
Top down racers – but really all I want is a game like Mashed
Currently on sale on Steam for US$1.24:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/281280/
Toybox Turbos is also on Steam.
It’s Micro Machines in all but name.
seconded with Toybox Turbos
also BlazeRush if you’re after something like a Rock’n’Roll Racing / MicroMachines mashup
I just went hunting on Steam because I’m a huge fan of top-down racers – and I really, really hated Toybox Turbos (the sense of speed in it is just awful).
Bang Bang Racing was good fun – used to play that with my house mate – and while it’s not top-down, Skydrift scratches a similar itch. (Good if you liked Slipstream 5000 back in the day too.)
I just want to sit around the TV now and grind out time trials on racers. Arghhh hurry up day finish already
Biker Mice from Mars 🙁
Awww decoy *hugs*
Weird shit like Necromancer on the Atari 800,
I want another tree based game!
Also Yoomp!, The Eidelon, Encounter, and Star Raiders. Surely Nintendo could remake Rainbow Walker? (http://www.retrogamer.net/top_10/top-ten-atari-8-bit-games/)
And Captain Blood on the Atari ST, why don’t we see messed up stuff like that any more?
Weird platformers. For a while there every licenced game was a platformer no matter the fit. I mean, Asterix and Obelix? Jumping on platforms?
Mick and Mack: Global Gladiators
Remember the Atari 2600 A-Team game??
This bizarre little puzzle game I had on gameboy that my Japanese family friends gave me. Turns out it’s called Daedalian Opus. It’s a puzzle game. Was fun 🙂
Brilliant game! I still have a complete copy.
Any teeth-grittingly difficult, dollar-munching arcade game. Actually, I miss the 90s arcade experience on the whole.
I just want a new property 3D platformer for Mario ala 64, Sunshine or Galaxy. Enough with the identical 2D releases already.
Not enough great or even good 3D platformer full stop these days. Hopefully Yooka Laylee delivers.
Also things like the original Descent games, Radix and Forsaken. Space sim shooter things inside tunnel networks and enemy bases and stuff.
What were these actually called?
A sub-genre of Fps apparently. 6-DOF shooters maybe?
You, sir, are not alone.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894744/another-classic-pc-game-rebooted-descent-sequel-appears-on-kickstarter.html
Ooh, I’ll have to keep an eye on that.
Loved descent, that game was awesome!
someone else knew of Radix? 😀
I was also a fan of Terminal Velocity and Incoming for stylistically similar sci-fi flight games but in outdoor settings
did you ever check out the old Psygnosis game Lander? – like the aforementioned but with lunar lander controls so gravity became an issue maneuvering through enclosed spaces (like a 3D version of those Thrust type games)
I played Descent I and II quite a bit as a kid. Very happy both it and BK are getting a reboot
Still holding out for a Jak and Daxter reboot! Drop all the guns, make it about exploring and precision platforming in self-contained levels, and take my money. The Precursor Legacy Part 2.
Hopefully Naughty Dog read Kotaku AU.
I miss a few things; combat racers like Rock ‘n’ Roll racing, top down racing games like Slicks ‘n’ Slides, and games like Out of this World, Heart of Darkness and Abe’s Oddysee. Bullet hells are pretty niche these days too with only a few indie developers putting out titles now and then. I’d like to also see more puzzle adventure games like Shadow of Memories.
One thing we really need more of though are rogue-likes. Whatever happened to those? You just never see them any more. ^_-
Oh man, Rock and Roll Racing. I wasted so much time as a kid at my friends place playing that game. “Tarquinn WINS THE RACE!”
re: Rock’n’Roll racing; check out my usual recommendation of BlazeRush :p
(also try Bang Bang Racing if you haven’t – I quite enjoyed that one too)
there seem to be a decent number of bullet-hells cropping up on steam now some of the Japanese indies are more on board if you rummage around a bit – I find there’s more a shortage of story-based shmups that don’t require bullet-hell skillsets (like Tyrian and Raptor)
you can never have enough good Roguelikes, but a lot of them have moved to mobile platforms because they are pretty good for bouts of portable gaming – Pixel Dungeon is a current popular one, and Rogue Hero for Android is a lot of fun. Ananias is one you can get on Android, however it also has a PC version and I think it’s going through GreenLight for a pending Steam release.
It’s a small niche but one I loved, Trauma Center. Specifically the Nintendo DS ones that used the touch screen, the Wiimote driven ones I can do without.
I hoped that they’d make a come back with the Wii U but they did not.
You would think the Wii U would have one by now. I mean they’re not exactly expensive games to make are they? Graphic novels with fairly basic puzzle sequences. Tons of re-used assets. I’m not saying they’re crap because of that it’s just a nice, easy formula. Hasn’t the genre been really popular on Steam lately as well?
There’s stuff like Surgeon Simulator but it’s not the same. The trick is the puzzles. There’s a pretty specific way that they’re put together and I can’t think of any other game that does that. Precise touch screen controls are a big factor.
Hell, the surgery aspect is almost completely irrelevant to it.
6 degrees of freedom Fps games like Hellbender and Descent. So great back in the day.
Also hover car racers like Wipeout. Love the hell out of those but no one makes em anymore.
I agree with this. I really loved Wipeout HD on my ps3 to hold over my EP1: Racer addiction.
Now I’m on ps4 and I’ve got nothing 🙁
for an upcoming game like wieput, check out Fast Racing Neo for the WiiU
Good management sim style games. I know they still exist in some form. They just don’t seem to hold a candle to the things Bullfrog used to give us like Theme Hospital.
RTS that isn’t Starcraft. Give me Warcraft 4 already. Or a C&C that doesn’t suck.
I heard Grey Goo is meant to be quite good.
Rock n Roll Racing
Mutant League Football
2 all time favorites
I used to dig those FMV on-rails light gun games at Timezone lol. Does anyone remember Mad Dog Mcree?
Deleted – I’m stupid.
Jones In The Fast Lane.
http://home.broadpark.no/~kboye/jones/jones.html
We’re way overdue for a new Ikari Warriors.
I’d also take a new Smash TV/Total Carnage.
Decent new games of the multiplayer or even MMO variety that let you have 6 in a party or squad or platoon etc. 4 or 5 seems max group size in many games these days.
No Breaks Valet
on the Ouya – mates at work and i would cry laugh playing this game.
Classic Survival Horror.
Most of the others made comebacks
This. Games like Dino Crisis and the old style Resident Evil games, alone in the dark, Hugo’s house of horrors 😀
Fixed cameras, tank controls & puzzles please
Good Mario Kart
i miss the side scrolling fun that was Charles Bronson Death wish games for Amstrad & Commodore…those green screen memories ahhhh
Silent Service – type
New IPs with money behind them.
Honestly couldn’t give a shit what genre it comes under, the next batman, the next AC, the next CoD, the next this and that. Would love to see “A brand new IP from the creators of
As to an actual genre, top down flight shooters.
Bring some more mech games back!
Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries is a blast!
Have you played Mechwarrior online?
I found it surprisingly fun…. When it runs smoothly on my Laptop.
Also Hawken was pretty great, but not quite the same
It’s great, but I’d like a modern Mechwarrior that had good singleplayer as well.
Blackthorne.
Ski or Die – Electronic Arts on the PC
Remember having it on a floppy disk – Multiplayer – multiple things to do – great fun!
The Incredible Crash Dummies – Sega Master System
Amazing fun – two player – challenging
Mickey Mouse Land of Illusion
Good Fun !!
Psychic 5
I don’t think I have seen surfing in a game since… California Games?
there was a 3D Pro Surfing game when Activision were doing all the Tony Hawks spinoff titles like BMX and the like
There was a pretty good Tony Hawk’s-style Kelly Slater surfing game on the PS2/Xbox/Gameboy Advance.
Published by Activision, it had the same style logo as THPS and was called Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfing (go figure!)
Light gun games. There was almost a resurgence with the Wii, but then half of them were just cursor clickers and they all just disappeared. Being able to turn off the cursor and set up 1:1 calibration in the HotD games was great. Others needed to do that too.
Still kinda hoping Sega brings the extended cut of Overkill to Wii U at some point.
Also obligatory mention of F-Zero and 2D Metroid I guess 😛
SpyCraft
Spy Vs Spy!
Shoot ’em ups (shmups!). Not really into the more modern ‘bullet hell’ ones. The’re ok but I prefer stuff like Raiden Fighters, Thunderforce, Fantasy Zone, Power Strike, R-type etc.
I still have a lot of those games but some fresh new ones would be great.
not weird………but i miss:
Outrun.
Afterburner.
Forgotten worlds.
Road Rash.
Ikari warriors like top down shooters.
Desert, Jungle and Urban Strike.
Micro Machines (the toys too).
side scrolling 2D sonic games (ive had the OST on lately of Sonic 2, which is why)
General Chaos, a game of paramilitary pandemonium (havent heard anything about the Remake in a while).
Cannon Fodder (Tiny troopers is nice, but cannon fodder)
Really i just miss the 16Bit era
We need a new Road Rash. Imagine the online multi!
keep an eye on Road Redemption on Steam – currently Early Access though so I don’t know what it’s like yet
Hi
Games like Summer Games 1-2, World Games, Winter Games and not sure if you know of day night cricket oneday cricket.
Something like Valkyrie Profile ….Beauutiful Story, Great animated 2D sprites, suprisingly deep combat system. Sadly the sequels cant hold a candle to the original.
The Last Ninja
Spy vs Spy
Solomon’s Key
It’s not quite a missing genre, but I’d love to see a rejuvenation of the professional wrestling game.
Those games were staples of the classic arcades and for a while in the late 90’s/ early 2000’s they received a run of really good, innovative wrestling games (WWE No Mercy, the early Smackdown games).
Unfortunately THQ really allowed the genre to stagnate last generation (or two) and 2K haven’t really found their feet yet.
Wrestling is just such a natural fit for video games. The violence, the pacing, the over the top silliness, the multiplayer potential…. It’s all just too perfect for it not to be a great genre.
Ninja stealth games ala Tenchu or my personal favourite Shinobido: Way of the Ninja.
Also a new single player MechWarrior game would be great.
Jones in the Fast Lane
Generic 3D Fighters: I love my Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, Tekken and Virtua Fighter’s, but I have this amazing fascination with average to competent 3D fighters. Like Toshinden, D-Xhird, Bloody Roar, Evil Zone. Fighter’s with gimmicks that may not have been super deep, but made them fun and unique all the same. There’s basically none left in the market other than the big four. I need more. There’s no variety anymore 🙁
Pure Arcade Racers & Anti-Grav Racers: Though they both seem to be going through a bit of a renaissance at the moment, there will still never be enough to satiate my appetite.
Classic Disney Platformers: Disney had a special knack for bringing their best characters to gaming in awesome ways. Ducktales, Quackshot, the Illusion series (including the Master System games), Aladdin (the Shiny version) and The Lion King were all top-drawer games.
Arena-Based Fighters: Stuff like Virtual On, Hyper Reverthion & Robo-Pit – all awesome games that while not super deep, were a ton of fun, and a blast in multi-player.
Arcade-y Mech Games: The Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story games on the Saturn, Dreamcast and PS2 were awesome. Same goes for the earlier Gungriffon games. Definitely room for some strategy in ’em all, but easy enough to jump straight into and shoot the shit out of everything and everyone. Love them!
Bomberman: A genre unto itself. I have not gotten into Bomberman until recently – I never really had too many friends as a kid, so I never got to sample the delights of multi-player Bomberman until I picked up Saturn Bomberman for my SEGA Saturn this year. All those years of Bomberman multiplayer that I missed – I hate it, because if I’m having this much fun now, imagine how many hours I would have spent on Bomberman back then? The world needs more Bomberman.
I miss some old Apple games;
The Dam Busters, Rescue Raiders, and a few others.
I always loved the RPG/Platformer hybrid gameplay of the “Gargoyle’s Quest” and “Tombi” games. More stuff like that would be nice.
Also beat-em-ups. They kind of just stalled out. I think the Arkham games have done an amazing job of improving the state of unarmed combat in 3D games, but something dedicated to the combat and with greater control over your moves would be right up my alley.
Ice Bro’s