The two terms modern and retroare antonyms by definition, so one can be forgiven for thinking that they cannot possibly bode well for any game that carries such a tag. In fact, there are plenty of examples which showed us that some classics are best left alone. However, there have also beensome truly amazing modern games recently which proves beyond doubt that good modern retro games are not just possible, they can even be Game of the Year material at times. Focusing on the positives, here are five modern retro titles that you simply cannot miss out on.
Streets of Rage 4 by Sega
Streets of Rage is one of the most popular side-scrolling beat ‘em up series from the retro era, with Sega’s last entry into the series being Streets of Rage 3 (1994). Despite a long lasting outrage about Dotemu taking up the mantle for developing the next Streets of Rage game, critics were left stunned by Streets of Rage 4 when it came out in 2020. It looks, feels, and sounds like a retro game should, if it had been released in 2020! Matching modern technological prowess with 80’s nostalgia was no easy feat to pull off by any means, but Dotemu did their job well.
Even if you don’t play games anymore but grew up beating street thugs into pixelated pulp as a kid in games like Final Fight, Double Dragon, and Streets of Rage, it’s a title you cannot afford to miss out on. Despite the intentional retro art style, Streets of Rage 4 can be a bit heavy on your system though, but you don’t exactly need a gaming PC to play this masterpiece. As long as your laptop/desktop has onboard Intel® Arc™ Graphics, the brawler will run as smooth as it should.
Shovel Knight byYacht Club Games
So, what is it about Shovel Knight that people love so much? Well, you need to play the game for 15-minutes to find out. It is difficult to describe the experience of controlling a genuine medieval knight through dungeons while bashing your enemies on the head with a shovel.
It almost feels likea talented group of game developers decided to mash in Super Mario, Castlevania, Metroidvania, and Zelda into a modern game with retro 8-bit graphics, buttery smooth controls, and a healthy dose of humor. In fact, that is exactly what Shovel Knight is.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells is often described by fans and critics alike as retro, 2D Dark Souls, which is not that much off the mark at all! However, that is a very good thing in this case at least. As you play the role of a headless soul, you will die (again) repeatedly, but get better after each death (hopefully).
Whether you like RPG games in general or not, Dead Cells is still a very amusing game to play for all retro game lovers. While you are at it, give Hades a try as well. They share the same theme of roguelike action RPG, but Hades is not a retro game though.