Readers discuss older games that have aged so poorly they’re almost unplayable, and those that have weathered the years with more grace.
The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Sunny, who asked which games are you now unable to play because they feel too outdated? And was it the graphics, the gameplay, the controls, or something else that put you off?
In the majority of cases it was the controls, with many thankful for remasters and remakes that modernised them but left most other things the same.
Standard controls
I think some genres age better than others and it primarily comes down to how control methods have evolved. I think first person shooters tend to age better and are more easily adapted if a remake is done, such as with GoldenEye 007 earlier this year, without diluting the original game much.
3D platformers, on the other hand, I think age poorly due to their controls and are harder to adapt due to how the levels are designed with a specific control method in mind. The game that really springs to mind for me is Super Mario 64. I hadn’t played the original and had heard over the years about just how much of a classic it was, so was really looking forward to playing it in the 3D All-Stars collection on Switch a few years ago. But I just found it a total pain to play, I found the controls to be really unwieldy and it ultimately stopped me playing the game, as I felt like I was fighting the game and not having much fun.
In the main though, I don’t have trouble going back to older games from the PlayStation 2 onwards, as I think from that point developers started to have some form of standardisation for controls, especially within the same genre. I do however appreciate remakes of old games like Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space which have come out this year and both of which I thought were superb.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: Call Of Duty: Vanguard Campaign (PS5), Cocoon (Xbox), and Pikmin 4 (Switch)
Never game
I loved the Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time when it first came out. The highlights were the graphics and the puzzle element; how to escape an area using the environment. I wasn’t keen on the combat, as it was overly long, but it wasn’t a deal breaker.
I still had the game and decided to try it again, mainly for the puzzle element. The graphics had aged but I was fine with that – it’s the gameplay that counts.
The puzzle element was as good as I remembered but I was unable to play the game for long. This was due to the combat, which felt much longer than I remembered. Was the combat this long and tedious when I played the game a few years ago? I guess I persevered, as I wanted to explore new areas and complete the game. And as I completed the game, I didn’t have the same determination to deal with the combat this time around.
I still have good memories of the game, but I will not be playing it again!
Rave
Reverse logic
Back in 1992, after receiving a NES with Super Mario Bros. and two control pads, I’d borrow games from friends up the road.
While Soccer, Blades Of Steel, Rad Racer, and Punch-Out! are still fun and easy to play, Double Dragon 2: The Revenge isn’t as great as I used to think it was.
At that time, it was my favourite game ever and due to it, its genre (2D side-scrolling beat ’em-ups) became my favourite type of gaming, still to this day in 2023. (Final Fight 1 is my favourite of its genre, with the Game Boy Advance version the definitive way to play it).
However, I’ve since gone back to play the aforementioned game and it’s not as enjoyable as it once was.
I have no issues with its graphics or sounds (still great tunes). The problem comes from its controls.
In 1992, when I started gaming, I didn’t know any better and I’ve played many 2D side-scrolling beat ’em-ups since and no other game (of its type) that I’ve played has done what Double Dragon 2 does.
That is, it reverses the action buttons depending on what way your character is facing.
As the game goes the usual left to right, when your character is facing right, the ‘A’ button is kick and the ‘B’ button is punch, but that changes when you walk over to attack someone on the left side of the screen.
In this day and age, that is far too much work to be going on with, especially when you’re surrounded by a gang of baddies.
In more recent years, I have played other Double Dragon games, such as Double Dragon Vs. Battletoads (SNES), which I liked, Neon (PlayStation 3 and Switch), which is now my favourite Double Dragon game and the newest Gaiden (Switch) which is OK. (I’m not a fan of its roguelike elements).
(I have briefly played Double Dragon Advance once and liked what I played).
They are all fun in their own way but none of them have reversed its controls.
LeighDappa
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Wrong tools for the job
After having beaten the remake of Resident Evil 4 Remake twice, I then decided to go ahead and buy the original, HD version for the PlayStation 4. It manages to hold up very well. Although the controls do feel a bit weird after the remake. I played as far as up to the little farming area, after the big village square siege. And here is where the discrepancy lies for those of us who either found the remake harder or easier. On normal, the Ganados take much less damage before they go down. Like even a bullet or two to chest is more than enough.
So, I believe that means, that if you acclimate to using the knife for defence and counter quickly, then the remake will seem easier. But it isn’t. Well, it is. It just depends on how quickly you let go of the old ways…
However, and I wrote in about this at the time, but several years back I got myself Tomb Raider 2 and 3 for the PS1 to play on my PlayStation 2. I was dimly aware that it was digital controls but didn’t really appreciate what that was going to mean for my experience. It meant it was bad. It just… doesn’t work. I’m sorry. maybe if I had played it at the time, I could have muddled through but I just found it to be completely unplayable.
I know, it’s not quite fair, as the PS1 wouldn’t get analogue sticks for a few more years and they still wouldn’t be standardised until the next generation and the DualShock 2 came along. But, once you’ve played any 3D world, even Sonic Adventure for goodness’ sake, with analogue sticks you just can’t play any other way.
To make a cruel joke at such games’ expense, I’m sure the most talented surgeon in history could perform a successful keyhole procedure using a couple of tablespoons but they really shouldn’t. Always use the right tools for the job.
DMR
The unreal driving simulator
I am more forgiving than most when it comes to older games and their inherent playability. I still have a PlayStation 2 out for my kids and while I rarely get near it (they love Star Wars: Battlefront 2), I will still enjoy anything I stick on it, especially timeless classics like Burnout 3 or Silent Hill 2.
It is when it comes to the dawn of 3D gaming and the 32/64-bit generation (what would we be up to now I wonder?). I did have a few PS1 games stored somewhere, as you could you use the PlayStation 2 to play them. I found that only a select few were still enjoyable to play, like Metal Gear Solid (still my favourite one!) or any of the pre-rendered background classics like Resident Evil or Final Fantasy.
However, my first memory of the glorious Christmas I plugged in my shiny new console was sticking in Formula 1 97, which I plunged hundreds of hours into, I didn’t even follow the sport back then, it was just so good. Not surprisingly for an early racing game by Project Gotham legends Bizarre Creations (how I miss thee).
Unfortunately, I have found any racing game from that era to be an absolute tangled mess of chronic pop-in, sub-30fps frame rate, and blurry textures with barely controllable vehicles. I think it was still D-pad and not analogue stick steering back then, so precision driving was pretty much impossible.
And yet the memories of it still stand today, it was ahead of its time in many ways, with some features only just coming back into F1 sims now, and unlockable tracks including the futuristic fictional one I forget the name of? We need that feature back pronto.
So, in other words, driving games, especially the realistic ones from that era, steer clear (hee hee).
baby machine-5 (PSN ID)
Short honeymoon
Might sound a bit contentious but I think a trend with Rockstar is most of their games age pretty badly. Since Grand Theft Auto 3 they’ve had this world leading reputation for pushing the boundaries of tech but as soon as the average triple-A game catches up on a few fronts, I think a lot of cracks start to appear.
In fact, it’s even earlier than that in some instances, as demonstrated by Red Dead Redemption 2, which is arguably still the best looking game ever made five years on. But when you examine what you actually do in the game, and how much of it is interesting and entertaining (especially when you don’t let it hide behind the high level concept, the good dialogue and the admittedly great performances), you might even say things start to unravel a bit as soon as the customary honeymoon period of a major Rockstar release is over.
I don’t think even GTA 5 has managed to escape that feeing for me, after I got the new gen upgrade for cheap. It still impressed technically but so much of that feeling of freedom melted away when I remembered that being able to go anywhere and do anything didn’t mean much more than looking at some varied views, choosing between a handful of similar missions, and the odd mini-game.
It’s why I find it odd that they’ve been pushing out remasters of old games, as I feel like as soon as a new one comes out, the previous one just feels almost completely redundant, and that shouldn’t happen with such an acclaimed series.
I still don’t see any way that I won’t be buying GTA 6, as their releases are still a seismic event in gaming (a bit like when it actually meant something to see a new Star Wars film in the cinema). But I expect I’ll be looking for more sensible prioritisation of development resources and some progress in gameplay ideas from Rockstar this time, if I don’t want that harsh hindsight to kick in shortly after I put the game down.
Panda
No words
Games I can’t play anymore? Text-based adventure games. Even at 8K I can’t bring myself back to that genre. The only time I get out my notepad now is when I’m noting spawners in Minecraft.
I only played on a very long time ago, but it was enough to keep me away.
Bobwallett
Keeping it alive
Pretty much anything polygon based on the PS1. Nowadays, it’s very grating to say the least. The thing about indie titles is the fact that they take the best from the past and leave the rest.
The Super Nintendo and Mega Drive era had games which can mostly be played now and can easily be enjoyed by older and newer gamers alike. Simple but bold, tough and not too complicated for your basic quick fun gaming mechanics.
Which is exactly why Switch and PC/current generation consoles can pull off a great crowd reaction from Twitch and YouTube viewers watching a content creator explore these titles. But try showing PS1 titles like Die Hard Trilogy, Chaos Break, or The Fifth Element from back in the day. A possible laugh but just so unsatisfying to experience from my own personal experience.
So, as I am a nostalgic gamer and love the past, like old school role-players, action adventures, and the greatest platformers of all time. Add in the best indie games and the past can never die, as you keep it alive with these clever developers’ homages to past successes.
Alucard
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