In a time long before I was born, known as the ‘80s, the video game industry was still primarily in its arcade era, making its way to more families at home, thanks in large part toNintendoandSega.
If we ignore how badly the industry was doing back then - and let’s be honest, it’s not great right now either - we can stop to take a look at the available games, and how they compare to the games we get nowadays. Sure, technology has come a long way, but do you ever feel like ‘fun’ is sometimes a lower priority than shareholders, flashy marketing, and companies trying to both copy each other while outdoing each other? Yeah, me too.
Before I continue talking about classic games, here’s a fun fact to make you feel old: I’m the same age as Ocarina of Time.
In my best ‘old man’ impression, I say:video games used to be different.
Back In My Day, Video Games Were Video Games
They used to be simple, they used to be creative, and they used to put enjoyment at the forefront of the experience. Sure, in saying this, there’s some level of sugar-coating the past and ignorance of the countless incredible games we still get nowadays, but I’m talking generally here. Let me generalise.
I’m not saying we should go back to the way things were - I don’t think Altered Beast is going to be making it intoThe Game Awards- but when we get modern games that are just… ‘video games,’ then we see how well they can be received. This doesn’t mean we need more Altered Beasts, though.
Altered Beast is good - the packed-in Wii Sports of the Mega Drive, if you will. Genesis, for you Americans.
I’d be remiss not to mention that games back then, as simple as they were, were hell. They were brutally difficult, either by design or lack thereof, and there was no phone in your pocket that could tell you where to go or the best strategies. To this end, you could spend hundreds of hours on a five-hour game, and that’s just the way it was.
We Don’t Need Classic Games, We Need Games To Feel Like Classics
Now that not just the industry but the games themselves have expanded so much, it also means that simpler games need to be expansive.Not huge open worlds or grinding for hours or live-service models, but they just need to have more on offer - more to experience.
Aside from the still-going-since-the-’80s plumber, the easiest example isAstro Bot. The game launched in 2024 and was just pure joy for so many people - so much so, that it went on to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards. It’s monumental for a dialogue-less platformer to even be nominated, but to beata 100+ hour Final Fantasygame, a technically beautifulBlack Myth: Wukong, and an ambitiously colossalShadow of the Erdtree. As upset as some people were thata ‘simple game’ could be regarded so highly, it didn’t change the fact that it swept.
Nominated alongside Astro Bot wasBalatro, a simple but extensive card game that also had a tight grasp on players, whether it be on PC, console, or mobile. Made by just a single developer, here it was, standing alongside these giants.
Sometimes, Simpler Is Better
I feel like the evident success speaks for itself. There’s a lot to be said about how these ‘video game’ video games can be received, and how much people are drawn to them. We don’t need less of the huge, ambitious games - they’re still brilliant and high-quality examples of the industry’s possibilities - but we do need more of these games that are just aiming to be ‘fun.’
Indie developers often lean towards a smaller structure as it allows them to be creative within budget constraints, but they prove time and time again that if there’s heart, it doesn’t matter. Astro Bot felt like the first time in a while that a triple-A studio without the Nintendo umbrella looming over it put out a ‘video game’ with heart.
MaybeDonkey Kongwill be on the bongos at this year’s The Game Awards orchestra.
