Retro

STICKER SHOCK The Super Pocket is a glorious retro handheld that doesn’t require a lottery win to own

Cheap, cheerful, and a good, solid bit of tech for the price – anyone craving some retro handheld goodness can do worse than the Super Pocket.

ON TILT Sonic’s greatest spin-off is 30 years old today – and it’s time for another one

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball – also known as Sonic Spinball – is now three decades old. And it's still the blue blur's best non-canon outing.

The best PS2 games to play in 2023

It's time to take a trip back in time to one of the best generations of gaming.

WAITING GAME Retro console maker Polymega reckons it'll ship all remaining pre-orders this year, if you’re feeling lucky

After years of stock troubles, one of gaming’s most impressive retro indulgences might soon be readily available.

GET N OR GET OUT The retro king, Analogue, takes on the N64 next with Analogue 3D

Not content with impressing everyone with the Analogue Pocket, the king of retro hardware turns its sights on the 64-bit generation.

TOUGH LOVE Goldeneye 64: the best game you love despite itself?

Find out in episode 64 of The Best Games Ever show.

CHANNEL SURFS Gex Trilogy announcement proves we're in the dark timeline

We thought people wanting Gex back was a joke.

MORE CLASSICS Four classic SEGA Genesis games sneak onto Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

Nice batch of games.

LOVIN' IT McDonald's releases video game for 25-year-old Game Boy

To mark the 52nd birthday of mascot, Grimace, McDoanld’s have released a new, free game for the Game Boy Color.

GOTTA HAND IT TO EM Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features an awesome tribute to Nintendo's ancient past

Did you pick up on the Ultrahand in the latest trailer? And, more importantly, do you know why it's significant?

HOT SPOT Parasite Eve has the energy that Square Enix needs to bring to new IP in 2023

Parasite Eve might be turning 25 years old, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a template Square Enix could easily follow for modern success.

X GON GIVE IT TO YA Metroid Fusion remains the scariest 2D game ever

The Metroid franchise has never been too cheery, but GBA’s sole new Metroid entry cranked the spook factor up to eleven. 21 years later, it still unnerves us.

FIGHT! These classic PlayStation games are getting a major upgrade

This fan-made patch makes online play way better for you retro heads.

BRAWL CHOKED UP Like it or not, the Smash Bros series wouldn’t be what it is without its most maligned entry

In defense of everyone's least favourite Super Smash Bros. game.

MISTLETOE AND WHINE VG247's The Best Games Ever Podcast – Ep.31: The best game that reminds you of Christmas

Special guests from across the games media join us in the spirit of togetherness.

ALTAÏR WE GO 15 years of Assassin’s Creed: Why there’s never been a better time to replay the first game

The game that changed everything.

WAAAAH It's Mario Kart DS' 17th anniversary, and Waluigi Pinball is still one of the best tracks in the series

I simply won’t hear any different, unless it involves Coconut Mall.

THE COMET IS COMING 15 years later, Super Mario Galaxy is still the series' most stellar entry

The Wii game occupied a tricky space for Mario, no pun intended, but Nintendo managed to leverage the software to deliver an absolute blinder.

FOND FAREWELLS Mega Drive Mini 2 includes memorial message for late Sega producer Rieko Kodama

Noticed in the staff page for the collection, the team included an honorary mention to an important figure.

ALIEN AUTOPSY A decade on, XCOM: Enemy Unknown remains the best franchise reboot of all time

The 2012 reboot of XCOM is a decade old – and it's still the best gaming remake ever.

stick your neck out 10 years on, Resident Evil 6’s giraffe fellatio remains unparalleled

If you know, you know. And if you don't, I'm sorry to ruin Resident Evil 6's box art for you.

BLOCKY GRAPHICS Lego’s Atari 2600 is a brilliant bit of weaponized nostalgia – and we need a Sega console next

Lego’s latest build aimed at older fans is designed to stoke the fandom and memories of 90s kids – and despite some superfluous inclusions, it’s a great set.

How World of Warcraft Was Made: The Definitive Inside Story of Nearly 20 Years of Development

The developers behind World of Warcraft tell the story of its history, from the original beta to today.

TRICKY BUSINESS Star Fox Adventures is 20 years old today – and it’s still the last truly good Star Fox game

It’s hard not to think about how the excellent Star Fox Adventure was criticized as not ‘true’ Star Fox – only for the series to then have 20 years of disasters.

pinkeye Oddjob: GoldenEye remaster’s Switch/Xbox dual-platform release is somehow the best of no worlds

Xbox has managed to upset more or less everyone with the announcement of its new GoldenEye 007 releases. Well done to all involved.

odd jobs GoldenEye 007 is finally coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox via Xbox Game Pass on day one

The retro Bond title is finally making its return – and it'll be available Day One on Xbox Game Pass.

Goliath comeback Gargoyles is being remastered 27 years after launching on the SEGA Genesis

The remaster was revealed at The Disney and Marvel Games Showcase.

King for a day If you’ve ever so much as played Tekken 3, you owe it to yourself to watch Netflix’s Tekken: Bloodline anime

The King of Iron Fist Tournament is back, and in animated form – and it may be the first Tekken adaptation that doesn’t totally suck.

MEMORY UPDATE The Dreamcast lives on with a new ‘next-gen’ iteration of its iconic VMU memory card

The Dreamcast never dies - and this latest project aims to bring its most significant peripheral up-to-date.

older, uglier, wiser What's old is new again: What the rise of 'Boomer Shooters' says about the FPS market

'Boomer shooters' are really just shooters without the fat – it's just a shame about that damn name.

monument to be Some people archive video games for a living – here’s what they feel about the state of game preservation

Game preservation is about more than making marketing-friendly, nostalgia-driven statements: it's integral to the history of the games industry.

all jets are off Wave Race 64 is a true classic, and an essential play on Nintendo Switch

Originally released way back in 1996 for the Nintendo 64, Wave Race 64 jets onto Nintendo Switch Online today for anyone with the Expansion Pack.

break a lego Lego is a video game force to be reckoned with – but I miss its early, experimental gaming age

It's great to see so many licensed Lego games doing so well, but my heart will always belong to the weirder, more off-beat titles.

r u winning, sonic? Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit is a free fan-game – and a worthy successor to Sonic Mania

Forget Sonic Mania 2 – the new fan-game Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit is where it's at.

lupine fresh Over 20 years later, we're getting a new Fatal Fury game

Garou and Fatal Fury fans, get your sticks ready – there's a new game coming, two decades after the last one launched.

OPEN SESAME With its latest update, the luxury Game Boy replica Analogue Pocket just got a lot more interesting

Analogue Pocket’s new update fixes an annoying issue with this luxury gaming hardware, and launches the opinion-splitting openFPGA scheme to the public.

cruise control Reminiscing about Mission: Impossible N64, I yearn for a big-budget spy game

We get plenty of games about stealthy soldiers and assassins, sneaky killing machines – but I yearn for a good new, big game about a spy.

ahead of the scurve You can keep Skull and Bones – the best open world pirate game remains Sid Meier’s Pirates!

Sea of Thieves, Skull and Bones... none of them hold a candle to Sid Meier’s all-time classic, Pirates!

fast forgotten After Sonic Origins, we need more ambitious Sonic collections

We've all seen the good and bad of Sonic 1, 2, 3, and CD now – but what about some of the Blue Blur's more esoteric adventures?

LOOP-DE-LOOPHOLE If publishers want to delist old games, that’s fine – so long as they accept Abandonware status

Publishers should avoid being litigious towards those who continue to distribute the games that they delist.

living the dreamcast Sonic Adventure is still the gold standard for 3D Sonic games

While not without flaws, the blue hedgehog’s proper 3D debut has yet to be bested over the past two decades

SONIC HAS PASSED Sonic Origins is a masterclass in messing up a classic

Sonic Origins should've been an easy win for Sega, even with some legally-forced changes. Inexplicably, it isn't.

No, time to die! I can’t wait for GoldenEye 64 Remastered – though I have almost as much love for the Wii remake

As everybody collectively asks where the GoldenEye remaster is, I’m reminiscing about the other, just-as-interesting GoldenEye.

BLAME THE BOOGIE Sega confirms Sonic 3 won’t have its original music in Sonic Origins. Here’s what will be missing, and why

A long, hard look at the complicated history behind Michael Jackson and one of gaming's greatest soundtracks.

RESCUE SUCCESSFUL Playable SimCopter 64 build appears, revealing a mysterious canceled N64 title

A little piece of gaming history is uncovered as a playable build of a game not seen for 24 years emerges.

GET N OR GET OUT Luxury retro all-in-one console Polymega teases its upcoming N64 support as fans bemoan delivery delays

Playmaji offers a glimpse at some of the innards of the add-on that'll add N64 compatibility - but all a lot of fans want is the machine they've already ordered.

forcin' around Best Star Wars games, ranked

May the force be with these 10 outstanding Star Wars games, picked from a crop of many tie-in projects that have launched over the past five decades.

WAY UNCOOL Sonic Origins on PC has Denuvo DRM, because these impossible-to-pirate Mega Drive games must be protected

We're all used to dumb DRM stories, but Denuvo being used to protect some of probably the most readily available ROMs in gaming history is a real new one.

ROSTER REVERIE 6 lesser-known characters that should return in Street Fighter 6

With Street Fighter 6 on our minds, thoughts naturally drift to one question - what characters should appear in the game’s roster?

DIMENSION JUMP Chrono Cross is a classic that deserves its remaster – but fans of Trigger should know what they’re in for

Chrono Cross isn't Chrono Trigger, for better and for worse, and that's worth knowing if you're curious about this remaster.