Today's high-budget blockbuster games like Forza Motorsport 7 or Gears of War 4 are awesome, that's not up for question. But sometimes, don't you just want to go back to the old days?
Thankfully the Windows PC is the best platform for that and hundreds, nay thousands of old games will forever live on. Be they re-mastered, or just re-released through modern stores, there are decades worth of classic games out there to play.
We're not going to round them all up, because we'd be here for years, but we have picked out ten of our favorites. Let's jump in.
The Disney Afternoon Collection
Don't let the Disney fool you here, these are some tricky platformers that pushed some of us to our limits back in the day. For 2017, Disney has re-released and remastered Talespin, Duck Tales, Duck Tales 2, Darkwing Duck, Chip n Dale and Chip n Dale 2.
The games are here in their original form, all Disney did was enhance the visuals for modern day displays. They're higher resolution, the colors are nicer, but everything else is as it was. You'll need more than an afternoon to clear them all, though!
Sega Dreamcast Collection
From the late 90s and early 2000s comes some of the finest games to ever grace Sega's short-lived Dreamcast console. In its day, the Dreamcast was cutting edge, and it had some really tremendous titles.
The Dreamcast Collection contains Sonic Adventure DX, Nights into Dreams, Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing, Jet Set Radio and Space Channel 5: Part 2. Buy them on their own or save some cash by getting the whole bundle at once. Either way, there are many, many hours of quality gaming here.
Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics
Ah, the 16-bit era, how we miss thee. The Mega Drive (or Genesis for you North American folks) was Sega's competitor to the SNES and it gave us one of the most iconic platformers of all time.
The good news is you can play Sonic the Hedgehog alongside other legendary titles like Streets of Rage, Toejam and Earl, Alex Kidd, Ecco the Dolphin and so many more in this one bundle available for the PC. Go back in time and have a blast!
Half Life
If you're only going to play one shooter in your life, make sure it's Half Life. This icon of first person shooters will never age, and while it's more difficult than a lot of modern games, it's entirely worth getting through.
Valve's first game is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, and mixes fast paced action with using your brain to survive. If you never saw what all the fuss was about, now's as good a time as any.
Sid Meier's Colonization
Going all the way back to 1994, Colonization sees you and your colonists setting up life in the New World. But nothing's ever straight forward, is it, and so you'll be faced with enemies standing in your way.
You control English, French, Dutch, or Spanish colonists and must oversee economic, political and military growth so as to declare your independence from your homeland. Colonization is a timeless classic you'd be silly to ignore.
Theme Hospital
Why on earth was setting up and running your own hospital ever a good idea for a game? More so, how come it was so much fun?!
Theme Hospital came from the brains behind Theme Park, and while setting up a park full of thrill rides is a natural fit, a hospital less so. But if you enjoy management sims, you should definitely try it out. You'll be surprised how much you enjoy it.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The best Star Wars game ever made is a seriously good RPG. Set thousands of years before the Empire, you alone are the last hope of the Jedi to save the Republic.
Or will you fall to the lure of the Dark Side? The path is yours, and one thing you can be sure of is that you'll quickly get sucked right into this bona fide classic. Wielding a Lightsaber has never been this good.
Homeworld: Emergence
Originally released as Cataclysm, Gearbox's space exploration game was renamed thanks to Blizzard owning the trademark on its original name. Otherwise, this is the same as the 2000 release.
After unleashing an alien terror, it's up to you to commandeer a mining vessel and turn it into a battle ready starship. Build a fleet, research new technologies and gather resources all the while searching for a way to rid the universe of the alien threat before it's too late.
Atari Vault
Atari needs no introduction, and this collection contains 100 titles from the glory days of the 70s and 80s is proof of why.
Play classics from the arcades and the Atari 2600 like Asteroids, Breakout, Red Baron, Missile Command and many, many more. All from the comfort of your modern day Windows PC with updated controls and a heavy dose of nostalgia.
Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander 3 is literally a Hollywood blockbuster. Filmed in LA, the gameplay is interspersed with live action video and an orchestral soundtrack. For its time, this was a pretty groundbreaking game. It literally stars Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell!
Away from the glitz, this is an amazing space combat game where your decisions will ultimately decide the fate of the Terran Confederation. One not to be missed.
Your favorites
This is only the tip of the iceberg, but it's ten we think you should definitely play. You'll have your own favorites we didn't mention though, so be sure to drop them into the comments below!
