System: Commodore 64 Release date: 1988 Netherworld on the Commodore 64 is the game that Hewson Consultants built when they decided scrolling shooters weren’t quite weird enough yet. This Netherworld title drops you into a surreal alien underworld bristling with bizarre creatures, strange organic architecture, and the kind of psychedelic enemy design that suggests the…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1997 Tomba! on the PlayStation is one of the most charming, inventive and criminally overlooked games the platform ever produced – and the fact that original copies now sell for hundreds of pounds proves that the people who found it knew exactly what they had. This Tomba! title is a…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1995 Jumping Flash on the PlayStation is the game that looked at the first-person perspective, decided it wasn’t being used ambitiously enough, and gave it to a robotic rabbit who can jump three times in mid-air and look straight down at the ground below. This Jumping Flash title arrived as…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1998 MediEvil on the PlayStation is the game that gave us a hero who was killed by the very first arrow fired in battle and spent the next hundred years getting quietly more embarrassed about it. This MediEvil title dropped you into the skeletal remains of Sir Daniel Fortesque -…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1995 Wipeout on the PlayStation is the game that walked into 1995, looked the entire games industry in the eye, and told it to grow up. This Wipeout title wasn’t just a racing game – it was a statement. Psygnosis built an anti-gravity racer set in 2052, handed the visual…
System: Atari Lynx Release date: 1989 Blue Lightning on the Atari Lynx is the game that Atari bundled with the handheld to show the world exactly what a colour portable could do – and in 1989, it absolutely delivered the goods. This Blue Lightning title is a behind-the-plane combat flight game in the spirit of…
System: Nintendo Entertainment System Release date: 1989 Faxanadu on the NES is the game that proves the side-scrolling action RPG was capable of genuine ambition long before anyone invented the phrase “Metroidvania.” This Faxanadu title dropped you into a dying World Tree, handed you a sword, a handful of gold, and an increasingly grim quest…
System: 3DO Release date: 1994 Demolition Man on the 3DO is the game that proves even Sylvester Stallone at peak 90s action hero couldn’t guarantee a good video game tie-in – but this one gets considerably closer than most. This Demolition Man title arrived alongside the film in 1994 and took the unusual step of…
System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Release date: 1990 Pilotwings on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is the game that made an entire generation of kids suddenly very interested in getting their pilot’s licence. This Pilotwings title dropped alongside the SNES and immediately showed every other console on the market exactly what Mode 7 could do.…
System: Sega Mega Drive Release date: 1990 Decap Attack on the Sega Mega Drive is one of those gloriously daft games that could only have come from the early 90s – and we absolutely mean that as a compliment. This Decap Attack title takes a perfectly ordinary platformer and decides the hero should be a…